Stakeholders’ perspectives of public participation in landuse policy: the Nigeria experience

Abstract

Purpose – It has long been recognised that the top-down approach is prevailing over bottom-up approach in landuse planning in African countries. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate and identify the facilitators and limitations to have effective public participation (PP), and suggest how the practices can be improved in Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach – Using Nigeria as a case study, this paper involves interviews of various stakeholders, including government staff, representatives of interest groups, general public, members of the planning board and planning commission. Information is analysed by narrative techniques of reporting. Findings – There is a general judgment that PP is vital to landuse policy. Early public consultation was preferred, as many respondents pointed out that this would help shape the final policy. Yet, their opinion varied on whether relevant information was provided to the public, as well as their level of satisfaction with the whole process. While the process was fairly seen as giving opportunities for the public to make comments on public policy, the approach appeared not to be fruitful in many cases: (a) when the scope was broad; (b) lack of representativeness and abstruse information; (c) insufficient feedback to the participants; and (d) corruption and shortage of resources to complete the process promptly. Practical implications – Understanding the facilitators and limitations that impact the success of PP can help provide guidance to improve the decision-making processes of public policies. Originality/value – This paper fills the knowledge gap by providing the Nigerian experience on stakeholders' perspectives of PP in developing countries.

Keywords

• public participation
• stakeholders engagement
• collaborative planning
• town planners
• urban management
• physical development policy