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When an NGO Takes on Public Participation: Preparing a Plan for a Neighborhood in E ast J erusalem
Author(s) -
CohenBlankshtain Galit,
Ron Amit,
Perez Alma Gadot
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
international journal of urban and regional research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.456
H-Index - 114
eISSN - 1468-2427
pISSN - 0309-1317
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-2427.2012.01174.x
Subject(s) - empowerment , power (physics) , politics , citizen journalism , government (linguistics) , process (computing) , public relations , plan (archaeology) , business , public participation , political science , computer science , philosophy , physics , archaeology , history , linguistics , quantum mechanics , law , operating system
It is often non‐governmental organizations ( NGOs ) that promote empowered participation processes, and assume active roles in leading them. However, the ability of NGOs to take on such processes is under‐theorized. In many cases empowered participation involving NGOs takes place without political support from above (or with limited or conditional support). Our goal in this article is to use a case study of participatory planning in E ast J erusalem to theorize processes of empowerment in an oppositional political environment. We argue that it is useful to analyze such processes of empowered participation through the concept of power. We describe the process of empowerment as a speculative process in which the NGO has to hedge two mediums of power: it has to build the power of the community to discuss its own goals; and it has to simultaneously manage the transfer of decision‐making power from government bodies to the community.