(review) A Ladder Of Citizen Participation

 Discussion flow


  1. Defination

    1. Citizen Participation is a categorical term for citizen power

      1. Redistribution of power that enables the have-not citizens ,presently excluded from the political and economic processes, to be deliberately included in the future.

      2. It is a strategy by which the have-nots join in determining how information is shared, goals and policies are set, tax resources are allocated.

      3. Allow citizens to share in the benefits of the affluent society.

  2. Ladder of citizen participation

    1. The bottom rungs are manipulation and therapy, which describe the levels of “non participation”

      1. The real goal in this level is not to enable people to participate in planning or conducting programs, but to enable power holders to “educate” or “cure” the participation

    2. Rungs 3 and 4, represent informing and consultation. 

      1. Progress to levels of “tokenism” that allow the have-nots to hear and to have a voice.

      2. lack the power to insure that their views will be heeded by the powerful.

    3. Rungs 5 Placation, is simply a higher level tokenism

      1. The ground rules allow have-nots to advise, but retain for the powerholders the continued right to decide.

    4. Rungs 6 Parnership

      1. Enable citizens to negotiate and engage in trade-offs with traditional powerholders.

    5. Topmost rungs, Delegated Power and Citizen Control.

      1. Enable have-nots citizens obtain the majority of decision-making seats, or full managerial power.

  3. Limitations

    1. Does not include an analysis of the most significant roadblocks to achieving genuine levels of participation

      1. Power holder side: include racism, paternalism, and resistance to power redistribution

      2. Have-nots side: include inadequacies of the poor community's political socio economic infrastructure and knowledge base, plus difficulties of organizing a representative and accountable citizens’ group in the face of futility, alienation, and distrust.

      3. Example: Some mayors, in private, actually boast of their strategy in hiring militant black leaders to muzzle them while destroying their credibility in the black community.



Arnstein, S. (2020). “A ladder of citizen participation”. The City Reader, 290-302. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429261732-36

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