Increased federal requirements for citizen participation : a case study of the Nashville-Davidson County, Tennessee, Metropolitan Planning Commission, Air Quality/Transportation Planning Public Participation Program

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of increased federal government requirements for citizen participation on local government programs. A case study of the Nashville-Davidson County, Tennessee, Metropolitan Planning Commission, Air Quality/Transportation Planning Public Participation Program was used as an example of local government response. Other research methods used were a historical review of the existing literature and a telephone survey of citizen participants in the program.

The findings of the study indicate that federal government requirements have caused local governments to increase their efforts to establish citizen participation programs. This has made local governments more accessible to the community. Increasingly, citizens are being involved in the planning of programs instead of sanctioning agency plans and proposals after their development. In the future, when developing citizen participation programs, planners should devote more time to selecting appropriate citizen participation techniques so that they match the objectives. Finally, planners must take responsibility for educating and informing the community about salient issues so that citizens are able to make responsible decisions.