Interesting interview with American New Urbanist, Andres Duany, appears in the recent issue of Builder Magazine. In it, Duany discusses the challenges presented by some forms of public participation to efforts made by “smart growth” advocates in local and regional planning. To the question, “what is the biggest impediment to smart growth?”, Duany answers, “Citizen participation in the planning process is probably the biggest roadblock.”
Later in the interview, Duany clarifies this comment noting that it is not public participation per se, but the level at which the public is consulted. Often, for larger infrastructure and transit projects, the public at a regional level should be included in the discussion. A good synopsis of the interview appears in CityFix.