DOI
https://doi.org/10.25772/XFPW-BD21
Defense Date
2010
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Urban & Regional Planning
Department
Urban Studies & Planning
First Advisor
Ivan Suen
Abstract
As urban planners have sought to move away from the rationalist approach that has been employed for decades, and to encourage more public participation than has traditionally existed in the planning process, they have consistently encountered obstacles in successfully communicating with other stakeholders. Likewise, many citizens do not feel they have enough access to planning-related information or adequate means of participation. These systemic problems are due in large part to the limitations of the media on which planning documents have always been printed; the structure and content of the paper-based comprehensive plan has meant that the rationalist process has, at least until recently, been planners' only feasible option for conveying information to the public. However, the ubiquity of the Internet and the development of structured wikis and content management systems have arguably overcome this barrier, as these tools offer the communication power that planners have long needed. The purpose of this thesis is to research these collaborative technologies, study their functionality and practical feasibility, and propose that they be implemented as an alternative approach to a document and decision making model that is rapidly becoming obsolete.
Rights
© The Author
Is Part Of
VCU University Archives
Is Part Of
VCU Theses and Dissertations
Date of Submission
May 2010