Westhoff, Norina (2021) Benefits of Participatory Planning: The connection between Happiness and Citizen Participation. Bachelor thesis.
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Abstract
Participatory planning is agreed to be a good alternative to top-down methods of spatial planning. But in practice, it is not properly implemented, because the positive outcomes are not clearly stated. In this quantitative study, Planning Participation is compared to citizen participation and analysed by using a large-scale dataset, collected from the European Social Survey (ESS). The data analysis, using multiple linear regressions, looks at Citizen Participation, the influence of Happiness and Trust in Institutions and other factors, such as socio-economic characteristics. Moreover, it includes spatial data, comparing living environment and different European countries. Additionally, it studies the importance of specific types of citizen participation, like voting and demonstrating, in regards to an individual's happiness. This study finds that Citizen Participation, Happiness and Trust in Institutions have a reciprocal relationship, which is especially noticeable when comparing countries. The most explanatory factor of Citizen Participation is education, which is a contested outcome because based on previous research Citizen Participation cannot be increased simply by extending education, which means it is not reciprocal. There is a spatial difference in Citizen Participation, Happiness and Trust in Institutions within Europe. They are higher in the northern countries of Europe and lower in the East and South, which is in line with the expectations. The relationship between different types of citizen participation and happiness is weak but existent. The three-way relationship between Citizen participation, Happiness and Trust in institutions needs to be taken seriously, because it has the power to decrease but also increase the social inequality prevalent in many (non-) European Countries.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Bachelor) |
|---|---|
| Degree programme: | Human Geography and Planning |
| Supervisor: | Ballas, D. |
| Date Deposited: | 30 Jun 2021 14:56 |
| Last Modified: | 30 Jun 2021 14:56 |
| URI: | https://frw.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/3510 |
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