Critical Success Factors for the Management of Public Participation in Urban Renewal Projects: Perspectives from Governments and the Public in China

Public participation is critical to the development of urban renewal projects. This research aims to explore critical factors for successful management of public participation processes in urban renewal. Government officials and the public in China were surveyed concerning the relative importance of 30 factors identified by literature review and expert interviews. Results show that these two groups shared common perceptions and all the factors were considered critical. Factor ranking shows the top five were the clarity of information disclosure, timely responses to public inquiries, necessary avenues and equipment, diversity in the ways of disclosing information, and results presentation. Factor analyses reveal seven underlying components: participant characteristics, participatory schemes, support from external sources, information disclosure and inquiry, management of participation processes, empowerment, and valuing decision information. Those identified factors and their underlying components can help in directing resource allocation during participation for improving the management of public participation processes. Although the research setting is China, the identified factors and components are relevant to the issue of what to consider when managing a public participation process in other countries and regions, especially in situations where public participatory experience seems to be limited.