Toward participation-based urban planning and development: Evaluating participatory revitalization in Middle Oudlajan neighborhood of Tehran

Public participation as an alternative paradigm in planning theory is consequently a key challenge in planning practice regarding interactive and collaborative versus rational and top-down decision-making approaches. Hence, this paper aims to define this concept theoretically and then to evaluate it practically. Based on the relevant views and research, public participation has been considered through three main dimensions of “inclusiveness and incentive structures,” “information exchange and provision of lay knowledge,” and “sense of ownership and influence on decision-making.” This threefold conceptualization has also been further explored by 10 subdimensions or measures to explain precisely the specific aspects of community participation. “Transparency and accessibility,” “fairness or equal contribution,” “effectiveness and efficiency,” and “negotiation” are the most significant subdimensions. Thus, the concept of public participation has been evaluated in the Oudlajan market (Bazarcheh) in Tehran, where a supposedly participatory revitalization project has been implemented. This evaluation relies on the views of 117 market traders as respondents, using the analytical hierarchy process method. Accordingly, the overall status of the public participation in the Oudlajan project with a score of 2.56 based on a 5-point Likert-type scale is evaluated as between low and average. This finding implies that while the Oudlajan Market Revitalization Plan may seem participatory, it has serious shortcomings, especially according to the actual affected community or group.