Network approach to constructing theory of participation in spatial planning

On a practical level, the results demonstrate that the role of participation in spatial planning for Nature Park Medvednica does not substantially differ from other comparable cases, where it starts late in the process and has mostly a symbolic role. On a theoretical level, a series of highly general, decontextualized codes have been developed, such as classification of actors, forms of participation and of system that suppresses its prominence. The research also identifies some policy solutions on how to alter the situation; for an individual process of spatial planning, disempowered groups can substantially affect the outcome only through public political engagement, which in turn is affected by 'calculation' of personal costs and benefits of participation. On a more general level, the change of the role of participation in spatial planning of a given local setting can occur through the following modes: (I) change of power relations between (construction) interest groups and the administration that leads the process, and (II) change in how the 'value' of a spatial plan is perceived by the administration that leads the process - from a system that promotes professional expertise and human-centered values to a system which endorses participation of the 'lay', de-values formal expertise, and perceives that nature has a value on its own, independent from human needs.