Public participation in NIMBY risk mitigation: A discourse zoning approach in the Chinese context

“Not in my back yard” (NIMBY) is a wicked problem in China's rapid urbanization. The types and interests of the stakeholders are complex and the risks are constantly changing over the facilities' life course. NIMBY indicates the necessity of public participation in urban development. The questions faced by Chinese policy-makers are whom and how to involve the public in NIMBY risk mitigation plan. This paper develops a discourse zoning approach for promoting public participation in NIMBY risk mitigation over public facilities' whole life course. It applies the approach into Diantou historic district renewal in China to estimate the discourse power of different public groups in the process of site selection, construction, operation, and eventual abandonment of the NIMBY facility. And then assigned the discourse power in public hearings. Results show that local stakeholders considered this approach could maximize the participation of public groups and balance their weights in decision-making process.