A Sense of Community in Public Decision-Making

• Author: Lewis M. Miles
• DOI: 10.1177/027507407500900115
• Published date: 01 January 1975
• Date: 01 January 1975
• Subject Matter: Articles

62

-

restoration

of

the

public’s

confidence

in

the

decision

maker’s

ability

and

willingness

to

be

responsive;

- community

wide

education

and

awareness

raising

on

issues,

problems,

and

alternate

futures.

The

Goals

Setting

Process

is

flexible

and

encourages

local

opera-

tional

autonomy,

but

should

not

be

interpreted

as

a

final

or

detailed

operational

plan.

The

public

policy-making

process

should

be

participatory

and

reconstructed

to

involve

all

who

wish

to

be

included

in

the

decision

making

process.

It

would

seem

productive

to

the

overall

public

policy-

making

process

to

provide

special

assistance

to

minorities

in

lending

them

the

necessary

education

assistance,

to

enable

their

making

of

knowledgeable

decisions

and

investments

in

the

public

policy-making

process.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ronald

G.

Decker,

Special

Contribution,

Coordinator

of

Health

Programs,

Uni-

versity

of

Missouri-Kansas

City.

Michael

J.

McManus,

Creating

20th

Century

Town

Meetings.

Ross

Drake,

Where

Do

We

Go

From

Here?,

T.

V.

Guide,

March

17,

1973.

W.

Donald

Heisel,

COPE — An

Experience

in

City-University

Cooperation,

Uni-

versity

of

Cincinnati,

Cincinnati,

Ohio.

Wolf

Von

Eckardt,

Town

Meetings

by

Television,

The

Washington

Post,

Jan-

uary,

1974.

Michael

J.

McManus,

Choices

For

’76.

Michael

J.

McManus,

How

to

Locate

an

American

Issues

Forum,

Time

Essay,

July

8,

1974.

Bicentennial

Goal

Setting

Process,

City

of

Dayton.

New

York

Regional

Planning

Association,

The

Metropolis

Speaks,

August,

1974.

A

Sense

of

Community

in

Public

Decision-Making

LEWIS

M.

MILES

Urban

Community

Development

Specialist

University

of

Missouri

Extension

Division

The

right

of

all

citizens

to

participate

in

public

policy

planning

and

decision-making

is

an

accepted

principle

in

democratic

societies.

In

addition,

functioning

democratic

governments

push

the

development

of

all

citizens

to

participate

in

public

policy

planning.

This

does

not

mean

that

all

citizens

will

choose

to

participate.

But

it

does

mean

that

the

option

should

be

open

to

them

if

and

when

they

decide

to

do

so.

The

problem

which

arises

is

in

how

this

principle

is

effectuated?

A

few

public

planners

and

decision-makers

advocate

a

planning