Conflict and persuasion in sustainable urban development decision making

This paper discusses the findings of a research project which was aimed at investigating the policy, process and practice conflicts in achieving sustainable urban developments. A case study method using three regional local government areas (LGAs) located in a state jurisdiction which had recently undergone a change to the approval system provided evidence to document the 'persuasion movement' and indicate that the new system is shifting the ground but may not address many of the underlying issues towards achieving sustainable urban development. The 'persuasion movement' we have identified is the antithesis of the philosophy underpinning the 1980 collaborative design and participatory consultative approaches. Persuasion theory informed the analysis of ten focus group interviews where the role of various development 'proposers', 'stakeholders' and 'assessors' is examined against six identified strategies of persuasion. The development of a typology of persuasion strategies provides a method to critique various development approval models. This study explores an interdisciplinary industry problem and uses theoretical concepts from the discipline of sociology. The changes occurring in the early development approval stages of projects has implications in procurement strategies and also influences time to develop and thus exposure to risk.