The usefulness of a Web-based Participatory Planning Support System in Wuhan, China

Abstract Public participation in urban planning has become a legal requirement in China since the 2008 Urban and Rural Planning Law prescribed to collect the opinions of the public in preparing plans. The way in which this participation is organized is left to local governments and current practices are still in a stage of experimentation. Drawing on Western experience various participatory tools have been explored, including in some instances Web-based planning support systems (PSS). The current literature has identified several potentials and shortcomings in the performance of PSS that define their usefulness. However, these have been identified in the context of democratic societies and communicative planning paradigms. To what extent do these potentials and shortcomings also pertain to the emerging practice in China? This paper aims to widen the understanding of the usefulness of Web-based PSS when these are applied in a Chinese context. To do so, the paper first presents a conceptual framework that divides usefulness into utility and usability, and thereafter, it analyzes the “East Lake greenway planning project” in Wuhan. The results show that the Wuhan PSS provides new functionalities in eliciting ideas from independent citizens in the early stage of the planning process. In terms of usability, the system meets many of the criteria, but requires a high level of computer experience and domain knowledge restricting its use to “professional citizens”. From the point of view of western planners this would seriously limit the usefulness as a participatory tool, but it is legitimate in China. Given the low level of computer literacy, limited access to the internet and a lacking tradition of public involvement in state affairs, it is nevertheless clear that there is a need to improve Web-based PSS and combine them with other participatory methods, both online and offline, to facilitate the participation of a diverse group of target users.