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Arnstein's Ladder of Citizen Participation

Resource Question(s): FOR COMMUNITY PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT
Audience: Planners

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ARNSTEIN'S LADDER OF CITIZEN PARTICIPATION
Sherry Arnstein, writing in 1969 about citizen involvement in planning processes in the United States, described a “ladder of citizen participation” that showed participation ranging from high to low. The ladder is a guide to seeing who has power when important decisions are being made. It has survived for so long because people continue to confront processes that refuse to consider anything beyond the bottom rungs.