Who's representing who?

Reading John Forester's article 'Planning in the face of conflict', makes planning sound like a extremely difficult job.  The different mediated-negotiation strategies outlined in the reading seem daunting and delicate.  

Whilst reading, all I could really think to myself was; do planners have to tiptoe around everyone, that is, neighbourhoods and developers?  Since we are mostly always in the middle of the community consultation, discussion, negotiation, development and finally, conflict, it seems planners have an interesting task of keeping the developers and the neighbourhoods on their good side.  

The reading concentrates on local land use conflict and the arguments evident between neighbourhoods and developers - where planners are the mediating-negotiators.  

The continuous debate of whether developers and neighbourhoods should meet or whether the ideas should be liaised by planners is no doubt a tricky situation.  When developers meet neighbourhoods and planners are there for negotiation there is a high chance of constant squabbling between developers and neighbourhoods which usually eventuates to zilch, nothing, no solution.  

I firmly believe that planners should essentially control the interaction between both parties.  They should be the initiators, organisers and mediating-negotiators that help the planning process systematically to avoid direct tension between developers and neighbourhoods. 

http://www.directionservice.org/cadre/section2.cfm

As we have been studying social and advocacy planning I do believe that there should be community consultation and it is the job of planners to make consultation an inviting and exciting opportunity for communities.  Dr Hu asked us if we had ever been involved in a community consultation and it occurred to be that I hadn't and that is because in the past I have been totally uneducated and uninformed - it is that simple... I didn't know!  And then the next question is; if there were community meetings and I did not attend, then who is representing me from my community?  Do they have the same opinions and views as I do? ... No of course they don't! Everyone has different concerns and opinions! If I was uneducated and uninformed then I am under the impression that there are many more people out there that did not or do not know, and therefore are not representing themselves.  

This is the task of the planner, to involve, engage and entice communities. 

Planners ARE the initiators, organisers and negotiators.