Including voices of the excluded: Lessons from Buffalo, NY

This chapter examines two community development case studies related to socialinclusion and exclusion in the public participation process. Each focuses on dimensionsof public participation in community development organizations and processes. The firstcase study examines the role of public participation in the governance of communitybasedhousing organizations in Buffalo, NY. Here, public participation is examined inrelation to organizational autonomy, patronage politics and bureaucratic structures. Thiscase study illustrates how grassroots control of community-based housing organizationsis reduced by institutional constraints placed on community development activities. Thesecond case study examines a neighbourhood planning project in Depew, NY (anindustrial suburb of Buffalo). The scope and impact of public participation is explored inthe context of planning techniques applied to neighbourhood revitalization efforts inDepew. Competing interests among residents, business and local government areexplored. This case study focuses on the manner in which university-based consultantsworking on community development projects approach resident empowerment.Constraints on achieving full participation due to limited capacity in the public sector arediscussed. Combined, the two case studies highlight the barriers to expanding the voiceof disenfranchised groups in the governance of grassroots organizations and the planningof neighbourhood development projects. Lessons are drawn from these case studies tooutline strategies for expanding the scope of public participation in communitydevelopment activities, particularly in relation to the role of disadvantaged groups ingrassroots decision-making.