In this article in the journal Journal für Mobilität und Verkehr, Tobias Escher and Katharina Holec examine the influence of public consultations on political attitudes. The focus is on the effects of participation and process evaluation.
Summary
Municipal mobility projects often generate conflict, as measures related to the transport transition affect diverse interests. Participatory processes are intended to help mitigate these conflicts—but how do they actually influence public attitudes?
The underlying study examines mobility consultations in Hamburg, Marburg, and Offenburg. The central finding is that not only the planning outcome, but also the design of the participatory process shapes citizens’ satisfaction and their attitudes toward political decision-makers. Transparent, comprehensible, and well-communicated processes have particularly positive effects—not only on participants themselves, but also on individuals who have merely heard about the process.
Results
The survey results show that mobility consultations do have effects on satisfaction and acceptance, although these effects are heterogeneous:
- Those who are satisfied with the adopted measures evaluate political actors significantly more positively.
- The participatory process has an additional effect—even without active participation. A well-designed process increases satisfaction even when the measures do not align with one’s own interests.
- Active participation is initially associated with greater dissatisfaction. However, good process design can substantially reduce this effect.
- Despite differences between cities and procedures, similar patterns emerge: The perception of the process is just as important for overall evaluation as the outcome itself.
Overall, the analysis demonstrates that participation alone cannot resolve the conflicts associated with the transport transition. However, well-designed consultations improve both satisfaction with the measures and evaluations of political decision-makers—beyond the group of actual participants.