Santa Ana's Theory Of Advocacy Planning

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This input of public ideas and their participation is a key element to advocacy planning as it enables residents to become more engaged and accepting of proposed plans as well as helps planners better understand and provide what residents need rather than assuming. This aspect of the theory assists planners in making better choices, as it takes into consideration the needs of the most vulnerable members of society from their perspective so that plans, while made in good faith for the benefit of residents, do not fail from a lack of understanding.
Jane Jacobs (1962) describes such a phenomenon existing in New York’s East Harlem, a housing project was made with a large lawn; the planners had good intentions by creating the lawn, they were providing …show more content…

The Neighbourhood Improvement Program acted as an advocate to the various marginalised groups within the city. These groups were often composed of immigrants and/or the working poor of the city. The program acted as an advocate for these neighbourhoods, bringing to light the issues within this neighbourhood and pushed for them to be dealt with by the city. The advocacy of the program empowered the residents of the areas by providing technical interpretations, contact information, the advice and assistance of experts and meetings for communication. Without the group acting as an advocate it is unlikely that the needs of the community would have been addressed, as residents would not have known who to go to or the technical language needed, nor would they have people reiterating their needs within the municipal government.
There has always existed a conflict between advocacy planning and other theories, which are more economically based such as neo-liberalism or pragmatism. Planners must try to please both the private and public sectors in the form of specific advocacy groups, the general public and clients (Fainstein and Campbell). This conflict is further instigated by the non-existence of one general public, but rather many facets and groups that compose the residents of a city. Planners must seek a balance between the ideas put forth by the public and the expertise of engineers and planners themselves …show more content…

While efforts to address safety have been made, it is frequently done using rigid expert standards and is not specifically aimed at the safety of women (Harwood, 2003). The city of Toronto conducted a User Study in 1987 to determine who was using the park and the concerns they may feel. It was discovered that more men were using the park than women, and they also used all areas of the park. Women on the other hand visited the park less frequently, especially in the evening, and tended to only use the playground and garden areas (Whitzman, 2002). This trend was not caused by population patterns within the surrounding area, but rather from fear women have for their safety within the park. In response to the study it was found that 93% of individuals who felt unsafe in the park were women (Whitzman, 2002). It is frequently said that women are responsible for avoiding assaults by not going into dangerous public areas, by-themselves, especially at night however, parks are intended for public use and thus women have a right to use all areas of the park no matter the area or

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