ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION 


No Neighborhood is an Island: 
Public Participation as Dialogue in Community Redevelopment 


By HONG-LING WEE 

Dissertation Director: 
Professor Michael R. Greenberg 


This research examines public participation and its association with self-interest, personality, demographic characteristics and neighborhood perception. I used a multi- method approach of field observation, questionnaire survey and in-depth interviews to collect data for assessing the current status of civic involvement and the public's willingness and ability to participate in community redevelopment. 

A swey was conducted with over 150residents of Bound Brook, located in Somerset County, New Jersey. A quarter of the people surveyed said that they have no time for participation. Three-quarters of the respondents indicated a willingness to be involved in 

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the redevelopment process, and more than two-thirds of this group expressed a moderate to high capacity to participate. The statistical analysis found that those who were most willing to participate tended to have a strong sense of efficacy, be older, more amuent 

and more educated. They also tended to be homeowners, have lived in Bound Brook 

longer and have participated more in the community in the past two years. HispanicILatino respondents tended to be less willing and less able to participate than * their Caucasian~White counterparts. 

My field observations, on the other hand, noted a very low level of citizen participation which did not concur with the survey data. Interviews with residents and community leaders offered multiple perspectives and contexts surrounding the issue of participation and redevelopment for explaining the disparity between willingness to participate and the actual level of participation. 

In light of the fact that no neighborhood operates in isolation and there is a growing call for greater civic involvement in public policy making, the findings of this study suggest that the local government need to rebuild trust, make changes to the institutional culture, establish partnerships with faith-based organizations, and strengthen the community by engaging different groups with diverse backgrounds and needs as co-investors in community redevelopment through participation in planning and implementation. Public participation is a way of building social capital, which is vital to a community's well- being. 

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This study concludes with suggestions for enhancing public participation, especially when dealing with a minority population, and proposals for hture research.