Planning Cells and Deliberative Citizen Forums

Abstract

The Deliberative Citizen Forum (DCF) is based on the Planning Cells (PC) invented by Peter C. Dienel in the early 1970s. PC has standardized principles, such as randomly selected participants, payment for participants, a four day program with about 15 discussion units, and organization by an independent institution. DCF, in contrast, is a compact model of one or two days with three to seven discussion units. It has rapidly expanded in Japan on a local level since 2005, totaling more than 100 cases. This paper shows DCF as a kind of social movement with repeated organization in the same places. This bottom-up movement is a distinct feature in comparison to the application of other deliberative methods throughout the world. In Mitaka City, local authorities authorized DCF in 2005, and it has been implemented continuously since then. DCF has become an ordinary participatory method and, due to the random selection of forum participants, it involves ordinary people who normally refrain from taking part in public meetings. In 2010, the NPO “Machipotto” organized a DCF in Shinjuku, which shows the potential of NPOs as organizational institutions and their expected important role for civil society. Repeated DCF can strengthen local autonomy in the future.