Participatory environmental management: Grounded theory proposals

Abstract

The environmental crisis and the growth of cities has made life in modern cities become more complex. The environmental management of the responsible institutions has been faced with generating new strategies and communicating with citizens to solve the environmental problems. This research describes the methodology used and the political dimension of citizen complaint behavior before the public administration. The results offer a more efficient management option that guarantees citizen participation as a quality strategy and considers their proposals for the solution of urban environmental problems. The mixed method is used, and the analysis of the data is based on the Grounded Theory to know the reality and the difficulties of the people involved, considering their interpretations, having as object of investigation the perception about the environmental conflicts. The research was structured in stages and successive phases, interviews and surveys were carried out with experts. Analyzed complaints (532 suggestion and complaint files, for situations of urban environmental conflicts). Group interviews with neighbors, representatives of social movements, officials and students of a University. Finally, virtual surveys and individual interviews with group participants were conducted. The results allow to describe and propose a Participatory Environmental Management Model, which considers as criteria for effectiveness, the validation of the role of people in the solution to problems, allowing to implement solutions more relevant to local needs and to solve urban environmental conflicts in public management.