Public hearing procedure in the management of city development: Analysis of the world experience

Abstract

In recent decades, public participation in the management of urban development programs has become one of the most important aspects for the sustainable development of the society. The article focuses on public hearing method that aims to extend citizen involvement in the management of the community. The authors consider the ways of organizing and holding public hearings and public discussions examine the effective factors of the international experience, analyze legislative and regulatory documents, and study different conduct procedures and methodological materials related to the topic. The study investigates the comparative analysis of the procedures for conducting public hearings in Russia, Australia, the United States, Canada, Denmark, and India. The authors arrive to the conclusion that each country has developed specific context-based procedure strategies for citizen participation in discussing important social problems that depends on actual social development, democracy level and the forms of local self-government. The study identifies the shortcomings of the Russian legislation on public hearings and public discussions in that may lead to the lack of citizen participation in management urban affairs and therefore requires improvement using positive experience of other countries.