What drives people's willingness to discuss local landscape development?

Abstract

During recent decades, the active participation by local people in the development of their everyday landscape has become an issue of increasing interest in Swiss landscape planning. Following the recommendations of federal and cantonal planning agencies, more and more local governments have been using not only traditional forms of participation such as voting, but also more discursive forms such as workshops. What makes local residents either more or less willing to attend such discussion events is therefore very relevant. In this case study, we examine how trust in institutions, place attachment, self-efficacy, outcome-efficacy, and general interest in the local landscape affect residents' willingness to attend a workshop on local landscape development. The results of a survey among the general population of a Swiss municipality (N=318) show that people's attachment to the local area, their perceived self-efficacy, their confidence in tangible outcomes of such a workshop, as well as their interest in the development of their local landscape have direct and interactive impacts. Consequently, communication strategies should focus on these aspects in order to raise people's motivation to participate in discursive events.