A Participative Planning Methodology: Urban Stormwater Quality Management at the Watershed

Contemporary Australian policy for `stormwater quality planning', advocates best practice by adopting the principles of ecological sustainable development. The purpose of the policy is engendering community ownership and reducing stormwater contaminants at the source, reflecting the preventative paradigm. Research into the resultant plans has demonstrated that these best practice notions have not been fully realised. This is attributed to the both the policy framework and the planning rationale which demonstrate the characteristic limitations of a traditional top-down technical response to a social problem. A bottom-up citizen driven `participative planning methodology' is offered. This methodology is an attempt to more fully realise the policy intent and address the complexities of communities' expectations and behaviours that impact water quality. The key activity is to reconceptualise the problem frame through enabling shared understandings of the causes and responses to stormwater.