The civic participation in the urban planning and the teledirection phenomenon

Abstract

The possibilities of public participation included in Spanish State legislation, its effects on decision-making, the circumstances of this procedure, in addition to other intervention prospects that may influence reality, are at the centre of the difficult balancing act in which the current democratic process finds itself. The various means by which economic sectors and agents uninvolved in politics dominate planning production mechanisms, and the recently acquired nature of legislation, management formulae and planning documents, highlight the essential transformation undergone by the rules established in the regime that guarantees democratic systems, with the appearance of the teledirection device. This analysis is made from the perspective of an architect professionally involved in town planning since 1977 and, in particular, from his experience as an architect in public administration.