Identifying Factors of the Fiasco of the Jian-Chen Roundabout Regeneration Project: Participatory Governance Perspective
Hen-Chin Chen*, Wei-Chien Luang**
Abstract
The main purpose of this paper is to apply the perspective of participatory governance to explore the fiasco of Jian-Chen Roundabout regeneration project. During the process of regeneration, Taipei City Government convenes the public meetings in accordance with the law. However, the policy still failed. Therefore, this paper plans to analyze the gap between policy intention and policy outcomes.
This paper first of all explores the theory of participatory governance. Secondary, using documentary analysis and interviews with the main stakeholders, the results point out four causes for participation gap and its significant factors. Besides, it also applies the core concepts to design the outline of the interview. Finally, the paper uses the software of MAXQDA to explain the results of in-depth interviews.
The findings in terms of participatory gap can be summarized as follows: (1) the rule of law limits the autonomy and the ability of government negotiation; (2) the institution of public meetings cannot promote the substance of participatory governance; (3) experts and technocrats cannot appreciate the importance of citizen participation; and (4) the capacity of participatory governance of citizens needs to be upgraded.
Keywords: Jian-Chen Roundabout, participatory governance, participatory gap, citizen participation
*Professor, Department of Public Administration, TamKang University.
**Master, Department of Public Administration, TamKang University.