Review of “Planning Cells:” Problems of Legitimation

The Planning Cell seems to be a procedure which, under certain circumstances, could produce good results. I do not want to give the impression that Planning Cells constitute an unsatisfactory procedure, but instead try — from the viewpoint of a Swiss lawyer — to indicate some weak points of the model. In Switzerland there is a very strong tradition of citizen participation on all political levels. This review is based on personal and general experiences with Swiss procedures of citizen participation rather than on theoretical reflections.