localknowledgevatech.wpd.docVIP

USING LOCAL KNOWLEDGE FOR JUSTICE AND RESILIENCE by Judith E. Innes Department of City and Regional Planning University of California Berkeley and David E. Booher Center for Collaborative Policy California State University Sacramento October 4, 2008 LocalKnowledgeVaTech.wpd  The Importance of Local Knowledge In this article we make the case for seeking out and explicitly incorporating local and other lay knowledge into planning and public processes because inclusion of such knowledge is critical, not only to social and environmental justice, but also to resilience of our systems. Such knowledge is more pervasive and often more persuasive to decision makers than formal “scientific” knowledge. Yet in both the scholarship and the practice of planning and public policy, this lay knowledge is little noted. If it is noted, it is often not regarded as knowledge. Formal research however defines and narrows issues and takes us only part way to action {Weiss, 1979}. Information must be embedded in lay understandings if it is to be relevant, much less acted upon {Lindblom Cohen, 1979}. Local knowledge fills gaps, provides information about context, and offers pragmatic, experience-based insights from those who know a situation first hand. Local knowledge can challenge dominant professional discourses. Thirdly, including lay voices, especially those of marginalized people who seldom have an impact on the public decisions that affect their lives, is a matter of justice and authentic democracy. The least educated and poorest are also entitled to participate in self governance and public deliberation. Traditional governance and expert-based planning typically leave out these groups, who then suffer from environmental injustice and other forms of neglect and unfair treatment. Finally, inclusion and engagement of diverse voices and multiple knowledges, especially those that challenge the status quo, are critical to the achievement of collabora