Recent research into civic participation in Scotland found interesting differences between urban and rural areas. Those in rural areas were more involved and better informed, largely reflecting low levels of involvement and awareness in deprived urban areas. The study, Public attitudes to participation, carried out by MORI Scotland, also found that young people were less likely to be sceptical about the value of participating and less likely to trust elected representatives to make decisions for them.
This report underlines my experience of public library design, that is, where there is any consultation at all with users, it is almost always passive, not participative. I've explored this further at http://knowledgespacelibrary.blogspot.com/
Posted by: Angela Dove | Sunday, 02 October 2005 at 21:24