Pathways to Inclusive Participation in Co-Design for Planning Practice in Scotland

Abstract

Community participation has long been a central ambition of Scotland’s planning policy, with co-design promoted as a way of collaboratively shaping the future of places. Yet, in practice, participation often reflects the perspectives of a narrow group of people, while large sections of society remain underrepresented including ethnic minorities, people with disabilities or mental health conditions, children and young people, minority faith groups, older adults, traveller communities, those with young families, and women. Such exclusions risk reinforcing existing inequalities and narrowing the diversity of perspectives in planning.
In response to these persistent challenges, this research brings a critical feminist lens to examine the complexity of inclusivity to offer pathways for inclusive participation within co-design participatory processes in the Scottish planning context. Employing a qualitative case study approach, it draws on desk-based analysis of planning and co-design documents, alongside 26 semi-structured interviews across four diverse participatory projects in Scotland.
This study conceptualises inclusive participation in co-design in planning through three interrelated dimensions: the context in which participation is enacted, the dynamics of representation within participatory spaces, and the power to influence outcomes. The study found that inclusive participation is not a neutral act of adding voices, but a relational and situated process shaped by one’s intersecting social positions and the intersectional barriers they encounter in getting engaged, including structural, psychological, and practical barriers. Findings are synthesised into six conceptual frameworks: situated and adaptive participation, reimagining leadership through women, co-reflexive practice, expanding communication through multimodal and situated dialogue, embedding inclusion through everyday practices, and embracing the other, rethinking us. Each includes practical pathways to enhance inclusivity in co-design.
This study contributes to the field by applying a critical feminist lens and intersectionality to understand and challenge dominant framings of inclusion in planning and the experience of inclusivity in participatory planning in Scotland. These contributions offer conceptual and practical pathways for planners, local authorities, and facilitators seeking more inclusive co-design participatory processes especially in contexts marked by socio-spatial inequalities.

Date of Award	2026
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Dundee
Supervisor	Sandra Costa Santos (Supervisor) & Dumiso Moyo (Supervisor)