Survey and analysis of public participation s role in sustainable development (case study: Rural Centers)

Nowadays the concept of Local participations become a topical theme and one of the key subjects for urban planning. In fact, Public participation has become a core component of the official discourse of sustainable development, particularly at local level. It is necessary to know the influencing factors in this case to strengthen and expand public participation in planning. This article examines the alleged connection between democratic values, considered public participation necessary in the development of policies and programs, and the people in decision-making development plans, are ensuring their fixing in future phases of the project. So it attempts to analyze the attitude toward the participation by adopting the analytical and survey method. This study aims to clarify the extent of local participation and its impact and the effectiveness of this in achieving the sustainable development. According to data analysis, SWOT technique is used. The findings indicate that respondents usually believed not to have much impact participation in sustainable development. In addition, expert opinions and urban planners have expressed less than local elders that have a large role in decisions related to their area. However, the elders trusted by people, mostly have no literacy and expertise are not related to the field of urban management.