Social assessment and consultation: New Zealand cases

This paper focuses on the participation of, or consultation with, local people affected by a project It uses case studies of road planning as examples, placing particular emphasis on approaches to consultation. It is based on social assessments of road proposals with further commentary on the planning of water use for a major river in New Zealand. The paper also covers aspects of mediation as one approach to resolving conflicts, which arise during project planning, in a non-adversarial way.