"think like an ecosystem"-Embedding a living system paradigm into participatory planning

The European Union Water Framework Directive offers an unparalleled opportunity for improving river basin management and moving towards a sustainable future. It is widely accepted that the concept of sustainable development itself can be understood in fairly simple terms, but that implementation, making the concept practically operable, is difficult to achieve in practice. There is a need to animate this process, making it more engaging and comprehensible for participants. This research examined the emerging role of active stakeholder participation in 'planning for sustainability'. The DesignWays planning process, developed by the author, was tested in the context of waterside regeneration in the Mersey Basin Campaign. The overall aim of this research was to explore the use of a systems thinking paradigm to inform participatory ecological design. It has demonstrated that a process consistent with a living systems paradigm can contribute to the development of more integrated, ecologically sound plans. © 2005 Springer Science + Business Media, Inc.