An important objection often raised against public participation is that `ordinary people' have insufficient knowledge to make responsible choices. Besides, it is known from descriptive decision research that people who have to make a decision often do not consider all alternatives of a choice problem, overlook important consequences, cannot estimate the chances of certain outcomes very well, etcetera. The `Choice questionnaire' is a tool developed to meet these objections. It can be used to generate detailed information regarding the opinions about the various aspects of a problem (for instance consequences in relation to economy, health, environment, and society). The procedure of the questionnaire is partly based on insights adopted from survey research, and partly on research on choice behaviour. In this paper a research pilot project is described. The aim was to determine to what extent the `Choice questionnaire' can generate useful information and knowledge about the attainability of a possible implementation of parking systems in residential areas.
Abstract