> thus do such groups/orgs/representatves/constituencies find
> themselves as one part - and a comparatively weak one most of
> the time - of politics
> of redevelopment... mh
I think it rests on the assumption that community groups, as a rule, oppose development. This has not been the case in my experience. Many community groups are desperate to bring new development. Another issue is that communities almost never speak in one voice - they often fundamentally disagree on issues for various reasons. That, of course, weakens their influence. In one public transit project I was recently involved, the community could not agree on the route of the proposed service. As a result, the state canned the project altogether citing the community disagreement as a reason, albeit in reality they did it to save money.
Also, community can stop development altogether, which may be a good thing if the development if of questionable value to the community (say a strip joint), but not necessarily a good thing of the development is a residential facility for low income or special populations. I've seen a lot of NIMBY opposition to various projects -sometimes they prevailed sometimes they did not - but when they prevailed, it was not necessarily a good thing.
As you correctly observed - the process of public participation in urban development is in theory open and democratic and offers a real opportunity for meaningful community input. However, whether that potential is realized depends on many factors, ranging from the power of special interest groups, to the local economy and demographics, to the posture of public officials, to the cohesion of community interests, and to mobilization potential of any particular community. Many communities simply do not care or do not respond to mobilization efforts, or perhaps distrust the people who try to mobilize them, or they see a potential in new developments and do not want to 'rock the boat.' Making blanket generalizations about the nature of today's urban development project based mainly on 50-year old horror stories, or accounts of ideologically motivated activists does not strike me as particularly valid approach to the subject.
Wojtek