The second important theme drawn from urban planning is participation in the planning process. Two factors are at work. The first is a set of prudential considerations. Even if regional plans were being thrust upon local communities, modifications through community planning and benchmarking processes might forestall a critical mass of opposition from being created with would thwart the implementation of regional planning axioms. A second is legitimation.
Procedure is a core theme of liberalism's legitimation.
By creating open areas for community influence, the process becomes an argument for legitimating the outcome. This was true of the strategic planning stage of the Empowerment Zone program. This is true in all three of the Philadelphia EZ sites. In fact, some community representatives report that the drop off in participation at the benchmarking stage was in part a result of frustration with City Hall. One of City Hall's goals was to impose regional criteria to what was labeled a local planning process.