Public participation in planning constitutes a vital field in urban debates and practice. However, even though participation is regarded as key instrument for inclusive urban development, scholars have criticised the inability of participation to re-negotiate power asymmetries and to provide adequate responses to challenges in unequal urban contexts. This has led to the development of a series of new approaches that build beyond ‘deliberative’ understandings of planning, such as insurgent planning, movement-initiated co-production, agonistic practices, socio-spatial learning or practices inspired by Southern urban theory, moving understandings of planning towards a wider spectrum of city-making practices, in which some forms of participation become the very practice of planning.In this seminar we will engage with academic literatures on participation in urban studies, examining its multiple dimensions by shedding light onto the triad of participation, planning and power. The aim is to familiarise students with international debates on participation and to collectively reflect on its potentials and pitfalls. Students will apply their knowledge by engaging in case study exercises on different aspects of participation such as theories, methods, context-specific practices and ethics of engagement.