Public engagement events and the management of external stakeholders: artifacts as boundary objects or tools of discipline and control?

Public engagement is founded on idealistic principles of democratic decision-making and public stewardship. Yet, the logistical realities of managing these processes are fraught with difficulties. In this paper, we explore the way material artefacts are used in formal public engagement proceedings on urban development projects in Hong Kong. The findings show that material artefacts used, in addition to serving as boundary objects that facilitate communication across knowledge boundaries, form part of a network that direct, control and manage the information flow between participants. They thus play an active role in managing the divergent interests of external stakeholders on projects.