This paper has drawn on influential thinkers in participatory practice to understand why mandated participation is not achieving the goal of sharing power with citizens to influence their built environment. When practiced, mandatory participatory methods fall subject to institutional guidelines, appearing as a one-size-fits-all approach responding to accountability rather than actual citizen needs/voice. This investigation sees professionalism as a force limiting meaningful participation, as sharing power with citizens uncredentialed in the fields of planning, architecture, and design is seen by some as undermining professional credibility. The paper analyzes three contemporary methods of participation – consultation, tactical urbanism, and participatory design – for their ability to elicit shared ownership and high future value. Transparency emerges as a key leverage point, and a standardized transparency tool to enable consumer choice about engagement in participation is recommended in order to move towards a sustainable culture of participation defined by high citizen involvement and ownership.