Today, the two-way interaction between citizens and administrative institutions, achieved through the active participation of citizens, can enhance the efficiency of urban management. The aim of the present study is to examine the role of public participation in shaping effective urban management in the city of Dogonbadan.The research is applied in its objective and descriptive–analytical in its methodology. The statistical population under investigation includes two groups: citizens, and managers and experts related to the topic. From the first group, 384 individuals were selected using Cochran’s formula, and from the second group, due to the limited number of relevant specialists, 35 individuals were chosen as the sample size. The sampling method for the first group was simple random sampling, while for the second group purposive sampling was employed.The research findings showed that public participation in the current urban management of Dogonbadan is not in a good state in economic, socio-cultural, and physical indicators, with averages below the average of 2.14, 2.40, and 2.41, respectively.Moreover, the results of second-order factor analysis revealed that the socio-cultural index (factor loading = 0.74), the physical–spatial index (factor loading = 0.57), and the economic index (factor loading = 0.22) ranked first to third in terms of their influence on citizen participation in achieving effective urban management.Therefore, the validation of the research findings indicates that focusing policy efforts on strengthening social and cultural capital, along with improving physical infrastructure, can serve as an effective strategy for achieving desirable urban management and fostering meaningful citizen participation.