Tag: citizen participation

3rd online seminar on Citizen Participation (in Greek)

[This seminar series only in Greek]

Σεμινάριο 3ο: Τρίτη 10 Νοεμβρίου 6-8 μμ: “Πόλη και πολίτες: Εμπειρίες, περιορισμοί και ευκαιρίες των συμμετοχικών διαδικασιών”

Εγγραφή εδώ: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_t9d0VAX3RhiL-w1nWMQ30Q

To Institute of Place Management (Ινστιτούτο Αστικής διαχείρησης) στο Manchester Metropolitan University παρουσιάζει το δεύτερο σεμινάριο στη σειρά των τεσσάρων ανοιχτών διαδικτυακών σεμιναρίων γύρω από τη Συμμετοχή των Πολιτών στην αστική ανάπτυξη. Στόχος αυτής της σειράς είναι η σύνδεση ενός δικτύου εμπειρογνωμόνων, η συλλογή ιδεών, μεθόδων και βέλτιστων πρακτικών της συμμετοχής των πολιτών διεθνώς, αλλά και η συζήτηση τόσο των εννοιολογικών όσο και των θεσμικών περιορισμών κατά την εφαρμογή τους.

Τις περιλήψεις, την μαγνητοσκόπηση και τις απαντήσεις στα ερωτήματα της συζήτησης των δύο πρώτων σεμιναρίων μπορείτε να τα βρείτε στην ιστοσελίδα των σεμιναρίων:  https://v2.placemanagement.org/citizenparticipation/gr

Σεμινάριο 3ο: Τρίτη 10 Οκτωβρίου 6-8 μμ

Θέματα:

1. Συμμετοχή των πολιτών στην πολιτική συνοχής της ΕΕ. Ειρήνη Ηλιοπούλου.

2. Τα Όρια του Αστικού Πειραματισμού στην Πολιτική Συμμετοχή: Η Εμπειρία της Γειτονιάς της Αλεξάνδρου Σβώλου. Γιώργος Χατζηνάκος

3. Κινηματική συμμετοχή: Το σπίτι της στατιστικής στο Βερολίνο. Άρης Καλαντίδης

Continue reading “3rd online seminar on Citizen Participation (in Greek)” →

Citizen Participation Network: 1st free online seminar tomorrow

The Institute of Place Management at Manchester Metropolitan University has initiated a new series of online seminars around Citizen Participation in place development. Aim of this series is to consolidate an existing network of experts, collect ideas, methods and best practices of Citizen Participation internationally, but also to discuss both conceptual and institutional limitations in its implementation. Whilst some seminars will take place in other languages, the conclusions of each seminar will be published in English on the IPM blog (https://blog.placemanagement.org). By the end of the series, we will have a collected body of knowledge that will assist both researchers and practitioners in thinking about and implementing Citizen Participation.

First seminar, Tuesday October 20th

The first seminar will take place on Tuesday October 20th, 4.00 – 5.30pm (BST). We are happy to announce we have confirmed the speakers for the event:

Continue reading “Citizen Participation Network: 1st free online seminar tomorrow” →

2nd online seminar on Citizen Participation (in Greek)

[This seminar series only in Greek]

Σεμινάριο 2ο: Τρίτη 13 Οκτωβρίου 6-8 μμ: “Πόλη και πολίτες: Εμπειρίες, περιορισμοί και ευκαιρίες των συμμετοχικών διαδικασιών”

Εγγραφή εδώ: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_t9d0VAX3RhiL-w1nWMQ30Q

To Institute of Place Management (Ινστιτούτο Αστικής διαχείρησης) στο Manchester Metropolitan University παρουσιάζει το δεύτερο σεμινάριο στη σειρά των τεσσάρων ανοιχτών διαδικτυακών σεμιναρίων γύρω από τη Συμμετοχή των Πολιτών στην αστική ανάπτυξη. Στόχος αυτής της σειράς είναι η σύνδεση ενός δικτύου εμπειρογνωμόνων, η συλλογή ιδεών, μεθόδων και βέλτιστων πρακτικών της συμμετοχής των πολιτών διεθνώς, αλλά και η συζήτηση τόσο των εννοιολογικών όσο και των θεσμικών περιορισμών κατά την εφαρμογή τους.

Τις περιλήψεις, την μαγνητοσκόπηση και τις απαντήσεις στα ερωτήματα της συζήτησης του πρώτου σεμιναρίου μπορείτε να τα βρείτε στην ιστοσελίδα των σεμιναρίων: https://v2.placemanagement.org/citizenparticipation/gr

Σεμινάριο 2ο: Τρίτη 13 Οκτωβρίου 6-8 μμ

Continue reading “2nd online seminar on Citizen Participation (in Greek)” →

Online seminars: Citizen Participation

[First seminar only in Greek]

Σεμινάριο 1ο: Τρίτη 8 Σεπτεμβρίου 6-8 μμ: “Πόλη και πολίτες: Εμπειρίες, περιορισμοί και ευκαιρίες των συμμετοχικών διαδικασιών”

Εγγραφή εδώ: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_t9d0VAX3RhiL-w1nWMQ30Q

To Institute of Place Management (Ινστιτούτο Αστικής διαχείρησης) στο Manchester Metropolitan University ξεκινά μια νέα σειρά ανοιχτών διαδικτυακών σεμιναρίων γύρω από τη Συμμετοχή των Πολιτών στην αστική ανάπτυξη. Στόχος αυτής της σειράς είναι η σύνδεση ενός δικτύου εμπειρογνωμόνων, η συλλογή ιδεών, μεθόδων και βέλτιστων πρακτικών της συμμετοχής των πολιτών διεθνώς, αλλά και η συζήτηση τόσο των εννοιολογικών όσο και των θεσμικών περιορισμών κατά την εφαρμογή τους. Η πρώτη σειρά των σεμιναρίων θα γίνει στα Ελληνικά και τα συμπεράσματα θα δημοσιευτούν στα Ελληνικά και στα Αγγλικά σε αυτό το ιστολόγιο.

Continue reading “Online seminars: Citizen Participation” →

Citizen Participation Network online seminars

[Please scroll down for Greek/Δείτε στο τέλος για Ελληνικά]

The Institute of Place Management at Manchester Metropolitan University is initiating a new series of online seminars around Citizen Participation in place development. Aim of this series is to consolidate an existing network of experts, collect ideas, methods and best practices of Citizen Participation internationally, but also to discuss both conceptual and institutional limitations in its implementation. Whilst some seminars will take place in other languages, the conclusions of each seminar will be published in English on the IPM blog (https://blog.placemanagement.org). By the end of the series, we will have a collected body of knowledge that will assist both researchers and practitioners in thinking about and implementing Citizen Participation.

Continue reading “Citizen Participation Network online seminars” →

City and citizens: some thoughts on participation

Proposed interventions in Syntagma square, Athens.

by Prof Ares Kalandides

Recently, a municipality in the state of Berlin invited residents to choose the trees they would like to see planted in their street, as part of a new tree planting programme. The meeting took place in a neighborhood cafe that gave them space; residents were presented with three options with trees suitable for the location, and after an introduction by experts about the pros and cons of each option, citizens discussed and voted. This is a simple example of a relatively clear question with no particular controversies or rivalries. Nevertheless, the main questions that should concern us when it comes to citizen participation are already visible here. Some of them are practical and others relate to more theoretical and methodological issues:

“For me, the first step should be the provision of accurate, accessible, and continuous information – not advertising.”

First, citizens were asked to choose in the last phase of the process, after the decision at a higher level to place trees in this street. Alternatively, the residents of the street could have been asked whether they wanted trees in the first place or maybe something totally different, such as benches or a playground. In a similar way, all residents of the municipality could have been asked if they prefer trees on that particular street or somewhere else. The municipality, however, had already decided, based on wider environmental planning, that trees on that street were important for the climate of the whole area. This raises two questions: (a) At what stage of the decision-making process do we include participation? (b) At what scale does it take place and how does it fit into a wider plan that does not only concern that specific microspace?

Continue reading “City and citizens: some thoughts on participation” →

Co-operative place-making in Rochdale

Rochdale Pionners Museum

Guest article by Cécile Berranger

With growing concern about global inequality, there has been an international resurgence of co-operative and community-focused projects and initiatives. The UK, however, offers a particularly interesting context.  Subject to prolonged austerity measures, the capacity of local government to intervene in local development has been drastically undermined. With growing inequality and a pressing need to fill the gaps in under-served communities, local authorities in many places are beginning to abandon their paternalistic top-down approach, and to experiment with new and alternative organisational forms of place management.

Increasingly Business Improvement Districts are taking over responsibility for town and city management, with over 300 now established. There are 471,000 social enterprises across the country, employing 1.44 million people[1], and a network of 26 designated social enterprise places[2], whereas Scotland is advocating Community Improvement Districts[3].  Most celebrated, perhaps, is The Preston Model[4], developed by Preston City Council and the Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES), which has reformed local government procurement to enable key locally embedded “anchor” institutions to run local services. The model is designed to recapture investment and circulate local wealth within the local economy. Where gaps in provision remain, CLES suggests the formation of new worker co-operatives.

Continue reading “Co-operative place-making in Rochdale” →

Citizen Participation in Berlin: Haus der Statistik

Citizen participation Haus der Statistik
Haus der Statistik in Berlin
Image: De-okin (talk) 19:15, 4 March 2010 (UTC) – Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9650987

by Prof Ares Kalandides

I have been researching Citizen Participation in urban development in Berlin, since 2016, when the new Berlin state government coalition signed a contract, introducing participation as one of its leading principles. When I started, I was trying to understand what the provisions of the contract were and how that could be conceptualized. Conceptualization is not just an intellectual exercise (although it is that, too): it implicitly or explicitly guides the way we think, talk and act – and also the way we design policy.

Continue reading “Citizen Participation in Berlin: Haus der Statistik” →

Principles of citizen participation in urban development in Athens

National Archaeological Museum of Athens. Photo by Lucretius – Skyscrapercity.com, GFDL, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8007254

By Prof Ares Kalandides

In this blog article I explore the opportunities of creating an institutional framework for citizen participation in the new public company Athens Urban Renewal SA.

The consequences of eight years of austerity can be seen everywhere in Athens. The past years have left deep scars in the fabric of the Greek capital: unemployment and homelessness, poverty and public disinvestment, growing social rifts and street riots – paired with a threatening growth of extreme right-wing ideology permeating many aspects of public life (e.g. media, police, justice, church – even schools). At the same time, the number of tourists visiting the capital has risen exponentially, creating tensions in the housing market, as more and more flats turn into holiday rentals, making prices soar. While the art scene is flourishing, youth unemployment remains above 40%. Abandoned buildings and deteriorating public space on the one hand; AirBnBs, vibrant street life, cafés and entertainment venues on the other. I can’t remember Athens so fascinating and so depressing at the same time.

The Municipality of Athens has undertaken a series of measures to tackle those issues, including the renewal of central neighbourhoods and the rehabilitation of municipal buildings among others (s. Vaiou 2018 for a critical assessment of the reuse of the former municipal market). Additionally, a new public organization with the telling name of Athens Urban Renewal S.A. (Athens Anaplasis SA.) was founded, complementing the actions of the Municipality. I was asked by its President, Prof Nikos Belavilas, to join the advisory scientific committee of this new state agent, an invitation which I gladly accepted, as I see here the opportunity to institutionalize citizen participation in urban development. Continue reading “Principles of citizen participation in urban development in Athens” →

Participatory Governance in the 21st Century

Mafalda reads the dictionary: “DEMOCRACY (from the Greek, demos, people, and kratos, authority) Government where the people exercise sovereignty”. By Quino, via https://bit.ly/2AuqzZM

Accountability for the Mayor of Greater Manchester: Participatory Governance in the 21st Century*

Guest article by James Scott Vandeventer**

It has been over a year since Greater Manchester elected its first Mayor. Since then, Mayor Andy Burnham has worked to build the Mayor’s office as an institution almost from scratch and within the confines of the devolution agreement with central government. This is no small feat, and the Mayor’s efforts should not be overlooked.

Still, there are deeper underlying issues that exist in Greater Manchester, which the mayor needs to address. These relate to his own accountability to the over two and a half million people within Greater Manchester. He came to power in a democratic election. But likewise true – and widely known – is that the long-standing Labour majority across the city-region meant his election victory was hardly a surprise (1). With approximately 29% turnout, the mayoral election came nowhere close to capturing the majority voice of eligible voters in Greater Manchester (1).

Continue reading “Participatory Governance in the 21st Century” →