Governance for Urbanism: Participation and Reason

Governance for Urbanism

Photo by Sarah Cass at Flickr

Participation and Reason Prepared by Roberto Rocco Chair Spatial Planning and Strategy, TU Delft

SpatialPlanning &Strategy Challenge(the(future

SpatialPlanning &Strategy

This is the second lecture on

Governance for Urbanism, in which I present a contrast of two

relevant terms for spatial planning

and design of the built environment.

In the first lecture, I contrasted ‘justice’ and ‘property’ *

*See the lecture on JUSTICE X PROPERTY by clicking HERE

Here, I contrast

‘participation’ and ‘reason’

This lecture is based mainly

on Lehtonen (2011), Fainstein (2000) and Harvey (2008) See complete list of references at the end.

I

You

If we assume that...

Knowledge is INTERSUBJECTIVE and it happens between two or more reasoning beings

It is easy to assume that Knowledge is communicative, that is, only through communication can we achieve knowledge that is relevant or ‘usable’ or even TRUE

But why is that so?

Photo by Sarah Cass at Flickr

Knowledge needs to be explained in order to become tangible ,

transmissible and verifiable Even EXPERIENTIAL KNOWLEDGE (acquired by experience or LEARNING BY DOING) needs to materialise into actions, things or words that then need to be discussed and measured against other knowledge in order to become operational in the physical world.

Otherwise One c kno an ne ww ver wha heth t on er e ha kno wle s is dge t r u pur e o r just e fa ncy

Photo by Sarah Cass at Flickr

Remember that...

Knowledge that exists only in your mind is IRRELEVANT! Because it is not operating in the world!

It is more than validation It is not only about validating your knowledge.

Communicating your knowledge will make it EXIST in the world and BE USEFUL. Communicating knowledge will also CHANGE YOUR knowledge, YOU and the person you are communicating WITH.

The ultimate test

Are the others!

Photo by Sarah Cass at Flickr

Photo by Sarah Cass at Flickr

But what (the hell) does this have to do

with spatial planning and urban design?

If we acknowledge that urban planners and designers are part of complex systems of governance

Like so Civil Society

Private Sector

Civil Coalitions between sectors and within sectors

Public Sector Public Sector

Urban planners & Designers

And if we then assume that...

Urban planning and designing are inter subjective activities, where it is all about understanding the wishes and aspirations of multiple stake holders to help them achieve THEIR objectives...

...while promoting prosperity,

public goods, equal distribution of spatial opportunities and

avoiding negative externalities

Then we must conclude that any project or spatial intervention needs to have some degree of participation of those stake holders

This means that individual or sectorial needs and

wishes must be articulated

into plans and designs that maximize the common good

y h W

s i h t is

? c i t a m e l b o pr Photo by Sarah Cass at Flickr

There are no neutral or purely ‘technical’

parameters or agents in urban development. All decisions in urban development are political decisions, including yours

(although you will certainly guide them by

technical, ethical, aesthetic, economic and other parameters)

Urban development lies within the realm of politics, interests and negotiations. Knowledge and power are side by side, like in everything else.

But then,

Photo by Sarah Cass at Flickr

there is REASON

And most specially COMMUNICATIVE REASON

guiding decisions by technical, ethical, aesthetic, economic

and other parameters is part of reasoning

By saying that spatial

planning and design are ‘political’ activities we mean that there are

choices to be made in a societal arena: these choices are made by

active agents based on Photo by Sarah Cass at Flickr

their values and interests

Values like Social Justice and Democracy

Photo by Sarah Cass at Flickr

Or greed and

individualism Photo by Sarah Cass at Flickr

The problem is that not everyone has a voice in urban development.

Some agents are more vocal (powerful) than others..

Photo by epsos.de at Flickr

Not everybod

has access to

relevant

knowledge

Photo by Sarah Cass at Flickr

y

W

e s or

g d le

f o e

d e w r o e n d k i s e n h o t c : l s t l i i o t s n s p s u i o r r g o e t n m s a o a v s e l d e e r z i ir n g o c e e g r d e l w o kn

Photo by Sarah Cass at Flickr

Children

Young girl by CubaGallery at Flickr

Mothers

Pregnant woman by IzdelavaVabil at Flickr

Homeless Homeless man in Tokyo by theeruditefrog at Flickr

Immigrants

Diversity in the workplace, available at http://www.siop2011.com/category/diversity/

in addition!

“People don’t only write history, they build spaces WAGNER, C. 2011. Spatial Justice and the City of São Paulo. masters, Leuphana University.

According to David Harvey: The Right to the City is not only the right to inhabit the city.

It is the right to shape living environments to one’s needs and wishes.

HARVEY, D. 2008. The Right to the City. New Left Review. New Left Review.

Articulating the

knowledge of different groups does not mean absolute relativism

Absolute relativism: This is an extreme form of relativism which asserts that all truths are equal and completely dependent upon some external or contextual factors.

Source: Post-modernist dictionary at http:// www.postmodernpsychology.com/Postmodernism_Dictionary.html

And this is postmodernism!

It also does not mean that all

knowledge is valid or relevant By the way, ‘knowledge’ is different from needs, wishes or even objectives (e.g. I KNOW that having a big car is bad for the environment, but I WANT to have a big car because it is a symbol of status)

In order to create knowledge about the direction to take and where to invest in the common interest, there must be communication and we can facilitate communication by promoting PARTICIPATION

Participation therefore means giving a

voice to those who are generally silent, ultimately redistributing power

Some rights reserved by Ibai Lemon at Flickr

o s l a s i s i s h a T n Y w C o A n k R C O M E D Photo by Sarah Cass at Flickr

Participation is more... ...than asking people what they want.

It is also about explaining, collecting ideas, debating and putting different stakeholders (NGOs, firms, associations) together in order to engage them and facilitate their working together

Communicative turn in planning It is the recognition of differences in the identity and knowledge base of people and the resulting need to promote participation and give a voice to the former silent groups Photo by Sarah Cass at Flickr

It is about recognizing that...

1.All forms of knowledge are socially constructed 2.Individuals and institutions have different interests and power relations 3.Society is complex and planning should incorporate that complexity in the way it operates

A reaction to positivist planning

Communicative planning is a reaction to earlier

comprehensive, rationalistic, technocratic planning theories which adopted a ‘single world view’ (white male Western capitalist technocrat ) President Kennedy visits NY World Fair, Photo source: http://ilongisland.com/Robert_Moses_Long_Island.htm

THEN All knowing

NOW Mediator

Participatory planning and designing Emphasizes involving the community in the strategic and management processes of spatial planning through tools like direct participation, vision making, on-line debates and participatory budgeting

Participatory Reflection and Action Handing over the stick : Facilitating investigation, analysis, presentation and learning by local people themselves, so they generate and own the outcomes and also learn Self-critical awareness: Facilitators continuously and critically examine their own behaviour Personal responsibility:Taking responsibility for what is done, rather than, for instance, relying on the authority of manuals or on rigid rules Sharing: Involves the wide range of techniques now available, from chatting across the fence to online scenario building Source: Fisher, Fred (2001). Building Bridges through Participatory Planning. UN-HABITAT. ISBNÂ 92-1-131623-5. Retrieved 2008-10-21.

What are the challenges to implement participation in planning and designing processes?

Photo by Sarah Cass at Flickr

This part of the lecture is based on Lehtonen’s text: LEHTONEN, S., 2011. Public Participation in Urban Planning and Strategies: Lessons from medium sized cities in the Baltic Region, Frederiksberg: MECIBS

Photo by Sarah Cass at Flickr

Potential for revitalization We must consider the human and social capital of inhabitants as POTENTIALS FOR REVITALIZATION in situations of rapid change Photo by Sarah Cass at Flickr

Avoiding social exclusion Participation is a tool to build up citizenship and to avoid social exclusion (which is often related to restructuring local economies and unemployment) Photo by Sarah Cass at Flickr

New innovative arenas and processes

...are needed to realize placepotential and peoplepotentials Photo by Sarah Cass at Flickr

Silent groups These new arenas, devices, tools and means of participation are necessary for all, but specially for the silent groups (children, youth, elderly people, people of different ethnic origin, and in some cases, WOMEN!) Photo by Sarah Cass at Flickr

Time, money and

increasing argumentation Participatory processes need resources: time, organizational efforts, communication and commitment (from inhabitants AND administrations!).

For the city it entails increasing criticism and increasing need for argumentation Photo by Sarah Cass at Flickr

Participation

Silent groups

New tools

Social inclusion

Human capital

Resources

What politician needs that?

Photo by Sarah Cass at Flickr

y l b i d e r c n i s i ! g t n I i m u s n o c e m ti

Non-participatory plans can also deliver good results

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s i re

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t r pa

e g u h a

e b ap

n e e tw

o t a p i c i

i d ry

s e s r u o c s

c a r p and

s e ti c

‘City building requires empowering those who are excluded not just from the DISCUSSION but from structural positions that allow them genuine influence’. Fainstein, 2000) (

n a c t Bu n o i t a p i c i t pa r r e t t e b r e v i l e d ? s t l resu

Photo by Sarah Cass at Flickr

t i , s e Y ! n ca

Tools & Practices Photo by Sarah Cass at Flickr

Main practices for PP Self-teaching: locals act as teachers Public hearings Participatory budget Participatory zoning

Main tools for PP Questionnaires and Interviews

Map and model building

Public hearings

Stakeholder mapping

Direct planner-stakeholder contact

Institutional diagramming

Internet games and scenario building

Time-lines and trend analysis

Social media hearings Strategy-making games Role playing Local plan making Blogging

Agora: the wisdom of crowds

Budget simulator

All our ideas

See examples of tools at: http:// participatedb.com/tools/

Thanks for listening and watching!

References: FAINSTEIN, S. 2000. New Directions in Planning Theory. Urban Affairs Review, 35, 451-­‐478.

FISHER, Fred (2001). Building Bridges through Participatory Planning. UN-­‐HABITAT. .

Retrieved 2008-­‐10-­‐21.

HARVEY, D. 2008. The Right to the City. New Left Review. New Left Review.

LEHTONEN, S., 2011. Public Participation in Urban Planning and Strategies: Lessons from medium sized cities in the Baltic Region, Frederiksberg: MECIBS Post-­‐modernist dictionary at http://www.postmodernpsychology.com/ Postmodernism_Dictionary.html WAGNER, C. 2011. Spatial Justice and the City of São Paulo. masters, Leuphana University.

This is Sarah

And this is Joel (Sarah’s husband)

With special thanks to Sarah Cass from the US, who gracefully allowed the use of her photographs. You can see the original photographs at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sarahcassphotography/ This presentation was prepared by Roberto Rocco, Chair of Spatial Planning and Strategy Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) You can contact me at r.c.rocco@tudelft.nl

SpatialPlanning &Strategy &Strategy

Some rights reserved by Jonathan Mcintosh at Flickr