Feature: CITIES FOR CITIZENS
[Photo credit: Iris van den Broek]
Power to the
people Citizens play a critical role in contributing to the life of a city, and as such cities need to integrate peoples’ ambitions in their decision-making process. But how far can they really get involved? Mark Faithfull reports
C
ities were hit hardest by COVID-19, which raised unprecedented questions about their longterm direction and saw an exodus — at least temporarily — of residents who could choose to work remotely in second homes, or relocate away from the main office. Now, their priority is to become more liveable, with inclusive areas, mixed-use developments, cultural amenities, museums, public services and accessible open spaces to attract people to remain or return to urban living. “Citizen engagement is crucial and can help local authorities tremendously in understand-
ing what is valuable for a given community,” says Kim Herforth Nielsen, founder and creative director of Denmark-based 3XN/ GXN Architects. “It provides the developer with foresight as well as a strong outset for building-in long-term resilience, both of which are necessary to achieve major projects. Citizen engagement is not just about inviting the local community to choose a cladding colour but about drawing on their knowledge of place — and recognising that as a unique expertise — to understand what a certain site and place means to people.” There is certainly political will behind such an approach. The
European Union’s Cohesion Policy, updated last year, includes an ambition to bring Europe closer to its citizens by “fostering the sustainable and integrated development of all types of territories”, which include a more competitive and smarter Europe, a greener, low-carbon transition towards a net-zero-carbon economy, and a more connected Europe by enhancing mobility and a more social and inclusive Europe. Perhaps the highest profile project is in Paris, where the Champs-Elysees is blossoming into a green and predominantly pedestrian boulevard. In Spain, Barcelona has closed off many streets to cars around its historic centre and the
Utrecht’s buzzing canal side is being placed at the service of its residents
concept of the ‘15-minute city’ has gained traction, again notably in Paris and Milan, which are both pushing ahead with plans for self-sufficient neighbourhoods. Recognising the need for industry guidance, last year the Urban Land Institute (ULI) launched Zooming In On The “S” In ESG: A Road Map For Social Value In Real Estate, highlighting the importance of social value, noting that most attention so far has been focused on environmental issues. ULI says that social value creation for real estate is by definition place-based, with the starting point for government to provide a vision and establish
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