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
e h T
s i re
g
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