{"id":3209,"date":"2021-06-01T15:32:42","date_gmt":"2021-06-01T14:32:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theurbanmycelium.com\/?p=3209"},"modified":"2022-03-23T13:48:26","modified_gmt":"2022-03-23T12:48:26","slug":"is-public-participation-for-everyone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theurbanmycelium.com\/fr\/is-public-participation-for-everyone\/","title":{"rendered":"Is public participation for everyone?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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There is a growing recognition that the making of the city should not be reserved to the experts only. After decades of exclusion, residents and users of the city finally start to be more and more involved. However, the involvement of different stakeholders in urban planning and design brings its very own share of questions. Is public participation for everyone? Who are the ones who actually participate? What about those who don\u2019t? <\/strong><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The public and private actors of the city who organize participatory processes often would like everyone<\/em> to participate. By everyone, they mean a great number of people, but also people with different cultures and situations.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, not everyone participates in collaborative city making.<\/strong> Even with creative means of communication and tactics such as free food or concerts, current participatory processes often fail to attract people whose voice is heard the least. Parents of young children, single mothers, low-income people, people working at night, the homeless, racialized people, gender minorities, kids and teenagers, students\u2026 they rarely make it.<\/p>\n

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Whatever you do, it is always the same people who participate <\/strong><\/h3>\n

No matter how hard we try, participatory processes always end up attracting the same kind of participants:<\/strong> mostly white, non-disabled, heterosexual men, aged 50 \u2013 75, usually with education and from the middle or the upper class.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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A first category of participants are people with leadership<\/strong>, who have or previously had jobs with responsibilities. They will usually not hesitate to voice their opinion and will be willing to share their extensive knowledge with others.<\/p>\n

But in most cases, participants are people who come to defend their own private interests:<\/strong> for example, the value of their house or apartment, the calm of their neighbourhood, etc. Anything that they might see as threatened by the construction of the future urban project.<\/p>\n

Although their concerns are very understandable, this pattern raises a real issue. The more the public debate will be monopolized by the few \u2013 who happen to know exactly how to make themselves heard, the more we\u2019ll give credit to defensive strategies that are not geared towards the interest of all.<\/p>\n

Not everybody is focused on their personal interest, though. There is actually a third category of participants. Either environmental activists, supporters of cycling, or strong advocates of the human scale, these usually younger participants are already involved in some form of civic engagement<\/strong>. They typically have strong societal values which they won\u2019t hesitate to fight for. Quite often, these participants end up dropping at some point, because they already have many other commitments: the parents association at school, an environmental organization or a sports club, etc.<\/p>\n

Of course, I am exaggerating on purpose. But beyond these stereotypes, there is a painful truth. The one that today\u2019s participatory processes tend to be confiscated by privileged people, who feel legitimate and have enough time and resources to attend. And this is problematic, because this means that the participatory democracy that we strive so much for is no longer \u201cparticipatory\u201d.<\/p>\n

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Towards a more inclusive and representative participation<\/strong><\/h3>\n

So, what should we do in order to be more inclusive and attract crowds beyond the usual suspects? Here are a few options to consider.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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  1. Restrictions: using rules to increase the attendance of those whose voice is heard the least <\/strong>\n