Democratic innovations in urban governance: A comparative analysis of participatory practices in three mediterranean cities

Abstract

In the current context, characterised by transversal and systemic crises and the intensification of sociospatial inequalities, cities are asserting themselves as the main arenas for confronting and overcoming those crises (Fainstein, 2014; Bua and Bussu, 2023). The complexity of these challenges – democratic, environmental, socio-economic and urban - requires a deep transformation in the field of urban planning and governance, especially in the construction of new forms of relations between citizens and government institutions. Urban policy agendas have increasingly emphasised the role of public participation in producing more “inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities and communities” (UN, 2016). However, the significant gap between political discourse and the practices developed exposes the urgency of reinventing these relationships and the need to bring citizens to the centre of the political dispute over cities. Over the last two decades, there has been a proliferation of participatory innovations and experiments worldwide, at different scales and with different institutional designs(Smith, 2019). The spaces where these interactions take place are specifically designed to increase and deepen citizen participation in decisionmaking processes, playing a crucial role in articulating community demands, defining projects and developing public policies that meet local needs (Cornwall and Coelho, 2007). In this sense, understanding their methods and institutional arrangements is crucial, as well as analysing their influence on decisionmaking and in addressing social and spatial challenges.