Issues of public participation in the management of urban space development

Malyshkina Dar'ya Aleksandrovna Postgraduate student of the Department of Marketing and Municipal Management, Tyumen Industrial University 6/2 Irbitskaya str., Tyumen, Tyumen region, 625003, Russia dashamalyna@yandex.ru Other publications by this author

In the second half of the twentieth century, there was a rethinking of the attitude to urban areas and at the same time a new conceptual direction in urban planning appeared. A new approach to the perception of urban space has been born, as a space that should be not only functional, but also comfortable for residents.  Representatives of the so-called "social" direction began to widely explore and consider the importance of public perception and direct participation of residents in the formation of urban space. A prominent representative of this trend, D. Jacobs, advocated that the opinion of the population should be taken into account when designing cities and noted the importance of public control over the processes of forming the urban environment. In the future, this direction was developed in the formation of the practices of "participatory design", a method of designing urban spaces with broad involvement of urban communities in the discussion of projects ^[1,2].

In modern Russian cities, more and more local governments and planners have become interested in public participation in urban planning and management. Gradually, a wide range of benefits of involving the population in the issues of managing the spatial development of the city is being realized.  It becomes possible to obtain up-to-date data on a specific territory that is necessary to solve local-level issues that are difficult to obtain by other methods.  Moreover, it is noted that even the subjective assessment and opinion of residents often reflects the state of real living conditions and existing problems of the territory, which means it can be used as a source of information when making urban planning decisions ^[3]. Henry Sanoff, the founder of the methodology of participatory design, the practice of designing the urban environment with the involvement of residents, also emphasized the wide awareness of residents on local issues of their places of residence and the need to use this knowledge in urban planning design.^[1]     At the same time, the authorities, being the main subject of urban planning and other decisions, are often an interested party, initiator and organizer of interactions with the population. Such cooperation can help to qualitatively identify the main problems and tasks of management in the field of urban environment development, identify the needs of local communities, minimize urban conflicts.

Public participation in urban planning arose as a response to the existing time and conditions, while there is a constant increase in the interest of the citizens themselves in the processes taking place in the city.  In the system of local self - government , citizens act in two qualities: as an object of management and a subject of management, when they themselves participate in the management of urban processes, using various forms for this ^[4]. Citizens are gradually beginning to exercise their rights and realize their responsibility for urban space and want to be included in urban planning. There is an involvement and interest of residents in discussing issues of urban environment development. At the same time, there is a fairly wide list of forms of public participation in urban planning decisions.  There are mandatory forms of public participation in urban planning: public hearings and public discussions, which are fixed at the legislative level.^[5]. There are optional, informal ways to involve citizens in the discussion of urban development projects, such as: organizing meetings of residents of neighborhoods, workshops, voting and surveys of residents.  There are legally established forms of public control over the implementation of decisions already taken, which can also be considered as forms of participation of residents in urban regulation, for example: public monitoring, public inspection, public expertise ^[5,6,7]

However, in practice, the implementation of civic participation in solving local issues, in particular, urban planning, faces many limitations and does not always demonstrate significant results that positively affect the development of the urban environment.  Even with significant interest and support from the authorities, sufficient sources of funding, it is not an easy task to achieve effective public participation. Citizens' participation is possible if there is a wide range of forms of participation, including various ways of contact for the exchange of information, as well as the motivation of the citizens themselves to such participation.  Activation of civic participation in solving local issues is an important factor in the development of a bilateral dialogue between the population and the authorities, and as a result, increasing the effectiveness of the management of the development of the territory. ^[8]

A number of researchers identify factors that influence the motivation for the participation of the population in the development of the urban environment: These are the level of development of civil society, a person's personal interest, public influence and existing restrictions. A society with a well-developed political culture demonstrates the presence of residents who want to participate in local government. To a certain extent, they believe that urban planning is a joint matter of residents and the government and want to contribute. The concept of self-interest reflects the internal motivation to initiate activities for the sake of interest and self-satisfaction.  The basis of such motivation may be the desire to acquire new skills and knowledge, self-expression and interpersonal communication. Social influence, presupposes the external influence of other people on the motivation to participate, is associated with the social circle. "Constraints" are considered as factors that stop participation in urban planning, such as lack of information, effective communication or convenient tools.

 In addition, the degree of readiness of citizens to participate in urban planning may vary depending on the scale of urban planning and the content of activities^[9].

An important goal of this study was to study the interest of residents and identify external factors that can contribute to an increase in the proportion of citizens involved in urban planning.

To study the readiness of residents to participate in the development of the urban environment, the author conducted a survey in Tyumen using the questionnaire method [N=500, 2022].

 According to the survey of respondents, it turned out that more than half of the respondents (64.9%) are interested in discussing urban environment development projects. Only 13.8% of respondents answered negatively. The remaining 21.4% of respondents found it difficult to give an answer.  The results demonstrate a high interest of residents. This public potential could be used in solving the current problems of urban space development .

 Respondents who were not ready to participate were asked to explain the reasons that stop them, restrictions. Thus, the main reason for the lack of interest in participating in the development of the urban environment was the lack of confidence that their opinion would be taken into account and affect the final decision.Another significant limitation to participation is a lack of understanding of the form in which one can participate in the discussion. This reason was indicated by more than a third of citizens. Many respondents are not confident in their competence and believe that these issues should be handled by professionals. Only 5.2% of the surveyed residents showed complete disinterest. Another 2.9% of respondents noted that they are satisfied with everything in the city, so they do not see any point in participating in any activity.

Previous studies have demonstrated a significant difference between the willingness (potential activity) and participation (real activity) of citizens in various forms of public participation ^[10,11]. Citizens may demonstrate a predisposition to action, but for a number of reasons and factors, they do not take real constructive actions. At the same time, effective mechanisms for managing public participation can contribute to the transformation of a public resource into a public creative capital for the development of urban areas. ^[12]

 Taking this fact into account, one of the objectives of this study was to establish the difference between the real and potential activity of residents in relation to the improvement of their yard, area of residence.  To the questionnaire's question about the readiness of personal participation in the implementation of projects for the improvement of the space of their area of residence (to equip the yard, to implement their ideas for improving the urban environment), 61.5% of respondents answered positively, expressing readiness for such activities. However, when answering the question about the actual participation in solving the problems of their place of residence, the arrangement of yard spaces, only 36.1% confirmed participation in such activities.

Perhaps such results are the result of a lack of understanding by citizens of possible ways to be active and useful; lack of organizational support. Citizens may have discrepancies between their idea of participation and the real situation that requires activity.   For example, studies of political activity have shown that citizens are more active in relation to those forms of participation that require minimal involvement, in particular, they prefer participation in the form of discussion or voting.  ^[12]

Currently, such a form of interaction with the population as the use of polls, voting, is widely used in practice.   As part of the study, it is worth referring to the experience of conducting a rating vote on the selection of public territories and design improvement projects, which takes place within the framework of the national project "Housing and urban Environment", one of the goals of which is to improve the comfort and quality of the urban environment. ^[13]. By participating in the voting, citizens can influence the urban environment and choose those projects that will be implemented as a priority in the near future. The advantage of the project is the ability of residents to track the progress of its implementation and see the results of the improvement of public areas. An important aspect is the ease of using the voting service, as well as serious information support for the project, which was implemented through the media, advertising on the streets of cities, mailing in online communities. The project is interesting for the mass involvement of citizens in the discussion of the development of the urban environment. The Ministry of Construction of Russia cites data that every year more and more residents take part in voting. So in 2022, 11 million Russians voted for urban improvement projects. ^[14,15], which demonstrates the wide coverage and involvement of residents.  The positive experience of interaction between society and authorities, the opportunity to see the result of the improvement of urban spaces creates prerequisites for increasing the involvement and interest of residents in solving other issues of local importance.

Summarizing the results of the research conducted by the author, as well as the modern experience of involving residents in the discussion of urban environment transformations, we will highlight the factors that can contribute to an increase in the share of citizens participating in urban development and improvement projects.

1) Increasing the level of trust between the population and the authorities, taking into account opinions when making final decisions;

2) Information transparency of the procedures, without imitation of interaction, and a partner dialogue with the opportunity to see the result of joint activities.

3) Providing the population with information support, including consultations, wide coverage in the media, online communities

4) Availability of simple, accessible and understandable forms of participation for the population

5) A system of encouraging residents who contribute to the development of the urban environment

 All users of urban space are interested parties in improving its quality. Effective use of the creative potential of residents can become the basis for a qualitative transformation of the urban environment. Consolidation of authorities and the public leads to the search for acceptable solutions for all parties, which helps to relieve tension and minimize urban conflicts.

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