In the Nordic countries, we are witnessing a proliferation of novel and more experimental ways of citizen and authority interaction within the field of urban planning and governance. These formats are seen in urban regeneration projects and planning experiments that endorse more inclusive interactions between public authorities and local actors than in the traditional formal hearings. The intention of this article is to explore the potential of these forms of participation in contributing to social innovation particularly related to including citizens that are difficult to reach, and in creating new arenas for interaction and collaboration. Theoretically, the article is inspired by the concepts of social innovation, planning as experimentation (Hillier, 2007; Nyseth, Pløger, & Holm, 2010), and co-creation (Voorberg, Bekkers, & Tummers, 2013). Empirically, the article draws on three different cases from Norway and Denmark which entailed some novel ways of involving local citizens in urban planning. Finally, the article discusses how formal planning procedures can gain inspiration from such initiatives.
Urban planning is one of the policy fields where new forms of governance are developing. The article focuses on governance networks as one emergent form of governance in urban planning. In governance literature, discourse networks are seen as a threat to representative democracy. This article argues that the consequences for democracy depend on the type of network that develops and its performance in relation to democratic norms. Governance networks are discussed through the lens of democratic network governance, the utility of which is explored as an analytical tool in a case study of urban planning in Norway. In this context a governance network was constructed as a response to market-orientated planning practice in order to enhance citizen participation and public debate. The aim of this article is to discuss the relevance of the theory of network governance relating it to new forms of participation in public planning processes. The study shows that governance networks could strengthen democracy, though important questions about meta-governance, however, remain unsolved. The article also shows that networks operating in an institutional vacuum tend to fail in institutional capacity building.
This issue discusses the concept of social innovation (SI) as a potentially transformative factor in urban planning and local development. SI represents an alternative to economic and technology-oriented approaches to urban development, such as that of ‘smart cities’, ‘creative cities’, etc. This is thanks to the emphasis SI puts on human agency and the empowerment of local communities and citizens to be actively involved in transforming their urban environments. Urban planning could benefit greatly from devoting more attention to SI when addressing the diverse urban problems of today, such as social exclusion, urban segregation, citizen participation and integration, or environmental protection, many of them addressed in the articles gathered in this volume.
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