New town planning instruments: participation or governance? The case of Brussels through the ‘Botanique structure plan’

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of some of the socio-political stakes riding on the recent implementation of a 'structure plan' (or schéma directeur ) for the 'Botanique' area in Brussels. The aim is to build a bridge between the discussions about the new modes of governance and the development of participatory or deliberative democracy, on the one hand, and an empirical study of a public policy that borrows from these categories, on the other hand. The innovative practices that characterise the 'structure plan' are often labelled 'participatory'. In this text, we intend to determine to what extent they participate more in a new type of urban governance without truly helping to enhance the people's involvement.

Four Perspectives of Sustainability Applied to the Local Food Strategy of Ghent (Belgium): Need for a Cycle of Democratic Participation?

“…It remains yet to be seen what will eventually be the outcome of increased communication between competitive stakeholders. However, we argue that this is a very powerful strategy in initial phases of problem-definition and deliberation processes aiming to generate common decisions [36].…”

“…After all, such influence is essential to a democratic system [35]. The best strategy for a deliberative process is not simply to collect the different perspectives of participants but also to negotiate potential targets and find engagement across discourses and explore integrative solutions [36].…”