The quality of public space and urban environment has become an increasingly important issue, especially in the light of the green transition. On one hand, it’s great that people want to have a say in shaping the environment in which they live. On the other hand, the increased focus on participatory processes has brought attention to significant shortcomings, which research can play a key role in addressing.
Stakeholder involvement in urban planning is full of challenges. How and at what stage to involve key groups interested in planning? How to generate constructive debate and find common ground at an early stage? Prioritizing conflicting interests and achieving a satisfactory outcome for all parties is difficult. It is also important how to communicate the solution and ensure that all parties understand it in the same way. Planning is an art of negotiation, balancing different interests and needs.
The current practice of inclusion in urban planning is largely based on the collection of subjective judgements from city dwellers. In other words, surveys are used to find out how people like the (proposed) urban space. Planners, however, are struggling with satisfaction surveys, because unfortunately most of them declare that they are very satisfied with their living environment. “It’s like living in North Korea,” was how one expert summed it up at a recent planning conference. Apparent contentment with everything, however, does not help planners. More data and research are needed to bring about positive change. This is where researchers can provide valuable assistance.
