Let's Collaborate! But Who's Really Collaborating? Individual Interests as a Leitmotiv for Urban Renewal and Regeneration Strategies

Abstract

Many planning theorists have suggested that peoples' non-participation in collaborative processes is due to disempowerment. This paper challenges that assertion, arguing that a person's tendency to participate in neighbourhood interventions is intimately related to their lifestyle as well. Analysing the results of a survey conducted in a Dutch city, we compare and contrast the personal circumstances and the mental attitudes of participants and non-participants. The results show that participants tend to evaluate participation more positively and in more altruistic terms than those who do not get involved. Participants are not necessarily older or poorer than non-participants, but tend to have lived in their neighbourhoods for longer and to have a greater sense of belonging to their local community. This suggests that collaborative planning has a structural bias towards inclusion of some parts of the community over others, excluding those whose social lives are not concentrated within the boundaries of the neighbourhood. Consequently, some of the perceived positive outcomes of collaborative processes are under pressure in the field of urban regeneration.

Keywords:

• Collaborative planning
• social participation
• participation in planning processes
• lifestyle
• urban renewal and regeneration

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank anonymous referees for their substantial and constructive criticism of the article. This paper is based on consultancy research commissioned by the housing corporations in Arnhem. The research ran from September 2007 to September 2010.