Roberto Falanga
Measuring citizen participation in urban regeneration: a reflection on the construction of the participation index for the Bip/Zip programme in Lisbon Urban Development Issues, vol. 62, 47–60 DOI: 10.2478/udi-2019-0009
Keywords: citizen participation, urban regeneration, evaluation, index, Lisbon, Bip/Zip
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ABSTRACT
Citizen participation in policymaking has become a worldwide key reference for the design and implementation of urban regeneration. Despite the growing rate of participatory processes, little evidence or scientific debate has been fostered on their measurement and, broadly speaking, evaluation. While challenges in providing robust evaluations are related to the difficulties in providing common definitions of citizen participation in policymaking, the limited sharing of theories and evidence compromises a more comprehensive understanding of the socio-political phenomenon. The article contributes to this topic by discussing the conceptualisation and operationalisation of the participation index for the Bip/Zip programme. Since 2011, the programme has tackled socio-spatial inequalities in 67 priority areas of Lisbon by funding local partnerships composed of local associations, NGOs, and parish governments committed to engaging local communities in the development of their activities. The participation index will be formulated from the convergence of data collected through quantitative and qualitative methods on the constitution of partnerships, the implementation of initiatives, and the provision of public funding. The discussion provides critical reflection upon opportunities and challenges of the ongoing process from the academic and policy sides, which can positively stimulate future research on the topic.
Citizen participation in policymaking has become a worldwide key reference for the design and implementation of urban regeneration. Despite the growing rate of participatory processes, little evidence or scientific debate has been fostered on their measurement and, broadly speaking, evaluation. While challenges in providing robust evaluations are related to the difficulties in providing common definitions of citizen participation in policymaking, the limited sharing of theories and evidence compromises a more comprehensive understanding of the socio-political phenomenon. The article contributes to this topic by discussing the conceptualisation and operationalisation of the participation index for the Bip/Zip programme. Since 2011, the programme has tackled socio-spatial inequalities in 67 priority areas of Lisbon by funding local partnerships composed of local associations, NGOs, and parish governments committed to engaging local communities in the development of their activities. The participation index will be formulated from the convergence of data collected through quantitative and qualitative methods on the constitution of partnerships, the implementation of initiatives, and the provision of public funding. The discussion provides critical reflection upon opportunities and challenges of the ongoing process from the academic and policy sides, which can positively stimulate future research on the topic.
REFERENCES
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Aitken, D. (2012) Trust and Participation in Urban Regeneration, People, Place & Policy, 6(3), 133–147. DOI: 10.3351/ppp.0006.0003.0003.
Arnstein, S. (1969) A Ladder of Citizen Participation, Journal of the American Institute of Planners, 35(4), 216–224. DOI: 10.1080/01944366908977225.
Atkinson, R. & Kintrea, K. (2001) Disentangling Area Effects: Evidence from Deprived and Non-Deprived Neighbourhoods, Urban Studies, 38(12), 2277–2298. DOI: 10.1080/00420980120087162.
Bailey, N. & Pill, M. (2011) The Continuing Popularity of the Neighbourhood and Neighbourhood Governance in the Transition from the `Big State’ to the `Big Society’ Paradigm, Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space, 29(5), 927–942. DOI: 10.1068/c1133r.
Baumgarten, B. (2013) Geração à Rasca and beyond: Mobilizations in Portugal after 12 March 2011, Current Sociology, 61(4), 457–473.
DOI: 10.1177/0011392113479745.
Brannan T., John, P. & Stoker, G. (2006) Active Citizenship and Effective Public Services and Programmes: How can we know what really works?, Urban Studies, 43(5/6), 993–1008. DOI: 10.1080/00420980600676626.
Briggs, X. de S. (1998) Brown kids in white suburbs: Housing mobility and the many faces of social capital, Housing Policy Debate, 9(1), 177–221. DOI: 10.1080/10511482.1998.9521290.
Buck, N. (2001) Identifying Neighbourhood Effects on Social Exclusion, Urban Studies 38(12), 2251–2275. DOI: 10.1080/00420980120087153.
Burton P., Goodlad, R. & Croft, J. (2006) How Would We Know What Works? Context and Complexity in the Evaluation of Community Involvement, Evaluation, 12(3), 294–312. DOI: 10.1177/1356389006069136.
Caldas, J. C. (2012) The Consequences of Austerity Policies in Portugal, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, Berlin.
Available from: http://library.fes.de/pdf-files/id-moe/09311.pdf [accessed: 10.09.2018].
Chess, C. & Purcell, K. (1999) Public Participation and the Environment: Do We Know What Works?, Environmental Science & Technology, 33(16), 2685–2692. DOI: 10.1021/es980500g.
Cornwall, A. (2004) Spaces for Transformation? Reflections on Issues of Power and Difference in Participation in Development, [in:] S. Hickey & G. Mohan, eds., Participation: from Tyranny to Transformation? Exploring New Approaches to Participation in Development, Zed Books, London/New York, 75–91.
Curley, A.M. (2010) Relocating the Poor: Social Capital and Neighbourhood Resources, Journal of Urban Affairs, 32(1), 79–103.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9906.2009.00475.x.
de Sousa, L., Magalhães, P. & Amaral, L. (2014) Sovereign Debt and Governance Failures: Portuguese Democracy and the Financial Crisis, American Behavior Scientist, 58(12), 1517–1541. DOI: 10.1177/0002764214534666.
Dekker, K. & Bolt, G. (2005) Social Cohesion in Post-War Estates in the Netherlands: Differences between Socioeconomic and Ethnic Groups, Urban Studies, 42(13), 2447–2470. DOI: 10.1080/00420980500380360.
Delli Carpini, M., Cook, F.L. & Jacobs, L.R. (2004) Public Deliberations, Discursive Participation and Citizen Engagement: A Review of the Empirical Literature, Annual Review of Political Science, 7(1), 315–344. DOI: 10.1146/annurev.polisci.7.121003.091630.
Diamond, J. (2001) Managing Change or Coping with Conflict? Mapping the Experience of a Local Regeneration Partnership, Local Economy, 16(4), 272–285. DOI: 10.1080/02690940110078274.
Durose, C. (2011) Revisiting Lipsky: Front-line Work in UK Local Governance, Political Studies, 59, 978–995. DOI: 10.1111/j.14679248.2011.00886.x.
Falanga, R. (2018) Critical Trends of Citizen Participation in Policymaking: Caveats from Portugal, [in:] M. Costa Lobo, F. Carreira da Silva & J.P. Zúquete, eds., Changing Societies: Legacies and Challenges Volume II. Citizenship in Crisis, Imprensa de Ciências Sociais, Lisbon 295–318.
Falanga, R. & Lüchmann, L. (2019) Participatory Budgets in Brazil and Portugal: Comparing Patterns of Dissemination, Policy Studies, ahead of print.
DOI: 10.1080/01442872.2019.1577373.
Falanga, R. & Tulmello, S. (2017) Portugal and Austerity: What European Model? CURA Blog.
Available from: http://cura.our.dmu.ac.uk/2017/11/20/portugal-and-austerity-what-european-model/[accessed: 23.11.2018].
Fiorino, D. J. (1990) Citizen Participation and Environmental Risk: A Survey of Institutional Mechanisms, Science, Technology and Human Values, 15(2), 226–243. DOI: 10.1177/016224399001500204.
Fishman, R.M. (2011) Democratic Practice after the Revolution: The Case of Portugal and Beyond, Politics & Society, 39(2), 233–267.
DOI: 10.1177/0032329211405439.
Fonseca, P. & Ferreira M.J. (2015) Through ‘seas never before sailed’: Portuguese government discursive legitimation strategies in a context
of financial crisis, Discourse and Society, 26(6), 682–711. DOI: 10.1177/0957926515592780.
Forrest, R. & Kearns, A. (2001) Social Cohesion, Social Capital and the Neighbourhood, Urban Studies, 38(12), 2125–2143.
DOI: 10.1080/00420980120087081.
Fraser, N. (2009) Social Justice in the Age of Identity Politics, [in:] G.L. Henderson & M. Waterstone, eds., Geographic Thought: A Praxis Perspective, Routledge, New York, 72–91.
Granovetter, M. (1974) Getting a Job: A study of Contacts and Careers, Harvard University Press, Cambridge.
Häikiö, L. (2012) From innovation to convention: legitimate citizen participation in local governance, Local Government Studies, 38(4),
415–435. DOI: 10.1080/03003930.2012.698241.
Iveson, K. (2011) Social or spatial justice? Marcuse and Soja on the right to the city, City, 15(2), 250–259. DOI: 10.1080/13604813.2011.568723.
Lapavitsas, C., Kaltenbrunner, A., Labrinidis, G., Lindo, D., Meadway, J., Michell, J., Painceira, J.P., Pires, E., Powell, J., Stenfors, A., Teles, N., & Vatikiotis L. (2012) Crisis in the Eurozone, Verso, London/New York.
Lefebvre, H. (1968) Le Droit à la ville, Anthropos, Paris [in French].
Lowndes, V. & Sullivan, H. (2008) How Low Can You Go? Rationales and Challenges for Neighbourhood Governance, Public Administration, 86(1), 53–74. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9299.2007.00696.x.
Marcuse, P. (2010) From critical urban theory to the right to the city, City, 13(2-3), 185–197. DOI: 10.1080/13604810902982177.
Maloney, W., Smith, G., Stoker, G. (2000) Social Capital and Urban Governance: Adding a more contextualized “top-down” perspective, Political Studies, 48(4), 802–820. DOI: 10.1111/1467-9248.00284.
OECD (2005) Evaluating Public Participation in Policymaking, Paris. OECD (2015) Reducing Inequality and Poverty in Portugal. Economics Department Working Papers 1258, OECD, Paris.
Power, A. (2000) Poor areas and social exclusion, [in:] A. Power & R.W. Wilson, eds., Social Exclusion and the Future of Cites, CASE Paper 35, London School of Economics, London, 1–20.
Measuring citizen participation in urban regeneration: a reflection on the construction of the participation index for the Bip/Zip programme in Lisbon
Purcell, M. (2002) Excavating Lefebvre: The right to the city and its urban politics of the inhabitant, GeoJournal, 58(2-3), 99–108.
DOI: 10.1023/B:GEJO.0000010829.62237.8f.
Purdue, D. (2001) Neighbourhood Governance: Leadership, Trust and Social Capital, Urban Studies, 38(12), 2211–2224.
DOI: 10.1080/00420980120087135.
Putnam, R.D. (2000) Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community, Simon & Schuster, New York.
Rosener, J.B. (1978) Citizen Participation: Can We Measure Its Effectiveness?, Public Administration Review, 38(5), 457–463.
DOI: 10.2307/975505.
Rosener, J.B. (1981) User-oriented Evaluation. A New Way to View Citizen Participation, Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 17, 583–596.
DOI: 10.1177/002188638101700412.
Rowe, G. & Frewer, L.J. (2004) Evaluating Public-Participation Exercises: A Research Agenda, Science, Technology & Human Values, 29(4), 512–556.
DOI: 10.1177/0162243903259197.
Soja, E. W. (2010) Seeking Spatial Justice, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis.
Swyngedouw, E. (2005) Governance Innovation and the Citizen: The Janus Face of Governance-beyond-the State, Urban Studies, 42(11),
1991–2006. DOI: 10.1080/00420980500279869.
Taylor, M. (2007) Community Participation in the real World: Opportunities and Pitfalls in New Governance Spaces, Urban Studies, 44(2), 297–317.
DOI: 10.1080/00420980601074987.
Wallace, A. (2010) New Neighbourhoods, New Citizens? Challenging ‘Community’ as a Framework for Social and Moral regeneration under New Labour in the UK, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 34(4), 805–819. DOI: 10.1080/00420980601074987.
Webler, T. (1999) The Craft and Theory of Public Participation: A Dialectical Process, Journal of Risk Research, 2(1), 55–71. DOI: 10.1080/136698799376989.
Webler, T. & Tuler, S. (2002) Unlocking the Puzzle of Public Participation, Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society, 22(3), 179–189.
DOI: 10.1177/02767602022003002.
Weiss, C.H. (2004) Rooting for Evaluation: A Cliff Notes Version of My Work [in:] M. Alkin, ed., Evaluation Roots, Sage, Thousand Oaks, 154–168.
Internet sources
OQD Observatório da Qualidade da Democracia: http://www.oqd.ics.ulisboa.pt/ Data for 2012 [accessed: 03.11.2017].
CML/DMHDL/DDL: www.habitacao.cm-lisboa.pt [accessed: 17.07.2018].
Abelson, J. & Gauvin, F. P. (2006) Assessing the Impacts of Public Participation: Concepts, Evidence and Policy Implications, Research Report P|06, Public Involvement Network. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/5100037_Assessing_the_Impacts_of_Public_Participation_Concepts_Evidence_and_Policy_Implications [accessed: 11.11.2016].
Aitken, D. (2012) Trust and Participation in Urban Regeneration, People, Place & Policy, 6(3), 133–147. DOI: 10.3351/ppp.0006.0003.0003.
Arnstein, S. (1969) A Ladder of Citizen Participation, Journal of the American Institute of Planners, 35(4), 216–224. DOI: 10.1080/01944366908977225.
Atkinson, R. & Kintrea, K. (2001) Disentangling Area Effects: Evidence from Deprived and Non-Deprived Neighbourhoods, Urban Studies, 38(12), 2277–2298. DOI: 10.1080/00420980120087162.
Bailey, N. & Pill, M. (2011) The Continuing Popularity of the Neighbourhood and Neighbourhood Governance in the Transition from the `Big State’ to the `Big Society’ Paradigm, Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space, 29(5), 927–942. DOI: 10.1068/c1133r.
Baumgarten, B. (2013) Geração à Rasca and beyond: Mobilizations in Portugal after 12 March 2011, Current Sociology, 61(4), 457–473.
DOI: 10.1177/0011392113479745.
Brannan T., John, P. & Stoker, G. (2006) Active Citizenship and Effective Public Services and Programmes: How can we know what really works?, Urban Studies, 43(5/6), 993–1008. DOI: 10.1080/00420980600676626.
Briggs, X. de S. (1998) Brown kids in white suburbs: Housing mobility and the many faces of social capital, Housing Policy Debate, 9(1), 177–221. DOI: 10.1080/10511482.1998.9521290.
Buck, N. (2001) Identifying Neighbourhood Effects on Social Exclusion, Urban Studies 38(12), 2251–2275. DOI: 10.1080/00420980120087153.
Burton P., Goodlad, R. & Croft, J. (2006) How Would We Know What Works? Context and Complexity in the Evaluation of Community Involvement, Evaluation, 12(3), 294–312. DOI: 10.1177/1356389006069136.
Caldas, J. C. (2012) The Consequences of Austerity Policies in Portugal, Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, Berlin.
Available from: http://library.fes.de/pdf-files/id-moe/09311.pdf [accessed: 10.09.2018].
Chess, C. & Purcell, K. (1999) Public Participation and the Environment: Do We Know What Works?, Environmental Science & Technology, 33(16), 2685–2692. DOI: 10.1021/es980500g.
Cornwall, A. (2004) Spaces for Transformation? Reflections on Issues of Power and Difference in Participation in Development, [in:] S. Hickey & G. Mohan, eds., Participation: from Tyranny to Transformation? Exploring New Approaches to Participation in Development, Zed Books, London/New York, 75–91.
Curley, A.M. (2010) Relocating the Poor: Social Capital and Neighbourhood Resources, Journal of Urban Affairs, 32(1), 79–103.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9906.2009.00475.x.
de Sousa, L., Magalhães, P. & Amaral, L. (2014) Sovereign Debt and Governance Failures: Portuguese Democracy and the Financial Crisis, American Behavior Scientist, 58(12), 1517–1541. DOI: 10.1177/0002764214534666.
Dekker, K. & Bolt, G. (2005) Social Cohesion in Post-War Estates in the Netherlands: Differences between Socioeconomic and Ethnic Groups, Urban Studies, 42(13), 2447–2470. DOI: 10.1080/00420980500380360.
Delli Carpini, M., Cook, F.L. & Jacobs, L.R. (2004) Public Deliberations, Discursive Participation and Citizen Engagement: A Review of the Empirical Literature, Annual Review of Political Science, 7(1), 315–344. DOI: 10.1146/annurev.polisci.7.121003.091630.
Diamond, J. (2001) Managing Change or Coping with Conflict? Mapping the Experience of a Local Regeneration Partnership, Local Economy, 16(4), 272–285. DOI: 10.1080/02690940110078274.
Durose, C. (2011) Revisiting Lipsky: Front-line Work in UK Local Governance, Political Studies, 59, 978–995. DOI: 10.1111/j.14679248.2011.00886.x.
Falanga, R. (2018) Critical Trends of Citizen Participation in Policymaking: Caveats from Portugal, [in:] M. Costa Lobo, F. Carreira da Silva & J.P. Zúquete, eds., Changing Societies: Legacies and Challenges Volume II. Citizenship in Crisis, Imprensa de Ciências Sociais, Lisbon 295–318.
Falanga, R. & Lüchmann, L. (2019) Participatory Budgets in Brazil and Portugal: Comparing Patterns of Dissemination, Policy Studies, ahead of print.
DOI: 10.1080/01442872.2019.1577373.
Falanga, R. & Tulmello, S. (2017) Portugal and Austerity: What European Model? CURA Blog.
Available from: http://cura.our.dmu.ac.uk/2017/11/20/portugal-and-austerity-what-european-model/[accessed: 23.11.2018].
Fiorino, D. J. (1990) Citizen Participation and Environmental Risk: A Survey of Institutional Mechanisms, Science, Technology and Human Values, 15(2), 226–243. DOI: 10.1177/016224399001500204.
Fishman, R.M. (2011) Democratic Practice after the Revolution: The Case of Portugal and Beyond, Politics & Society, 39(2), 233–267.
DOI: 10.1177/0032329211405439.
Fonseca, P. & Ferreira M.J. (2015) Through ‘seas never before sailed’: Portuguese government discursive legitimation strategies in a context
of financial crisis, Discourse and Society, 26(6), 682–711. DOI: 10.1177/0957926515592780.
Forrest, R. & Kearns, A. (2001) Social Cohesion, Social Capital and the Neighbourhood, Urban Studies, 38(12), 2125–2143.
DOI: 10.1080/00420980120087081.
Fraser, N. (2009) Social Justice in the Age of Identity Politics, [in:] G.L. Henderson & M. Waterstone, eds., Geographic Thought: A Praxis Perspective, Routledge, New York, 72–91.
Granovetter, M. (1974) Getting a Job: A study of Contacts and Careers, Harvard University Press, Cambridge.
Häikiö, L. (2012) From innovation to convention: legitimate citizen participation in local governance, Local Government Studies, 38(4),
415–435. DOI: 10.1080/03003930.2012.698241.
Iveson, K. (2011) Social or spatial justice? Marcuse and Soja on the right to the city, City, 15(2), 250–259. DOI: 10.1080/13604813.2011.568723.
Lapavitsas, C., Kaltenbrunner, A., Labrinidis, G., Lindo, D., Meadway, J., Michell, J., Painceira, J.P., Pires, E., Powell, J., Stenfors, A., Teles, N., & Vatikiotis L. (2012) Crisis in the Eurozone, Verso, London/New York.
Lefebvre, H. (1968) Le Droit à la ville, Anthropos, Paris [in French].
Lowndes, V. & Sullivan, H. (2008) How Low Can You Go? Rationales and Challenges for Neighbourhood Governance, Public Administration, 86(1), 53–74. DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9299.2007.00696.x.
Marcuse, P. (2010) From critical urban theory to the right to the city, City, 13(2-3), 185–197. DOI: 10.1080/13604810902982177.
Maloney, W., Smith, G., Stoker, G. (2000) Social Capital and Urban Governance: Adding a more contextualized “top-down” perspective, Political Studies, 48(4), 802–820. DOI: 10.1111/1467-9248.00284.
OECD (2005) Evaluating Public Participation in Policymaking, Paris. OECD (2015) Reducing Inequality and Poverty in Portugal. Economics Department Working Papers 1258, OECD, Paris.
Power, A. (2000) Poor areas and social exclusion, [in:] A. Power & R.W. Wilson, eds., Social Exclusion and the Future of Cites, CASE Paper 35, London School of Economics, London, 1–20.
Measuring citizen participation in urban regeneration: a reflection on the construction of the participation index for the Bip/Zip programme in Lisbon
Purcell, M. (2002) Excavating Lefebvre: The right to the city and its urban politics of the inhabitant, GeoJournal, 58(2-3), 99–108.
DOI: 10.1023/B:GEJO.0000010829.62237.8f.
Purdue, D. (2001) Neighbourhood Governance: Leadership, Trust and Social Capital, Urban Studies, 38(12), 2211–2224.
DOI: 10.1080/00420980120087135.
Putnam, R.D. (2000) Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community, Simon & Schuster, New York.
Rosener, J.B. (1978) Citizen Participation: Can We Measure Its Effectiveness?, Public Administration Review, 38(5), 457–463.
DOI: 10.2307/975505.
Rosener, J.B. (1981) User-oriented Evaluation. A New Way to View Citizen Participation, Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 17, 583–596.
DOI: 10.1177/002188638101700412.
Rowe, G. & Frewer, L.J. (2004) Evaluating Public-Participation Exercises: A Research Agenda, Science, Technology & Human Values, 29(4), 512–556.
DOI: 10.1177/0162243903259197.
Soja, E. W. (2010) Seeking Spatial Justice, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis.
Swyngedouw, E. (2005) Governance Innovation and the Citizen: The Janus Face of Governance-beyond-the State, Urban Studies, 42(11),
1991–2006. DOI: 10.1080/00420980500279869.
Taylor, M. (2007) Community Participation in the real World: Opportunities and Pitfalls in New Governance Spaces, Urban Studies, 44(2), 297–317.
DOI: 10.1080/00420980601074987.
Wallace, A. (2010) New Neighbourhoods, New Citizens? Challenging ‘Community’ as a Framework for Social and Moral regeneration under New Labour in the UK, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 34(4), 805–819. DOI: 10.1080/00420980601074987.
Webler, T. (1999) The Craft and Theory of Public Participation: A Dialectical Process, Journal of Risk Research, 2(1), 55–71. DOI: 10.1080/136698799376989.
Webler, T. & Tuler, S. (2002) Unlocking the Puzzle of Public Participation, Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society, 22(3), 179–189.
DOI: 10.1177/02767602022003002.
Weiss, C.H. (2004) Rooting for Evaluation: A Cliff Notes Version of My Work [in:] M. Alkin, ed., Evaluation Roots, Sage, Thousand Oaks, 154–168.
Internet sources
OQD Observatório da Qualidade da Democracia: http://www.oqd.ics.ulisboa.pt/ Data for 2012 [accessed: 03.11.2017].
CML/DMHDL/DDL: www.habitacao.cm-lisboa.pt [accessed: 17.07.2018].