Participatory Planning: The Role of NGOs in Neighbourhood Regeneration in Riga (original) (raw)

2017

Abstract

In the last decades urban regeneration has become an important part of urban policy. Availability of financial opportunities were the engine of change in the approach to the revitalization of many urban sites. At the same time even if the number of projects concerning development of new infrastructure, both social and technical, increased, they didn't always lead to the improvement of the quality of life. The participatory approach involves the wide range of stakeholders in the common process of planning. One of the ways of cooperation at the level of neighborhoods, is a work with active neighborhood residents, not only regularly informing them about the ongoing projects, but also to enable them to express their views and vision. Neighbourhood organizations are the mobilized section of a human group (the neighbourhood) which is underpinned by a local support network. The nature of these bonds of solidarit y is a factor that determines the potential of local organizations for action and for their inclusion in any kind of democratic process. Riga, the capital of Latvia, has 58 neighborhoods, and more than ten of them have their own neighborhood associations and activist groups in social sites that are actively and constructively defend their neighborhood citizens. The paper examines the main fields of public activity and identifies the main challenges in cooperation process between different stakeholders involved in urban regeneration.

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