On the streets: going to the people
How can cities get all citizens involved in decision-making? Some dos and don’ts, according to Maria Vassilakou of Vienna and Grayce Liu of Los Angeles who have been working on the issue in their cities.
Do conduct test phases of proposals – for example, during a highly contested vote over whether to turn Vienna’s main shopping street into a pedestrian zone, the city tested what it would be like without cars. In the end, the initiative narrowly passed.
Do give citizens a way to design their own neighbourhoods. Vienna gives small subsidies to people who want to conduct small projects on their street corners, as long as those are free and accessible to all. So far, the city has transformed 120 neighbourhoods in this way.
Don’t ask yes or no questions on questionnaires or in opinion polls, but ask qualitatively what people want and need.
Do engage with citizens in different places at different times of day to get a range of opinions.
Don’t put too many limits on how and when citizens can get involved: “A lot of time we expect people to come to city hall on a work day at a certain time. We have to be flexible,” says Liu.
Don’t expect that everyone will participate, Liu adds. “There are just some people who don’t want to be involved, and that’s their choice.”
In the end, she says, it comes down to a few question for city citizens: Do I matter? And if I wanted to participate, could I?
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