Valtaistetut asukkaat

Englannin naapurustosuunnittelu ja asuinalueperustaisten osallistumiskäytäntöjen haasteet

Abstract

Our starting point is that public administration has traditionally had an obligation to transparency, equality
and democracy. When public administration actively integrates neighbourhood level participation into its
planning and decision making systems, thereby also empowering the citizens, issues of legitimacy become
especially crucial. In this article we assess the challenges related to neighbourhood level participation practices
by studying the English Neighbourhood Planning concept, its assumptions and practices, based on policy
documents, legislation and earlier research. We specifically look at the challenges created by the concepts
of locality, representation and effectiveness. We see that neighbourhood planning is sailing the grey waters
between public administration and governance networks, as well as those between direct and representative
democracy. This is also the source of challenges. The “local” in local planning has not been conceptualised in
sufficient detail, which has led to unnecessary and potentially unhealthy ambiguities and discretion.