Creating value for citizens through citizen participation in urban regeneration

Abstract

The use of citizen participation in urban regeneration projects in Western European cities is increasing. Particularly in Amsterdam, participation with regards to regeneration projects is stimulated by the city government. Although the literature shows that not all such participatory processes are of value to citizens, there is a lack of research on how value can be created for those participating through the process of citizen participation. This thesis aims to (1) develop a theoretical understanding of the values that can be created for citizens through citizen participation, and (2) identify whether and how these values of participation are created for citizens in a real-life case of citizen participation in urban regeneration in Amsterdam. Through a review of urban planning literature, four values that can be created for citizens through citizen participation are found, namely: “power and empowerment”, “social cohesion and inclusion”, “social justice and equity”, and “democratic citizenship and skills”. To explore the importance of these values for citizens at the individual level, they are studied through the lens of the basic personal values as defined by social psychologist Schwartz (2012).

Using case study research on the participatory process during the regeneration of the Lodewijk van Deysselbuurt in Amsterdam Nieuw-West, it is explored whether and how the values found in urban planning literature were created for residents. Since 2016 the Municipality of Amsterdam and housing association Rochdale have involved residents of the Lodewijk van Deysselbuurt in the making of regeneration plans for their neighborhood. Up until now (2022), this participatory process consisted of activities with different participants, and levels of participation ranging from informing, to consulting residents, to letting residents give advice on the plans. Furthermore, residents were involved through a neighborhood platform that looked at the regeneration plans at the neighborhood level and through residents’ committees that discussed the plans for each housing block. The findings of the case study suggest that through this participatory process the values of “social inclusion and cohesion” and “democratic citizenship and skills” were created for residents that participated. However, based on the results it is also suggested there was limited creation of the value of “power and empowerment” and that further research is necessary to explore whether the value of “social justice and inclusion” was created for residents of the Lodewijk van Deysselbuurt.