bhopal community participation

8/3/2019 Bhopal Community Participation

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People Building Better CitiesPeople Building Better CitiesDeconstructing the Challenge

Dr. Renu Khosla

Director, Centre for Urban and Regional Excellence (CURE)


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Can People Build Better Cities?Can People Build Better Cities?Can Planners Humanize Cities?Can Planners Humanize Cities?


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self-organized network .. of people who, regardless ofthe diversity of their backgrounds .. communicate

effectively .. and .. work together towards goals identified

as being for their common good; orwho collaborate by

sharing ideas, information, and other resources.

Geo-spatiality,

Territorial or local nature;

Socio-cultural-ness,

Commonality of characteristics,

Identity or place attachment,

Reciprocity

Why

Community?


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powerful organizing ideal.for advancing communitarianagenda

process by which individuals, families, or communities

assume responsibility for their own welfare and develop

capacity to contribute to their own and the communitys

development

process whereby beneficiaries influence the direction andexecution of development projects rather than merely

receive a share of benefits

Why

CommunityParticipation?

Community

Participation

is the gluethat

underpins

societyBuilds

social capital - institutions, relationships, norms that shape

the quality and quantity of social interactions

solidarity, commitment, mutuality and trust

resilience or capability

sense of belonging


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Creates awareness, information so communities can resolveproblems collectively, cooperatively and advance smoothly

Creates equal-ness in an unequal community

Why Social

Capital?

What is

Community

Organization

and

Development?

Enables implementation of programmes

Organize for collective/collaborative action, by assessing

needs, finding local solutions, building consensus,implementing,contributing and managing services

Creates neighbourhood capacity to set own priorities, self-

represent,negotiate and decide


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The Logic Distressingly unequal: Social quotient is informal, nolegal identity or land rights or formal livelihoods, - imprintis eviction and exploitation, erodes abilities to survive orinvest in future

Spatial-Economic-Social Justice: Deeply invisible,Informal signature resonates with formal economy,

obligatory and makes good economic and social sense

Democratize Local Actions and catalyse people-centreddevelopment with shared responsibility, trust, ownership,durability and resource efficacy.


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Making Community

Participation Real and

Meaningful


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LadderLadder

Manipulation

and

Information

Non

participation

Delegation of

Power

Tokenism Peoples Power

Consultation

Partnership

Citizen

Control

Continuum is complex and

influenced by contexts,

experiences, type and quality

of information.

Levels are interconnected.

May have several entrypoints, ordinal movement,

speed.

Communities may also move

down the ladder (social

capital dissipation)


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Process

Initiation

Planning

Design

Implementation

Maintenance


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InitiationInitiationNeedsNeedsPrioritiesPriorities


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PlanningPlanningCommunity


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StrategicStrategicInformationInformation


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DesignDesign


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DesignDesignCostCost

ContributionContributionConstructionConstruction


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ImplementationImplementation


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ImplementationImplementation


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ManagementManagementOversightOversight

SustainabilitySustainability

RepresentationRepresentationNegotiationNegotiation

Access to ResourcesAccess to Resources


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The ChallengesThe Challenges


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Similar-ness or Divergencea clear, identifiable and homogenous group or a mereumbrella under which shelter a multitude of varying,

competing and often conflicting interests

Invisible Boundaries and ExclusionBoundaries and segmentations - formal and informal

- visible or invisible become basis of inclusion or

exclusion for benefits, power or gating

Operational or Strategic

beneficiary and user of services or representative oflocal opinions, engaging in activities or long-term

partners in redevelopment process

1. The

Paradox


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Casual understanding

Perceived threat from power sharing/ dismantling

traditional power structures

Massified - unbroken- congenial - affiliated communities

that can be managed by singular, customary and fixed

options

Time for community engagement

Outputs not very easily measurable or tangible

Limited capacity among facilitators of community

participation

2. Why

this Box

Ticking?


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Representativeness - Including the Usually Excluded

Upper poor and early adopters

Formal neighbourhoods on resource sharing

Territorial issues between local authorities (and their

street bureaucrats)

Political representatives

Decision making by all excluded are adequatelyrepresented

3. Gatekeepers


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Facilitator

City

Community4. Capacity

Not phoney or signatures on pre-

agreed plans that denigrate a peoples

knowledge and wisdom and do not

delegate real power to people.

Unwillingness and/or lack of

understanding dis-incentivises peoples

participation


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5. InstitutionsPolicies

Legislations

Norms

Adaptability of Institutions and Systems

- Community Dynamism- Dehumanized planning without adequate

diagnosis leads to conventional and commonsolutions.

- Inclusive planning helps dig deeper, reason

backward, adopt new filters and bringgreater specificity to a plan

- Integrate demand / made-to-order solutions

Policy Analysis to erase contradictions


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One size usually never fits all but public programmes

as a rule strive to achieve the lowest commondenominator !

Expansion of ideas, innovations, practices, outputs,

products

Reaching the golden moment when a critical mass of

community initiatives force transition from state-led

policy to people-centred programming.

Predicating a project on a strong community is not

essential . having a sense of community that can

grow during the course of the project makes for a

good start Hamdi

6. City Scale:

On the Fast

Track


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7. An Expensive Luxury?

An elaborate process of community mobilization needs

time to nurture and mature, to inform and walk the

groups through the decision-making process and to create

space within traditional policy making structures for the

voices of the people. In particular, it needs commitment

from local bodies for such partnerships to happen and

contribute to development planning.


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A community-based approach has its own vernacular,shape and architecture that is an expression of peoples

socio-spatial priorities and context. Organic growthneeds strategic and supportive partnerships betweenpeople and local government

Trust in peoples capability to take good, mature,collective decisions for the benefit of all

Make it a two-way street; not just quizzing and miningcommunity data and un-fuzzying crucial pieces ofinformation to inform the discourse so people couldmake smart choices.

Poorly taken decisions have only served to reinforcepublic mindsets.

Grow

Organically


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The practice of community participation is a skilful art designed to makethings happen; recognise the similarities, differences, inequalities among

people and open up an opportunity for voice. The challenge is to capturethe intelligence that we find on the streets of slums, enable structures toemerge, encourage innovations and liberate resources for developmentaction. Nabeel Hamdi

bhopal community participation

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