1035608 EAU Environment & Urbanization

Editorial: Citizen participation in planning: from the

neighbourhood to the city

Diana Mitlin

I. Introduction participation work for their members, but

they can also disengage in frustration and
This special issue focuses on scaling up the disappointment.
participation of residents and their associations This introduction begins by providing
in planning processes. The need to consider this a typology of approaches to scaling, and an
aspect of participation has long been recognized; analysis of the problems that efforts to scale
indeed, the capacity to go to scale is increasingly have encountered. We encounter examples of
seen as essential to successful development scaling “within”, as local organizations work to
initiatives. What is equally well recognized grow in strength, and scaling “out” to link with
is the failure of multiple efforts to respond other neighbourhoods. Initiatives also scale
adequately to this need for scaling. The papers “across” from one service or activity to another,
in this collection explore many facets of the and scale “through” as groups or communities
challenge of securing meaningful participation use what they have learned from one activity
at scale. They clarify the fact that going beyond to take on more complex needs. The most
a local focus means not simply replication but pervasive theme in this volume, however, is that
engagement at higher levels of complexity, with of scaling “up” from efforts at the community
a more challenging set of actors and potentially level to those that work to ensure policy reforms
more contested power relations. As Beatrice De and institutional support for local citizens’
Carli and Alexandre Apsan Frediani emphasize efforts. As demonstrated by several papers in
in this volume, this means engaging with “the this volume, this is not necessarily a route to
more conflictual, structural factors that underpin successful scaling.
city making” (page 377). Together these papers Citizens press to be more involved in
help to explain why scaling has been so difficult governance decisions that affect their lives.
and suggest ways in which it might be advanced. Collectives of various forms have clearly been
If there is a simple message behind this successful in their efforts to be more involved
collection, it is that understanding efforts related in state decision making, and there has been
to scaling participation means recognizing the an abundance of efforts to institutionalize
contradictions playing out in towns and cities participation building on these experiences.
across the global South. From one perspective, However, institutionalization emerges as
the momentum behind participation appears problematic. One of the challenges encountered
almost inevitable as citizens push for substantive in these papers is what happens when these
inclusion in decision making. The legitimacy scaling-up efforts are driven from above with
of their demands for inclusion results in formalized citizen engagement. As demonstrated
numerous efforts to institutionalize a positive by experiences in Brazil and Mexico, described
response. But the spaces opened through such below, these efforts can be counterproductive,
institutionalization often appear to undermine as top-down legislated opportunities fail to
rather than support substantive participation. create adequate spaces for entrepreneurial
Citizen groups struggle to make state-supported citizenship and innovation. They can also be

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E N V I RON M E NT & UR B A N I Z A T I ON Vol 33 No 2 October 2021

easily subverted, as real estate interests, residents II. Modalities And Strategies For
of a higher social status, and state officials and Scaling Participation(2)
politicians manipulate these spaces to exclude
the marginalized and address the interests of the The papers in this volume illustrate the
powerful. multiplicity of directions in which participatory
Civil society does not passively accept planning and development can be scaled (as
this subversion of their efforts to advance summarized in Table 1). The papers discuss
participation. A staple of this journal has been strategies and activities used to further these
the history of city-wide organizing by residents’ ends.
associations, grassroots federations and Participatory efforts that seek to build
community groups.(1) While only a minority of a critical mass of organized citizens focus
the papers in this issue follow this bottom-up on scaling both “within” and “out”. On the
trajectory, the papers by Sally Cawood and by one hand, this means building stronger local
Philipp Horn certainly highlight the significance organizations able to take on more complex
of these efforts, and I expand on this below. local projects. On the other, it means linking
This editorial frequently refers to citizens. to other neighbourhoods and strengthening
The intent is not to restrict the discussion the capability of residents’ organizations
to those with a legal status. Rather, the term to collaborate and so contest anti-poor
is used here to refer to those with a desire development plans and projects. Horn describes
to participate fully in the societies in which in detail the strategies used by the Muungano
they find themselves irrespective of formal Alliance, which is scaling out from successful
citizenship status. The use of the term is also neighbourhood development elsewhere in
intended to recognize the people engaged in Nairobi into this informal neighbourhood where
participatory processes beyond their identity as residents have settled on privately held land. To
inhabitants of a particular space, or members ensure that as many residents as possible take
of a particular group, be it defined by ethnicity, part, both for democratic reasons and because
age or gender. Citizen is a term that implies a of the opposition to upgrading, considerable
broader consciousness and membership in an efforts have been made to build close relations,
expansive collective that challenges divisive and and to ensure that local voices have input into
exclusionary boundaries, and that brings with it the participatory plan.
rights and entitlements, along with obligations. Vanesa Castán Broto highlights another
The structure of this editorial is as follows. aspect to scaling within, when she articulates
The following section (Section II) presents the the need for neighbourhood participation to
typology of ways in which participation can be include those marginalized by heteronormative
scaled, and it explains where the papers in this approaches. Her interest goes beyond the
volume are located in terms of this typology. superficial inclusion of a marginalized group,
Section III then discusses these papers within a however, as she explains that the queering of
broader summary of recent debates in relation participation implies a deeper awareness of the
to participation, with particular attention to the diversity of needs within a community.
key challenges involved in scaling participation. Scaling “up” implies connecting with
The fourth section concludes. or influencing more complex institutional
structures. Many NGO project proposals
explain the effectiveness of their approaches
1. Chitekwe-Biti, B (2009), “Struggles for urban land by the
Zimbabwe Homeless People’s Federation”, Environment and 2. This idea for this special issue of Environment and Urbanization
Urbanization Vol 21, No 2, pages 347–366; also Chitekwe-Biti, B was catalysed by a research project to understand how
(2018), “Co-producing Windhoek: the contribution of the Shack participatory planning and development might be scaled up
Dwellers Federation of Namibia”, Environment and Urbanization in three African cities, and a conference at the University of
Vol 30, No 2, pages 387–406; Lines, K and J Makau (2018), “Taking Manchester, supported by the Hallsworth Conference Fund, to
the long view: 20 years of Muungano wa Wanavijiji, the Kenyan explore these issues. This section also draws on the findings of
federation of slum dwellers”, Environment and Urbanization Vol the research project; see Mitlin, D, J Bennett, P Horn, J Makau
30, No 2, pages 407–424; and Boonyabancha, S, F N Carcellar and G Masimba (forthcoming), A Framework to Scale Citizen
and T Kerr (2012), “How poor communities are paving their own Participation in Urban Development: Learning from Experiences
pathways to freedom”, Environment and Urbanization Vol 24, No of Multi-stakeholder Collaboration, GDI working paper, Global
2, pages 441–462. Development Institute, University of Manchester.

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Tab l e 1
Types of scaling as exemplified in this volume

Type of scaling Relevant papers Areas of activity discussed

Within – from one Castán Broto, Horn, Greater awareness of diversity of residents and
household to another in the Silvonen (historic their needs
same neighbourhood experiences) Organizing activities to engage with many residents
and neighbourhood groups
Out – into new Birkinshaw et al., Provision of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH)
neighbourhoods/new spatial Cawood, De Carli and services to multiple neighbourhoods
areas Frediani, Horn Links between different community groups and the
strengthening of city-wide relations
Improved professional (urban design) inputs to
support understanding of city scale
Up/down – from projects Cawood, De Carli and Links upwards to influencing local and national
and precedents into policy Frediani, Pimentel government policies and programmes
and programming Walker and Friendly, Links downwards from government to strengthen
Vuksanović-Macura and local community involvement, often with frustrating
Miščević, Ortiz et al., results
Silvonen
Across – from one service Cabannes, Cawood, Use of participatory budgeting to address climate
to another (e.g. water Horn change
to drainage) in same Potential for community networks to move from
neighbourhood or at WASH into housing
multiple spatial levels Building on savings and loan activities to address all
facets of upgrading
Through – using capabilities Castán Broto, Cawood Moving beyond heteronormative assumptions
and ambitions learned Shift from upgrading into addressing needs in more
through one activity to formal housing
take on new activities and
projects

by suggesting that they will succeed in scaling and Igor Miščević, who discuss participatory
“up” local community innovations, expanding approaches to engaging an excluded ethnic
local projects that support emancipation, and minority, the Roma community. The initiative
ensuring institutional support for citizen efforts. was instigated by a national policy commitment,
De Carli and Frediani explain how an awareness the Strategy for Social Inclusion of Roma in
of city-wide processes by neighbourhood Serbia, which made a commitment to develop
groups strengthens local participatory planning regularization and improvements for at least
processes, challenging a narrow local focus 50 per cent of Roma settlements (around 300
and strengthening a politicized understanding settlements) by 2025.
of the problems that informal residents face. As in this case in Serbia, scaling “up” can
Earlier papers, for example the Environment and actually involve scaling “down”. Many of
Urbanization special issue on citizen innovation the papers here discuss this reverse process,
in Asia, also showed the benefits to local with formalized government programmes
communities of a city-wide understanding.(3) theoretically providing opportunities for
Such efforts to scale “up” can also focus on participation. Brazil’s public policy councils,
catalysing policy and programming reforms. for instance, described by Ana Paula Pimentel
A positive experience on this front in Serbia Walker and Abigail Friendly, are supposed
is reported here by Zlata Vuksanović-Macura to provide space for marginalized groups
to participate in formal processes; and
3. See reference 1, Boonyabancha et al. (2012). Taru Silvonen describes formally supported
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practices of citizen participation in Mexican about the rapidly declining urban green space
neighbourhoods. Both papers, however, focus in Kumasi, Ghana, discuss the conflictual
on the challenges, describing the ineffectiveness relationship between government planners and
of these formalization efforts and how difficult traditional authorities, and stress the importance
it has been to realize the benefits of scaling up. of more collaborative decision making in the
Scaling “across” from one service or activity management of this critical resource.
to another is well illustrated by Yves Cabannes, in
his discussion of the expansion of participatory
budgeting into climate change mitigation and III. Debates, Deliberations And
adaptation. His study of 15 cities highlights the Practices
significance of citizen involvement in this regard,
allowing citizen priorities to come to the fore, and Citizen participation in local planning and
projects to reflect local knowledge (page 367): development processes has long been recognized
as essential both for equitable democratic
citizenship and for effective interventions
“These groups are certainly the change that recognize and respond to everyday lived
agent in the more climate change-sensitive realities. This is true of very localized efforts to
PBs. In their multiple forms they are replan and redevelop neighbourhoods, as well as
essential to identifying the projects best larger-scale initiatives. There have been multiple
equipped to address the climate change efforts across towns and cities of the global
effects felt by communities, and in most North and South, many of them successful in
cases they define how and where they should gaining some traction. But, as noted with regard
be implemented. For instance, in the case to the current set of papers, too few initiatives
of flooding, they indicate where to widen have expanded or grown upwards and outwards
clogged water channels, thereby optimizing to address the extent and the depth of the need
scarce resources.” [emphasis in original] at the city scale, be it through citizen-generated
engagements(4) or through formally initiated
Horn also demonstrates this type of scaling arrangements.(5) Here I discuss what this
in Nairobi through the development of an volume’s papers add to the context of current
integrated plan for Mukuru’s upgrading with debates and practices.
eight distinct service areas. Existing approaches to inclusive planning,
Scaling “through” takes place as communities both top-down and bottom-up, have generally
use the skills and experience gained through failed to address the needs of disadvantaged
one activity to take on projects that demand urban populations in the global South.(6) While
greater capabilities and address more complex these participatory approaches have had some
needs. Cawood’s discussion of the city-wide success in terms of empowerment, efficacy and
networks in Dhaka describes the development efficiency, they have not been the promised
options provided by NGOs and their motivation panacea. Horn et al.(7) argue that this is, at least
to support members to demand better choices. in part, because inappropriate solutions have
Success leads to more ambition, as goals been applied in attempts to scale these processes
previously seen as unattainable are considered to a level appropriate to the need. This lack of
possible. However, Cawood also describes the progress reflects a failure to fully embrace the
frustration of the city network leaders with
4. See reference 1, Boonyabancha et al. (2012).
these NGOs, and shows how adverse shifts in
5. Cabannes, Y (2014), Contribution of Participatory Budgeting to
the funding context and increased demands the Provision and Management of Basic Services at Municipal
by political parties for enhanced loyalties have Level: Municipal Practices and Evidence from the Field, working
raised new challenges for these networks and paper, International Institute for Environment and Development,
London.
reduced the space available to them.
6. Horn, P, D Mitlin, J Bennett, B Chitekwe-Biti and J Makau (2018),
Just one paper in this collection refers to
Towards Citywide Participatory Planning: Emerging Community-
scaling “between” institutional bodies, rather led Practices in Three African Cities, GDI working paper, Global
than focusing on citizens. Patrick Brandful Development Institute, University of Manchester, Manchester.
Cobbinah and Valentina Nyame, writing 7. See reference 6.

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potential of participation. Academics have long Development Institute in Thailand.(16) One

recognized that there is a gap between intent of the best-known examples is participatory
and reality,(8) and that an inadequate analysis budgeting, which first emerged in Porto
of power relations means that some efforts are Alegre (Brazil), where social and community
naïve.(9) Scholars have analysed projects and movements demanded greater control over city
processes and sought to understand the mixed government spending decisions. It has since
results. Hickey and Mohan(10) argued that efforts spread across Brazil(17) and beyond.(18)
must recognize the importance of rights and This collection of papers provides further
entitlements if participation is to lead to social examples of such state-level participation
justice. However, in practice, the outcomes mandates in Brazil (Pimentel Walker and
from these top-down efforts in terms of both Friendly), Cuba (Catalina Ortiz, Alejandro Vallejo,
enhanced democracy and stakeholder decision Jorge Peña, Emily Morris, Joiselen Cazanave
making have been disappointing, and there Macías and Dayané Proenza González), Mexico
remains a gap between participatory rhetoric (Silvonen) and Serbia (Vuksanović-Macura and
and actual citizen engagement. Miščević). However, such reforms alone appear
Horn et al.(11) argue that decentralization unable to nurture a more inclusive politics,
and changes to representative governance and, as articulated by Lines and Makau(19) for
have secured some improvements to citizen Kenya, enhanced modalities of representative
empowerment and more inclusive and democracy may make a limited contribution to
redistributive planning in some urban settings, citizen participation.
but their overall impact on participation has Participatory planning and development
been limited. These reforms have expanded is particularly significant for the residents of
over recent decades. Contributions include informal settlements, who are generally among
constitutional reform in Kenya(12) and the the lowest-income and most disadvantaged
2008 Community Councils Act in Thailand, urban citizens. However, the nature of the
which gave legal status to residents’ bodies that material conditions and social relations in such
include representatives from communities as neighbourhoods means that efforts to impose
well as all kinds of community groups.(13) At solutions from above are likely to be ineffective
the sub-national level, and with a particular in securing the kinds of improvements that are
focus on urban-related initiatives, there are sought after. They may even exacerbate the
Sri Lanka’s Million Houses Programme;(14) the problems that residents face – leading, in the most
Sida-funded NGO-led informal settlement adverse circumstances, to the exclusion from the
upgrading programmes, including PRODEL in process of those who cannot afford to take part.
Nicaragua and FUNDASAL in El Salvador;(15) and Participation is also recognized as significant
more recently the Community Organizations for other marginalized groups (including low-
income families in formal housing or those
dominated by other elites), which can also be
8. Cooke, B and U Kothari (editors) (2001), Participation: The New
Tyranny?, Zed Books, London. excluded by the powerful, either deliberately or
9. Arnstein, S R (1969), “A ladder of citizen participation”, Journal of incidentally, from involvement in state processes
the American Institute of Planners Vol 35, No 4, pages 216–224. that create options and challenges.
10. Hickey, S and G Mohan (2004), Participation: From Tyranny to Understanding the options for scaling
Transformation?, Zed Books, London and New York. participatory planning requires us to draw on the
11. See reference 6. experiences that have challenged the limitations
12. D’Arcy, M and A Cornell (2016), “Devolution and corruption of current efforts. These have led to an academic
in Kenya: everyone’s turn to eat”, Africa Affairs Vol 115, No 459, reconsideration of the ways that both the
pages 246–273.
state and residents engage in the production,
13. Boonyabancha, S and T Kerr (2018), “Lessons from CODI on
co-production”, Environment and Urbanization Vol 30, No 2, pages
444–460.
16. See reference 13.
14. Joshi, S and M S Khan (2010), “Aided self-help: the Million
Houses Programme – revisiting the issues”, Habitat International 17. Avritzer, L (2006), “New public spaces in Brazil: local democracy
Vol 34, No 3, pages 306–314. and deliberative politics”, International Journal of Urban and
Regional Research Vol 30, No 3, pages 623–637.
15. Stein, A and I Vance (2008), “The role of housing finance in
addressing the needs of the urban poor: lessons from Central 18. See reference 5.
America”, Environment and Urbanization Vol 20, No 1, pages 13–30. 19. See reference 1, Lines and Makau (2018).

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arrangement and distribution of infrastructural their needs and interests. While Holston’s(26)
networks and service provision.(20) Participation representation of insurgent citizenship has
efforts driven from below have led to the captured an academic imagination, this appears
emergence of “deeper forms of democracy”,(21) to be a simplified version of the range of strategies
where urban alliances and federations mobilize used by those pressing for greater participation
their collective power to co-produce or co- – including contentious politics, collaborative
construct infrastructural and dwelling solutions endeavours and partly visible encroachment
with greater degrees of autonomy.(22) – to simultaneously address current needs and
These social movements and other civil improve future prospects.(27) Understanding this
society groups may seek to incorporate similar complexity helps us place efforts towards greater
components to those in state programmes – participation within a broader set of demands for
both for their substantive value and, perhaps, to emancipation and democracy. And this requires
increase the likelihood of state take-up.(23) The a feminist understanding – an appreciation
breadth of civil society ambition in advancing that contestation involves more strategies than
participative development is illustrated by the oppositional politics, especially in a context in
Asian Coalition for Housing Rights (ACHR) which women’s gendered position increases
and its programme, the Asian Coalition their vulnerability to violence, and to added
for Community Action (ACCA), which has marginalization from the use of violence.
supported members to strengthen citizen As significant as securing political
planning and implementation in hundreds of inclusion, participation in the context of spatial
cities and to scale up to a city-wide impact.(24) informality promotes more bottom-up and
A further example is that of the Orangi Pilot alternative ways of doing urban development.
Project (OPP) – one of the most successful It offers a challenge to modernist visions of
civil society-led examples, with over a million urbanization, urban design and city making.
households securing substantive improvements Iconic buildings and town squares, bridges
to sanitation. Their methodologies have been and other urban spaces designed by globally
taken up by the government of Pakistan.(25) acclaimed architects, exquisitely constructed
This kind of participation has been of expensive materials, cannot be replicated
recognized as entailing positive claim making throughout the city because of the cost. A
by disadvantaged groups and their refusal to different urban vision is embedded in citizen-led
be marginalized. Participation enables informal incremental approaches to development with a
settlement dwellers, for example, to avoid flexible orientation to diverse local preferences
“oppositional” roles, which risk delegitimizing and efforts to improve affordability. Slum/Shack
Dwellers International (SDI), one transnational
20. Watson, V (2014), “Co-production and collaboration in planning network of organizations of the residents of
– the difference”, Planning Theory and Practice Vol 15, No 1, pages
62–76. informal settlements, has developed a portfolio
21. Appadurai, A (2001), “Deep democracy: urban governmentality
of such methodologies to support incremental
and the horizon of politics”, Environment and Urbanization Vol 13, development. This is exemplified by Delgado
No 2, pages 23–43. et al.,(28) who illustrate how communities have
22. Mitlin, D (2008), “With and beyond the state—co-production organized over time to enable the participatory
as a route to political influence, power and transformation for development of informal neighbourhoods in
grassroots organizations”, Environment and Urbanization Vol 20,
No 2, pages 339–360. one small town in Namibia, expanding from the
23. Satterthwaite, D and D Mitlin (2014), Reducing Urban Poverty Freedom Square settlement to the city scale.
in the Global South, Routledge, London and New York; also
Levy, C (2016), “Routes to the just city: towards gender equality
in transport planning”, in C O N Moser (editor), Gender, Asset
Accumulation and Just Cities, Routledge, London and New York, 26. Holston, J (2009), “Insurgent citizenship in an era of global
pages 135–149. urban peripheries”, City and Society Vol 21, No 2, pages 245–267.
24. See reference 1, Boonyabancha et al. (2012); also see 27. Mitlin, D (2018), “Beyond contention: urban social movements
reference 13; and Asian Coalition for Community Action (ACCA) and their multiple approaches to secure transformation”,
(2014), 215 Cities in Asia, Asian Coalition for Housing Rights, Environment and Urbanization Vol 30, No 2, pages 557–574.
Bangkok. 28. Delgado, G, A Muller, R Mabakeng and M Namupala (2020),
25. Hasan, A (2008), “Financing the sanitation programme of the “Co-producing land for housing through informal settlement
Orangi Pilot Project—Research and Training Institute in Pakistan”, upgrading: lessons from a Namibian municipality”, Environment
Environment and Urbanization Vol 20, No 1, pages 109–119. and Urbanization Vol 32, No 1, pages 175–194.

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This “bottom-up” incremental development Castán Broto’s contribution in this issue

of informal settlements working to co- refines our understanding of inclusion and
produce upgrading with local authorities has brings a further dimension to our understanding
problematized the role of design and planning of basic needs. She articulates the need for
professionals.(29) New professional roles and participatory efforts to engage with sexuality
practices have emerged through their active and identity, arguing that those with non-
engagement – as equals – with organized normative identities are frequently left out.
communities, as described in the paper in this When they have been included, “participatory
issue by De Carli and Frediani. This requires, planning practices frame gender and sexuality as
however, that challenges such as the equitable identity markers of vulnerable groups, rather than
co-production of knowledge are recognized.(30) thinking of people interested in queer issues as having
Specific and substantive challenges to particular sensibilities and capacities that contribute
scaling participation include the following: to collective decision-making” (page 313). Castán
Inclusion. A widespread concern has Broto argues that the sensibilities and capabilities
been that community efforts – as with those of of queer groups, fine-tuned through their
external agencies – favour better-off and better- lived experience, are well placed to challenge
organized low-income groups.(31) Both ACHR exclusionary boundaries within participation
and SDI have sought, in scaling their work, to on other fronts as well. Such engagement, she
reach at least some of the most marginalized and suggests, may return participation to its radical
disadvantaged groups. The emphasis on savings- roots. Processes to queer participatory planning
based organizing is, at least in part, because of will enhance political participation, advance the
the motivation of women to join such groups wellbeing of vulnerable sectors of the population,
and, given the lack of interest from men, the expand the understanding of the diversity of
leadership roles that they take on.(32) Moreover, needs, and potentially bring broader benefits to
the experience of both ACHR and SDI is that the wider field of participation. It is not simply
savings-based organizing also helps to build a question of including marginalized groups as a
more inclusive processes for the lowest-income matter of their rights. It is also a recognition that
households. However, including all households their inclusion holds the promise of improving
is frequently difficult and tenants are particularly the process by broadening the assumptions on
vulnerable to exclusion. While there are positive which is it based.
examples to the contrary,(33) such efforts require Two further examples demonstrate the
a fine balance, and frequently less egalitarian significance of efforts to expand understandings
outcomes are observed.(34) of who is entitled to be included and how –
Vuksanović-Macura and Miščević’s description of
29. Winkler, T (2013), “At the coalface: community–university efforts to ensure that municipal planning engages
engagements and planning education”, Journal of Planning
Education and Research Vol 33, No 2, pages 215–227.
with Roma communities when regularizing their
neighbourhoods; and Cabannes’ account of the
30. Mitlin, D, J Bennett, P Horn, S King, J Makau and G Masimba
Nyama (2020), “Knowledge matters: the potential contribution of platform provided by participatory budgeting for
the coproduction of research”, European Journal of Development citizens to address the climate emergency.
Research Vol 32, No 3, pages 554–559. Debates about participation are typically
31. Walker, J and S Butcher (2016), “Beyond one-dimensional framed in terms of the inclusion of disadvantaged
representation: challenges for neighbourhood planning in socially
diverse urban settlements in Kisumu, Kenya”, International
groups. However, Cobbinah and Nyame
Development Planning Review Vol 38, No 3, pages 275–295; also highlight that even relatively advantaged
Frediani, A A and C Cociña (2019), “‘Participation as planning’: groups can be excluded from some processes to
strategies from the South to challenge the limits of planning”, Built
the detriment of their own responsibilities and
Environment Vol 45, No 2, pages 143–161.
the public interest. The authors explain that
32. d’Cruz, C and P Mudimu (2013), “Community savings that mobilize
federations, build women’s leadership and support slum upgrading”, poor land management in Kumasi has resulted
Environment and Urbanization Vol 25, No 1, pages 31–45. in the decline in available green space in the
33. Weru, Jane (2004), “Community federations and city upgrading: city, with a loss of 80 per cent in the last 30
the work of Pamoja Trust and Muungano in Kenya”, Environment years. Underpinning this decline is a conflict
and Urbanization Vol 16, No 1, pages 47–62.
between the traditional and statutory authorities
34. Rigon, A (2017), “Intra-settlement politics and conflict in
responsible for these areas, resulting in the
enumerations”, Environment and Urbanization Vol 29, No 2, pages
581–596. exclusion of traditional authorities from the
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process. The authors argue that these authorities affiliates Johannesburg (2005), Cape Town
need to work together for more effective land (2006), Namibia (2009), Kampala (2014) and
administration. The statutory authorities need Harare (2014); by 2020, 224 city-wide profiling
to recognize the significance of traditional exercises had been completed.
authorities and develop processes to enable their City-wide organizing challenges isolation
participation. and builds solidarity, enabling efforts to secure
Further aspects of the inclusion challenges justice to be better sustained, and ensuring that
are raised by Matt Birkinshaw, Anna Grieser and they are adequately informed. In some cases, that
Jeff Tan. This paper discusses the expansion of means building an understanding of what elites
a community-managed water and sanitation do to maintain power. In other cases, it means
programme from rural to urban areas in Gilgit- sharing ideas about new approaches to address
Baltistan, Pakistan. The research finds levels of longstanding grievances more effectively. A
participation to be significantly lower in the urban taken-for-granted component of these efforts
settings and identifies a couple of reasons directly is the significance of place-based organizing.
related to the challenge of inclusion. First, urban Everyday connections between neighbours
neighbourhoods are more diverse and have more provide possibilities for persistent efforts to
mobile populations. Urban heterogeneity, say the challenge disadvantage and marginalization.
authors, “. . .is reflected in the number of languages Cawood’s discussion elaborates on the
spoken: an average of five in urban projects, one importance of city-wide networks for low-
in rural projects” (page 509). Whether or not income informal households in Dhaka.
inclusion is an issue here, this research draws our Focusing on three city-wide urban poor
attention to the need for a high degree of local networks (BBOSC, NDBUS and NBUS) in Dhaka,
engagement (scaling within). Second, because a city of 19 million, the discussion outlines
urban projects are more complicated, involving the opportunities for scaling participation up
more complex technologies with larger-scale (from projects and precedents into policy and
investments, they are more expensive, and the programming), out (into new settlements and
cost of services clearly influences the ability of spatial areas), within (from one household to
the lowest-income households to participate. another in the same settlement), across (from
Challenging localism. Less attention has one service to another, e.g. water and sanitation
been given, both in these papers and in the wider to housing), and through (applying capabilities
literature, to the challenge of going beyond learned from one activity to new projects). But
the immediate vicinity and neighbourhood to Cawood’s account also gives full weight to the
engage with the larger urban centre, given the limits to this scaling up, pointing to overlapping
multiple interconnections across urban space. trends in the relationship between the state
While the significance of city-wide residents’ and civil society that make it difficult to avoid
associations in the development of participatory the “deep structures of dependency, patronage and
budgeting has long been realized,(35) relatively intermediation” (page 396).
little academic attention has been given to the De Carli and Frediani also recognize the
potential role of city-wide networks. Despite significance of city-wide understandings of
this, movements themselves have continued to participatory processes, adding the route of
support such efforts, as described by Cawood’s design to strategies for achieving city-wide
paper from Bangladesh. In the mid-2000s, for scale. They argue that bringing a design-based
instance, SDI shifted from surveying specific perspective to localized upgrading initiatives
neighbourhoods to conducting city-wide can be a powerful conceptual and practical
enumerations. For SDI, a city-wide process tool to support horizontal, vertical and deep
requires that at least 85 per cent of the city’s scaling. They share their own exploration of the
informal settlements are profiled with essential ways in which professionals can support such a
information about the residents, services perspective, drawing on the Change by Design
(quantity, quality and costs of access), and programme of Architecture Sans Frontières – UK
tenure status. This process was catalysed by (ASF-UK).
As illustrated both by Cawood and by De
35. Abers, R (1998), “From clientalism to cooperation: local
Carli and Frediani, a political perspective may be
government, participatory policy and civil organizing in Porto
Alegre, Brazil”, Politics and Society Vol 26, No 4, pages 511–537. essential for communities to advance. De Carli
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and Frediani illustrate the role that a reflective continuing urban development challenges.
professional cadre can play in this regard, Although site-specific housing and infrastructure
adding value to grassroots efforts to redefine needs have long since been addressed, residents
development options. still face considerable problems (such as poor
The formalization of participation water quality and rising levels of crime). But
appears to offer benefits but is shown to be the problems that both original residents and
problematic in the experiences analysed here. In newcomers now face have become more difficult
the context of informal settlement upgrading, for for local groups to solve on their own through
instance, formalization brings in state resources, local action. Moreover, the modern vision of
but also limits the autonomy of grassroots urban development realized by the authorities,
organizations through the need to comply with completed housing and access to a full
with formally set regulations and standards.(36) suite of services, creates dependencies on the
The compromises that communities make to state that appear, at least in this location, to
engage with the state, particularly in the context have become insurmountable obstacles to more
of a generous subsidy allocation, need to be engaged and active citizenship. Without an
understood and reflected on, and these papers alternative vision, and the networks that enable
add nuance to that understanding. power hierarchies to be challenged, residents
Silvonen summarizes the experiences of remain frustrated and disaffected.
participation by residents in one low-income Birkinshaw et al. also highlight the challenges
neighbourhood in Iztapalapa, Mexico City, for participation in improved urban water
drawing on their historical experiences as well supplies because, relative to improvements
as their present-day activities. She describes in rural areas, technologies are complex and
the efforts of the original residents who settled expensive, depending on a more sophisticated
informally on the site and secured regularization management and, it is suggested, deterring
and upgrading through an organic process community members from being involved.
of participation, and contrasts this with the While the state failure to scale participation
experience of newcomers who have arrived and the gap between rhetoric and practice are
more recently to occupy social housing and related in part to competing ideologies and a
a private residential development. Silvonen lack of investment in participatory governance,
expands our understanding of the challenges they are also clearly related to a reluctance on
of institutionalizing participation, showing the part of authorities to give up power. This
how the formal structures more recently reluctance sits alongside efforts to institutionalize
established by the state have interfered with empowerment and a participatory and democratic
older local, collective processes (page 489). “As engagement in state processes; hence the
the neighbourhood became a more densely populated contradictions referred to above. Pimentel
and fully developed urban area, then, its previous Walker and Friendly highlight the paradox of
participatory practices were abandoned without state attitudes and actions in two Brazilian cities.
the formal citizen participation channels filling the Analysing experiences with participatory urban
gap.” Inequalities between residents, ineffective policy councils, they highlight the popularity
local authority action and the growth of of the idea of participation but also demonstrate
clientelist relations (as community leaders were how the practice can be co-opted even when it
selected for their partisan political affiliations) is supported by legislation. In Porto Alegre, for
have prevented the emancipatory dimensions instance, the urban policy council established
of participation from being sustained. Levels to take forward the master plan has been unable
of participation are low now, and Silvonen to deal equitably with informal settlements and
suggests that residents believe that participation inner-city neighbourhoods. These communities
is onerous and brings few rewards. are denied regularization as elites make decisions
However, Silvonen’s analysis also raises tricky behind “closed doors”. The authors conclude
questions about the potential of bottom-up that legislative efforts to achieve equity are
participation to address some of the more complex undermined by powerful interests, specifically
those related to real estate, upper-middle-class
36. Mitlin, D (2013), “A class act: professional support to
residents and politicians. These experiences are
people’s organizations in towns and cities of the global South”,
Environment and Urbanization Vol 25, No 2, pages 483–499. reminiscent of earlier discussions about citizen
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non-engagement in city-wide planning processes, the creation of institutionalized opportunities

which remain in the hands of state elites with for participation, but these efforts appear
very limited accountability to low-income unable to realize the intention for which they
residents.(37) Pimentel Walker and Friendly do, were instigated. Both a lack of state support
however, explain that even when the space and overly formal and inappropriate state
provided for community groups on these councils processes emerge as problematic to both local
is unfairly co-opted, the process still allows for a participation and to efforts to scale participatory
greater awareness of urban policy issues on the governance. Regardless of the objectives of state
part of these more marginalized stakeholders, support for participation, these papers indicate
who also then spread the word further. that powerful local interests tend to control and
Ortiz et al. analyse experiences from Havana, benefit from the processes involved.
explaining the distinctive nature of the Cuban Cawood’s political economy perspective
model of participation that has emerged highlights a further aspect of the consequences
within a long-established single-party political of engaging state agencies. In Dhaka, changing
system dominated by the Cuban Communist donor priorities and the consequential shift of
Party (PCC). The catalyst for state-sponsored NGOs towards ensuring their own organizational
participation here is threefold: first, the goal is to longevity have meant that donors have less
strengthen social relations at the neighbourhood interest in supporting movements and reforming
level and secure citizens’ active participation in political processes. NGOs have thereby avoided
their locality; second, it is seen as a prerequisite confrontation with the state but have reduced
for local development, associated with local opportunities for “participation”. Cawood
devolved power and increased opportunities for captures the limited options open to three city-
involvement in decision making; and third, it is wide grassroots networks in Dhaka, which seek
intended to strengthen a sense of “co-responsibility to negotiate the needs and interests of their
and social inclusion of the plurality of actors and members. She argues that these networks are
vulnerable populations. . .[to enable the] . . .social adversely embedded within relations influenced
project” (page 334). Like Silvonen, they recognize by the historical development of the city (page
the significance of the historical trajectory of 400): “deep structures – entrenched patron–client
participatory efforts in Havana; their research relations mediated by caste, class, religion and
reconstructs past experiences of participation kinship formed in an agrarian, pre-capitalist and
through key informants who are also embedded pre-democratic Bangladesh (and South Asia more
in ongoing initiatives. The emerging lessons broadly) – continue to confine low-income groups
highlight both the ambiguity of state support within relationships of dependency” [emphasis
for participation and the continuing pressure in original]. The NGO sector is characterized by
from below to reform state practices and politics, partisan party alignments and has increased the
and to take advantage of whatever space is networks’ dependency on clientelist relations.
made available. When the state is weak there Such patron–client relations have become more
are opportunities to advance participation and entrenched due to the strengthening of vertical
secure a more egalitarian sharing of powers, links of authority. Movements struggle to
which then close down as the state steps back navigate a conflictual and partisan politics.
from supporting these efforts. In addition to challenges related to inclusion,
These experiences from Brazil, Cuba and expansion and formalization are those of finance.
Mexico all demonstrate the ultimate diffidence Cabannes’ analysis of participatory budgeting to
of state support. Citizen pressure leads to address the climate emergency highlights this
support from political elites for reforms and important constraint, pointing to the absolute
lack of money available to local government in
37. Rolnik, R (2011), “Democracy on the edge: limits and some contexts of the global South. Ortiz et al. also
possibilities in the implementation of an urban reform agenda
discuss how the lack of finance has prevented
in Brazil”, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research
Vol 35, No 2, pages 239–255; also Harriss, J (2006), “Middle-class participation from expanding in Havana.
activism and the politics of the informal working class”, Critical However deep the political commitment and
Asian Studies Vol 38, No 4, pages 445–465; and Ghertner, D however well designed the institutionalization
A (2011), “Gentrifying the state, gentrifying participation: elite
governance programs in Delhi”, International Journal of Urban and of participatory processes, without finance such
Regional Research Vol 35, No 3, pages 504–532. institutionalization is unlikely to deliver results.
304
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In the face of these constraints, however, it they receive from these connections, various
is all the more important to attend to building associations, federations and groups participate
both citizen capabilities and relational capital. in alliances with a range of professional agencies
In terms of capability development, to advance their cause. Such alliances help by
there is an evident need to strengthen local providing information and knowledge, and by
organizations in multiple ways. Drawing on offering connections to elites. They also help
Horn et al.,(38) Horn analyses the significance grassroots organizations to manage conflict
of the Muungano Alliance’s experimentation to effectively by working strategically with other
upgrade Mukuru, an informal settlement with stakeholders, recognizing that conflict is a means
more than 100,000 households occupying a to challenge existing power configurations. The
well-located site adjacent to an industrial area alliances help to minimize the costs of conflict
in Nairobi. Horn describes how the Alliance (for example, through a loss of legitimacy to the
created its own opportunities, building on the agenda of low-income groups among elites), and
2010 constitutional reform to secure “enabling help support a change of strategies away from
conditions for scaling through tactics such as frame contestation and towards collaboration through
extension, identifying and creatively using relevant meaningful participation in state processes.
legislative openings, and securing buy-in for the SPA Such alliances can come under considerable
from government authorities at politically opportune pressure, however. Cawood discusses the
moments prior to elections, when politicians sought trend towards NGOs establishing their own
broad popular support” (page 524). The breadth community organizations, and some community
and depth of community capabilities are organizations registering as NGOs, and indicates
summarized in this sentence. how this has changed the dynamic of urban
Silvonen’s account of earlier resident histories social movements and reduced meaningful
also reveals the capabilities of local communities participation in Dhaka. On the one hand,
in Mexico City to create, improve and then local residents’ associations are controlled by
secure regularization of their neighbourhoods. professional groups with a strong focus on an
But local leaders were unable to maintain instrumental objective (service delivery) rather
their community-led processes when the than a democratic rationale. On the other
neighbourhood expanded. Newer residents hand, the formalization of community groups
had little expectation (and perhaps experience) (associated with NGO status) has limited local
of local citizen action, and a partisan politics democratic practice. Cawood documents
strengthened clientelist exchanges that local the embeddedness of some network leaders
leaders were unable to resist. within relations of patronage, securing their
In terms of relational capital, the personal self-interest, while also affirming their
contributions in this issue highlight the multiple commitment to more value-based processes
groups involved in furthering (and constraining) and supporting the needs and interests of
participation. Citizens build up their relational their members. Positive engagements between
capital through many activities, including the social movements and professional agencies,
co-production of services (Horn, Cawood), and along with “multi-sectoral coalitions among
tactical engagements with formally instituted WASH organizations, housing NGOs (though few
participatory spaces, such as Brazil’s policy in number), human rights lawyers, community
councils (Pimentel Walker and Friendly) or architects and other activists, involving participatory
neighbourhood associations (Ortiz et al.). learning and action, could enhance coordination
However, in some cases they withdraw, exhausted between NGOs and CBOs, and create opportunities
by the ineffectuality of their hampered efforts to promote scaling across and up” [page 409,
and by bitter disappointment that promises have emphasis in original].
not been realized. Silvonen’s account exemplifies Horn also engages with the complexities of
this response. alliance building, explaining (page 528) how the
In addition to broadening their social Muungano Alliance in Nairobi has worked with
relations by networking with groups across the the county government to scale
city, and benefitting from the knowledge that
“‘across’ to multiple policy areas and
38. See reference 6. [promote] collaboration among different
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public, private and civil society organizations delivering results (as illustrated by Vuksanović-
with relevant thematic expertise. This has Macura and Miščević), such relations appear to
been achieved through a multi-sectoral be the exception.
and consortia-based planning model, with However, it is also clear that this is a
seven thematic sector consortia and one dynamic process. The conclusions that follow
responsible for coordinating community here reflect the ways in which civil society
organization and communication among agencies are engaging with the challenges
the different consortia.” they experience. Residents, their organizations
and professional support agencies continue
Vuksanović-Macura and Miščević emphasize to advance efforts to be involved in policy,
the significance of state–society links. Specifically, planning and programming. Arguably, multiple
they conclude that the readiness of residents to experiences with institutionalizing participation,
participate is influenced by their relationship and subsequent frustrations about the outcomes,
with local authorities (page 473). have sharpened understandings about what is
required. At the same time, attention to efforts
that scale through, within, across and outwards
“In settlements where the needs of the provide the foundations for more effective
residents had been ignored by either past participatory processes, and nurture development
or current administrations, a high degree alternatives and social transformation.
of dissatisfaction and concern hindered Second, civil society uses existing spaces
an active involvement in the process. . . and makes new spaces to advance its
On the other hand, if the development of needs and interests, and its capability
the plan was a continuation of previous to do this appears significant in
activities in which the municipality and explaining positive outcomes.(39) Artecorte,
residents participated, then the majority a community initiative in Havana, shows the
of the settlement inhabitants tended to be continuous effort by citizens to improve on
involved in the process.” local opportunities. Ortiz et al. discuss how
openings emerge when the state is weak during
moments of transition, and how community
IV. Conclusions members step up to take advantage of them.
Pimentel Walker and Friendly also highlight
Five conclusions emerge from these papers and how citizen groups seek to use the available
broader considerations. spaces, limited though they may be, despite the
First, the institutionalization of obstacles that more powerful groups put in their
participation is a considerable challenge. way. Cawood, meanwhile, describes how urban
While considerable effort goes into scaling up networks in Dhaka have sought to strengthen
participation and integrating citizen efforts their practices through horizontal networking
into state policy, programming and practice, and, for example, building solidarity between
the evidence presented here is that this landlords and tenants. Cabannes, for instance,
does not easily lead to success. Rather, the highlights the ways participatory budgeting
institutionalization that is aimed for often results has enabled citizens to advance climate-related
in dysfunctional state processes that undermine projects reflecting their own priorities. Arguably,
participatory efforts through short-term the desire to influence societal values, ideologies
corruption and self-interest, or clientelist politics and orientations lies behind recent efforts to
for partisan electoral gains. Both Birkinshaw expand participatory activities and orientations.
et al. and Silvonen point to the particular Third, the focus on the city is significant
complexities of providing services to address in terms of developing understanding and
needs in higher-density urban settlements strategies towards scaling participation. Without
with more sophisticated technologies, greater this focus, neighbourhood efforts might be futile.
costs and negotiations with those outside of The emphasis on scaling participation upwards
the immediate neighbourhood. While trusted
relations between the state and citizens can 39. See reference 6; also see reference 2, Mitlin et al.
be built, and such relations are important in (forthcoming).

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and outwards rather than keeping it local has community members become planners
two implications. First, city-wide participation and implementers. However, my fourth
encourages citizen organizations to reach conclusion is that an ongoing terrain of
out to previously neglected neighbourhoods. contestation enables more collaborative
Second, the city focus raises aspirations for endeavours in both informal and formal
securing recognition and substantive material spaces. That is the paradox of collaboration.
improvements. Work at the level of the city is Conflict and collaboration are not alternatives;
more profound than just reaching out to other rather they are complements.(40) Managing
citizens within and beyond the immediate this complementarity is complex. It requires
locality. Work at the city level requires more building relational capital, intensifying and
complex efforts to strategically engage with deepening links with a range of agencies so that
authorities (for instance, in scaling across from community groups are not marginalized because
water to health); and this can result in important of the contestation. It also requires a persistent
learning for social movements and other testing of the boundaries of collaboration to
civil society organizations. Being politically establish safe spaces of contestation where
effective requires strong local organizations; frustration with the status quo can be made
scaling within low-income neighbourhoods evident, leading to new levels of collaboration
and reaching out to residents who are not and potentially more effective redistribution.
yet participating in existing organizations is This requires urban social movements to operate
significant in this regard. with flexibility and diversity across the city,
This city-wide scope also greatly expands and to create multi-stakeholder groups that
the potential for collaboration with a wider maintain their autonomous space for activities
group of agencies including NGOs, professional within a loosely coordinated process. Points
agencies, grassroots organizations active in of conflict sit alongside points of consensus
different sectors and social media. De Carli and as the winners and losers from multiple social
Frediani explain the significance of recognizing interactions emerge in real time. Activities
the city scale (page 380): take place, outcomes become evident, and the
processes adjust, leading to further rounds of
“we understand our adoption of a macro, contestation and collaboration. This process is
city-level perspective as a conceptual evident in Nairobi, where decades of struggle
and practical tool to support horizontal, against evictions laid the foundations for diverse
vertical and deep scaling: one that allows and complementary efforts to address the needs
for building a situated, bodily and spatial- and interests of informal settlement residents.(41)
material dimension into scaling processes. Fifth and finally, also consistent with the
Through participatory design methods, existing literature, there are multiple iterative
the macro scale aims to deepen residents’ interactions among politics, participation,
and partners’ understanding of city-wide empowerment and planning. While
dynamics and their own positions in participation may be discussed in some academic
relation to them, so that they can reach out literature without reference to political relations
and up to other places and stakeholders.” and activities, this is not helpful. Participation
[emphasis in original] takes place in a deeply political context.
In terms of contesting existing power
In this way, they suggest that “. . .design configurations, Castán Broto calls on those
methodologies can contribute to social mobilization, involved in participatory planning to challenge
expanding the range of devices and rituals that normative approaches and acknowledge the
grassroots groups and their support networks can put significance of difference. She describes the
into practice to scale participation” (page 392). As alternative as “a process of cultural erasure: any
importantly, these authors demonstrate a self- strangeness or deviation from an externally imposed
critical and reflective professional practice and a
value-based orientation to their work. 40. See reference 27.

Democracy creates useful opportunities for 41. See reference 1, Lines and Makau (2018); also Klopp, J
M (2008), “Remembering the destruction of Muoroto: slum
communities, and effective local organizations demolitions, land and democratisation in Kenya”, African Studies
seek to use these opportunities. In this process, Vol 67, No 3, pages 295–314; and Horn, this volume.

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norm is covered up and ignored” (page 318), and “Achieving inclusive cities through scaling
she demands greater recognition of the fact that up participation planning in Africa” at the
“queer is an intensely racialized and dispossessed University of Manchester between 2018 and
category” (page 319). Engaging with this challenge 2020, and from an international workshop co-
of inclusion moves forward processes that address funded through the network and the Hallsworth
and overcome multiple forms of marginalization. Conference Fund (University of Manchester).
Scaling, through this lens, has limited worth unless
it deepens as it grows. By extension, to do this it has
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