{"id":3845,"date":"2020-08-25T08:28:19","date_gmt":"2020-08-25T08:28:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sustainable-everyday-project.net\/ville-collaborative\/?p=3845"},"modified":"2020-11-04T11:39:22","modified_gmt":"2020-11-04T11:39:22","slug":"the-co-construction-of-a-vision-for-the-territory-an-inclusive-approach-to-living-better-together","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.sustainable-everyday-project.net\/ville-collaborative\/2020\/08\/25\/the-co-construction-of-a-vision-for-the-territory-an-inclusive-approach-to-living-better-together\/","title":{"rendered":"The co-construction of a vision for the territory, an inclusive approach to living better together"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Cl\u00e9a Cochelin and Jade Hourman<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

The co-construction of a vision for the territory, an inclusive approach to living better together<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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While traditional urban planning is often unadapted to citizens\u2019 expectations, design methods are a way to rethink the fabric of territory. Various stakeholders are involved in a process of co-construction, in order to share a common vision of a desired future for the territory.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the Observatory of emerging uses of the city, 75% of French people would like to have the opportunity to become more involved in major decisions regarding their neighbourhood or municipality (data: November 2017). Who has not already walked by close to home and discovered new urban developments that would have an impact on their habits? These developments do not always correspond with the vision we might have of the space. In any case, according to the Observatory’s figures, three quarters of the French population would have liked to take part in the thinking of the evolution of their territory! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since the model of representative democracy is in crisis, the way territorial policies are crafted is being questioned. Major urban planning projects have been cancelled in past years due to strong citizen opposition, who did not want the transformations to take place. Traditionally, politicians and experts are in charge of developing a vision for the territory and citizens only get partial information about what is going to happen. Yet they are the first to be concerned by these urban transformations and are quite often more aware of the territory\u2019s social complexities. Within this context, it seems essential to think the city for and with its inhabitants. But is it really possible to co-construct a vision of the territory on a very large scale and with a very large number of stakeholders? First of all, it is highly recommended! Politics are unable to produce a vision of society over a long period of time since the electoral agenda forms an obstacle in building a coherent vision. In the face of this, it only seems legitimate that the citizens are the ones to think about the future and the society in which next generations will evolve. Reflecting on territorial issues that affect our daily lives has become especially urgent today as our environment is under threat. Producing a vision of the territory means giving everyone the ability to create the right conditions to live serenely. If a 20-, 30- or 40-year perspective may seem very long, it can quickly become interesting since it is also a way of giving meaning to our present actions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The word \u201ccollaboration\u201d comes from the Latin cum laborare<\/em>or \u00ab\u00a0to work with\u00a0\u00bb. The collective dimension is therefore inherent. This idea of collaboration in the development of public policies upsets the<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\u00ab\u00a0administrative matrix\u00a0\u00bb, where the makers of public policies are elected members and experts, leaving ordinary citizens to a passive role. Co-construction overturns the prevailing top-down planning approach and replaces it with a bottom-up, experimental approach. Citizens are the main affected by public policies, giving them a certain expertise of use, which, combined with the legitimacy of elected representatives within the framework of representative democracy, are best adapted for the socio-spatial singularities of the territory. The idea is to have multidisciplinary teams working together (elected officials, experts, citizens, etc.) to come up with concrete improvements to issues. These teams re-examine the classic mechanisms of public action to propose new processes and tools to co-construct a common vision of the territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first step in any development project is to develop a vision for the territory. To identify the needs of users, they need to be involved since the start. Co-construction gives a place and recognition to citizens’ knowledge. There is no asymmetry of role between the \u00ab\u00a0expert subject\u00a0\u00bb (the elected representative) and the \u00ab\u00a0naive user\u00a0\u00bb (the ordinary citizen). Everyone is put on an equal footing. Design methods provide tools for local authorities to organise this co-construction. The \u00ab\u00a0trial and error\u00a0\u00bb approach is used to valorise controversy and error as a means of exploration and learning. Thought-out solutions must be pragmatic. The \u00ab\u00a0Bords de Deule 2040\u00a0\u00bb project set up workshops of 5 people from different backgrounds, and participants had to consider the needs of 8 user profiles (a cyclist, a family, an entrepreneur, etc). These workshops help to create a \u00ab\u00a0collective intelligence\u00a0\u00bb, wherein each participant brings their knowledge and skills to define the best solution adapted to the uses. In the end, 180 solutions were proposed, broken down into 5 strategic intentions, serving as values to initiate the transition of the territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The goal of co-constructing a vision for the territory is to design concrete projects. The project C\u0153ur<\/em>de ville de la Madeleine<\/em>is a good example. Thanks to the development of a suggestion box, it was possible to start the renovation project for the market square. For 5 months, citizens were asked to share their vision of the square they want for the future (through public surveys in the field, online questionnaires, meetings with identified stakeholders, etc.). An urban planning firm was then commissioned to imagine three distinct development projects, taking into account the inhabitants\u2019 ideas. In a second phase of consultation, the inhabitants voted for their favourite project. The relevance of this approach is to encourage communication between the diverse stakeholders and to develop a shared understanding of the issues at stake.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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C\u0153ur de Ville de la<\/em> Madeleine is a co-construction project with the inhabitants to rehabilitate the market square. Innovative actions were put in place: souvenir box, interactive poster with different questions every month, construction of models by schoolchildren, etc. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There were 3 steps in the project:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Phase 1 of the consultation: identification of needs by users through multiple workshops to determine their vision of the future market place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Prototyping of 3 distinct development projects by a service provider. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Phase 2 of the consultation: citizen vote, and \u00ab\u00a0The Link\u00a0\u00bb project was chosen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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