Article

Creating value for citizens through citizen participation in urban regeneration

MADE Student Project

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).

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