The PLUS project examined how leadership and community involvement can combine to lead to better policies for cities. The cross-national project has involved universities and cities from across Europe (with an associated project from New Zealand) in research in a range of different sized cities from nine countries. In each city, there have been two case studies of policy areas relevant to all cities - social inclusion and economic competitiveness.

The project involved different academic partners and networks of local authorities.

Case studies came from the following cities:

PLUS has started in response to a Fifth Framework Programme call, within Key Action 4, City of Tomorrow and Cultural Heritage.

Two books have been written to expose and disseminate PLUS findings and are published by Routledge.

The first book ‘Democratic choices for cities: participation, leadership and urban sustainability’ reflects both on the different debates around the concept of urban governance and outline key elements of our vision for the future of local democracy.

The second book, ‘Leadership and participation: lessons from sustainable cities’ offers an analysis and synthesis of empirical findings. The final report of the project presents all case studies, the methodology, and a comparative analysis to draw lessons on leadership and community involvement in urban sustainable development.

University of the West of England, UWE
Mr. Laurence Carmichael

01/09/2004

research

Urban Policy > Social inclusion & integration > Community development

Citizens' participation