EUKN - European Urban Knowledge Network - Resident participation in Post-WWII neighbourhoods in Northwest, Central and Southern Europe

Resident participation in Post-WWII neighbourhoods in Northwest, Central and Southern Europe

Introduction

Resident participation in civil society is an important issue in European cities today. But what exactly causes people to participate in their neighbourhoods? Individual and neighbourhood characteristics have played an important role in answering this question. However, national factors such as democratic history have not often been considered. This paper by Karien Dekker and Ronald van Kempen explores how neighbourhood participation can be explained by individual, neighbourhood as well as national characteristics. It provides an international comparison of Post-WWII neighbourhoods in Northwest, Central and Southern Europe and explains the correlation between the three different elements.

Proposition

How can neighbourhood participation be explained by individual, neighbourhood and national characteristics?

Description

Resident participation in civil society is of great importance in today's European cities. Research has shown that the reasons why people participate in their neighbourhoods are related to individual characteristics such as socioeconomic and demographic variables. Apart from that, social capital theory also plays an important role by focusing on the effects of social networks and shared norms on civic action. However, individual and neighbourhoods characteristics are also crucial in explaining why certain residents participate and others do not.

This paper by Karien Dekker and Ronald van Kempen, also includes an international comparison. The authors state that national differences (e.g. democratic history) may also explain the participation of residents. They assess how much relevance national differences have in comparison with the influence of individual and neighbourhood characteristics.

Conclusions

The research produces the following conclusions:

Individual variables are important predictors of participation in neighbourhood management;
Indicators of the characteristics of the neighbourhood (e.g. unemployment, owner occupied housing, social problems) are also important;
The interaction effects between the characteristics of an individual in relation to the neighbourhood suggest that a disadvantaged person in disadvantaged neighbourhood actually participates less than would the same person when living in a better neighbourhood;
There is a strong correlation between the level of social activity in a neighbourhood and participation in organisations that aim to improve the neighbourhood;
National factors such as democratic history and the existence of top-down empowerment policies seem to matter, even when variables on other levels are used in the same analysis;
National and local policies are important determinants of resident participation as well.

Contact info

Utrecht University
Karien Dekker

Publication date

//2008

Researcher

Karien Dekker & Ronald van Kempen

Links

Click here to read the full article on the Journal of Urban Affairs website

Document type

research

Themes

Urban Policy > Social inclusion & integration > Community development

Keywords

Citizens' participation