EUKN - European Urban Knowledge Network - The Venlo neighbourhood approach

The Venlo neighbourhood approach

Introduction

The Venlo neighbourhood / area oriented approach focuses on promoting the involvement of citizens in the municipal decision making process and on increasing the involvement of inhabitants in the neighbourhood. The Venlo approach has been operating since 1995 and after some years of development now has an identity in the city and in the (fifteen) neighbourhoods.

Problem

How can the participation of inhabitants in a neighbourhood-oriented approach be promoted?

Description

The neighbourhood oriented approach focuses on an interactive approach: the municipality aims to come up with jointly supported proposals, plans and decisions for the neighbourhood concerned in collaboration with the inhabitants and institutions in that neighbourhood. The objective is to create complete neighbourhoods with adequate facilities for young and old and where the quality of housing, work and life is brought up to standard and kept there.

Approach

Consultations with the inhabitants are regularly held via neighbourhood consultations. Furthermore structural partner consultations are held with external partners in the city or neighbourhood. Each district has a sounding board group. The municipality fulfils a directive function.
The neighbourhood consultations have the authority to make both requested and non-requested recommendations to the board. This authority applies in particular to:

the list of problems and bottlenecks in the neighbourhood drawn up in the neighbourhood consultations themselves and the associated solutions proposed in the neighbourhood consultation;
municipal proposals and plans for which participation is desirable, for example changes to zoning plans, traffic plans, neighbourhood plans, projects etcetera;
proposals made at the neighbourhood's own initiative.

The recommendations are geared to the municipal policymaking process which describes four phases in a recommendation:

recommendations during a preliminary consultation;
recommendations immediately prior to a final decision being made;
recommendations during implementation;
recommendations during evaluation.

The subjects usually on the agenda are subjects directly connected to the housing and living environment.

Results

The neighbourhood consultations have been introduced in each neighbourhood.

Learning experiences

The extent to which the bodies are representative is of special importance. It is not always possible to have all groups of inhabitants represented.
Communication is crucial.
Tension may arise between duality and this approach.
The coordination of the drawing up of recommendations is the responsibility of the neighbourhood consultations.
The embedding of the approach in the municipal organisation is not easy, which may result in lack of clarity.

Contact info

Municipality of Venlo
Ms D. Kuipers

Project start date

01/07/1995

Links

Municipality of Venlo

De Venlose wijkaanpak (PDF, Dut, 132 KB)

Document type

case

Themes

Urban Policy > Social inclusion & integration > Community development

Keywords

Citizens' participation