Background: Every energy transition has had its winners and its losers, both economically and in terms of social justice and community cohesion. The current transition is no different given the complex, intersecting matrices of power and... more
Background: Every energy transition has had its winners and its losers, both economically and in terms of social justice and community cohesion. The current transition is no different given the complex, intersecting matrices of power and experience that influence the key stakeholders and actors involved. Local oppositions to the deployment of renewable energy technologies have been significantly higher than expected. In numerous instances, these oppositions have been in reaction to the disempowerment of local rights and entitlements associated with specific developments. Consequently, there is a clear need for governance structures and organisational formats that are participatory, inclusive and mindful of the lived experiences of local people. Despite the knowledge gaps and financial constraints that continue to persist, how can local communities become empowered to drive project development and meaningfully engage in the low-carbon energy transition?
RESUMEN Este artículo expone que el significado primigenio del concepto de democracia ha sido distorsionado y todavía no hemos sido capaces de implantar diseños institucionales adecuados para ponerlo en práctica. El texto argumenta que el... more
RESUMEN Este artículo expone que el significado primigenio del concepto de democracia ha sido distorsionado y todavía no hemos sido capaces de implantar diseños institucionales adecuados para ponerlo en práctica. El texto argumenta que el ideal democrático debe ser rescatado, y debe ser implementado mediante nuevos diseños institucionales que empoderen a los ciudadanos para participar directamente en los procesos políticos de toma de decisiones. El trabajo trata de identificar, asimismo, qué tipo de innovaciones democráticas sería factible desarrollar a partir de las aportaciones teóricas de destacados académicos. El texto muestra que las mayores dificultades para proceder a un proceso de profundización democrática son de carácter ideológico e intelectual. PALABRAS CLAVE Participación política, democracia deliberativa, democracia liberal, racionalidad económica, racionalidad comunicativa. SUMARIO 1. Introducción. 2. El contexto de crisis de la democracia liberal. 3. Democracia y racionalidad económica. 4. ¿Es posible más y mejor democracia? 5. De la democracia liberal a la democracia deliberativa. 6. Consideraciones finales. Bibliografía. ABSTRACT This article states that the original meaning of the concept of democracy has been distorted and we have not been able to apply appropriate institutional designs to develop it. The text argues that the democratic ideal must be rescued, and should be realized through new institutional designs that empower citizens to participate directly in political decision-making processes. The paper tries to identify, also what type of democratic innovations would be feasible to implement from the theoretical contributions of leading academics. The text shows that the greatest difficulties to carry out a process of democratic deepening are of ideological and intellectual character.
While Western planning emphasizes the importance of genuine meaningful citizen participation, the conventional public meeting approach fails to truly engage with the public. Studies have revealed the limitations of this approach to engage... more
While Western planning emphasizes the importance of genuine meaningful citizen participation, the conventional public meeting approach fails to truly engage with the public. Studies have revealed the limitations of this approach to engage and positively impact ethnic communities. However, research has been limited to investigating the inefficiency of the participatory framework from the experts’ perspective. It has not addressed the issue of the lack of ethnic diversity in participatory processes nor have made concrete recommendations for policymakers. The purpose of this research is to explore the urban governance contradiction regarding the attainment of meaningful engagement. This goal is achieved through uncovering how ethnically diverse citizens engage with and are engaged by the municipal participatory framework to understand to what extent this approach meets their needs. The research is conducted through a case study of the eight Scarborough Neighbourhood Improvement Areas (NIAs), which comprise an important share of diverse ethnic groups. This study reviews the NIAs’ participatory process and policies and analyses the output of interviews with representatives of the Scarborough communities, representatives of neighbourhood agencies, and the City to examine participatory processes and uncover ethnic groups’ perspectives concerning the municipal participatory approach.
Series editors: Anna Triandafyllidou and Usha George
Key Words: citizen participation, meaningful public engagement, citizen empowerment, ethnic communities, the City of Toronto participatory framework
