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The Netherlands

This study was commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs of the European Parliament. It analyses the political and legal dynamics behind referendums on EU-related matters. It argues that we have entered a period of increasing political uncertainty with regard to the European project and that this new political configuration will both affect and be affected by the politics of EU-related referendums. Such referendums have long been a risky endeavour and this has been accentuated in the wake of the Great Recession with its negative ramifications for public opinion in the European Union. It is clear that referendums on EU matters are here to stay and will continue to be central to the EU’s future as they are deployed to determine the number of Member States within the EU, its geographical reach, its constitutional evolution and adherence to EU policies. Only now they have become an even riskier endeavour.

Creating space for urban farming

Urban farming projects often involve the (temporarily) redevelopment of urban space by local co-productions of citizens and/or entrepreneurs. To realize their ambitions these coalitions often need support of public (government) resources such as time, money, space and regulation (Green Deal Stadslandbouw, 2013). This paper asks the question to what extent the development of urban farming projects can be understood as an example of planning through direct citizen participation/ participatory governance (e.g. Cornwall, 2004; Roberts, 2004) and what this means for the role of the municipal planning professional or civil servant in making these projects successful. Literature on the role of the municipal planner or civil servant in urban farming projects mainly concerns the role as enabler of projects given the many difficulties for projects. However, when looked at the development of urban farming as an example of citizen participation/ participatory governance and the transfer of social functions towards society other roles and tasks of planners seem to be important to make urban farming successful. This discussion paper looks to the role of planners and civil servants in some related government domains such as landscape (e.g. Van Dam et al. 2008, 2010, 2011) and neighbourhood development (e.g. Frieling et al., 2014) to complement our understanding of the role of planners in making urban farming projects successful. With this analysis the paper sets the scene for further research into tools for the planning professional or civil servant to support urban farming. In the paper the situation in Amsterdam serves as an example.

The strategic value of design for e-democracy

The paper arguments that a design approach will be essential to the future of e-democracy and e-governance. This development is driven at the intersection of three fields: democracy, information technology and design. Developments in these fields will result in a new scale, new complexity and demands for new quality of democracy solutions. Design is essential to answer these new challenges. The article identifies a new generation of design thinking as a distinct new voice in the development of e-democracy and describes some of the consequences for democracy and governance. It argues that, to be able to design new solutions for e-democracy successfully, current approaches may be too narrow and a broader critical reflection is necessary for both designers and other stakeholders in the process.

The ends of the internet

Multiple perspectives in bottom-up planning for urban space

In urban areas space is limited. Different stakeholders can have very different ideas and visions on how a plot of land should be used. The R-Link research-project studies this topic. In this video, Dr. Melika Levelt (Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences) will introduce a method from the R-Link project that takes into account the different views of stakeholders in urban space development. Melika will explain how this ‘stakeholder canvas’ may help stakeholders to ask each other the right questions, to identify new stakeholders, and to visualize views and visions in a coherent and helpful manner.

Naar nieuwe verhoudingen tussen wijkprofessionals, bewoners & gemeente

In 2022 hebben wij de relaties tussen de wijkprofessionals, de bewoners en de gemeente Amstelveen onderzocht. Dit onderzoek is gedaan door het houden van interviews met de verschillende partijen, dialooggesprekken en uiteindelijk is er een ontwerpbijeenkomst georganiseerd om te komen tot concrete oplossingen.Aanleiding waren signalen over afstemmingsvraagstukken tussen actieve bewoners, wijkprofessionals en de gemeente. Uit het onderzoek kwamen drie centrale fricties naar voren: (1) de verschillende invulling van bewoners en professionals aan de notie van lokale participatie; (2) de spanning tussen de nagestreefde bestuurlijke transparantie rondom wijkontwikkeling en de door bewoners ervaren transparantie; en (3) tussen gemeente en professionals speelt een verschil in opvatting over wat goed werk is en wat ervoor nodig is om dat te realiseren.Op basis van deze inzichten is een ontwerpproces opgezet vanuit Design Thinking Principes. Daaruit kwam het ontwerp van de huiskamerdialoog waarin op laagdrempelige manier alledaagse spanningen in de samenwerking kunnen worden geagendeerd en verkend. Op dit moment evalueren wij samen met professionals en bewoners de opbrengst van die huiskamerdialogen, en verkennen de voorwaarden waaronder wijkprofessionals dit ontwerp op een duurzame manier in de Amstelveense buurten kunnen inzetten.