What citizen participation teaches cities

Should we not, more than ever today, move away from the verticality of municipal governance, and approach the management of power in another way? Local public decision-making can also be nourished by working with citizens. Isn’t the user expertise of residents essential to better meet their expectations? “Involving people helps to make better decisions, which will be better understood, accepted and more effective, underlines Thierry Beaudet, president of the Economic, Social and Environmental Council. It is not a question of convincing them of the merits of a project that has already been completed. The participation process must be truly sincere. »

Debates with residents, when the municipality plays the role of providing all the elements of understanding, increase confidence in what the city can do. “Citizen participation should not be seen as a counter-power. On the contrary, it is there to enlighten, it aims to give citizens the power to act, to accelerate transformation. insists Ilaria Casillo, vice-president of the National Commission for Public Debate.

The city of Rennes is one of the pioneers in this area with, in 2014, the drafting of a local democracy charter, drawn up by citizens during local democracy meetings, and approved by the municipal council. A charter that in 2020 it decided to strengthen to make it more inclusive and involve a greater diversity of residents. Like the first, this text is the result of co-construction with around a hundred citizens. “Consult neighborhood councils, set up a citizen jury, develop a vote on a neighborhood or city scale…: for each public policy, we look at how to integrate residents, get them to participate,” relieving Xavier Desmots, deputy delegate for local democracy and citizen participation.

This was the case with the launch of a vast consultation on construction within the city. Started in 2019 within neighborhood councils, this consultation was enriched with proposals from a jury of 24 citizens, and resulted, on July 7, 2021, in a Construction and Citizenship charter. Comprising twelve commitments, this text obliges all construction professionals and the city of Rennes to create a framework for discussions with local residents, before any building permit is submitted. Organized with forty residents from all districts of the city, another citizens’ convention on the future of the quays of the Vilaine led the municipality to rally behind the idea of ​​removing the slab to rediscover the river which flows below, while the program of the mayor, Nathalie Appéré, only envisaged removing the existing parking lot. It will also program developments proposed by residents which allow uses linked to the river to be found (pontoons for circulation, rest areas, creation of a lookout footbridge, etc.).

“Promote co-decision and co-construction”

Also, the people of Rennes have a right of questioning: they can ask to speak at the start of the municipal council to express dissatisfaction or make proposals, just as they can call for a subject, since there are a thousand of them supporting this request. “This approach to inquiry seems interesting to us but it is not yet widely used by residents”, regrets Xavier Desmots. And he adds: “It is difficult to get away from what we call supercitizens, these people who monopolize the floor. We seek to vary the participants in each instance. And, with the draw, we manage to have a more diverse audience. »

Faced with the crisis in representative democracy, the new municipal team of Poitiers has also made citizen participation a major act of its mandate, by testing the work bringing together elected officials and residents and by strengthening collective deliberation in the different fields of ‘public action. She set up a citizen and popular assembly, itself born from a participatory approach with a group of thirty residents. This forum for debate and decision-making is based on the fundamental principle of co-construction between residents, elected officials and community agents.

“We want to give every citizen the opportunity to intervene in public life and take part in the decision-making process on choices that have an impact. Beyond simple information-consultation, it is important to promote co-decision, co-construction,” notes Ombelyne Dagicour, assistant in charge of local democracy. “ This assembly is part of a project to transform municipal governance, to create the conditions for permanent dialogue, to reinforce greater transparency of municipal decisions. and revitalize local democracy through active citizenship. »

Renewed every year, this assembly is made up of around a hundred residents drawn at random to obtain sociological diversity. The assembly is currently working on incivility in public spaces, a subject chosen by citizens. “We wanted to rely on popular sovereignty but as elected officials we would not have prioritized this subject, fearing that it would be approached in a too safe manner. However, after debating with sociologists and urban planners, the assembly chose to address this subject from a very positive angle: how can we make the city of Poitiers more welcoming, more egalitarian, more inclusive? And this by acting on the layout of public space, on the way in which we appropriate it, to reduce the feeling of insecurity”, explains Ombelyne Dagicour.

“Recreate confidence”

Each assembly thus begins with a lot of clearing work and reflection on possible courses of action. And during the last assembly, in October, a scenario with concrete solutions was finalized, which will then be validated at the end-of-year municipal council, in the presence of the participants. Beyond these 100 people who attend the various sessions of the assembly, they are open to all citizens. “Today we have an average of 150 to 200 participants. This remains modest but it takes time to develop the culture of citizen participation,” notes the chosen one.

To encourage more active citizenship, the community began sending to the city’s 58,000 households, before each assembly, a letter signed by the mayor and her assistant for local democracy in which they seek to raise as many restrictions as possible. brakes, by providing for example childcare, translation into sign language… To make citizens want to get involved, Poitiers also strives to develop festive days, with small sketches, a concert, a lunch Free… “so that it is not only a studious assembly but [que cela] creates a link. Making people want to also involves being human, a little lightness », explains Ombelyne Dagicour.

For this elected official, there is such distrust towards politicians today that we must be very clear about the rules of the game: “Systematically, when we take a participation approach, we must always link this link to the final decision. We must therefore always think about going back to the residents and giving them a transparent account of what we are considering as an action, explaining to them that it may take time, resources… For the people who have given their time voluntarily, and also for recreating trust between elected officials and citizens is essential, absolutely essential. Because this is how citizens understand the complexity of public action. »