A Citizen-Defined Vision for the City’s Future. A New Contribution to the Discourse of Citizen Participation in Piura, Peru

Abstract

Many urban projects have shown that there is a lack of exchanges between the different communal actors. Inhabitants are poorly informed about urban development and are not included in it. In managing current challenges in urban development, a balance must be struck between common sense approaches and local needs. Therefore, the active participation of target groups is an important prerequisite for the success and sustainability of projects and programs. To address this gap in urban development in the city of Piura, Peru, an urban vision was developed along with many Piurans. A discursive space was created that invites to formulate ideas about urban development with which it is possible to collect, value and promote local knowledge of the citizen about places, challenges and opportunities of urban planning as well as their creativity to achieve the empowerment of the population and boost new bottom-up activities. Based on 600 ideas, a first version of the urban vision was developed. The vision is meant to serve as a participatory counterpart to the official plans of the city: a constructive contribution to the discussion, which reveals the weaknesses of public programs and shows the power in the ideas of citizens.