Citizen participation: the case of Israel Project Renewal

Abstract

Project Renewal made citizen participation in decision‐making its central principle, the core of all the activities performed at the neighborhood level. This paper describes the concept of citizen participation in disadvantaged areas, how it developed in practice, its organizational changes and its new form in Project Renewal neighborhoods in Israel. In addition, it considers which factors contribute to or impede the development of citizen participation and the lessons that have been learned during its 30 years of existence. The citizen participation concept as implemented in Project Renewal indicates significant transformation changes in neighborhood rehabilitation: from the absence of both formal and informal channels of influence to the present stage when it is an integral part of a decision‐making process. The implementation of a resident participation policy enabled inhabitants in disadvantaged neighborhoods in Israel to have their voices heard and to be part of an influential neighborhood body of stakeholders working together to build and manage a sustainable community.