Insufficiencies of a bottom-up approach at the time of fake news: Parco del Locarnese refusal example

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This paper analyses the public debate that led to the 2018 vote of refusal of the Locarnese National Park, Switzerland. Discursive analysis allows to highlight an important difference between the way of understanding reality by detractors and supporters of the project. This discursive asynchrony and a lack of trust in the institutions rendered the public debate sterile. This calls for a rethinking of the formally bottom-up approach mobilised by the institutions, at the same time encouraging more participation in planning decisions but also greater education about urban reality. The paper concludes that institutions cannot promote the creation and acceptance of bottom-up territorial projects without addressing the challenges posed by fake news.