Abstract
This paper analyses the changes resulting from the use of a new tool in urban policies in Brussels, the schéma directeur (structure plan). We especially examine whether the new procedure has concretely achieved some of its major objectives: firstly, improving coordination of public action at different levels of authority; secondly, building real consensus with private partners; and thirdly, reinforcing democratic participation. Based on a collective empirical study devoted to the first implementations of the new procedure in the cases of four urban projects, this article also integrates some major elements of the theoretical debates about new modes of governance and the development of participatory and deliberative democracy, in order to clarify the meanings of some fuzzy notions frequently used either by researchers or actors. The authors argue that the new practices that characterize the structure plan, including promises of increased participation in a new type of governance, do not actually enhance people's involvement. To conclude, a partial failure is diagnosed with regard to the structure plan's initial ambitions.
Published Version
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