AbstractsSociology

Public participation in the planning process of Möllevången and Seved: a comparative case study

by Anne-Sophie Dureigne




Institution: Blekinge Institute of Technology
Department:
Year: 2011
Keywords: fysisk planering; spatial planning - local planning; spatial planning - social planning; social planning; möllevången; seved; public participation
Record ID: 1368875
Full text PDF: http://www.bth.se/fou/cuppsats.nsf/6753b78eb2944e0ac1256608004f0535/598da3ebff89e77fc12578a4001e5c4e?OpenDocument


Abstract

The thesis analyses public participation in the planning process of two areas in Malmö, Seved and Möllevången, which are located in the neighbourhood of Södra Innerstaden. Public participation is assumed to be an effective tool to solve the problem of social integration; Möllevången and Seved seem to have economic, social and cultural similarities and are both described by the public authorities as areas with important social exclusion. Therefore, the municipality adopted a development programme for each area, which focused on improving public participation’s rate within different projects that had to solve the local problems. The development programme for Möllevången was adopted in 2006 and the programme for Seved in 2010. The programmes along with the different projects implemented have given fairly different results in terms of outcomes and public involvement. In Möllevången, the planning process has been providing the framework for greater cooperation and interaction between the different social hierarchical levels. Some structures such as the project Mera Möllan, have successfully managed to improve the dialogue between the different actors through innovative methods of public participation. On the other hand, in Seved, the use of public participation in the planning process has not given the same results as in Möllevången. The aim of the thesis is to show that public participation can be improved in any local area, and can be used to develop projects that aim so solve the social integration problem. In order to make it effective, the methods of public participation must be adapted to the specificities of the selected neighbourhood. Unlike Seved, Möllevången has a special character with a wide diversity of cultures and leisure activities that attract people from the whole Malmö. Therefore, public participation cannot be used in the same way in the two areas. The goal of the analysis of public participation in Möllevången and Seved is twofold: on one hand, it seeks to highlight what are the reasons of such a difference in the use and the rate of public participation between the neighbourhoods; on the other hand, it highlights the elements that must be taken into account so as to improve public participation. In order to do so, the thesis is based on a theoretical and empirical part. The theory provides the basis to understand how public participation works in planning at a local level, and what factors can enhance or reduce it and influence its use in the implementation of a planning decision. The empirical part analyses different projects developed in Mölevången and Seved, which use public participation at different levels to solve the problems integration, unemployment and security. The results of the projects’ analysis are presented and discussed to support the research goal.