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In a context of demographic, digital and ecological transitions, the promotion of citizen participation in the design of public policies is increasingly in demand and relevant. This article presents the GIZARTE LAB Model (Social Innovation Laboratory) focused on the promotion of Transition skills, understood as the increase of personal skills integrated into collective capacities to promote incremental and cumulative social innovations to produce long term solutions. For the development of these competencies, GIZARTE LAB connects citizens (experiential knowledge) with technical people/managers of public policies (technical-institutional knowledge) at the municipal level (local) within the framework of Transitional communities. The Laboratory's methodology is based on four moments: a) Life Map (emotional competencies), b) Design of Futures (anticipatory competencies), c) Design of Pilot Experiences (innovative competencies), d) Development of transitional communities (relational competencies). Since 2019, GIZARTE LAB has been implemented in 12 municipalities and 290 people have participated. The article offers discussion and conclusions, pointing out both the limitations of the model and the lessons learned.

This article analyses the participatory institutionality promoted by the rise of municipalism governments in Spain from 2015 to 2019. It focuses on the institutional advances made by this new wave of participation, as well as on the most important limits. In terms of the most important advances, it highlights the generation of a new administrative participatory structure reflected both in the municipal organisation structure, the budget and the transversality achieved through the integration of other municipal services into the participatory processes. In terms of limits, the inherited strategic selectivity as a brake on change, the reduced transformative capacity of the new participatory institutionality, the difficulty of integrating traditional absences and the problem of time as a factor that prevents greater institutionalisation, sustainability and embedding of participatory processes. In order to reach these conclusions, an in-depth study of three municipal governments (Zaragoza, Valladolid and A Coruña) was carried out using a methodological triangulation that included documentary analysis, interviews with key actors and participant observation.

This study analyzes the public’s view of citizen science based on survey respondents’ expressed knowledge, attitudes, and motivations. The questionnaire was answered by 1,002 residents of 48 Spanish cities. The study population was 50% female and spanned various age groups, occupations, and levels of education. The results indicate that although the population has a quite favorable opinion of citizen science, people feel underinformed about it. Very few respondents consider it to be negative and many expect it to have a positive impact over the coming decade. While both men and women exhibit intrinsic motivations to participate in citizen science, women specifically exhibit social motives for contributing. The data reveal differences in respondents’ attitude to citizen science depending on gender, age, level of education, and occupation. The data suggest that incorporating a balanced and representative sample of the public into scientific endeavor will require greater institutional intervention in coming years.

Paisajes Colectivos aims to transform our perception and interaction with urban landscape. By adopting an open-ended design approach, responsive to the needs of diverse species and human communities, they suggest that design has the capacity to engage and strengthen the bond between communities and their surrounding landscape. This is achieved through ongoing activities focused on education, maintenance, observation, active monitoring and documentation of a collective project’s adaptation over time.

Abstract The widespread use of digital technologies and the expansion of social networks has created new communication and meeting spaces where people and social and political actors connect with each other. This opens diverse spaces and possibilities for digital engagement in a more accessible, immediate, continuous, egalitarian, and personalized way. Digital technology facilitates learning, dissemination, and access to information, turning it into a means of communication and fueling the practice of critical thinking. In particular civic critical thinking practices improve the organization and effectiveness of civic networks and spaces for citizen participation, ultimately helping to produce responsible, conscious citizens. This study proposes a series of hypotheses based on the relationships between digital learning, critical thinking and civic participation, and tests them using the technique of structural equation modeling (SEM) with partial least squares (PLS) applied to a sample of 191 primary and secondary school students. The results indicate that digital tools have a positive impact on the development of critical thinking, and this influences citizen participation, transforming people into more engaged citizens of the world with participatory attitudes and values.

In response to the growing interest of governments in involving citizens in public policies, this paper studies the degree of citizen participation in the revision of master urban plans during the last 20 years in the 25 most populated Spanish municipalities. For this purpose, the documentation available on the Internet portals of the city councils and in the online newspaper library has been analyzed. The objective is to determine the degree of citizen involvement in municipal planning. Since 2001, of the 25 cities analyzed, 18 have drawn up or are in the process of developing a new urban plan, and 12 have applied or plan to apply additional participation on top of the minimum legal requirement. This finding evidences a considerable effort by these municipal administrations to actively involve their citizens in the revision of their plans beyond what is required by law.

Denmark is a pioneering country regarding digitalization. The Danish public administration is a clear frontrunner and has been submitted to significant changes. Contact between the administrative authorities and the citizens is predominantly digitalized and digital self-service solutions and automated decisions are increasingly used. Theoretically the point of departure is George Ritzer´s theory that societies worldwide are subject to a far-reaching process of McDonaldization, which leads to the implementation of the modes of organisation and production found in fast-food restaurants in other sectors in society. The theory of McDonaldization is applied to the digitalization of the public administration in Denmark. The article further explains the findings from a sample survey on specific digital solutions in Denmark and how the citizens perceive these solutions. Dinamarca es un país pionero en materia de digitalización. La administración pública danesa es una clara pionera y se ha visto sometida a cambios significativos. El contacto entre las autoridades administrativas y los ciudadanos se realiza, de forma predominante, digitalmente, y cada vez se utilizan más las soluciones digitales de autoservicio y las decisiones automatizadas. Teóricamente, el punto de partida es la teoría de George Ritzer según la cual las sociedades de todo el mundo están sometidas a un proceso de McDonaldización de gran alcance, que conduce a la implantación de los modos de organización y producción que se encuentran en los restaurantes de comida rápida en otros sectores de la sociedad. La teoría de la McDonaldización se aplica a la digitalización de la administración pública en Dinamarca. El artículo explica además los resultados de una encuesta por muestreo sobre soluciones digitales específicas en Dinamarca y cómo perciben los ciudadanos estas soluciones.

The aim of this paperis to analyse the factors of urban planning and design that favoursthe active city, in relation to the influence of the design of public space on the physical activity of citizens. Through the study of national and international experiences, various strategies structured in six categories are presented: active planning, active public space, active mobility, active space design, active green and active Smart City. It is concluded that active urban planning requires a commitment from the administrations tosport and non-motorized mobility, flexible urban spaces and the promotion of citizen participation

This paper addresses the study, from a global, inclusive and systematic perspective, of the so-called ¿right to the city¿, an issue that has been an object of interest for administrative law for several years. Our purpose is to analyze how theoretical assumptions of this concept, built up from the works of authors such as H. Lefebvre and D. Harvey, have been institutionalized through a series of international instruments ¿the charters of the right to the city¿ and how they are integrated into legal regulations. We will deal specifically with the defining aspects of this right and its content, which is certainly heterogeneous, given its consideration as a ¿right of rights¿, paying special attention to an aspect that is considered fundamental to connect the ideal that represents the right to the city with its legal construction: citizen participation. Finally, some reflections will be offered on the possibility of configuring the right to the city as a legal principle.

The text analyzes the democraticity of decision-making processes on local level public affairs in Cuba, emphasizing the examination of citizens’ capacities to influence the conditions that sustain decision-making and public debates. The study reveals the mutual dependencies between elements that constitute an autocratic consolidation of politics. I describe and analyze dynamics that provide a peculiar understanding of the relationship between real autocratization and formal democratization at the local level in Cuba, based on the study of a medium-sized city (Cárdenas), the application of qualitative methods (such as the analysis of documents and semi-structured interviews), and the review of previous studies.

This article analyzes grass-roots originated citizen oversight organizations (COO’s). This study engages in a dialogue between the literature on watchdog organizations and on participative institutions. COO’s combine delegation of control over public policy to independent watchdog government agencies with a strong involvement of ordinary citizens. In this text the case is made that the consolidation or weakening of the COO is dependent to a large degree on the ability of their leaders to achieve public recognition. This capability- in turn- depends on the way in which they go about performing in Government positions and on the wider political context. The present article is based on a case study of citizen watchdog organizations, which appeared in Ecuador between 2000 and 2017, as part of social and political efforts to fight corruption in the country. The study examines press releases, reports, interviews and survey data from the following sources: Barómetro de las Américas, Latinobarómetro y Perfiles de Opinión. The scrutinized data provides valuable insights about how the capacity of leaders to achieve public recognition and expedite institutional consolidation is related to the ways in which ordinary citizens gain access to oversight organizations in three different political contexts. The article arrives at the conclusion that facilitating the involvement of grass-roots social organizations helps the consolidation of COO’s, especially in contexts of widespread political fragmentation, while, on the other hand, meritocracy by itself fails to promote recognition, particularly in settings where close and bitter political competition is prevalent.

The paper exposes an intervention proposal for an urban park in the city of Latacunga, Cotopaxi (Ecuador). The potential intervention seeks to promote the appropriation of public space where people and future users act as protagonists of the change, by contributing ideas and initiatives to create a place that considers their opinions, needs and suggestions. In order to achieve this, the proposal used the Wayfinder methodology, an avant-garde approach that assesses, plans, and acts in social-ecological systems to achieve sustainable, safe and fair transformations. Likewise, it proposes tactical urbanism activities as practical strategies to accomplish the project’s objective. The paper concludes that an intervention of this type is viable and capable of generating outstanding results regarding urban public space appropriation. Being viable, it is established that it can be executed in the short term, in accordance with the guidelines presented in the text.

La Reserva Forestal Protectora El Malmo es fuente de pugna entre las autoridades ambientales y los habitantes de la vereda Barón Germania (Tunja, Boyacá, Colombia), pues esta encuentra en un paisaje rural dominado por actividades agropecuarias que están en contravía con el objetivo de conservación del área protegida. El Plan de Manejo de la Reserva, tras cuatro décadas de declaración, no ha sido adoptado y la Corporación Autónoma Regional de Boyacá no ha definido las zonas donde las actividades económicas rurales están prohibidas, generando desconfianza y temor, en razón de las acciones correctivas y policivas por parte de la autoridad ambiental. En esta investigación se realiza una caracterización del conflicto ambiental en el área de estudio que expone actores y dimensiones. Además, se hace énfasis en la ausencia de mecanismos de participación ciudadana y de acciones de resolución mediante el desarrollo conjunto de la zonificación en cuanto a restricciones de uso de los recursos naturales existentes en la reserva.

Territorial peace is an integral concept of the Final Agreement for the Termination of the Conflict and the Construction of a Stable and Long-Lasting Peace, signed by the FARC-EP, which requires not only the political fulfillment of the peace agreement, but also the impartial and non-revictimizing exercise of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace. While peace in urban and rural areas differ both in their territorial needs and in the priorities of state actions needed, a non-differential treatment of both areas, in the peace agreement and within the cases of the Jurisdiction Special for Peace in which a territorial approach is prioritized, entails that peace in the urban area must be analyzed under the comprehensive categories that the peace agreement proposes for the rural area.

Contemporary development discourse confers a protuberant role to decentralization and local governance. To comply with this developmental demand, the Government of Pakistan introduced local governance and decentralization measures to use local governance system as a platform for localizing development and engaging local citizens. This article explores the historical level of the local governance system in Pakistan and the manifold problems that contributed to the absence of an adequate and capable local government system. Empowerment, accountability and transparency mechanisms in local governance systems are not functioning properly and hence the performance and results of the local governance system are very unsatisfactory.

Cities face a great number of challenges nowadays, in order to guarantee their appeal and quality of life of their citizens. It’s therefore fundamental to improve decision making processes, incorporating public opinion to them. Thus, citizen participation is a tool that clearly improves local governance and the decision-making process, as it allows policy makers to know first-hand their needs, demands and ideas. Nevertheless, the advantages of consulting the public on crucial issues are counterbalanced by many difficulties in managing the participation processes. Mainly due to the fact that participants in these processes, are not often aware of the economic, social and environmental implications of their decisions. The incorporation of new technologies in the decision-making process, can clearly help to overcome these difficulties. A software can display in real time the effect of the changes to the public space, under different variables and quality of life indexes. This research, through the incorporation of a software that helps in the space decision making to various group dynamics, analyses the usage of public participation and its effect.

The so-called Web 2.0 will be identified with the use of different digital tools generated around the concepts of collaboration or participation. The objective of this research is the analysis and categorization of diverse digital tools of free access that the civil society uses in a collaborative way, allowing to modify the society in benefit of all, thus generating digital social capital. This paper analyzes the concept of "social capital" and its transition to digital. The methodology used is an analysis sheet, which proposes a classification of those initiatives that involve greater participation, self-management, control and development by citizens over their own interests, without intermediaries. In conclusion, the appropriate use of certain technological tools provides civil society with the possibility of generating digital social capital for the common good.

In this research project transparency is analyzed as a form of democratic control in the citizen councils of the municipality of Leon, Guanajuato during the municipal administration of 2009-2012. Through the information available on the municipal portal this paper analyzes if the citizen participation in these councils is transparent in terms of its regulations and performance. From 1989 until 2012 the National Action Party (PAN) governed the municipality. During these 23 years it generated and consolidated the regulations and operations of the citizen councils as the expression of citizen participation of the political party that governed the municipality. This research is quantitative and descriptive and uses the samples of the regulations and proceedings that appear in the portal of transparency of the municipality of Leon, Guanajuato. The findings indicate that there are two types of citizen councils: governing and advising. Out of a total of 29 councils, only 12 publish their minutes and there is no sanction for this behavior. Citizen participation due to the institutional governmental design is presented more as a simulation than a condition for accountability and democratic control of government actions.

La Investigación Participativa se nos presenta como una metodología adecuada para promover cambios a nivel local que pueden incidir en una forma de organización social más amplia e innovadora. Más allá de las bases teóricas, la Investigación Acción Participativa representa una metodología eminentemente práctica, pues la aplicación de diferentes técnicas y herramientas en lo cotidiano no solo es útil, sino, además, necesaria para la incidencia de la ciudadanía en la construcción de su espacio y de sus condiciones de vida. En este artículo presentamos el cambio de enfoque que la Investigación Participativa supone frente a otras metodologías de investigación social, destacando la forma de abordar el conocimiento de la realidad social (investigación), su carácter transformador (acción) y la relación sujeto-sujeto (participación) que plantea, entendiendo que no hay un modelo metodológico único, sino un conjunto de técnicas al servicio de la ciudadanía para lograr una mayor incidencia en las decisiones públicas, pero que comparten algunos principios básicos en los que la Investigación Participativa se asienta. Por otro lado, nos ceñimos a un proyecto concreto que se desarrolla en el municipio de San Juan de Aznalfarache, situado a la entrada de Sevilla desde la carretera de Huelva. Por su situación geográfica, esta localidad ha sido un polo de atracción para muchas personas que provienen de países muy diferentes, entre los que se cuentan más de 79 nacionalidades, destacando el carácter diverso e intercultural del municipio. En este sentido se hace fundamental aplicar políticas de integración que sean construidas de forma participada y lograr el mayor grado de consenso posible para definir las condiciones del lugar en el que queremos vivir. Partiendo de las bases epistemológicas y metodológicas de esta propuesta se presenta esta experiencia de participación ciudadana a través del proceso participativo que se está desarrollando en San Juan de Aznalfarache para la elaboración del Plan de Inclusión Social del municipio, a través del GLISA (Grupo Local de Inclusión Social de San Juan de Aznalfarache). Destacamos en este sentido el carácter eminentemente práctico de esta metodología. Participatory research is an adequate methodology to promote changes at a local level that can affect a more extensive and innovative form of social organization. Beyond the theoretical bases, Participatory Action Research represents an eminently practical methodology, since the application of different techniques and tools in the daily life is not only useful, but also is necessary for the incidence of citizenship in the construction of their space and of their living conditions. In this article, we present the change of approach that Participatory Research assumes compared to other social research methodologies, highlighting the way of approaching knowledge of social reality (research), its transforming character (action) and the subject-subject relationship (participation ) that it raises, understanding that there is not a single methodological model, but a set of techniques at the service of citizens to achieve a greater incidence in public decisions, but that share some basic principles on which Participatory Research is based. On the other hand, we stick to a specific project that takes place in the municipality of San Juan de Aznalfarache, located at the entrance to Seville from the Huelva road. Due to its geographical location, this town has been a magnet for many people from very different countries, among which there are more than 79 nationalities, highlighting the diverse and intercultural nature of the municipality. In this sense, it is essential to apply integration policies that are built in a participatory manner and achieve the highest degree of consensus possible to define the conditions of the place where we want. Starting from the epistemological and methodological bases of this proposal, an experience of citizen participation is presented through a concrete practice that is being developed in San Juan de Aznalfarache (Seville) for the elaboration of the Social Inclusion Plan of the municipality. We emphasize in this sense the eminently practical nature of this methodology.

This text aims to present practices of reading and writing of peasant women with little schooling. The study is part of the research on the ways of participating in cultural practices related to reading and writing through different instances of socialization. It arose from the assumption that there is no written culture yet, but rather a diversity of writing cultures that vary according to the context of use and learning that are not exclusively dependent on written language based on the alphabetic system. The research methodology followed an orientation of the qualitative research presuppositions. We used oral history, a field diary made up of the literacy events observed in the CEBs and interviews, in order to identify forms of access and appropriation of written materials. In addition, the meanings, roles, and conceptions that CEB leaders attribute to reading and writing are presented, specifically from some appropriation histories. Through the procedures adopted in the analysis of the data it was possible to interpret that the different forms of participation in the writing cultures of these women are based on the mediation between the oral and the written.

This paper aims to analyze the main characteristics and challenges of institutionalized participation in the Brazil’s health system. First, it discusses the features and principles of the Unified Health System (SUS), highlighting the importance of social mobilization in shaping the country’s current health system. Next, the characteristics and attributes of health councils and conferences are presented as institutionalized mechanisms of participation. The health councils are analyzed for parity composition and deliberative function. Lastly, the results of the case study of the health council of the state of Bahia are discussed. The results demonstrated the low power of the social representatives’ agenda and the health council’s fragile capacity to exert influence in the definition of health policy.

Participatory practices, within broader processes of rescaling and governance, have been identified as the solution to the “democratic deficit” in healthcare. Conversely, scholars have underscored how these practices could well be used for a contrary purpose, particularly in a top-down process. The first part of this paper outlines a theory-based evaluation framework oriented towards the analysis of institutional practices fostering citizens’ involvement in healthcare decision-making processes and how this involvement can act as a driver for the democratisation of the healthcare system. Following this interpretation, the second part of the paper analyses the new local governance structure adopted by Tuscany (Italy) in the healthcare sector, in particular the later stages of its adoption and diffusion and more than ten years after its institutionalisation. This leads us to identify certain crucial issues to be addressed when institutions promote re-visiting decision-making processes.

A model for citizen participation in the area of health services was established in Puertollano (Castilla-La Mancha, Spain) and was carried out from 2008 to 2011. This was an innovative, prestigious and legally established model, based on the active and deliberative participation of the different actors involved in the health care system. In 2011 the conservative government that was formed after the regional elections halted all the actions taken under this model. As a result, we have considered it necessary to evaluate the model at the end of this period, carrying out a rigorous, systematic and scientific analysis of what took place during the years 2008-2015, examining the weaknesses in the application of the model and the possible threats it posed. For our analysis we have used a qualitative method based on in-depth interviews with actors involved in establishing the model.

Resumen Durante los últimos años, la participación ciudadana en proyectos de espacio público en Santiago ha tenido un impacto significativo en la dimensión técnica y política de la gestión urbana local. Muchos de estos procesos han sido complejos y difíciles de implementar, amplificando tensiones y disputas entre los distintos colectivos que participan en el territorio. Las posibles razones que explican esta situación están relacionadas con la falta de conocimiento y la infravaloración de otras variables involucradas en estas dinámicas. Tomando como referencia dos proyectos urbanos -“Museo Humano Parque San Borja” y “Mejoramiento Calle Santo Domingo”-, se propone un análisis de los procesos de participación mediante la utilización de un instrumento de evaluación multi-variable, diseñado a partir de los documentos Nueva Agenda Urbana y Plan de Desarrollo Comunal de Santiago. Este análisis permitirá determinar el grado de satisfacción del proceso según el cumplimiento de las variables utilizadas en la evaluación; comparar ambos procesos según cada área y sub-área examinada; identificar desequilibrios en la implementación y puntos de conflicto. En conclusión, se observa que estas dinámicas deben comprenderse bajo condiciones de incertidumbre y de disputa, avanzar hacia una participación transformadora y asumirse como un proceso dialéctico. Abstract During the last years, citizen participation in public space projects in Santiago had significantly impacted the technical and political dimensions of the local urban management. Many of these processes have been complex and difficult to implement, amplifying tensions and disputes between the different social groups that participate in the territory. Potential reasons explaining this situation are related to the lack of knowledge and undervaluation of other variables involved in these dynamics. Taking as reference two urban projects, -“Museo Humano Parque San Borja” and “Mejoramiento Calle Santo Domingo”-, an analysis of the participation’s process is proposed using an evalution tool, which was designed with several variables according to the New Urban Agenda and Santiago Communal Development Plan. This analysis will allow us to determine the degree of satisfaction of the process, according to the compliance of the variables used in the evaluation; to compare both processes according to each area and sub-area examined and; to identify imbalances in the implementation and conflict points. In conclusion, it is observed that these dynamics must be understood under conditions of uncertainty and dispute, proceed towards a transformative participation and be assumed as a dialectical process.

Étudier la réceptivité de la population locale par rapport aux enjeux qui relèvent de l’administration des affaires publiques et territoriales est une tâche complexe qui, en raison de sa sensibilité et de son importance sur le plan politique, doit non seulement se faire en rigoureux respect des dispositions règlementaires en vigueur, mais requiert aussi l’adoption d’une méthode dûment élaborée avec des instruments d’évaluation pertinents qui tiennent compte de l’ancrage historique et des enjeux socioéconomiques des lieux. L’enquête menée visait à recueillir les éléments qui permettent d’appréhender la façon dont le projet de « ville intelligente » à Rabat aborde les questions relatives à la participation citoyenne ainsi que la nature des nouvelles configurations que la gestion territoriale peut prendre avec la démocratisation de l’usage des TIC. L’article en présente les bases et les modalités de cette enquête.

Open government has become a goal for countries all over the world, but it remains an elusive concept. Despite innovative methodologies to assess open government policies, action plans, and interventions in different countries, scholarly research and practical decisions are hindered by the lack of a precise concept and an operationalization. In this paper, we make two contributions to this discussion. First, we argue that the discussions about open government would benefit from taking the grammatical structure of the concept seriously (open is an adjective, government a noun). Second, we propose that, in order to be conceptually and practically useful, open government should be observable. We present the methodology, application and results of an effort to observe and measure open government in Mexico, based on a study of 908 government offices in terms of transparency and participation.

This article starts from the identification of the characteristics that define with some precision the concept of knowledge society and evaluates to what extent these characteristics will condition fundamental behaviors of society, particularly in the field of economics, social relations, education and politics. An important part of the thematic focus of the research is to identify characteristics favorable to the elimination of unethical behaviors in terms of interpersonal and social relations, and specifically the processes of corruption in economics and politics, which today are rife in many societies. The theoretical and practical concerns with the construction of future knowledge-based societies are now widely shared by researchers in the social sciences; and questions about the transparency of political, economic and social decisions are felt not only in scientific, religious, and cultural institutions, but they begin to trigger specific behavior in politics. This study is driven by these concerns and seeks to define the characteristics of knowledge societies, as well as identify resources that can control undesirable social behaviors such as corruption. The methodology used in the study combined two processes: data collection by questionnaire, submitted to an appropriate statistical treatment and the collection of opinions expressed by the interviewees on these subjects. Qualitative remarks made by respondents point out that disclosure should be made in the means to which most citizens have access and stress that even punishments imposed on proven acts of corruption must be disclosed in order to eliminate the feeling of impunity associated with such acts.

Innovation promotes social development in science and technology. This reflection paper addresses it from two analytical perspectives: knowledge management and citizen participation. These two concepts must be considered to fully understand the intrinsic relationship among creative social innovation projects. The latter do not only solve specific problems, but also encourage collective action and inclusion. During their implementation, a great deal new of knowledge is generated, and this is essential to make a real impact on society or a target community. A detailed review was conducted to find signs of collaborative attitudes that foster values for the common good in democratic stability of communities seeking to innovate while solving complex social issues. This article aims to delve into the concepts of social innovation, knowledge societies and their contribution to science, technology and society.

En el artículo se aborda el tema de la rendición de cuentas en el Poder Legislativo mexicano y su vínculo con los mecanismos institucionales de participación, así como de la representación parlamentaria. El estudio se plantea bajo la dirección de cuatro elementos: el equilibrio de poderes y la rendición de cuentas horizontal; la reelección y la rendición de cuentas vertical; el acceso a la información y la apertura de canales de vinculación ciudadana, y el nivel de incidencia ciudadana en las decisiones legislativas. / This paper addresses accountability within the Mexican legislative branch and its links to institutional mechanisms for citizen participation and parliamentary representation. The study focuses on four main elements: the balance of powers and horizontal accountability; reelection and vertical accountability; access to information and the opening of channels that link the citizenry; and the degree of citizen incidence in legislative decisions.

El artículo distingue y analiza dos generaciones de legislaciones autonómicas sobre la iniciativa legislativa popular. La primera de estas generaciones normativas, que daría comienzo en el año 1984, se caracteriza por configurar dicha institución de forma muy restrictiva y trajo como consecuencia su inoperatividad. En la segunda generación, en cambio, que se iniciaría en el año 2006, se facilita la participación ciudadana en el ámbito legislativo a través de la iniciativa popular. El trabajo también estudia el caso concreto de la Comunitat Valenciana y su normativa relativa a la iniciativa legislativa popular, encuadrable todavía en las legislaciones autonómicas de la primera generación. The article distinguishes and analyzes two generations of regional laws on popular legislative initiative. The first of these regulations generations, which would begin in 1984, is characterized by that institution set very narrowly and resulted in its inoperability. In the second generation, however, which would begin in 2006, citizen participation in the legislative sphere through the popular initiative is facilitated. The work also studies the specific case of Valencian Community and its rules on the popular legislative initiative, which can still be included among the regional laws of the first generation. DOWNLOAD THIS PAPER FROM SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3041163

Estamos asistiendo a un intenso debate en torno a la necesidad de generar un proceso regeneración democrática en el contexto actual de la crisis institucional y desafección política. En esta línea, algunas Comunidades Autónomas han emprendido el camino de institucionalizar nuevas oportunidades de participación de los ciudadanos en los procesos de decisión pública. Fenómeno que se hace más patente desde la aprobación de los nuevos Estatutos de Autonomía, en los que la participación ciudadana, definida en ellos como derecho, principio y objetivo básico de la Comunidad Autónoma, debe ser desarrollada normativamente por el legislador autonómico. Se analizarán en esta ponencia, desde una perspectiva crítica, las normas jurídicas de referencia y sus posibilidades de implementación práctica para constatar si las Comunidades Autónomas ofrecen un marco más adecuado a la democracia participativa.In this era of institutional crisis and political disaffection, there is significant debate about the need to create democratic reform. With this in mind, some of Spain's Autonomous Communities have taken steps to institutionalise opportunities for citizens to participate in public decision-making processes. This is especially apparent in the newly adopted Statutes of Autonomy. In the Statutes, citizen participation is defined as a right, principle and basic objective of the Autonomous Community, for which laws must be developed by the legislating authority of that community. This paper will present a critical analysis of these legal standards and their potential for practical implementation, in order to investigate whether Autonomous Communities provide a better framework for participatory democracy.DOWNLOAD THIS PAPER FROM SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3048827

Endogenous economic growth is a paradigm shift in the conception of regional development in an attempt to explain wealth accumulation and creation and the role of local stakeholders in these processes. This article proposes local economic development strategies for the Municipality of Girardota (Department of Antioquia, Colombia) derived from participatory research that included an analysis to identify economic vocations, objectives and strategies that can be implemented with programs and projects. The proposed strategies aim to solve four fundamental problems in the district: unemployment, poor quality and pertinence of the education system, low competitiveness of key sectors of the local economy, and scarce citizen participation. Our conclusions reveal the importance of actual participation of the community in the creation of development strategies that are in line with the interests and needs of different local stakeholders.

Participatory processes are a central element in the theoretical debates on the quality of democracy and its current processes of transformation. If the objective of participation is problematized in theoretical analyses, difficulties increase when analyzing concrete experiences that attempt to articulate the dynamics of participation together with the deepening of democratic principles. We use Jesús Ibáñez to reflect upon this question. First, we examine the crisis of liberal democracy and the problems it entails in order to legitimize a democracy incapable of counteracting the hegemony of markets. Next, we analyze the resurgence of a type of participatory democracy in which institutions serve as the leading players. Finally, we address real democracy, which attributes the role of actor to civil society. We illustrate this question from the analysis of social perceptions about the political situation within the Spanish State.

The Participatory Action Research project "Neighborhoods in Transition" is based on the hypothesis that we need to find meeting points among emerging social processes of socio-ecological transition and the new generation of integrated urban rehabilitation policies that turns itself possible from the Leipzig Charter. The conditions that facilitate the production and social management of habitat should be created by Public Administrations through participatory processes and public-private comanagement. “Neighborhoods in Transition” gives theoretical and methodological support to the demand for technical assistance by social organizations in both neighborhoods, based on different priorities.

Abstract For globalized local worlds undergoing transformation, territorial interventions are increasingly producing larger social and environmental impacts. Macro-interventions profoundly alter the functioning of ecosystems and human habitats or communities, becoming inclusive in extreme situations of exploitation or extraction, risking their very existence. Therefore it is necessary to develop a system or Social Baseline that clearly establishes the philosophical bases, restrictions and criteria that regulate and curb the negative impacts of such interventions. This implies defining methods for citizen participation. This article focuses on defining a basic framework with criteria and indicators that regulate the impact of macro-interventions - of different natures - on human territories and communities.

In recent years, capitalist society has entered a deep recession. The state and its citizens are increasingly far apart, and the traditional parties do not fulfill their function of representation of the needs of citizens. Europe is undergoing an economic crisis but also a crisis of values. The balance between economic and social development are not balanced (Massé, 1964), and the reinvention of a new model of state, is already a necessity. The result of the processes of globalization, the role of government and citizen participation have been marginalized and increasingly subordinated to the dictates of the market. This paper aims to analyze a new concept of governance based on the relationship between state, market, Third Sector, and citizenship in order to clarify what is the best way of responding to social needs. The emphasis on the concepts of dialogue and participation as these show the relationship between the state, the market and the public, through an effective and efficient guidance and intervention in its governance (Canales, 2002).

[es] El artículo argumenta sobre la productividad de ampliar el estudio de los fenómenos de mediatización de lo político hacia las interacciones cotidianas de distintos grupos que intervienen en la producción y reproducción de valores, consensos y grupalidades, incluso por fuera o en los márgenes del campo político. La mirada no sería la de una etnografía de audiencias, sino más bien una etnografía comunicacional de las prácticas organizativas de estos grupos, atenta a las formas en que los dispositivos de comunicación, en su diversidad y complejidad,constituyen elementos centrales para la construcción de su mundo cotidiano. El anclaje empírico está dado por un conjunto de observaciones y entrevistas con miembros de organizaciones vecinales nucleadas en torno al reclamo por mayor seguridad y/o a la prevención del delito en el Área Metropolitana de Buenos Aires. [en] This article argues on the productivity of widening the study of the mediatization of politics to include everyday interactions of groups which are involved in the production and reproduction of values, consensus and groups, even outside or in the margins of the political field. The approach is not that of an Audience Ethnography, but that of a Communicational Ethnography of these groups’ organizational practices, attentive to the ways in which diverse, complex communication devices are key elements for the construction of everyday world. The empiric data is a set of observations and interviews with neighbors associations members gathered over security issues and crime prevention in the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires.