international comparisons
INTERNATIONAL CITY 1: BEIJING CHINA
Case Description: What worked?
Civic Engagement and Citizenship Development: The Case of Homeowners’ Participation in Neighborhood Affairs in Beijing
This study by Wang, Li, & Cooper shows that when homeowners in Beijing, China, participate in neighbourhood affairs by organizing home owners’ associations (HOAs), they acquire democratic skills, increase their awareness of property and political rights, and cultivate a sense of community.
HOAs are citizen-initiated and self-governed with the aim of protecting homeowners’ property rights that are often infringed on by the government or by business interests. The homeowners’ “rights protection” movement has become an important social
movement in urban China
Developing this kind of ethical citizenship leads to homeowners redefining legal citizenship
Homeowners have begun to take their rights seriously and actively participate in grassroots elections .
Key Observations/Challenges (in China)?
Observation: There were many educational benefits to active participation. The leaders of the HOAs learned skills such as making bylaws, running campaigns, and organizing demonstrations .
Challenges: Other board members and ordinary homeowners had problems in effectively holding meetings at the beginning. For example, one homeowner in Y neighbourhood said that in their HOA board meetings “nine people had nine ideas; they did not know how to hold meetings and make decisions.” Another homeowner in the F neighbourhood expressed a similar point of view: “our HOA cannot work effectively; we cannot even have meaningful discussions because people keep quarrelling.” The difficulties in holding meetings have seriously affected HOAs’ daily operations (837).
Solution: To resolve this problem, many homeowners began to learn techniques
of having meetings and discussions. The translated edition of the
Robert’s Rule of Order has become a very popular guide among homeowners (837).
Lessons/Recommendations Application to London(<1 PAGE)
Presently, no HOAs exist in London.
If homeowners in London. Ontario, are given the opportunity to participate in neighbourhood affairs by establishing self-governing homeowners’ associations (HOAs), they will become more aware of their rights, begin to take their rights seriously, and cultivate a sense of community
Through HOAs, homeowners in London can empower themselves to protect their property rights against infringement by government or business interests.
For example, London homeowners who own property in once-rural areas will be empowered to resist the pressure of the housing development invasion.
Ethical citizenship will lead to more interest in legal citizenship, which will increase citizens’ political influence in London.
INTERNATIONAL CITY 2: PRISTINA KOSOVO
Key Takeaways
As rapidly as COVID19 has changed our world, mutated and evolved to our biological, social, and political defenses, so to have the wicked problems facing City leaders. It may seem as if the progression is a slow one but in the grand scheme of human presence on earth, it is abundantly clear now the many failures of Western social and political structures as they play out on a global and localized scale. From the climate crisis, to poverty and food insecurity, homelessness, racial inequalities, gender disparities, and democracy itself, the world is in a state of utter chaos demanding new methods of civic engagement in the democratic decision making process if we are to ensure the future success and sustainability of democracy and the institutions in place to carry-out decision making in urban settings.
These complex challenges are faced not just by governments alone, or citizens, or even by one sector, they are collective challenges that involve multiple stakeholders with diversity in voices, perspectives, and lived experiences and require buy-in/personal investment from all groups.
There is a heightened awareness from citizens that traditional methods are failing so there exists an expectation that they will be able to engage and participate in these matters that affect their daily lives; matters such as transit, economic recovery, affordable housing, sustaining the downtown core etc. With this heightened scrutiny, governments need creative, accessible, and equitable ways to engage with citizens to ultimately legitimize decisions made by Urban Planning departments. Without that legitimacy, our institutions continue to lose credibility amongst civilians, further devaluing the decisions made by local leaders, and widening the gap between democratic institutions and the people they represent. Average citizens are currently unaware of or disenfranchised by current methods for engagement in the planning process – a barrier – which is indicative of the traditional colonial structure of top-down hierarchical governance in most cities, London too. But there is hope, and there is evidence to support such hope. For the last two decades dozens of cities across the US and Canada have adopted a new way of strengthening democracy; an innovative model that engages citizens in the planning process and legitimizes the decisions of the democratic institutions charged with planning safe, equitable, and prosperous cities for future generations. That model – Citizens Planning Academies. A model engaging citizens in the process of urban planning with co-construction, education, and accessibility at the core.
With significant examples of success laid out for the City of London in areas such as Baltimore, Maryland ‘s Planner Academy, Ann Arbour, Michigan, The City of Alexandria, Edmonton, Alberta, Horry South Carolina, Wake Forest North Carolina, and Calgary’s Partners in Planning program, there is reason to believe that such a process, if well planned, can be implemented in a city like London that is ready to turn “talk into action” with regards to participatory planning.
Additional research suggests there are credible models and evaluative methods in use that address gaps and barriers to civic participation, take into account the unique challenges of locality, and ensure citizens of all demographics are able to access the tools required for helping direct the future of their community.
There comes a time in every generation where the very fabric of social cohesion and future possibility is put to the test and this is that time. As Greta Thunberg said, “our house is on fire” and while she refers specifically to the climate crisis we currently face, there are parallels to be made across all wicked problems and the institutions charged with putting out the fires. It is in these moments of great challenge and change that the human spirit and ingenuity finds new ways to transform, grow, and move forward. That moment where transformation is needed to quell the chaos and build a brighter, sustainable path forward, beginning at the local level, right here at home in London, ON. A new way forward to strengthen democracy from the ground-up. Now is the time to prioritize the putting into place of frameworks that allow for a more collaborative approach to solving our collective problems and putting out the fire. To avoid another travesty that our own community saw in the failure to bring plans like BRT into fruition.
Case Description: What worked?
Key findings –
People moving out of London to move to larger cities, leaving an impact there instead of London
A very important idea that resonated with me through researching this, is having everyone looking for the future of the city they are living in. In Kosovo, the city I was born in is Ferizaj, which is not the capital city. A struggle that exists is that people who excel at civic engagement and just bettering the city of Ferizaj, tend to travel to the Capital to try and impact there instead. While reading into this, I think we share a similar issue in London where people leave for Toronto, where we could try to make London a more permanent and future-driven area. Kosovo has the youngest population in Europe, and youth participation is a large focus for the country’s civic engagement, with many different groups developed specifically for the younger people of the population. If cities like Ferizaj (or London) could keep these people in Ferizaj (or London) instead of them moving to bigger cities, potentially more could happen.
Preparation for future disasters/worst case scenarios.
The article listed below outlines the scare that if something were to happen or there was a state of emergency, there would be little immediate help from bordering countries (like how if America/Canada were on bad terms for some reason, and something unfortunate happened to either country, they would potentially lose support). Due to this reason, Kosovo has went through extreme lengths to outline potential disasters, in this article http://www.disastergovernance.net/fileadmin/gppi/RTB_book_chp20.pdf, and depict a self-reliant mission-plan where the entire country is involved as a community to be prepared for things like earthquakes, pandemics, and so forth. Due to Kosovo being a third world country, there are lots of CSO’s and community-run things that would be relied on in a state of emergency, on top of the efforts by the government/institutions; this extra help would be needed, along with international help. Hopefully the day will never come, but London/Canada could have some sort of preparation for the day that we may not have as many allies, and a state of emergency is active. If this is the case, London could not rely on other countries or potentially other cities and would have to look strictly upon itself for any type of relief/help.
http://kosovovolunteers.org/ is a website used for volunteering, and is regularly advertised, used by youth and has a large popularity within the region, similarly to PillarNonprofit Network.
Key Observations/Challenges
When looking at the internal analysis, we can see there is a struggle in Ferizaj to keep people in Ferizaj to help the city prosper, where people move to the bigger city, the Capital, Pristina. This situation could potentially get out of control in London, where people move to Toronto, so it is essential that we try our best to keep people in the city so that all cities prosper. Potentially, more funding devoted to certain governance programs could help resolve this, or a social media campaign enlightening the idea of Ferizaj over Pristina, and similarly with London over Toronto.
In terms of the article regarding a disaster where Kosovo would have to sustain by itself without allies, every city would essentially have to fend for itself and the country as the bordering countries would not be allies. This being said, funds/strategic planning should happen in the case that a disaster was to come. I think London Ontario could take from this paper, and perhaps community-run organizations or anything funded by the government adopt something like an information session for things like a pandemic happening. Canada is highly dependent on its neighbouring countries which can be a good or a bad thing, in a state of emergency it should hopefully be able to be self-reliant. Though Kosovo is not, it is clearly acknowledging it and preparing for an emergency through governance. I think with a wider spread of these information sessions.
Lessons/Recommendations Application to London
There are quite a few struggles with essentially every proposal involved in this section, primarily funding. The idea of funding more governance programs in the smaller cities to give more reasons for those in them to stay in them, would involve a considerable amount of funding to help this potential conflict. That, as well as proposing any type of advertisement to governance programs. We have similar resources similar to kosovo volunteers, like the pillarnonprofit.ca however more advertising through potentially social media to get a wider outreach for partners like Pillar Nonprofit Network would be better, and some funding needs to be allocated for it.
INTERNATIONAL CITY 3 :SINGAPORE
Key Observations/Challenges
PUBLIC PARTICIPATORY PLANNING
Public participatory planning has played a vital role in project implementation and this was used as a tool to devise better integrated projects to ensure the fair ownership of the people.
Singapore is intensely rely on its neighbours for almost everything that makes a city liveable
This case illustrates that Civic Engagement from Singaporeans allowed over 91% of the citizens to own low-cost quality houses.
This case could be applied to London, ON. If successfully applied, we may see the rise of homeowners in the area with high quality housing and lower cost.
Another case shows that Singapore has become one of the most water resilient cities in the world by citizen engagement. Citizens have been vocal in shaping the water policies.
YOUTH CIVIC PARTICIPATION
65% of youth in Singapore are engaged in civic activities. Singapore’s youth is civic minded and active in the community.
The Singapore Youth Action Plan gives singapores’ youth opportunities to take ownership of the causes and issues.
Through online and face-to-face engagements, they have put together a vision for youths, by youths on what they want to see in Singapore by 2025, and how they can make it happen.
Lessons/Recommendations Application to London
– Youth Civic Participation
Is there a lack of space and time for youth civic participation in London, ON?
National Youth Council encourages youth participation by the creation of spaces for youth interaction that were carved out of Singapore’s urban landscape.
Youth Parks are created in Singapore in order to maximize youth civic participation.
Schools – ‘teach less, learn more’ (less homework, more real life work) used by Singaporean government , this empowered youth in Singapore to fully realize their participatory potential.
Can we apply this strategy to London, ON, to give more freedom to youth and realize their potential in city projects?
Recommendations:
Create spaces to support youth participation
Create time for youth to realize their potential and fully understand their potential on how to contribute to projects ( teach less – learn more methods?)
Give London locals the opportunity to have a voice on the projects, and pay close attention on what they suggest about neighbourhood affairs.
Diversity & Language : Some people live in London, ON do not speak english at all. Make these resources accessible for everyone in their preferred language. Everyone’s opinion matters for the civic engagement and the success of these projects.
INTERNATIONAL CITY 4 : ISTANBUL TURKEY
Case Description: What worked?
Istanbulsenin.org (Istanbul is yours.org)
This initiative taken by recently elected democratic Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu aims to give people the power to voice their opinions on upcoming projects such as parks, ports, squares, and Prince’s Islands surrounding the city. The initiative was collaborated with also newly formed Istanbul Planning Agency, which is constituted]d of four departments; Vision 2050, Public Design, Istanbul Statistics Office, and Institute Istanbul. This type of planning agency is also present in London, ON in the form of “The London Plan” in effect since 2016. However, I believe the istanbulsenin.org initiative is very important and could be adapted to London in inspiring civilians to engage with the progression of their community.
The projects that were decided by the vote of the community include the renovation of the historic Taksim Square, which has grown increasingly “concrete”, much to the dismay of Istanbulites.
Key Observations/Challenges
Upon basic research on both official channels and community forums such as Reddit, it is evident that London’s downtown area is in need of major renovation as residents and most notably businesses are leaving the area in lieu of more suburban areas. These include high profile businesses such as McDonalds, RBC and Rexall. The cause of this mainly appears to be the lessening pedestrian traffic in the area because of crime and addicts present in the district.
If funding is established for the renovation of the downtown London area, a website like istanbulsenin.org could be implemented to get people to look at potential projects, and voice their opinions about them. I believe this is a better option than regular town halls and such, mainly because of its accessibility and that it would improve the participation percentage of young people in the decisions that will shape the city’s landscape, in hopes of keeping university graduates in the city’s economy post graduation.
Lessons/Recommendations Application to London
This project would possibly ensure the participation of young adults in these types of renovations when it is lacking most of the time. Although this (and basically anything that’s put on the internet) could ensue some “trolling” and create prejudices about whether this young generation should be able to have a say but I believe most if not all of the contribution that is made by the student community of London will be productive and impactful.
INTERNATIONAL CITY 5 : BANGLADESH SOUTH ASIA
Case Description: What worked?
The government of Bangladesh took the knowledgeable step of allowing nongovernmental organizations from both the local and international levels to engage the youth in civic growth, which has served as an important goal in educating the entire community. In Bangladesh, the involvement of civic engagement initiatives led by nongovernmental organizations (NGO’s) has paved the way. The involvement of civic engagement initiatives in Bangladesh, which are led by nongovernmental organizations (NGO’s), has paved the way for youth and community awareness. For example, since 2008, Dhaka’s youth have been immersed in ICT training and growth, as well as disaster relief education. Bangladesh has been able to combine the best international practices for youth development through civic engagement through a variety of initiatives that have merged with international civil society organizations. Youths have influenced real change in a developed world through these various initiatives.
Key Observations/Challenges
Dhaka, Bangladesh’s capital, has been dealing with a number of issues, including social inclusion, livability issues, and economic difficulties. Essentially, the city has long been forced to balance a number of conflicting goals in order to improve existing conditions, especially for Dhaka’s communities. The Ministry of Youth runs a program called Bangladesh National Youth. Despite the existence of a program known as The Bangladesh National Youth, the Ministry of Youths and the Department that has been entrusted with the task of dealing with youth development in Bangladesh have been largely ineffective in their efforts to improve the state’s youth. Specifically, the specific entity needed the actual steps toward achieving the goals it had set. The initiative did not succeed in engaging young people in the growth and democratic processes at all levels. Furthermore, there were no specific institutional structures within the ministry of youths, the National Youth Council, and the state department of youths in Bangladesh, resulting in a reduction in youth participation. Established assets, such as the participation of various non-governmental organizations (NGOs), international non-governmental organizations (INGOs), and volunteerism, have not yet been mobilized to make a significant impact on youth civic engagement. Remarkably, a large portion of NGO funding comes from international organizations that are poorly organized and systematized. The state refused to fund national youth service bodies, causing official long-term programs to remain insufficient and causing a delay in achieving the nation’s overall impact on youth development targets.
Lessons/Recommendations Application to London
London (Ontario), which is already a developed city in comparison to Bangladesh’s emerging Dhaka, should learn that as a city, it must devote a significant portion of its resources to promoting youth civic engagement. London is the capital of Canada’s most populous province, and therefore has a large population, equivalent to Dhaka, which is one of the world’s most densely populated cities. During the
Prior to the penetration of non-governmental organizations, which took on the burden of increasing youth and community participation in agriculture, education, and healthcare in Dhaka, civic engagement was relatively poor (Shields, 2017). Despite the fact that the current situation in Dhaka is not as established as that of Ontario, civic participation has played a critical role in changing the city’s previous condition, such as educating the community about the importance of healthcare, education, and environmental protection. London (Ontario) needs to understand that giving non-profit organizations a chance is a good thing. London (Ontario) needs to understand that giving non-profit organizations a chance benefits the whole community. People may participate in democracy and have their voices heard by their governments through civic engagement. The interests of society are primarily expressed to the state by non-governmental organizations.
