Building a neighbourhood from nothing? Citizens engagement processes in Brownfield Development

We as architects, planners and urban developers have to rethink how we develop Brownfield areas, and the idea that we can create perfect neighbourhoods through large masterplans without engaging the citizens must change if we wish to keep making our cities vibrant, sustainable and loveable. 

Citizens engagement has over the past decades been a hot topic in urban planning and urban development. It becomes especially important when it comes to urbanizing former industrial areas: Areas which throughout Europe have been developed with the best intentions, but have been criticised for being cold, monotone and with a lack of high-quality urban spaces. I believe that through engagement process with people, in other words, the users of urban spaces, we can create the best possible squares, playgrounds, and streets, shaped to the demands of the people living in the areas.

There are many reasons why citizens need to be engaged in creating urban spaces in Brownfield areas. First and foremost, engaging people will give us a direct insight into spaces and functions that are needed in our cities. Without getting this insight our work becomes guesswork, which by no means is a smart way to go about designing our cities. By focussing on the citizens’ needs and wishes, we increase the chance to create vibrant neighbourhoods with urban life and activities in the streets. We make neighbourhoods that people want to live and hopefully stay in.

Additionally, through engagement, we get a unique opportunity to create communities and a sense of ownership in the newly developed areas. This would mean that the residents would want to maintain the area and help to develop it further. I have experienced many times that through engagement processes the people involved really took the project in, and really wanted to help realize it. Through their passion and participation, the projects benefited from many additions which in the beginning was impossible even to dream of. Creating communities and listening to the people also promotes aspects of social sustainability which is lacking in much of today’s urban development.

How can it be done?

It seems paradoxical to involve “citizens” in Brownfield areas, because how can we engage people who aren’t there yet? My colleagues at arki_lab and I have some suggestions for how it could be done:

• Temporary, experimental installations: Temporary installations are a great way of engaging citizens while testing the use of space. It is a cost-efficient way of testing out different uses which, can be removed again if they don’t work out. If you want to know more about temporary urbanism, read our paper on the topic here: https://www.arkilab.dk/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/4.pdf
• Engage the neighbours: The people living in the adjacent areas, or in other words the future neighbours, are an easily identifiable group who also are the ones most affected by a development, and thereby also the ones who might be most unhappy if they are not heard. They have a lot of knowledge about the area and by involving them, the new area might avoid the stamp of “not fitting in” with the rest of the city.
• Focus groups: Invite in a focus group of potential future users. Make sure your focus group covers a diverse range of age, profession, gender etc. It goes without saying this diversity will be reflected in the input you’ll get from them.  
• Clear and transparent communication: Avoiding surprises for the citizens is both fair to them, but it also minimises conflicts and ensures if conflicts arise, they can be handled quickly.