Neighborhood Meeting for Urban Development

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Table of Contents

Introduction
The Discussion
Meeting Purpose and Outcomes
Conclusion
Works Cited

Introduction

The construction of social reality within cities happens through the prism of urbanism. The various problems of cities and their communities as a socio-cultural phenomenon are one of the most difficult, controversial, and acutely relevant issues. The city integrates social ties and accumulates the cultural potential of the society (Barton and Tsourou 60). It can be stated that sustainable urban development requires the active participation of the public. Urban planning and urban development require an understanding of the political, economic, social, and cultural factors including the needs, requests, and opinions of citizens (Barton and Tsourou 60). It is worth noting that the current situation of the country and its populations are characterized by the lack of understanding and collaboration between municipal organizations and citizens on the importance of addressing the issues of local importance. The actual participation of citizens in solving the acute problems of the city, for instance, through local meetings is the key to the sustainable development of the country.

The Discussion

The neighborhood association meeting was held in Sara Guiterres and Jay Braun’s residence. It was dedicated to the coming Potluck event and the recurring problem with the standpipes that had to be addressed. In general, there were six people present throughout the meeting including Adam, Betsy, Ben, Sara, Lauren, and Jay. Also, Nina Solomon who is an artist for the event participated in the meeting. The meeting went smoothly, and the agenda was decided in advance so that the participants could think of their solutions or ideas about the issues beforehand. As the nature of the meeting was informal, the atmosphere was relaxed and friendly, and everyone could express his or her thoughts freely. Even though the meeting was unofficial, all of the participants were respectful of each other. Almost all of them were older adults that have been living in the neighborhood for a long time and are active members of the resident area.

It should be stated that the participants are eager to keep the neighborhood safe and do their best to promote a caring attitude towards the physical environment. The meeting is conducted on a repetitive basis to allow the members to change their roles according to the setting and to address the acute problems properly. However, it was evident that a major problem is the low level of legal awareness among the representatives of the neighborhood. One of the problems that were discussed during the meeting is recurring, and the residents do not know how to solve it (the standpipe that is crucial for the community and the discussed event is subject to repetitive vandalism acts). Thus, there is a need for authority participation to educate the public on legal practices that would allow them to address the issue properly (Namano 39).

Overall, the meeting was effective, and only practical matters were discussed. Each of the participants was able to share his or her suggestions, and there was no need to fill any kind of speaker card as Lauren was able to host and direct the discussion in an effective way allowing everyone to have a say in the debate. There was no time limit for the discussion, and everyone could express his or her opinion simply by showing an intention. As mentioned above, most of the participants were older adults, and it was discussed at the meeting that more active involvement of younger populations is essential. The only person who belongs to the younger generation representatives was Ben who is in his early thirties. It is believed that a more active demonstration of the effective participation of younger citizens in this area will be an efficient demonstration of good practice that will encourage higher public participation in these issues (Namano 41). Nevertheless, the whole community was represented during the meeting considering the size of the residential area and its average age range.

It is worthy of mentioning that in the absence of public opinion in the process of addressing the issues of planning, the development slowdown can be observed. If the level of citizen participation in the issues is not high enough, it will not have a significant influence on the decision-making (Soifer et al. 336). Thus, the involvement of younger residents is crucial as they need to be active members of the community to be able to support the sustainable development of the area. The analysis of the latest academic publications highlighted some problems that hinder the active participation of younger citizens in the processes of urban planning and development (Halperin 140). Often they stand aloof for the place in which they live, especially if their housing is rented. Experts attribute this problem to the reduction of planning horizons: people are not targeted to think about what the consequences their ignorance or omissions about the urban environment will bring through the decades. According to the members of the meeting, the major problem in the framework of these processes is the low capacity of local communities for self-organization and holding a public debate as well as non-possession of the tools and techniques of conversation on these topics (Mathieu, Parks and Rousculp 5). Also, even if the residents are quite active, there is frequently no dialogue between the authorities, local communities, and the representatives of different power structures.

Meeting Purpose and Outcomes

As described earlier, the meeting aimed to discuss the upcoming event and the recurring problem of vandalism. The standpipes that are constantly damaged are to control the water pressure in the neighborhood, but for the sake of landscape planning, they have been designed and decorated by the artist Nina Solomon. However, despite her priceless work, the people that passed by (for instance, workers or other people) would damage the standpipes by mistake or knowingly. This problem has been solved effectively until recently when someone started ruining them every time the standpipes got fixed. The residents need to investigate who keeps ruining them and take measures to prevent the same occurrence again. Moreover, the pipes are an important element of the decorations for the Potluck event; consequently, the people are concerned whether the vandals may try to ruin the event and all the efforts that were contributed to it. It was decided to enhance the supervision of the standpipes to investigate who might try to vandalize them. The host suggested that those who live close to the place would monitor the area from time-to-time and those residents living farther would make motivational papers and signs to call the violators to discipline. Moreover, Adam suggested that they should consult the legal bodies regarding the issue to be able to protect the area if the situation gets worse or remains unresolved. In general, it can be stated that the meeting was indeed productive and it covered all the topics to be discussed. It was evident that the community members were eager to secure the residential area and cooperate for its sustainable development (Soifer et al. 401). The cooperation can be evaluated as effective while the outcomes and solutions of the meeting responded to the items raised by the agenda.

Conclusion

The actual participation of citizens in solving local community issues is the key to the stable development of the country itself. The strategic initiatives of local authorities will remain declared but not implemented if the residents do not perform as functional members of society. Heavier involvement of people can be achieved if they are given the authority and responsibility to take measures in solving the existing problems (Soifer et al. 336). Neighborhood association meetings are the realization by citizens of their right to participate in the local democracy, which is provided primarily by the delegated authority to the citizens living in the area to be involved in decision-making. Nevertheless, the residents of the community cannot accept decisions about priorities and proposals solely. Such decisions should be based on the regularly updated analysis covering all the features, potential, activities, development opportunities, and resources of the region (Cappelli 256). The state and local authorities should implement informational and legal support to citizens for the latter to be knowledgeable about their rights and opportunities. Such meetings will be more effective if legal representatives participate in them as well and answer the questions of the residents from a legal point of view.

Works Cited

Barton, Hugh, and Catherine Tsourou. Healthy Urban Planning, Abingdon: Routledge, 2013. Print.

Cappelli, Lucas. City Sense, Barcelona: ACTAR Publishers, 2013. Print.

Halperin, Rhoda. Practicing Community, Austin: University of Texas Press, 2015. Print.

Mathieu, Paula, Steve Parks, and Tiffany Rousculp. Circulating Communities, Lanham: Lexington Books, 2012. Print.

Namano, Bernard. Factors Influencing Public Participation in Urban Planning Projects, Munich: GRIN Verlag, 2015. Print.

Soifer, Steven, Joseph McNeely, Cathy Costa and Nancy Pickering-Bernheim. Community Economic Development in Social Work, New York: Columbia University Press, 2014. Print.

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Neighborhood Meeting for Urban Development

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