E-PARTICIPATION IN SLUM UPGRADING: FACILITATING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A LOCALLY ROOTED LIVEABLE LIFE INDEX TO GUIDE SLUM UPGRADING

FACILITATING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A LOCALLY ROOTED LIVEABLE LIFE INDEX TO GUIDE SLUM UPGRADING

Abstract

Over the years, the term participation has become an integral part in the context of urban planning. Its importance has been acknowledged in the improvement of various aspects: relationship building between governments and citizens, stronger levels of democracy and decision-making processes, among others. Several typologies of participation have been derived from Arnstein’s influential “ladder of participation”. In order to pay closer attention to who is participating, in which context and for whose benefit, further steps need to achieve clarity through specificity, if the call for e-participation is to fulfil its democratizing promise. While some forms of citizen participation, such as consultation rely on the relevance of knowledge and opinions shared by citizens, a collaborative activity, such as the LLI, depends more on the quality of data provided by the participants. The LLI views slum dwellers as decisive stakeholders with expert knowledge about their neighbourhood. Their contribution is solely considered in the definition of locally rooted liveable life indicators to form a LLI. A detailed typology of e-participation might allow a more specific analysis of the causal links between different forms of participation and their specific outcomes. upgrading. So far, the concept is based on an analogue approach, developed within the Smart City Bhubaneswar (India). The expansion of ICT in Smart Cities to an e-participation initiative in form of a digital LLI has the potential to disseminate policy planning information and solicit citizen's inputs in planning. Still, the success of an e-participation initiative depends on the careful selection of the best-matching techniques and ICT tools.