Green Growth: New Shoots 10 th May 2012

1. Governance & management:What can and should the role of government, business and communities be in the place-keeping of open space? Lessons from MP4 Green Growth: New Shoots 10th May 2012 Harry Smith Heriot-Watt University

2. Place-keeping: Place Process Product

3. Governance – What is it? • Governance of open space is key to its quality and its contribution to society, but what is it? • the sphere of relations between government and other actors in civil society or non-governmental sectors – including the private sector & community; • the processes of interaction between these in defining their roles and relationships. • Government does not work in isolation but through these types of relations. • In MP4, focus on the local community.

4. What affects governance? • Outcome of any open space place-making project and/or place-keeping activity is the result of the combination: • purpose of the project or activity; • setting (large park, small square, etc.); • people involved; • process to involve these. • People and process are what governance is about.

5. Benefits of inclusive governance • Traditionally a technocratic approach in PK, but benefits of community involvement include: • Local knowledge • Community understanding • Legitimacy and ‘buy-in’ • Improved relationship between policymakers and the community • Community empowerment & social cohesion • Active citizenship &social justice • More appropriate services

6. Issues in inclusive governance • But wider engagement also raises issues: • Range of community members involved • Timescales & nature of public sector processes • Nature of PK of open space • Issues of power (in both inclusive and technocratic approaches)

7. Several approaches in governance: MP4 pilots & model agreements

8. Key findings from MP4 (1) • Respect and dialogue local ownership & responsibility • Public participation possibilities & limitations need to be clear from the start • Engagement in projects depends on prospect of mutual benefits & trust in the lead organisation. • Who may be engaged, how they may benefit and what they may contribute need to be considered. • Scale & nature of the open space will affect the scope for community involvement in PK.

9. Key findings from MP4 (2) • Tendency to think that PK is the responsibility of the public sector. • Wider engagement in PK through formal or informal agreements. • Community engagement in PM processes can help establish trust & working practices for continuing involvement in PK. • Uncertainty within the public sector can be barrier to wider engagement in PK or can increase the length of the process.

10. Back to the question • So, what can and should the role of government, business and communities be in the place-keeping of open space? • There are many possibilities, and opportunities should be created to explore these and give them a chance to develop. • But there are also limitations, and expectations from the various stakeholders should be realistic. • Depends on the context. Context is not everything, but it is a lot! • An example: Barger-Compascuum and Emmen Revisited, The Netherlands.