Anyone who wants to influence the policy of the municipality of Eindhoven is all too often disappointed. That is why citizen participation must be better regulated, according to two organisations.
On a sunny late summer day in 2022, Annemiek van Stekelenborg stands on the steps of the town hall with tears in her eyes. Together with a few other residents, she hands over a package of 1,200 signatures to two councillors. The aim is to prevent construction traffic from driving straight through the nature reserve near the Wasvenboerderij. It is so important to her that it makes her emotional.
Unfortunately for Annemiek, the action did not help. The construction route through the piece of nature is now a fact and cars rumble past every day. A big disappointment, not only for Annemiek but for many residents around the Wasvenboerderij.
Citizen participation must be better organised, according to the Alliance for Citizen Participation Eindhoven (ABE) and the Better Eindhoven Foundation. It is often unclear what is expected of residents in a participation process. Are citizens only allowed to give their opinion? Or do they really have a voice in decision-making?
That varies per project. Sometimes it concerns a poll, other times the opinion of the citizen has a significant influence. The unclear rules encourage wrong expectations and disappointments.
The two Eindhoven organisations are not alone in their criticism. Council members of the VVD and CDA also believe that communication should be clearer. The municipality must better explain to citizens the extent of their participation and do so-called ‘expectation management’, they say. So that even more disappointments are prevented in the future.
Source: www.studio040.nl
Translated by Yawar Abbas
