Healthy Cities: Facilitating the Active Participation and Empowerment of Local People

Abstract

Community participation and empowerment are key values underpinning the European WHO Healthy Cities initiative, now in its fifth phase. This paper provides a brief overview of the history, policy context, and theory relating to community participation and empowerment. Drawing on Phase IV evaluation data, it presents the findings in relation to the four quadrants of Davidson's Wheel of Participationinformation, consultation, participation in decision making, and empowerment. The large majority of European Healthy Cities have mechanisms in place to provide information for and to consult with local people. Most also demonstrate a commitment to enabling community participation in decision-making and to empowering citizens. Within this context, the evaluation highlighted a diversity of approaches and revealed varied perspectives on how participation and empowerment can be integrated within city leadership and governance processes. The paper concludes by suggesting that there is a need to strengthen future evaluative research to better understand how and why the Healthy Cities approach makes a difference.

Social change or business as usual at city hall? Examining an urban municipal government's response to neighbourhood-level health inequities

“…This finding is consistent with literature demonstrating how marginalized community groups can utilize participatory approaches to influence policy, ultimately strengthening democratic decision-making (Elwood, 2002;Coaffee and Healey, 2003;Pateman, 2012;Lelieveldt et al, 2009). In addition, this study demonstrates how community participation is not a straightforward or linear process (Dooris and Heritage, 2011;Gamble, 2010;Hancock, 2009). Lastly, this study points to barriers to promoting equitable participation in municipal strategies, which may compromise health equity goals (Rogers et al, 2008;Laverack, 2006;Sharek et al, 2013).…”

“…For over two decades, local governments across Canada, the United States and Europe have employed neighbourhood or 'settings-related' interventions to transform urban environments in order to improve health outcomes for residents living in deprived neighbourhoods (Bradford, 2005;Dooris and Heritage, 2011;Sharek et al, 2013). Many of these interventions involve local governments and non-governmental actors engaging lay people living in historically marginalized communities around taking action on the social determinants of health (Sharek et al, 2013).…”

“…Governmental actors have also exerted power in placebased initiatives to channel community participation in ways that were fitting to state agendas instead of resident concerns and values (Masuda et al, 2008;Cowen and Parlette, 2011;Woolrych and Sixsmith, 2013). This can be seen as running counter to models of community participation that hold resident empowerment, leadership and ownership of initiatives as integral goals of participation (Dooris and Heritage, 2011;Hancock, 2009;Gamble, 2010;Kretzmann and McKnight, 1993;cf. Arnstein, 1969).…”

City Leadership for Health and Well-being: Back to the Future

“…In this Special Supplement Mark Dooris and Zoe Heritage highlight a variety of mechanisms to inform and engage city populations. 23 In a period of austerity and constraints on public finances, it is vitally important to strengthen and utilize the assets of individual and community resilience.…”

Kota Sehat sebagai Bentuk Sustainable Communities Best Practice

“…Proyek tersebut dipandang sebagai suatu sarana untuk melegitimasi, memelihara, dan mendukung proses pemberdayaan masyarakat ('a means of legitimizing, nurturing, and supporting the process of community empowerment'). 5,6 Dengan menggunakan metode partisipasi masyarakat, proyek ini mencari pengurangan ketidakadilan (inequality), memperkuat pencapaian kesehatan (health gain), serta mengurangi kesakitan dan kematian. Tujuan proyek ini cukup konvensional, tetapi metode dan filosofi menandai pergeseran yang menentukan cara berpikir tentang kesehatan dalam lingkungan perkotaan.…”