Medborgardialog i ortsanalys : ett arbete om värdet av kommunikation tidigt i planeringsskedet

Abstract: Citizen participation is fundamental in place analysis, where the aim is to define the sites specific character and identity. The local citizens know the village better than anyone else since they lead their daily life in the environment. I have in cooperation with Sala municipality suggested guidelines on how to involve the local people in dialogue during place analysis. The target was to involve and enthuse as many people as possible with relatively small resources in time and money. The suggested methodology was tried out in a place analysis of Västerfärnebo, a community with about 3 000 inhabitants of which 500 live in the main village. The dialogue included a pre-meeting with a local association, a public meeting and a full-day Open House where citizens could enjoy an exhibition and discuss with the municipal planners. We also arranged a competition entitled "My Västerfärnebo".Dialogues with citizens appear more frequently in order to achieve democratic validity. In order to succeed with the dialogue politicians and officials must respect the knowledge of the locals and truly listen to learn. Although citizen participation isn’t statutory in place analysis it is needed to understand the conditions and aim of the analyzed society.