Cities of Equality Online Session Highlights Research on Public Spaces and Citizen Participation

The Cities of Equality Partnership hosted an online session on 5 February titled “Public spaces and citizen participation. Highlights and recommendations from a JRC research project”, bringing together experts, policymakers, and urban practitioners to discuss key insights from an ongoing research initiative led by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC).

The session focused on the preliminary findings and policy recommendations developed within the JRC’s research project “Public spaces as spaces for citizen engagement. Partnership to democratise science and policy”, which explores the role of public spaces as enablers of participatory democracy. The study, which builds on a series of case studies of everyday democratic engagement in diverse public settings, including libraries, parks, museums, and digital spaces, seeks to highlight how public spaces can counteract democratic deficits and enhance citizen participation.

Anna Paola Quaglia, coordinator of the research at the JRC, presented key insights from the study, including a set of ten draft policy recommendations aimed at fostering more inclusive, democratic, and participatory public spaces. These recommendations, developed in collaboration with eleven international experts, will be included in an upcoming Science for Policy report, set to be published in Spring 2025.

JRC Online Session on Public Spaces and Citizen Engagement

The online session provided an opportunity for members of the Cities of Equality Partnership to engage with the research findings and contribute feedback on the draft recommendations. Participants discussed the importance of recognising public spaces as the “lived places of democracy,” emphasising the need for greater institutional support and investment in maintaining these spaces as hubs of civic life. Discussions also touched on the role of social infrastructure and how public institutions can better engage with emerging forms of participation beyond traditional invited processes.

This research aligns closely with the ongoing work of the Cities of Equality Partnership, which is discussing a draft action dedicated to fostering more inclusive and participatory practices in local policymaking. Specifically, the findings resonate with two draft actions which focus on supporting local municipalities in creating opportunities for greater engagement of citizens of all backgrounds and making access to local services more equitable.

The event underscored the shared commitment of the Cities of Equality Partnership and the JRC in advancing knowledge and policies that promote civic engagement in urban environments. Moving forward, participants were invited to submit additional comments on the policy recommendations, ensuring that local expertise and on-the-ground perspectives contribute to shaping the final Science for Policy report.

For more information about the research project, visit the Competence Centre on Participatory and Deliberative Democracy’s website: JRC Research on Public Spaces and Citizen Engagement.