This thesis examines urban governance in the context of the Swiss municipality of Dornach, where democratic institutions directly involve citizens in urban planning processes. As citizens are empowered to approve or reject specific planning proposals in assemblies (town meetings) and through popular vote processes (referendums), these institutions influence urban planning processes. They give citizens opportunities beyond electing representatives, and they create spaces for political negotiations. The thesis explores the relationship between these institutions and participation in urban planning.
The guiding research questions are:
By employing a theoretical framework of three models of participatory democracy, the author describes and analyzes political processes connected to urban planning in Dornach. These models are supplemented by theoretical perspectives on fairness, justice and inclusion. The research includes document analysis, semi-structured interviews with key actors and participant observation. To provide a better understanding, the author shows an exemplary planning process and how the democratic institutions tie into such a planning process. Main findings are that the democratic institutions inform planning processes throughout the planning process; that spaces of deliberation are both produced and limited by the nature of assembly democracy; that the inclusive nature of such institutions can work against those who are not included, such as foreign residents; that participation is most powerful at a point where the design place is small; and that broader forms of participation lack consistency in comparison with the established formal participatory elements.