The Governance of Urban Green Spaces in the EU

The Governance of Urban Green Spaces in the EU

SCHICKLINSKI, Judith
Routledge Explorations in Environmental Studies, 2017.

Across European cities the use of urban space is controversial and subject to diverging interests. On the one hand citizens are increasingly aware of the necessity for self-organising to reclaim green spaces. On the other hand local authorities have started to involve citizens in the governance of urban green spaces. While an increased level of citizen participation and conducive conditions for citizens’ self-organisation are a desirable development per se, the risk of functionalising civil society actors by the local authority for neoliberal city development must be kept in mind.