Urban Governance of Yakutia: Is the Government Ready to Cooperate with the Citizens?

Abstract

This article studies the forms of public participation in town-planning regulation. Attempts have recently been made to bring back public participation. This gained momentum following the start of the implementation of the federal project called “The design of a comfortable urban environment”. Forms of public involvement in urban beautification processes are being actively discussed, the practices of joint design have been adapted, and the public have been successfully involved in the development of beautification documents and can see the results of their efforts. Another process has also been underway to reduce public participation in the discussion of town-planning regulation documents, which determine the spatial development of the city and legal consequences for real estate owners. In such a way, the focus of public attention shifts from legal issues, for example, about land parcel boundaries under residential buildings to the choice of landscaping or playground equipment. The article gives an overview of the forms of public participation in solving issues of local importance, as a range of opportunities established by the legislation regarding public participation in town-planning regulation. The role of public hearings and public debates is defined as the only form of discussion of certain issues of town-planning regulation, the conduct of which is mandated by law. All other forms of public participation are optional, and their application largely depends on the interests of the public authorities. The article discusses in detail the issues of legislative support for public hearings and public debates in Russian cities. It also analyzes the practical problems of public hearings and public debates. All the conclusions are confirmed by statistics from information collected by the author. Suggestions are made to improve legislation from the point of view of the rational and fair organization of the public discussion of town-planning regulation documents.