What is Participatory City?
Participatory City is an UK-based model that creates a large-scale, radically inclusive, participatory social infrastructure. The folks at Participatory City have done the homework to identify the barriers that keep people from starting or participating in community-led initiatives, and then created a support system to help grow a “participatory ecosystem” of low-threshold/low-committment opportunities for civic engagement.
Participatory City works by creating a support structure that allows local residents to co-create thousands of practical, enjoyable activities close to where people live, built into the fabric of everyday life, and generating community wealth. This large-scale neighborhood platform cultivates agency, curiosity, and purpose among residents of diverse backgrounds to exchange, learn and share with one another.
For example, within its first two years, Participatory City’s flagship project has involved over 5,000 people in over 130 projects, generating 28,000 hours of shared time together. It has manifested in spaces where residents can cook together or develop food businesses; workshop spaces for making, repairing and learning things; festivals and knowledge-sharing events, and more.
If you would like to learn more, Participatory City has a lot of great resources on its website. I would especially recommend the Illustrated Guide to Participatory City
Also, check out the video below for a good overview.