Participación ciudadana deliberativa en el urbanismo: «Repensemos el 22@» en Barcelona.

Based on participant observation and interviews conducted in Barcelona during 2017 and 2018, this article presents the case of the citizen participation process «Rethink the 22@» as an inspiring public policy for civic deliberation. While there are several studies which explore citizen participation as a complement to governance in representative democracies, there is still very little research looking at the implementation of the deliberative processes and even less focussed on urban planning. This paper seeks to contribute to this vacuum. In the decade of the 90’, the emergence of «global cities» restricted urban governance to the interests of capital investment. In the 2010s’ a factual combination of the collapse of the real estate market and the emergence of the 15M provided a fertile ground for the implementation of direct democracy activities. In 2017, the Barcelona City Council approved a new Regulation for Citizen Participation which promotes the deployment of participatory processes. Within this regulation «Rethink the 22@» is the only participatory process dedicated to urban planning. This article considers this process to be a relevant reference due to its quantity and plurality of participation, for its deliberative methodology, and for its urban extension and multiplicity interests involved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]