World PLanning Day 2021
Strengthening the Co-production Paradigm in Planning
(Promoting Government and Citizen Partnerships)
Co-production occurs when citizens participate actively in delivering and designing the services they receive. It has come increasingly onto the agenda of decision-makers, as interest in citizen participation has more generally soared. Expectations are high, and it is regarded as a possible solution to the public sector’s decreased legitimacy and dwindling resources by accessing more of society’s capacities. In addition, it is seen as part of a more general drive to reinvigorate voluntary participation and strengthen social cohesion in an increasingly fragmented and individualized society.
Engaging Citizens in Public Services offers a systematic and comprehensive theoretical and empirical examination of the co-production concept and its application in practice. Over the years, the South African Planning and Institutional system has established very critical and essential instruments (Integrated Development Plan – IDP, Spatial Development Framework – SDF) and legislation (Spatial Planning and Land Use Management Act – SPLUMA (No. 16 of 2013) that requires a critical interface between the people for whom plans are being provided and the Planners who are responsible for design and implementation of the plans as well as the decision-makers who are responsible for funding and implementing these plans. However, the downside of this issue is the poor state of implementation and follow-up on the essential requirements of these infrastructure and services Co-production processes utilizing the available instruments. Hence, the 2021 World Planning Day explores the variegated methods available in reviewing, testing, and further considering the co-production paradigm in planning in the South African context.
Given this drive, for a deeper understanding of Infrastructure co-production and the ways to re-enforce the process of implementation of the co-production paradigm in spatial planning, eThekwini Municipality, University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), South African Council for Planners, International
Society Of City And Regional Planners (ISOCARP), South African Local Government Association (SALGA), and the South African Cities Network(SACN) are hosting a symposium titled: Strengthening the Co-Production Paradigm in Planning, as the Theme for the 2021 World Planning Day. This event will bring together various stakeholders in town planning, researchers, academics, decision-makers and, professional planners, administration, economists, and people from the fields of political science, public management, service management, voluntary sector studies, Environmental activists, and other vital stakeholders in the built environment.
This year World Planning Day will take place 8th and 9th of November 2021. It shall be a virtual symposium. Presenters across the Globe will be invited to address of symposium, thus creating an international learning and sharing platform. Four breakaway rooms will be set up to allow focussed and thought-provoking discussion on the four subtitles, which are as follows:
Room 1: understanding the institutional framework for co-production and its ability to deliver sustainable infrastructure
Room 2: planning and economic development: how true are we to co-production in our plan-making
Room 3: promoting the healthy cities: balancing community needs with planning and the environment
Room 4: building resilience cities (climate change, disaster reduction and mitigation; and city adaptation measures)
Click here to register.