Philippe Vaillant, France
Inclusiveness means not leaving anyone on the roadside. And this, in all the dimensions of the ordinary, personal and community life of everyone (E. Mounier). The world has never been so rich. At the same time, it has never been so unequal and destructive of societies, environment, biodiversity and millennial institutions. The world is now limited in resources. So, to face with resource constraints, cross-cutting approach is necessary. Faced with riches, an inclusive world is possible! It is possible to change look, mentality, individual and collective posture … and transform the world towards inclusiveness!
It takes few words to say this essential, but it takes all the words to make it real, and put into play, putting into motion all the dimensions at the same time. The urban planner has a privileged contribution to give to the world. To achieve inclusiveness, today, we must combine sustainable development with a view to the resilience of societies and cultures on their territory, through their institutions. It is proposed to observe inclusivity in the following interactions:
Fig. 1: Schematic conjugation of sustainable development to the resilience of societies and cultures on their territory through their institutions, to inclusiveness (Source: P.Vaillant ISOCARP Brisbane, Delft 2015, NGO-P.Vaillant Yamoussoukro Forum UNESCO-2014).
This scheme applies to the different territorial scales, including cities (about 100 km2, radius of 6 km), agglomerations (2000 km2, radius of 25 km) and regions (about 32 000 km2, 100 km radius) create convivial and inclusive regions (W. (B.) Twitchett, thesis 1995 and ISOCARP, 2003. See also ISOCARP 2004, 2005, 2008, http://www.twitchett.org/isocarp-congresses). Is not now the regional level that articulates urban, rural and natural planning, from the potential, but mostly territorial limits (UN-PPPV-49 & 136). Show the three axes, or vectors, from the sustainable development:
- Governance, based on territory, is specific to each society and its institutions. The territory is the basic brick of governance. (P.Calame 1997, 2013, Foundation for Human Progress -FPH-) In the old wisdom of indigenous peoples, “The Land is the source of the Law“ (CF Black, 2011). Is this not the meaning, for example, new approaches like economy relocalization, the increasing importance of the Social Solidarity Economy, residential economy, the functional economy, short circuits, producer-to-consumer schemes, local currencies and local citizen participation?
- Science and technology, including planning, are society-based, are carried by institutions on a territory. Society and its culture are the source of science and technology. (B.Latour, 2013, I.Stengers, 2010);
- Common, territorial, public, collective or universal Goods, well maintained, fertilize the territory and the society. Water, sustainable development, climate … Public and private institutions (whose economy is only one dimension) are – or should be – the place of community expression of Common Goods. (E.Osborn, 2010, J.Rifkin, 2011, 2014). The social climate is also part of the common good, as well as connection to the territory, sense of belonging.
This transversal way of seeing, thinking, acting is organic, processual, transcultural (AN Whitehead, PR-1978, A. Berque, 2013, DR Griffin, 2007, J. Grange, 1997 & 1999, P .Vaillant, 2008). It is friendly and fraternal by combining unity and diversity. These inclusive processes allow for “co-growth of things together”, “con-crescence”. Each concrescence shape the experience of everyday drops (Whitehead 1978-PR 334-328) path to inclusiveness.
All drops of experience from around the world come together in this intelligent way (Smart Way Toward inclusiveness) to become transformation vectors of our societies towards inclusiveness. The declination of the scheme on the theme of inclusiveness, crossed with the proposed contributions, leads to the following themes
- Definition of inclusive intelligent communities
- Institutions and inclusivity
- Territory and social inclusion: emergence of new strategies
- Governance and citizen participation
- Planning and inclusiveness: indigenous peoples, informal settlements and traditional planning.
An organic methodological method will be proposed for setting link presented drops of experiences, encourage comparisons, and feed the dialogue and exchange of experience, in a dialogical relationship (P. Freire, 1993 J. Marin, Unesco 2014) : Learn from the Other, different, and enrich ourselves with our differences. On the other hand, the exchanges on the selected cases, and the debates will be fed by the link with the exhibitors, the posters, and the numerous papers proposed for publication at the congress
1. Definition of inclusive intelligent communities
A definition of the inclusiveness and the modes of governance that favors it is necessary in the first place. This is the occasion in a first session to discuss the new proposals of Habitat III, in its many occurrences on inclusiveness, and how to promote it on the territories.
A second session specifies this new way of seeing and undertaking through major initiatives, at the planning scales of the region, cities, towns and neighborhoods, agglomeration, region, state, continent and planet. China wonders how to combine historic and (post) modernity, India undertakes the implementation of 100 Smart Cities, Lagos city 12 million people asks the crucial questions, Kenya declines an approach to planning democratic. Other insights will enrich the definition of inclusiveness.
2. Institutions and inclusiveness
Portland is the case of an institution to face the challenges of inclusion of populations. Coming to Portland is an opportunity to see, live the initiatives of an internationally renowned city for its ecological approach, the integration of working-class neighborhoods in a participatory and inclusive approach. Following the ambitious 2012 Plan, an initial assessment was drawn up in 2017. What are the lessons learned in this process that involve 20 agencies? What results? What new perspectives?
3. Territory and social inclusion: emergence of new strategies
How can territorial constraints and potentials develop governance strategies for the inclusion of disadvantaged populations in terms of housing, equity and participation?
4. Governance and citizen participation
Across the world, new models of up-and-coming governance are emerging. Citizen participation allows the expression of the aspirations of the population, and of its “mastery of use” in an ascending logic. Citizens know their territory, constraints, potentialities, and together can guide their destiny. The local is the best place to articulate the global and the local (some speak of “glocal”). Is it not by learning inclusively of ALL citizens, including the most vulnerable, and co-constructing planning and planning policies that are create the conditions of prosperity and human success of the community? From India, to Bangladesh, to South Africa, and other places?
5. Inclusiveness, indigenous people, informal settlements and traditional planning
Post-modern science and traditional knowledge are the fruits of the society that gives birth to them and their culture. The Art of Planning and Urbanism are part of these sciences and knowledge, sometimes millennia old. They can be combined with (post) modernity, on the condition of preserving its meaning, under penalty of destroying not only societies, but also their territory. How to reconcile tradition and change, protection of a remarkable territory and economic appetites? How does planning contribute to these regulations?
6. Common goods, territorial inclusiveness: sense of belonging and neighborhood cohesion
The convivial and inclusive social climate is the common good of society. How does citizen participation contribute to creating, maintaining and developing it? Neighborhoods seem now involved in the production of renewable energy, residential economy, environmental actions, solidarity with the weakest, Through examples of practices in India, China, Kenya, can we find simple rules generalizable to other places of the world, to create living and inclusive cities, in all dimensions of inclusiveness? Do we not witness the increasing expression of the sense of belonging, with the establishment of new collaborative common to face the many challenges of living together?
Bibliography and References
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VAILLANT Philippe, These, L’EXPÉRIENCE TERRITORIALE éclairée par la pensée d’A.N.WHITEHEAD Potentialité des régions conviviales et application à la région « Entre Vosges et Ardennes », Universté de Lorraine, 713 p.
Online at http://docnum.univ-lorraine.fr/public/DDOC_T_2008_NAN21_019_VAILLANT.pdf and at www.convivialregion.org. Post-PhD at www.organicsociaties.org
VAILLANT Philippe, « Mining, environment and society: Contribution of the thought of Whitehead to the methodology of assessing the water that can really be mobilized in the Kimberley and Canning Basin », Australia, 16p.ISOCARP, Brisbane, 2013 ;
Online at : http://www.isocarp.net/Data/case_studies/2329.pdf
VAILLANT Philippe, « Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) In Africa enlightened by organic thought », NGO FORUM UNESCO AFRICA WATER 2014, Online at : https://isocarp.org/app/uploads/2015/12/2014-09-03_DOS-GIRE_c_EN.pdf
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