Collaborative Communities Through Coproduction: Two Case Studies

Many local councils aim to (re)connect citizens to public planning. This article presents the Collaborative Communities through Coproduction (3C) method as a way to establish cooperation between residents and professionals in improving neighborhood livabiliy. The authors describe common challenges to citizen participation and identify the dilemma of sustainable cooperation as an additional challenge for citizen participation efforts that aim to establish coproduction. To deal with this dilemma, the 3C method was designed as a continuous, circular process of plan making, plan implementation, and plan evaluation. The authors describe the implementation of the 3C method in two neighborhoods in the Netherlands. Findings from the two case studies demonstrate workable solutions to the dilemmas of citizen participation. Nonetheless, the study findings show that shifting council priorities pose an additional risk to the sustained continuation of coproduction efforts.