From participation you can learn

I notice that participation with local residents is increasingly important in the construction projects we are working on. This is not only because participation has become a pillar in the Environment Act, but even more so because in the Netherlands we are building more and more projects that are fitted into the existing village or urban context. Many residents therefore have to deal with construction projects in their immediate surroundings, and through - sometimes very intensive - participation processes, they are involved. I only applaud this. In fact, I have been doing this since my early years as an architect and it has taught me a lot. But what increasingly bothers me is the influence of principled obstructionists.

In several locations around the country, I am working with Lords 5 to fit homes, village halls and power stations into the existing environment. We travel almost weekly from community center to sports hall or town hall - most recently we were even with 300 attendees in a castle! - to talk to local residents about their wishes and needs with regard to what is going to be built in their area. This is important because there is limited space in the Netherlands and we live close together. So we have to take each other into account.

Often I hear legitimate questions like: Do I still have enough daylight? What about my privacy? And, won't it be at the expense of green space or parking? Of course, these are all important aspects we consider when designing new buildings. So far so good. But more and more often we find that reasonableness in discussions with critical neighbors is hard to find and that they often only act in their own interests. They will buy that designer electric bicycle or new Tesla, but are categorically opposed to replacing the old electricity substation in the neighborhood. They have house-seeking children of their own, but are against additional housing on their own street. I find it worrisome that local residents can also use participation processes to oppose, rather than cooperate.

Participation is something I find valuable and enjoy doing, let's put that first. Heren 5 even co-organizes the annual Participation Parade. We get a lot of inspiration from conversations with residents, or experts by experience, as we prefer to call them. After all, they know the neighborhood like no other, and through them we learn a lot about its qualities, challenges and social networks. This allows us to create architecture that is rooted in the location.

But what if a participation process does not ultimately lead to a widely supported design; what then? Or if, despite an intensive participation process, there is a principle obstructionist in the neighborhood?

Then, in the Netherlands, it is possible to file an objection or an opinion with the municipality so that the municipality has to reconsider any permits granted. Or one step further, local residents can file an appeal with the court to get their right. Unfortunately, more and more often we experience that winning the case takes so much time that projects come to a standstill for years. As a result, it takes even longer for house seekers to have their voices heard, and eventually to be able to move into a suitable home. I suggest that from now on, when participating, we learn to make a little more room for each other.