How citizens can shape urban planning

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About the research

"Leave it to the experts. You don't understand the technical stuff." A thought city planners sometimes have. But urban designer and researcher Jan Lim (KU Leuven) argues for something different: meaningful citizen involvement.

"City planning isn't just technical. It's also political... Do we prioritize car drivers over public transport users? Economic growth over the environment? These choices shape the kind of city we live in. So citizens need to talk about them."

In her research in highly regulated and tightly controlled Singapore, she discovered how citizens still find ways to make a difference. Watch the video đź‘€

Sustainability
Society
Jan Lim
KU Leuven

Training as an architect, Jan Lim saw how most people had little say in the urban planning decisions affecting their lives. She co-founded Participate in Design in Singapore to change that. Through her PhD research at the KU Leuven Urban Studies Institute, she explored how planning and politics shape citizen participation. Now, Jan uses this knowledge to build up community-led climate action and just, sustainable cities.

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