Picture: Ondine Kapala

 

​The genuine involvement of citizens in urban planning and governance is essential for generating trust, ensuring democratic accountability and strengthening the social fabric. We saw this on 25 February at the public assembly “CITTÀ DA ABITARE, LAGUNA DA VIVERE” (A CITY TO LIVE IN, A LAGOON TO ENJOY), where over 150 people gathered to discuss the future of the island city as a lively, vibrant and repopulated city and the role of Venice in the current global geopolitical context. There was broad, multigenerational participation, with many voices and different points of view. The Assembly was held in the council chamber of the Municipality of Venice, Murano and Burano.

 

The initiative arose from a proposal by Venice Urban Lab, which was enthusiastically welcomed by the President of the Municipality of Venice, Murano and Burano, Marco Borghi, who opened the meeting by emphasising that the Municipality is, by definition, the place of participatory democracy.

The aim was to open up a space for public debate in the run-up to the election campaign for the new mayor.

 

The genuine involvement of citizens in urban planning and governance is essential for generating trust, ensuring democratic accountability and strengthening the social fabric.

 

The event provided an opportunity for genuine dialogue between the city's various stakeholders: a chance to listen to needs, highlight critical issues and, above all, shed light on opportunities and projects to be developed. The high turnout made it clear that the community of citizens not only has requests and expectations, but also wants and is able to contribute by taking a proactive approach. 

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The Assembly gathered perceptions, priorities and proposals on two macro-themes:

• The future of the island city as a lively, vibrant and repopulated city.

• ​The role of Venice in the current global geopolitical context.

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A digital platform was used to facilitate everyone's participation and structure the collection of contributions. The results have been compiled in a report that is now available for consultation:

 

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“How do we move forward?”, “How do we continue?” were the most frequently asked questions at the end.

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This report represents the first step in moving forward, making this public assembly just the beginning of a journey. The document will be brought to the attention of the Municipality as a basis for a committee discussion on the results that emerged from the dialogue with citizens.

 

To give continuity to this participatory process, we invite everyone to use this report as an open platform, sending comments, additions and new reflections. Anyone wishing to contribute to this process is invited to contact Venice Urban Lab to collaborate.

 

Special thanks go to all the citizens who participated enthusiastically, to the Municipality of Venice, Murano and Burano, and to all those who contributed to the organisation of this Assembly.