City Makers as the frontrunners of a new democracy

Abstract

Whether it is in name of the participation society or as a movement for civic empowerment, citizens are increasingly expected to take up more responsibility over the public domain. City Makers are such a movement of self-organized active citizens. The name City Makers applies to all kind of people who are active in their own neighborhood by for example starting an energy cooperative, organizing local health care, creating community spaces or redeveloping industrial areas. Instead of consumers these City Makers become producers of public services. By means of participatory observation and interviews I examine how these City Makers perceive their own role in society and connect their practices to notions of active citizenship and democratic renewal. How do these people challenge existing systems and structures so they work better for themselves and their communities? I argue that it is mainly because of their claim as legitimate partners of local governments through their actions that they open up opportunities for new forms of collaboration that are vital for increasing the legitimacy of urban governance.