"Points of Inspiration" for local governance
The Greeks were among the first peoples to implement the concept of government for the people, by the people. The mantle was taken up the Romans and the representative form of government became the established norm in the West. More recently, participation in local government has suffered from civilian lethargy, largely stemming from issues of mistrust. A project funded in part through the City of Tomorrow Key Action of the EESD Programme sought to reverse this alarming trend. The project, entitled DEMOS, produced three distinct results of value and interest. Cities from all corners of the European Union were classified according to a well-defined methodology. The starting point in each city was the individual neighborhoods since this is what each citizen identifies most within their region. Several neighborhoods are then gathered together to form districts. A database was created describing this structure for each of the eight participating cities. Secondly, an extensive review of literature regarding the concept of urban governance was performed. Concerns critical for any local government to deal with were identified. From a legal point of view, the various types of instruments available to citizens to partake in the local government were also pinpointed. Finally, each of these cities was audited to identify best practice, referred to as "points of inspiration". During the exercise, it was also realised that, apart from fundamental differences in the legal frameworks from one country to another, locality and culture play an important role, which should not be overlooked. For instance, mechanisms successful in the large port city of Turku, Finland may not apply well to the small Greek island of Chios. The DEMOS project results also have relevance beyond the borders of Europe. Urban governance is a global issue, highlighted by the fact that the United Nations recently launched The Urban Governance Initiative (TUGI), targeting developing nations in the East.
