Impact of decentralized decision-making on the management and progress of urban participation processes toward sustainability

Sammanfattning

This study examines processes of transition from top-down urban governance to more diverse and multi-actor forms of sustainability in Malmö, Sweden. The research is focusing on network and collaborative governance, PPP governance, and shared governance, and on how they are implemented in Forward Malmö, the Hyllie Smart City Project, and Area-Based Programs (Områdesprogram) in Malmö. The study tells us that bottom-up approaches and decentralization in Malmö lead, to a large extent, to innovation, participation, and diverse representation. It also highlights some sobering issues regarding the balance of power and responsibility, and the risks of governance fragmentation or exacerbation of market-driven forces often seen with greater privatization and neoliberalization. The study concludes that the effectiveness of decentralized approaches is based on how well the balance of power between the actors is managed, the multi-dimensional nature of the projects, and relations and dialogue between the actors are structured.