ESF/N-AERUS International Workshop Geneva, Palais des Nations - May 3-6, 2000 CITIES OF THE SOUTH: SUSTAINABLE FOR WHOM? WORKSHOP PAPERS

Diego Carrión M.
Faculty of Architecture and Design, Catholic University of Ecuador. Centro de Investigaciones CIUDAD. Quito, Ecuador

DEMOCRACY AND SOCIAL PARTICIPATION IN LATIN AMERICAN CITIES

• Download the draft paper in *.rtf format

At a national level, democratisation, structural adjustment, state reform -which includes decentralisation-, and liberalisation of the economy -which includes privatisation-, have introduced dramatic changes in LAC societies and cities.

These processes have challenged local governments to face new roles and to strengthen their managerial capacity in order to cope with increasing urban problems and people's demands, while central governments transfer new responsibilities.

In response to state incapacity to address local problems, there has been a consequent flourishing of organisations of civil society to engage in self-help, build social networks and mutual support groups in order to meet their needs for basic services.

Deepening democracy and promoting popular participation for dealing with urban matters requires guiding principles and methodological criteria. These should be driven from the large experience gained in Latin American cities during past decades.

N-AERUS: Network-Association of European Researchers on Urbanisation in the South
http://www.naerus.net