Incubators of Public Spaces; a digital agora to support and empower self-organised participatory processes in urban (re)development

In this short position paper we will introduce how the recently established recognition for formal citizen participation in urban planning is being by-passed by an emerging movement of active citizenship. It is this kind of self-organised participatory process that the Incubators of Public Spaces project aims to support and empower through the creation of a digital platform. We will first give a brief introduction on the general need for more participation in planning policies and the more recent shift towards a DIY mentality. Therefore the specific case of Brussels will be given as an illustration. Subsequently, we will argue how Incubators aims to facilitate and stimulate this novel self-organised practices through the development of ICT tools. As a digital agora, the tool is intended to support the co-creation of an agreed vision for positive change and individual actions. Finally as an initial step for the Incubators project, three concrete cases in cities across Western Europe (London, Brussels, Turin), will function as Living Labs for the development and implementation of the digital platform.