Cities have a significant role to play in advancing democracy and citizenship. In an urban world, cities are both home and local political context for most people. As centres of social life, economy and resource use, cities are also key sites for dealing with global challenges like climate change. Citizen “co-creation” is an important means of opening-up multi-directional, horizontal dialogues and decision-making processes between government and civil society. But it necessitates experimentation and institutional change, which can be difficult for local governments because of rigid structures and a lack of resources. There are also concerns over the extent to which citizens can genuinely influence government. Hence critical engagement with local concepts and practices of ‘co-creation’ is necessary to identify challenges and ways forward.

The blended intensive programme “Co-Creating Urban Futures” will take place from October 2024 to January 2025 and consists of three elements: 

1. online Roundtables, between October 2024 and December 2024;
2. online learning Hub (on Moodle) to facilitate independent and group learning and provide documentation of the course and workshop;
3. the main on-site learning, between 18-22 November 2024.

The module develops comparative and interdisciplinary knowledge of co-creation in local government and examines its potential to address urban challenges. The international (Brussels, Bucharest, Glasgow, Rome, Tübingen) and interdisciplinary background of staff and students (Political Science, Geography, Planning, Urban Design and Urban Studies) will help develop multi-faceted, comparative insights. Learning will occur in blended formats, including online roundtables with participating staff and students. A 5-day meeting in Bucharest incorporating in-person learning activities is also part of the course. 

This will be a 3 ECTS module, with some flexibility for more/ less credits to be awarded according to each institution’s needs. Assessment will be a mix of group presentations carried out in-person (50%) and individual projects (50%).

On-site Learning in Bucharest

Teaching staff and students come together in the city of Bucharest for five days of intensive learning experiences (18-22 November 2024). The focus will be on the transfer of theoretical approaches to co-creation into more practical exercises, applications, and discussions. 

Students will work together in groups, examining case studies of co-creation in Bucharest. There will be site visits, talks by government officials, community groups and activists. 

Teaching staff will give teaching input and lead smaller working groups dedicated to deepening the learning experiences. These include:

• drawing lessons from interdisciplinary theoretical approaches and to problematise them in terms of practicability,
• experimenting with existing tools and techniques for organising participatory problem solving,
• conducting interviews with participants of co-creation projects to gather insight in their experiences and to identify strengths and shortcomings of such collaborative processes,
• meeting stakeholders from governments, administrations and civil society, and learn about their interests, needs, and recommendations for co-creating urban futures,
• participating in excursions to ‘best’ and ‘worst’ practice examples.

A dinner is also included in the social part of the schedule. 

The virtual part of the programme consists of 5 online sessions, held between 16 October - 4 December:

1. Introduction - 16 October

In the first session, the main aims and objectives of the course will be introduced and discussed with the students.

2. Global urban challenges - 23 October

In the second session, teaching staff from the participating universities will present their perspectives on “global urban challenges.”

3. Co-creation and democracy - 30 October

The third session is dedicated to the main concepts of “co-creation”, their normative foundations and role within politics. All sessions include group work and discussions. After the workshop, one further session will take place to review and summarise the results of the on-site course and to fill the online repository with content.

4. Power, planning and policy making - 7 November

The fourth session aims at establishing the interrelatedness of “power, planning and policy making” and will introduce the case studies for the workshop.

5. Summary and concluding reflections - 4 December

After the workshop, one further session will take place to review and summarise the results of the on-site course and to fill the online repository with content.

All sessions include group work and discussions.