Markus Laine

Do matters of concern matter? Bringing issues back to participation

The objective of our article is twofold. First, we claim that the theoretical planning discussion dealing with public participation has forgotten one basic principle, namely that the people are taking part in the planning process because they are interested in a particular issue. There is a need for new conceptual approaches in participatory research which carry the discussion first towards the issues, then to the structures of participation. For this reason, we have combined practice-oriented policy analysis with the recent discussion of issue politics. Second, we implement the key propositions of the theoretical debate in an empirical case. The aim is to indicate how the trajectory of the issue, as well as its continuities and discontinuities, develop in diverse ways in different civic forums. We claim that this perspective provides more information for researchers, civil servants and citizens about the logic of participatory practice.

Researchers as knowledge brokers: translating knowledge or co-producing legitimacy? An urban infill case from Finland

ABSTRACT Knowledge brokering is on the rise in various spheres of knowledge societies. The aim has been to improve the interaction between knowledge production and use. This paper analyses knowledge-brokering activities in the context of urban densification. In an institutionally ambiguous situation we organized a new kind of participatory event for enabling the public discussion on densification to grow. We interpret the event as a boundary interaction, wherein we acted as knowledge brokers. However, the question remains as to what were we actually co-producing: brokered knowledge, novel collaborative partnerships or political legitimacy for a vague planning process?

Bricolage in Collaborative Housing in Finland: Combining Resources for Alternative Housing Solutions

ABSTRACT Finnish collaborative housing projects are in an experimental stage. These projects are trying to push the conventional practices of housing production into a new shape in order to realize their schemes in the housing market dominated by large construction companies. This paper aims to shed light on the resident groups’ resources in a context where resident-driven projects are rare. We apply the concept of bricolage to analyse three collaborative housing projects in Finland. Our analysis highlights that the residents refused to enact limitations imposed by the dominant housing market and examines how this was made possible. The cases we studied were successful for two interconnected reasons: (1) because of the capabilities of the residents; and (2) the professional allies they had. We argue that analyses framed by bricolage can help better understand the local contexts with their real and presumed constraints, and offer a possibility for international comparison of collaborative housing.