PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY: A MECHANISM FOR LOCAL PROJECT DEVELOPMENT THE CASE OF CONSTANTINE, ALGERIA

Abstract

For over two decades, urban governance has been omnipresent in scientific and political discourse. It is a new management approach that mobilizes various public and private actors, inducing the potential participation of everyone and seeking compromise. In Algeria, faced with administrative dysfunction and the emergence of new problems related to cities, the deterioration of human settlements, and the fragmentation of intervention by the different actors in the field of planning and production of the urban framework and its implications on the quality of production and recorded delays, urban governance appears to be the most appropriate management model for addressing the new challenges faced by society. This is because it emphasizes the need for new types of partnerships with civil society actors, which are more flexible, less hierarchical, and less interventionist. Like most Algerian cities, Constantine has been managed by state institutions in terms of planning and financing, and by local actors, including the municipal administration and elected officials. Substantial financial resources have been allocated to its development, the most visible action of which includes the realization of several structuring projects through which we can assess the participation and attitudes of residents or their representatives at the various stages of the realization process, affecting their future development and management. Even today, citizen participation remains timid and ineffective.