Bordeaux: Permanent Democracy Tour "Citizens at the Heart of Urban Projects"

Launched in 2021 by the City of Bordeaux, the Permanent Democracy Tour dedicated its 2025 edition to urban projects. From May to July, eight one-day meetings were organized in each of the city's neighborhoods, around the Mobile Parliament — a traveling wooden agora — enabling citizen dialogue about urban issues directly in public spaces.

Several months of preparation went into designing each event tailored to the local community, in collaboration with local association and professional stakeholders. The varied formats — urban strolls, roundtables, children's workshops, outreach actions — encouraged the participation of all audiences, including those most distant from traditional involvement channels. Particular attention was paid to young people, the primary beneficiaries of future urban developments.

In total, more than 1,000 people were met in public spaces, 25 speakers were mobilized, 245 verbatim responses were collected, and 60 collages were made by 90 children. The analysis of this data highlighted four major themes: conviviality and the appropriation of public spaces, ecological transition, the relationship to heritage and memory, and the demand for participatory urban planning based on the "co-creation" approach.

The insights gained were shared with the relevant elected officials and integrated into discussions about the urban strategies to be implemented in the neighborhoods, ensuring continuity between citizen dialogue and public decision-making.

For more information: https://participation.bordeaux.fr/processes/tourneeprojeturbain

https://www.oidp.net/docs/repo/doc1869.pdf

https://www.oidp.net/docs/repo/doc1870.pdf