Abstract JSSP

The “Sociocratic Negotiation’’ Lever of Realurbanism: Towards an Anarchical Implementation of the Urban Project

Nagi SFEIR1
1 University of Grenoble, Urbanism Institute, PACTE-Territoires, Grenoble, FRANCE
E-mail: nagi.sfeir@architectes.org
Pages: 1-7

Abstract. “Realurbanism”, which has been recently introduced as an innovative model for “realist” analysis of urban policies and practices in order to permit better understanding of urban governance in anarchy contexts (state-of-anarchy) where limits between public and private interests are permanently negotiated, actually stems from a “realistic” ground approach whose context outskirts are encircled by issues such as: weakness or instability of the public power (particularly in developing countries), privatisation of public services and its funding, but also public policies largely decentralised and hardly competed (even dominated) by private spheres. Constructed on three corollary theses: 1). The anarchical urban governance; 2). The privatisation of urbanism; 3). The power relationships and their balance, the Realurbanism model fundamentally reproduces a systemic balance resulting from a power struggle between the most powerful actors. In order to free Realurbanism from its deterministic power relationships that have a restrictive and discriminatory purpose (as it is defined in its third thesis), and in order to recover its original sense of “anarchy”, balance of power should be “replaced” by consent-by-negotiation relationships between actors, not only powerful ones, but extended to representative circles of the civil society, thus permitting to empower original state-of-anarchy, where actors do not undergo any exterior coercion form. The “sociocratic negotiation” as introduced here is inspired from systemic theories (cybernetics) developed by “Sociocracy” which aims to a consent mode of governance. Thus, it constitutes a proposition force of Realurbanism in the sense that it constitutes per se an effective processing tool of the urban project.

K e y w o r d s: realurbanism, anarchy, public power, civil society, sociocracy, negotiation, urban governance, urban policies








			The “Sociocratic Negotiation’’ Lever of Realurbanism: Towards an Anarchical Implementation of the Urban Project Nagi SFEIR1 1 University of Grenoble, Urbanism Institute, PACTE-Territoires, Grenoble, FRANCE E-mail: nagi.sfeir@architectes.org Pages: 1-7 Abstract. “Realurbanism”, which has been recently introduced as an innovative model for “realist” analysis of urban policies and practices in order to permit better understanding of urban governance in anarchy contexts (state-of-anarchy) where limits between public and private interests are permanently negotiated, actually stems from a “realistic” ground approach whose context outskirts are encircled by issues such as: weakness or instability of the public power (particularly in developing countries), privatisation of public services and its funding, but also public policies largely decentralised and hardly competed (even dominated) by private spheres. Constructed on three corollary theses: 1). The anarchical urban governance; 2). The privatisation of urbanism; 3). The power relationships and their balance, the Realurbanism model fundamentally reproduces a systemic balance resulting from a power struggle between the most powerful actors. In order to free Realurbanism from its deterministic power relationships that have a restrictive and discriminatory purpose (as it is defined in its third thesis), and in order to recover its original sense of “anarchy”, balance of power should be “replaced” by consent-by-negotiation relationships between actors, not only powerful ones, but extended to representative circles of the civil society, thus permitting to empower original state-of-anarchy, where actors do not undergo any exterior coercion form. The “sociocratic negotiation” as introduced here is inspired from systemic theories (cybernetics) developed by “Sociocracy” which aims to a consent mode of governance. Thus, it constitutes a proposition force of Realurbanism in the sense that it constitutes per se an effective processing tool of the urban project. K e y w o r d s: realurbanism, anarchy, public power, civil society, sociocracy, negotiation, urban governance, urban policies