Bringing Community Engagement to Life in Local Neighborhoods

This blog post is written by master's student Puja Mallick, under the supervision of Anders Riel Müller.

This means local people don’t always get the chance to share what they really need for their own neighborhood. The planning process usually involves public meetings, hearings, and complicated documents that are hard for most people to understand. These old ways of involving the public make it difficult for many to take part. Because the process isn’t interactive or interesting, many people don’t want to join in. In Stavanger, the Pedersgata neighborhood is known for its colorful street life and variety of local foods. The people living there want to keep this unique character and feel proud of their community during new planning and development. 

The New European Bauhaus (NEB) and the NEB-STAR project in Stavanger are working to solve this problem. NEB- STAR and Stavanger Municipality are testing new, easy-to-use tools like the Kvikktest to help local people join the process faster and in more simple and interactive way. But this raises an important question: Do these new innovative tools really help to connect more people in Pedersgata? The NEB-STAR project aims to explore new ways of working together where cities, communities, artists, and local businesses all help design the future. By looking at what’s happening in Pedersgata, we can learn how to make city planning more flexible, open, and welcoming for everyone. 

In Pedersgata, Stavanger municipality selected five Kvikktest (Agile pilot projects) that worked directly with the local community from August 2024 to December 2024. These were short, six- month projects that aimed to engage closely with the people living in the area. Each pilot first identified the specific needs of the Pedersgata neighborhood. Based on these findings, they developed solutions and shared their ideas with the community in innovative and engaging ways. To build connections with local residents, the pilots used a variety of techniques. Some of the most effective methods included newspapers, posters, printed papers, leaflets, and door-to-door leaflet distribution directly to residents' mailboxes. Social media also played an important role, especially in reaching younger people in the community. However, most pilots mainly used social media after their ideas were already implemented in the field. Often, residents were not aware of what was happening from the beginning of the process.

An interesting outcome of the pilots was the strong interest in voluntary work. The pilot groups were surprised by how willing people were to contribute their time and effort for free. Many residents eagerly joined in when they realized they could directly participate in the development of their neighborhood. Another key learning from the agile pilot experiments was the value of using locally available materials, which made the projects feel more connected to the area. Local organizations also played an essential role in bridging the gap between the community and experts. In most cases, people trusted these organizations because they viewed them as part of their neighborhood. The pilots experienced higher community involvement when they collaborated with local organizations to create networks and build stronger relationships within Pedersgata. 

Urban development often forgets the people. That’s why my research shows we need a big change a stronger way to involve communities early on and keep them involved throughout the whole planning process. The first step is to create ways to engage people at the neighborhood level. While cities have broad plans, they often miss what makes each neighborhood special: the people, culture, and daily life. We need plans that fit the neighborhood, not the other way around. Next, community involvement should happen at every stage from dreaming up ideas to building and even after construction is done. Too often, people are only asked for their thoughts after decisions are already made. When people join in from the start, they feel more trust and ownership, and the results last longer. We also need clear rules about what real participation means. It’s not just about holding a public meeting once. Planners need simple steps to know when to talk with people, how to share information clearly, and how to follow up afterward. True community involvement can’t be a one- time thing. It needs to keep going, like neighborhood councils, community panels, or working groups that stay active long after a project finishes. This helps build trust and keeps people connected. 

And let’s make it fun and easy! Pop-up events, workshops on site, and casual get-togethers make people feel more welcome and excited to join. Most importantly, the ways we involve people should match the way the community lives and talks.