It’s less the destination and more the getting there: urban development, emergence and co-production in Galway, Ireland

Abstract

This article presents the case for a reconceptualised form of engagement around development at a local scale within a medium-sized city. Deploying ideas gleaned from literature on emergence, the article explores how a non-teleological form of development might engage with stakeholders in an urban regeneration area. Focusing on three distinct social practices – co-production, activism and policy – the article sets out to unfold the example of Nuns’ Island in Galway, Ireland to chart a participatory form of development in the absence of previously defined goals. Honing in on ‘storytelling’ as a key cultural strategy in this process, the article concludes with a view from Europe’s West towards locally embedded urban development practices.