Political rationalities related to the public participation as exemplified by the Warsaw #housing2030 project

Abstract

Abstract This article analyses political rationalities positioning residents in decision-making in the context of #housing2030 project in Warsaw, Poland. The paper applies a governmental approach, a policy analysis tool reconstructed (on the ground of existing studies) by Greg Marston and Catherine McDonald (2006). As reported in the article, two political rationalities were identified: (1) public participation designed in the context of local communities and neighbourhoods and (2) public (tenant) participation designed in the context of neoliberal governance in housing. It was found that in the case of the #housing2030 project, the contradiction of political rationalities leads to an incoherent vision of public participation in housing policymaking and to some residents (social tenants) being treated differently. The article argues that this contributes to the micro-practices of social scepticism and distrust on the part of tenant organisations and urban movements towards the #housing2030 project.