Citizen Dialogue for Inclusive Reconstruction
The partnership between Umeå and Kherson focuses on advancing democratic processes through inclusive urban planning, with citizen dialogue as a central pillar. A key achievement has been the development of an open-source digital tool that allows citizens to explore city maps and submit feedback directly on planned development initiatives. While the method holds great promise, both municipalities recognize the challenges of securing citizen engagement—particularly amid crisis and displacement in Ukraine.
Despite the extremely difficult context in Kherson, where most residents have fled due to war, the team is working to engage displaced citizens in shaping the city’s future. With support from Umeå and the Finnish city of Vaasa, Kherson is now finalizing a comprehensive reconstruction and development plan that will guide spatial planning efforts. A special focus lies on reaching underrepresented groups, including children and youth, whose voices are often overlooked in rebuilding processes.
On the organisational level, the project addresses policy planning, with Kherson collecting public input through both complex and targeted questions. Early findings from surveys reveal a shared desire among citizens for a ”more European” Kherson, both in values and urban character.
To address digital exclusion, Kherson distributes paper surveys to reach elderly residents, ensuring broad participation. The system also includes a filtering function to separate non-location-specific feedback and is designed to offer municipalities actionable insights—such as prioritization lists and spatially informed recommendations. While responses are anonymous by default, citizens may choose to leave contact details to receive direct feedback.
The partnership plans to release a gender-focused citizen dialogue toolbox as part of the project’s next phase. In doing so, it contributes not only to transparent and participatory reconstruction, but also to more equitable governance practices across sectors.
This partnership is part of the ICLD Network for Democratic Resilience.
A part of the Umeå-Kherson delegation, at the third DR Network meeting in Umeå, 2025