Hybrid Participation for Sustainable and Liveable Communities
Sustainable development of cities and municipalities is no longer conceivable without the active participation of the public. In the Canton of Zurich, formal participation procedures such as public consultations and voting materials, are already largely supported by digital tools. By contrast, informal participation formats, such as neighbourhood forums, participatory budgeting and online idea platforms, are still at an early stage of develoopment. At the same time, civil society is creating its own digital participation tools with significant mobilisation potential, making governance processes more complex and increasing the need for guidance and professional support.
This is where HyP-Lab comes in. Hybrid forms of governance offer considerable innovation potential by enabling public administrations, local organisations, and civil society to jointly shape communities with a high quality of life. This hybrid approach opens up new and hitherto underutilised opportunities for participation and digital inclusion. These opportunities are being explored through four real-world use cases developed with practice partners, including the City of Winterthur, the Zurich Oberland Regional Development Agency, and the Zurich Community Centres. The project aims to establish a canton-wide support structure that equips public authorities, organisations, and civil society actors with the knowledge and skills to use digital and immersive technologies, as well as the open-source participation platform decidim.
HyP-Lab brings together representatives from cities and smaller municipalities across the Canton of Zurich with civil society organisations and researchers from the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW), the University of Zurich (UZH), and the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK).