Apologies for the inconvenience

Apologies for the inconvenience 

One sees quite a lot of construction activity in the Netherlands. Projects planned before the credit crunch as well as new ones aimed at stimulating economic and business activity seem to be everywhere. Delft has been a building site for quite a few years and will remain so for some more. What impresses me in how these activities affect public space is the relative indifference for the inconvenience citizens have to suffer, especially cyclists and pedestrians. Quite often the inconvenience has a strong physical component: having to push bicycles up some stairs is no joy - and not just for the many elderly cyclists or parents carrying children. The perceptual component is equally discomforting: where there used to be an orderly or at least recognisable context for ones movement and activities, the environment becomes a variable obstacle course. Orientation and navigation become problematic, distorted by both new elements like temporary fences around the construction areas and the need to constantly solve minor problems like keeping on the arbitrary route  that circumvents them on the particular day. One cannot relax and walk or cycle without thinking, just enjoying the views around them, as one can often do in the Netherlands.

The problem is that everything seems to be for the benefit of the construction activities: roads and cycle paths are blocked so that transportation and site logistics are served, with little regard for the comfort or even safety of citizens - quite often the taxpayers who finance the projects. This should actually be a priority for any public project: rather prioritising the efficiency of construction works, planning should respect those affected by the works and take good care of their needs, especially if the works last long. People need to feel cared for by town hall officials but also by construction firms. It may prove more expensive but goodwill is difficult to achieve and easy to lose. Populism thrives on the accumulation of small dissatisfactions. Proper planning can minimise physical inconvenience but arguably more importantly stimulate involvement of people in what takes place. This refers to both participatory design of the temporary situation around construction activities and the possibility to organise this situation in a way that affords views and information on what is happening, on the projected final state and progress of the works. Rather than feeling alienated by changes in one's environment, citizens should be able to view these changes as part of their environment.

Citizens

Citizens

In research and policy circles, one often hears of citizens or even "the citizen": dear, vulnerable, oppressed human beings that must be protected and helped. In historical studies, however, e.g. of what happened in Nazi German or communist countries, one also gets a different side of the citizen: people taking advantage or manipulating a system for personals reasons; thousands of denunciations by neighbours, colleagues, friends, even family. Most of the damage is done by citizens, not the relatively few agents of the secret services. It wasn't the Gestapo or the Stasi who kept everyone under observation; it was the citizens doing it to each other; the secret police often had a hard time just processing all the anonymous and eponymous denunciations they received.

What we also often see is a distinction between two kinds of citizens: on one hand, the active, well-educated initiators of actions and protectors of their rights and privileges, and on the other, a largely inert mass of low-income, poorly educated people who must be protected but can become surprisingly powerful and effective once brought into actions. This arguably suggests that citizens can achieve a lot if bothered to do so. The problem is that one cannot be certain why citizens may spring into action and what they will try to do. That's why places like the Internet can be wonderful and terrifying at the same time.