With 25 concrete recommendations for a more sustainable city, Haarlem’s first citizens’ council put politics to work. For the first time, the municipality is actively involving residents in a political issue in this way. In two months it will become clear whether the solutions are actually deployed.
77 people in the room look attentively at their laptop, tablet or telephone, on which they can vote. One by one, possible measures and solutions are reviewed that they have devised together in recent months to ensure that Haarlem can cope with increasing CO2 emissions. Not a small matter for which there is a ready-made solution. But the members of the Haarlem Citizens’ Council optimistically agree with, for example, the plan for a kind of neighborhood competition, where residents do the most to be ‘green’.
Haarlem politicians would like to take less top-down measures and listen more to ideas on the street. A similar citizens’ council has already been organized in Amsterdam to receive advice for a clean city. In Zaandam, a group of more than a hundred people were given the opportunity to think about the housing shortage.
Figures and facts
After 6,000 randomly sent invitations, 650 Haarlem residents registered to participate in this pilot. 120 people were drawn from this group, of which 90 will be present for the first of five days. Ultimately, 77 people remain, after a few were no longer able to attend the Saturday meetings due to illness or informal care.
The group had to represent the best possible cross-section of the residents of the municipality. This has been quite successful in terms of age, which varies from 16 to 84. There is less variation in the migration background.
A citizens’ council is a means for the government to involve residents in making decisions. It is applied locally, but also nationally. Citizens are not given decision-making power, but a citizens’ council must ensure more involvement. This gives politicians a better insight into how people think about concrete issues.
John Coppens had a clear mission to get more greenery in the city more than two months ago, when he started the citizens’ council with some skepticism. He doubted the effect of the advice. “I think it will be a joke. I have no confidence in that,” he said to NH at the time.
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During the final vote on Saturday on the advice and the presentation to the aldermen and members of the municipal council, he is still not convinced that anything will be done with the outcome. “First see, then believe. And they are often ideas that were already there anyway.”
Moreover, John does not think the subject of the first citizens’ council of Haarlem has much to add. “Everyone knows what needs to be done to create a more sustainable city.”
“When the birds start chirping again, I’d rather be in my garden on Saturdays”
The fact that he attended four of the five meetings of the citizens’ council is due to his curiosity. “And it’s also a nice group of people.” The fact that the deliberation took place during the winter months was decisive for John to continue. “When the birds start chirping again, I’d rather be in my garden on Saturdays.”
He is pleased with the task force that the citizens’ council has created from its own ranks. They will monitor whether and what the municipality will actually do with their advice.
But he will also keep a close eye on whether the advice is implemented in his own neighborhood. “I’m curious whether there will be no green space. If there is no more money for our community garden in the Indische Buurt, I would be very disappointed.”
Oldest member
As the oldest participant in the citizens’ council, Carolina Prang Sprong is a lot more positive. Two months ago she told NH: “You have to have some faith in it. It has to happen at some point. People have been warning since the 1960s that we have to do something about pollution.”
She not only attended every meeting, but also started working at home. She proudly offers her self-painted and designed poster for a green city to councilor Robbert Berkhout.
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Carolina emphasizes to the councilor that she is not doing this for herself, but for her children and grandchildren. She couldn’t have thought of a better topic for the citizens’ council. According to her, there is only one solution: planting more trees. “Because the European Union already states that we cannot sufficiently reduce CO₂ emissions. Then we just need more trees to absorb that.”
In any case, Carolina’s poster will hang framed in Alderman Berkhout’s room, which is about the sustainable measures in the city. “Then I can imprint your message every day.”
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When presenting the advice of the citizens’ council to two aldermen and the council members who launched the idea for a citizens’ council in Haarlem, the members of the citizens’ council still have an urgent appeal. “We have all really fought for our ideas here at times. We hope that that energy will now continue in politics. Otherwise this is a missed opportunity,” says Odette Oostindien on behalf of the group of 77 Haarlem residents.
agenda
Councilor Bas van Leeuwen aims to involve Haarlem residents more in political decisions in the municipality. He promises that the recommendations will in any case be discussed quickly in the municipal council. “We have made room in our agendas to move this through quickly.”
In a few weeks, the executive board wants to give initial advice on the proposals of the citizens’ council. Then they will also be made public. The city council will be making decisions in March.