Three Missing Links in Urban Governance: From Social Oversight to Public Participation

Why, despite extensive spending on managing Tehran, do so many neighborhood issues remain recurring demands? The answer cannot be sought solely in a lack of budget or weak facilities. Sometimes the core problem is that citizens have no effective role in identifying problems, making decisions, and monitoring the performance of urban management.

Tehran is not just a collection of buildings, highways and construction projects; It is a city where the quality of life depends on the trust, social relations and sense of belonging of the citizens. I believe that in order to move from city administration to good governance, we need to connect three links: social monitoring, local organizations and citizenship education.

1. social supervision; People, the awake eyes of the city

Tehran has 352 neighborhoods, and 21 members of the city council cannot identify and follow up all the issues of this range by themselves. Local trustees, neighborhood board members and social activists can be the link connecting people's daily experience to city management decisions.

Social monitoring is not just complaining about problems; It means that the citizen can ask questions about the quality of services, the implementation of projects and the spending of public resources and get a clear answer. Monitoring systems, including 1888 of Tehran Municipality, will be effective when the registration of the citizen's message leads to real follow-up and announcement of the result.

A citizen who feels that his voice is heard will have more trust in the city administration and his responsibility towards the neighborhood will also increase.

2. local organizations; A bridge between people and urban management

People's participation without organization is often fragmented and short-lived. Local organizations and non-governmental organizations can organize citizens' demands, propose solutions to solve neighborhood problems, and form a continuous dialogue with city managers.

In the sixth term of the council, we pursued strengthening the capacity of Semans and pursuing more formal mechanisms for the activities of local organizations. Unveiling the credentials of local organizations and issuing 354 verdicts for Semans were among the measures that were carried out with the aim of facilitating the activities of these organizations.

However, real participation is formed when people are not just the executors of pre-made decisions, but also have a role in setting priorities and forming decisions.

For example, in waste management, people's support in observing the appropriate time of putting waste in tanks can affect the quality of services and city costs. Such a change needs the knowledge, trust and support of local organizations more than it can be achieved with a directive.

3. citizenship education; Investment for the future of Tehran

A citizen who knows his rights and responsibilities can better make demands, participate in solving problems, and distinguish between authentic information and rumors. Therefore, citizenship education should not be limited to a few scattered programs or leaflet distribution.

Coordination of educational programs of the municipality, strengthening of media literacy and education of citizenship rights are among the necessities of urban management today. In the meantime, the school mayor's plan also provides an opportunity to educate a responsible and cooperative generation. According to the presented statistics, the schools covered by this plan have increased from one school to 570 schools; A capacity that can be used to transfer the culture of participation from school to family and neighborhood.

Perceptual justice; People should feel justice

I believe that the success of urban management is not only measured by the number of projects, the amount of credit spent or performance reports. The citizen must feel that he is seen, that his voice is heard, and that he has a stake in the decisions that affect his life.

This is the importance that I emphasize in the framework of the concept of "perceptual justice". Social monitoring, local organizations and citizenship education, together, can strengthen public trust and reduce the distance between people and urban management.

The future Tehran will not be built with more directives; It needs informed citizens, capable organizations and responsible managers.

As a member of the Tehran City Council, I consider strengthening these three circles as part of my responsibility; But its realization is not possible without people's participation.

I invite you to participate in local meetings and pursue issues through legal channels, ask for answers from city managers.

The citizen is not a spectator of the city administration; He is the owner of the right and the partner of responsibility in making it.

Tehran will be the city of all of us when no neighborhood is forgotten, no citizen finds himself silent, and no rightful demand goes unanswered.