A Process of Top-Down Community Empowerment? The Case of Salford, England (United Kingdom)

Abstract

The PB process in the area of Claremont/Weaste & Seedley in the city of Salford is a good example of the ‘1.0’-approach, typical of the way the Brazilian process has so far been adapted in the United Kingdom.¹ One could say that the story of PB in the UK partly started in Salford (and Manchester) because one important diffusion actor, Community Pride Initiative, started its advocacy work in this area; moreover, Hazel Blears, who initiated the national strategy for PB (CLG, 2008), is from Salford. This case of PB is interesting for two reasons. First, it completes the panorama of PB from the angle of ‘most-different’ cases that is followed in this part of the book because it represents an atypically weak (to typical case) in the United Kingdom. Moreover, it shows the importance of framing conflicts in a mediated diffusion process between the involved policymakers and civil society activists. In Salford, the situation remained blocked for a couple of years because no compromise was possible between two perspectives: one influenced by the Porto Alegre model and thus aiming at structural changes within the established institutional framework for citizen involvement; and one that seeks a greater participation of citizens and communities, but within the existing structures.