Transformability of civic engagement in times of economic crisis

Economic uncertainty coupled with post-political urban governance arrangements that disperse responsibility and undermine political citizen engagement have enlivened debates in urban theory (Bylund, 2012). One such debate concerns the role and efficacy of public and citizen responsibility in periods of economic crisis and ongoing uncertainty, and the other, the evolutionary potential of citizen participation in the face of such economic crises. Considering the relationship between citizen participation and government intervention strategies in Australian cities in a post-GFC urban landscape, the paper examines how citizen participation is transformed and reconstituted through economic uncertain landscapes. Focusing upon fifteen semi-structured interviews with senior state and federal elected leaders and executives, as well as fifteen interviews with community campaigners against the controversial East West Link project in Melbourne reveals questions for urban theory and practice about the relationship between national economic imperatives to sustain growth during economic crises and the durability of civic engagement and democratic structures to evolve within such periods.