Institutional change in the civic-institutional relation: outlining enabling conditions

Abstract

The relationship between civic action and public institutions has long been central to planning debates. Many works have focused on the different relations between civic action and institutions, and on the possibility for both to change through this interaction. With this field of interest, the paper assumes the standpoint of institutions and explores the conditions under which institutional change is enabled.To outline enabling conditions, we explore planning literature on processes of institutional change and identify some recurring factors within a strategic, organizational and technical-normative dimension. We use this analytical distinction to discuss the Civic Uses experience in Naples and identify some further aspects that emerge as crucial for a local government institution engaging with civic action. We argue that alignment of interests (even when not stable) among civic and institutional actors, the dialectic nature of civic-institutional networks over time, and normative translation are crucial in supporting institutions in remaining open to a relationship with civic instituting forces.The paper contributes to the literature on civic-institutional relations by foregrounding the conditions that facilitate such interactions within institutions, and to the study of institutional change by adopting the lens of transformations oriented towards an agonistic engagement with civic action.