Zomerdijk, Iris (2022) Post-Corona Communities in the Provincie of Groningen: the role of regional area coordinators and active citizens to overcome the consequences of the pandemic and becoming more resilient. Master thesis.
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Master Thesis Post-Corona Communities - Iris Zomerdijk (s3219801).pdf Download (1MB) | Preview |
Abstract
In the past year, major strengths but also sharp differences were revealed between and within communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Communities will face an uncertain future where social ties become even more important. How communities will look like in the future is uncertain, however, there can already be a focus on how communities are being rebuilt and can become (more) resilient. This raises the question of which role citizens can have and which role planners can have to create those post-corona communities. This study investigates how several approaches of regional area coordinators of different municipalities can help create resilient neighbourhood communities together with citizens initiatives. For this purpose, this study draws on qualitative fieldwork conducted in the province of Groningen in the north of the Netherlands. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 participants. The results indicated that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the work of regional area coordinators. The lack of physical contact with citizens is a direct result of the virus, which made the work of the area coordinators more laborious. As a result of this, the number of citizens' initiatives decreased which made the process of boosting resilience temporarily standstill. For future planning strategies, it is recommended that regional area coordinators will use a combination of the instrumental and personal approach to support citizens initiatives, creating an ongoing dialogue and focus on long-term preparedness. Using a participatory planning strategy will mitigate the COVID-19 impacts to bounce forward to create resilient post-corona communities.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Master) |
|---|---|
| Degree programme: | Society, Sustainability and Planning (MSc Socio-spatial Planning) |
| Supervisor: | Lamker, C.W. |
| Date Deposited: | 26 Jul 2022 08:32 |
| Last Modified: | 26 Jul 2022 08:32 |
| URI: | https://frw.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/3914 |
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