Knowledge, urban policy making and citizen participation: a democratic challenge

This chapter explores the functioning of ‘ordinary’ citizen knowledge in decision-making processes of urban planning, policy and development processes. It aims to understand how urban governance can better utilise non-expert types of knowledge as a way to respond to pressing societal challenges in the 21st century. By presenting a controversial case study about the wastewater injections in the Dutch Twente region, located in the east of the Netherlands, the chapter highlights the importance of combining diverse types of (expert and non-expert) knowledge and expertise to achieve a more holistic form of ‘smart’ urban governance in the future