Content

Introduction
Readings & Discussion Qs
Lectures
Mini Quiz
Summary
Self Review
Assignment(s)

Introduction & Outcomes

This final section of Module III introduces the fourth and final dimension of governance: the rules of the game. This dimension relates to the ‘ground rules’ and the ‘playing field’ of urban forest governance. For governance to be successful and inclusive, it needs to be clear to actors how decisions are structured and ultimately made.

The sector pays specific attention to an important aspect of urban forest governance, namely the extent to, and ways in which local residents are involved.

By the end of this topic, you should be able to:

Debate what is meant with ‘Rules of the game’ in urban forest governance and apply your understanding to different urban forest governance contexts.
Explain why conflict management is important in urban forestry.
Define the concept of public involvement and the range of approaches it encompasses.
Provide arguments for the importance of public involvement in urban forestry.

Readings and Discussion Questions (For certificate learning only)

You are already familiar with the Sheppard et al. chapter, as well as with the book chapter by Konijnendijk. For this section we also ask you to read the article by Fors et al. (2015), as it pays specific attention to public participation in urban forestry. Ambrose-Oji et al. (2017) discuss a series of ‘models’ and examples of good practices in urban forest governance resulting from findings from a European research project. Based on all the readings, you are asked to post a couple of questions on the Discussion forum. Please focus on the rules of the game and aspects of public participation. What questions do arise after reading the texts for this section? What reflections from your course mates would you be interested in?

Lecture Recordings

Please have a look at the two brief lectures in this section, both by Cecil Konijnendijk. The first introduces the governance dimension of ‘rules of the game’, discussing the ways in which we organise and structure decision making. The second lecture relates to these rules, but also to e.g. the actors dimension, as it focuses on public participation in urban forest governance. In many countries, recent years have seen an increase in calls for involving local communities in decisions about their local environment.

Mini-lecture Videos

3.3.1 Rules of the Game

FODE012_3.3_1_Urban_forest_governance_rules_of_the_game.pptx

3.3.2 Public Involvement

FODE012_3.3_2_Urban_forest_governance_public_involvement.pptx

Post-lecture Mini Quiz (For certificate learning only)

Now it’s time for you to complete an online, multiple choice topic quiz after finishing viewing each lecture for this topic. The main purpose of the quiz is to examine how well you grasp the contents for this topic. The quiz will be open-book, covering contents of the lecture(s) for the topic. You will have 5 mins to complete the quiz. Two attempts are allowed and higher mark will be saved for your grade. There will be 13 online topic quizzes throughout the course with 4-5 questions per quiz, each worth 4-5 points that collectively count for 10% towards the final grade.

When you are ready, click the link Mini Quiz 3.3 or go to left menu > Quizzes > Mini Quiz 3.3 to start taking the quiz.

Topic Summary

This final section of Module III introduced the ‘rules of the game’ dimension of urban forest governance. As discussed, these rules determine how decision making is organised. However, often the rules are not entirely clear, and sometimes informal rules that are not understood by all actors are in place. This all adds to the complexity of urban forest governance. This section also highlighted the specific aspect of the involvement of local residents. In many cases, public participation in urban forestry decision making is being given more focus.

Topic Self-review (For self learning)

To review what you have learned in the topic, you are encouraged to use the following reflection questions as a study guide to do a self-review for the topic:

Do you agree that public participation should always be promoted within the field of urban forestry? Please explain.
Do you think that the rules of the game of decision making are always clear to actors? How can transparency and clarity be improved?
What do you know about the rules of the game in urban forest governance in your home city?
Would you use different public participation methods when developing a plan for an individual park as compared with preparing a city-wide urban forestry strategy? Please elaborate.

Graded Assignment(s) for the Week (For certificate learning only)

None.

FODE012