Geography of Participation: Deepening the Understanding of the Participation Process in Time and Space

Recent studies explain how participatory mechanisms create opportunities for the inclusion. However, sufficient attention has not been paid to how participation can be transformed into inclusive practice within a sound methodological approach. In response, this paper advances a framework for more inclusive participation based on: theory (time-space geography), experimentation with different methods (rapid appraisal, online surveys, photovoice and public deliberation), and empirical findings. These converging trajectories provide an opportunity for advancing dialogue on inclusion in participation. The research was conducted in the Dutch city of Almere in the reclaimed province of Flevoland (The Netherlands). The findings reveal how time and space (from the time-space geography framework) enable and constrain participation. By stimulating reflections on the ‘making’ of participation (through different combinations of time and space in research methodology), this approach contributes to deeper understandings on when and how participation can have the capacity to be more inclusive.