When I worked as a consultant in France (Wigwam), I especially enjoyed helping the city of Angers reclaim its river banks with 40 different local associations. Their priorities and concerns were totally different and our role was to help them speak a common language despite a complex political context.
With time the associations not only created a common vision and concrete proposals for improving the waterfront, but they also launched a coalition for co-managing the river.
To me, it was fascinating to include associations in place management topics, while making city representatives and others “experts” deeply transform their posture and practice along the way.