Untapped potential of Fužine neighbourhood

The purpose of the research was to analyse the realisation of spatial sociological recommendations in the construction of a residential neighbourhood and, above all, to analyse the cooperation of future residents in the formation of a new urban residential neighbourhood. The basic instrument was non-standardised interviews with residents of the Fužine neighbourhood, where their participation was also envisaged during the design phase. The study found that the hyper-institutionalisation of procedures in so-called targeted housing construction made it very difficult for future residents to participate directly. Indeed, the situation allowed only informal and random cooperation. A significant shortcoming was the lack of clarity on the roles of key actors in a very complex decision-making structure and the lack of knowledge and even the unwillingness of future residents to participate in the design of the neighbourhood. Productive co-decision in the creation of a new neighbourhood is a very large organisational effort and appropriate preparation by the actors. Therefore, it would be wise to first implement “experiments” on a smaller scale. Only on the basis of the experience gained in this way could it be possible to organise the successful co-determination of future residents in the design and construction of the neighbourhood.