Cocreating with the homeless? Postmodern administration and participatory citizenship

Abstract

 

The article is based on the case of a group of homeless people who in the fall of 2013 occupied a central site in the Danish town of Aarhus. The authors argue that this specific case is an ideal object of investigation for casting light on a new situation in the field of public administration. Public administration has recently moved from the paradigm of New Public Management to a new and still undetermined paradigm, which focuses on activating and engaging citizens, treating them as equal partners in the process of co-creating welfare services and the community itself as a brand. Using the case of the homeless, the authors argue that participatory citizenship should not only be viewed as “added value” to the field of public administration, but rather as emerging within a dynamic and conflict-ridden field between citizens and administration where new types of value are potentially created.