Policy Brief: Bridging Urban and Rural Perspectives in Spain

This policy brief highlights the innovative aspects of our tests in Spain, specifically in Zaragoza and Jérica, where urban and rural communities alike have contributed to vital environmental discussions.

The brief offers a detailed analysis of these unique initiatives, showcasing the impactful recommendations made by citizens.

By downloading this document, you can gain insights into effective community engagement strategies that bridge the gap between urban and rural needs in environmental policymaking.

Download the Policy Brief

Policy Recommendations

• Embrace Diversity in Voices: Ensure that environmental policies are inclusive and sensitive to the needs of various populations for sustainable and widely accepted solutions.
• Accessible Information, Empowered Citizens: Empower citizens to actively participate and make informed decisions through accessible information, essential for meaningful democratic engagement.
• Equality in Dialogue, Equity in Outcomes: Promote equality in dialogue to achieve equitable policy outcomes that represent the entire community's needs.
• Policy with Perspective: Integrating Diversity for Richer Policies: Integrate diverse perspectives to enrich the policymaking process, leading to more inclusive and effective outcomes.
• Dynamic Discussions for Dynamic Policies: Foster dynamic and interactive discussions to ensure that policies are adaptable and responsive to evolving community needs.
• Build a Continuum of Engagement: Maintain ongoing engagement to enable sustained policy improvement.
• Expand the Agenda: Promote Curiosity and Engagement: Encourage ongoing curiosity and community engagement in environmental issues to foster a proactive approach to long-term challenges.
• Transparency Transforms: Open Outcomes to All: Build trust and credibility by demonstrating transparency in how community feedback influences policy development.
• Commit to Continuous Improvement: Ensure policies remain relevant and effective by incorporating new data and community feedback into the policy refinement process.
• Foster Inclusive Participation: Enhance Support Systems: Provide support systems that remove barriers to participation, enabling a wider community segment to engage in policymaking.
• Knowledge Exchange Networks: Promoting Inter-Community Learning: Facilitate knowledge exchange between urban and rural areas to share effective strategies and innovations for addressing common challenges.
• Barrier Breakdown: Facilitating Inclusive Participation: Remove logistical and social barriers to allow full engagement of underrepresented groups in environmental policy discussions.

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