Paper short abstract:

This paper discusses the 'expertification' of community participation in the planning process in Hackney Wick, London. It considers how the deployment of expert knowledge and lobbying tactics resulted in the enactment of 'para-democratic' structures of participation.

Paper long abstract:

This paper discusses community participation in the planning process in post-Olympic Hackney Wick. Informed by STS approaches to politics (e.g. Marres, Callon), it looks at the entanglement of groups, interfaces, objects and tactics involved in the process. The discussion is framed around a campaign for sustainable affordable workspace which took place in the context of the development of the new Local Plan for the area. The advocacy work of a local group, The Unit, with both the local authorities and developers, in statutory and non-statutory forums, will be discussed. The analysis centres on the use of expert knowledge and lobbying by community activists and considers the implications of these 'technical forums' (Callon) in terms of the enactment of 'para-democratic' structures of participation. The very notion of 'community' will also be investigated as a performative effect of the actions carried out by the groups involved. The paper is based on ethnographic research conducted with community groups in the area between 2011-2015.