Public participation in resolving issues of social infrastructure development

The readiness of local residents to participate in solving issues of developing the social infrastructure of municipalities is analyzed; problems and opportunities for increasing the level of involvement of citizens in these practices are identified. The leading research method was a questionnaire survey (N=844). The results of the study showed that the majority of respondents would prefer to change their place of residence if the appropriate opportunities were available. Migration sentiment is determined by the low level of satisfaction of residents with the level of development of urban infrastructure. The majority of respondents are characterized by low participation in real practices of social infrastructure development, transferring their activity to digital communities and city chats. The motivator for participation is to obtain information about the problems of their place of residence, much less often to articulate their civic position or inclusion in infrastructure development projects. One of the factors reducing the population’s readiness to participate in the development of the infrastructure profile of a municipality is a lack of faith in the ability to influence something. The results of the correlation analysis showed a relationship between the choice of preferred forms of participation of the population in solving issues of social infrastructure development and the perception of problems in the activities of local governments. Subjective assessments of the high level of local corruption and the unreasonableness of spending budget funds initiate the orientation of residents to participate in the implementation of the functions of public control over the development of the municipal budget. The study found that modern urban residents mostly have a negative attitude towards initiatives that involve personal financial contribution to the modernization of infrastructure facilities. A relationship has been established between the level of trust in local authorities and support for the practice of co-financing urban infrastructure development projects. In conditions of a lack of trust, the key areas of activity of municipalities may be the following: accumulation of reputation capital, reducing the distance between the authorities and residents, information openness, transparency of budget policy.

social infrastructure, local government, municipalities, trust, proactive budgeting