| dc.description.abstract | This master thesis examines citizen participation through the Citizens Committee
(Lokalstyret), a local board in the area of Grønland and Tøyen. The Citizens Committee was established in
the spring of 2018, and Bydel Gamle Oslo is the only district that has chosen such a form of organization as
part of the participation in the area-based initiative. We examine the justifications made by the borough’s
key players for creating the Citizens Committee and analyze what forms of legitimacy such an organization
permits. In the literature, there is often a three-part operation: input-legitimacy, output-legitimacy and
throughput-legitimacy. We have chosen to use this three-part operation as a framework for our thesis,
which is as follows: “Does the local government safeguard various forms of legitimacy in Grønland and
Tøyen, and in what ways?”. The study was designed as a qualitative study with a case-design that
combines interviews, observations, and document studies.
The Citizens Committee safeguards input-based legitimacy through its localized network. Although its
representatives are not formally elected, the Citizens Committee safeguards input-based legitimacy
through its localized network. Clearly linking the citizens committee to the District Council (Bydelsutvalget)
will further strengthen input-legitimacy. It can also safeguard output legitimacy in the form of contributing to
solutions that actually meet the needs of the inhabitants within the framework of the area-based initiative.
After clarifying the responsibilities and role of the Citizens Committee through a recent update of the
mandate, it is now easier to assign responsibilities and, in doing, so preserve throughput-based legitimacy | en |
