Challenges of Recent Participatory Urban Design Practices in Riga

The paper reviews three urban revitalisation projects in Riga, Latvia that follow resident empowerment, i.e. the current trend in urban design and planning. PagalmuRenesanse (Courtyard Renascence) and LabasVietasTalka (Nice Place Clean-up) were launched within the framework of Riga - European Capital of Culture 2014. In turn, Free Rigawas jointly launched by the artists and the entrepreneurs. The projects resultedin the revitalisation of the disused or low-quality urban spaces via the low-budget interventions. Instead of municipal agencies, these projects were initiated by the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the urban revival activists.Free Riga is still running. Therefore, the main research methods employed were the semi-structured interviews, the participant observations and the field observations.The projects differed from each other in terms of organisation, influence on the urban environment and resident engagement. PagalmuRenesanse and LabasVietasTalka had the clear organisation structures and the action plans, whereas Free Riga began its activity with any structure or plan. Overall, the projects succeeded in changing the local built environment. The resident engagement was evaluated according to the contemporary adaptation of Arnstein's (1969) classical work. The resident engagement varied from the consultation to the empowerment.