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This book talks about participation,
from the first to the last page. And that is its strength,
for participation is a road leading to democracy. The true
participation it talks about does not rely on hours of
compulsory labor or imposed levies; there is nothing forced
about it. Rather, it is a process in which men and women
engage their will, their sense of responsibility, their
abilities, their dignity. It is a vital participation,
because it affects much of what makes for a better life in a
poor neighborhood: water supplies, sanitation, electricity,
roads, drainage, public spaces, housing. For some,
participation creates risks, whether of popular protests,
mismanaged conflicts of interests, or mounting expectations
that are difficult to meet. But, in reality ad above all,
participation creates opportunity. In favors civic learning
and people's empowerment. It opens the way to
alternatives. It enhances the quality of projects and the
continuity of development. It enables an escape from rigid
control or populist clientelism into a practice of
strategies of negotiations.
