Issues of Public Awareness about the Activities of Territorial Public Self-government in Solving Issues of Urban Environment Improvement.

Malyshkina Dar'ya Aleksandrovna Postgraduate student of the Department of Marketing and Municipal Management, Tyumen Industrial University 6/2 Irbitskaya str., Tyumen, Tyumen region, 625003, Russia dashamalyna@yandex.ru Other publications by this author

Currently, great importance is given to the issues of citizens' participation in the formation of the urban environment and landscaping.  Ways of involving the population and building a dialogue with users of urban space are widely discussed at all levels of government.  An important issue is the search for an effective form of interaction between all participants in urban relations. In all the variety of expressions of public interests, there are forms of civic participation in solving issues of local importance, which began to take shape back in Soviet times and by the current moment the experience of their functioning has been accumulated.

In this work, territorial and public self-government (CBT) will be considered in more detail, which, according to the plan, should be the main link that connects the administration and the interests of the residents of the relevant territory, as well as helps to build partnerships between them. ^[1]

 Throughout its history, since 1988, CBT has developed in waves, but with the advent of the Federal Project "Formation of a comfortable Urban Environment" and the increasing importance of public involvement in the improvement and development of the urban environment, the role of CBT may increase. There are new in-demand areas of activity, in particular in matters of landscaping, housing and communal services, housing policy. It is worth noting that the issues of landscaping are a traditional area of activity of the CBT, where residents can solve the issues of arrangement of the territory of residence.

The status of CBT causes a lot of contradictions, there are opinions that CBT refers to the authorities, others consider it as a public organization. According to the official definition, territorial public self-government refers to the self-organization of citizens at their place of residence for the independent and under their own responsibility implementation of their own initiatives on issues of local importance.^[2] The distinctive features of CBT are the representation of the interests of residents, while functioning within the boundaries of a certain territory. The boundaries of the CBT territory are always fixed, and the main task of its activity is precisely the solution of issues of this territory.   The population living on the territory, through meetings, conferences, chooses bodies of territorial public self-government. CBT occupies a borderline state, has a special status, and can be a form of interaction between civil society and the authorities ^[5]. Public interests can be transferred to the level of local authorities through CBT. With the right organization, this institute has a huge potential for involving residents in local issues and improving the quality of the urban environment. Economic activity can be carried out both at the expense of citizens living on the territory and with the involvement of local budget funds with the support of local self-government bodies.  CBT, while being an element of local self-government, is a sphere of public participation at the place of residence of people.

 CBT bodies may submit drafts of municipal legal acts for consideration, form plans and technical tasks in the field of landscaping and landscaping, or directly engage in this activity on the relevant territory, monitor the implementation of decisions taken.  Also, the role of CBT may consist in organizing the work of active residents, holding subbotniks, holidays at the place of residence.

Despite the potentially great importance of CBT bodies in the system of urban environment and landscaping, at the moment, their role in the city management system is not expressed. There is a weakness of contacts of the CBT both with the authorities and with citizens, there are many gaps in the legal regulation of activities.^[6,7]. At the same time, the prospects for the development of this institution largely depend on the awareness and involvement of the population in this form of self-government.  At the same time, of all forms of local self-government by the population, CBT is the only systemic form^[8].

Research interest is aroused by factors that could increase the efficiency of the CBT, stimulate the involvement of the population in the collective solution of local issues.  One of them is the awareness of the population about the possibility and availability of such a form of participation as territorial public self-government. To study this issue, a questionnaire survey was conducted among residents of the city of Tyumen for awareness of CBT. According to the survey of respondents [ N=500, 2022], 87% of residents are not familiar with the activities of CBT at all. The share of citizens familiar with the activities of CBT is 13%, of which only 5% are informed about the activities of CBT in the area of residence.  The majority of respondents have just heard the name of the organization, but have no idea what it does. Thus, the overwhelming majority of respondents are simply not informed about the existence of such a form of public participation as territorial public self-government, which is a limiting factor in its development.   Previously conducted studies of the level of awareness of residents about CBT activities in other regions also revealed a low level of awareness of citizens ^[9].

It is worth noting that 61% of the surveyed residents responded positively to the question about the willingness of residents to participate in the implementation of projects for the improvement of the space of their area of residence (to equip the yard, to implement their ideas for improving the urban environment). Studies by other authors demonstrate the problem of uneven information coverage of different categories of citizens. Thus, pensioners, state employees and state and municipal employees are the most informed about territorial public self-government. The economically active population and young people were the least involved ^[12]. At the same time, according to the residents themselves, it is the joint solution of issues at the place of residence that is one of the most effective among other forms of public participation in the formation of the urban environment^[10].

 Thus, the potential for involving the population in solving local issues exists, while there is a form through which residents could more effectively implement initiatives on local issues. 

For the effective functioning of the CBT in order to create an infrastructure that promotes the development of citizens' activities in matters of landscaping and arrangement of residential areas, it is necessary to inform citizens about the existence of such an institution, about the tasks solved with its help and the possibility of participation in its activities. At the moment, with a wide choice of communication channels, including the Internet, there are very few resources from which even basic information about CBT activities can be gleaned, it is difficult to find data on CBT activities in your area and the procedure for participation in a particular project.

Thus, in order to minimize the existing imbalance between the high potential of CBT and the low level of awareness of the population about its work, it is necessary to increase the level of knowledge about the role and tools of territorial and public self-government for the implementation of projects to improve the territory of residence, to popularize this movement.  As a solution to these problems, it can be proposed:

1) creation of specialized Internet portals where you can get comprehensive information about the activities of the CBT, with the possibility of clarifying through a single search form which CBT the residential address belongs to, as well as study current projects and tasks of the selected CBT;

2) to activate activities in social networks, on the basis of which it is possible to create means of communication and interaction of residents, which will make it possible to popularize the activities of CBT and, if necessary, quickly conduct polls, voting on important issues;

3) use the media for social advertising of CBT, informing the public about the meaning of the organization's activities, increasing its status and recognition;

4) provide methodological assistance, support and development of the competencies of the CBT activists themselves, in particular in the field of establishing ties with the neighborhood community;

5) use cultural, public events as an information platform and a platform for communication with residents of the district.

The implementation of the proposed provisions is possible with the support of the authorities, their interest in the development of this form of public participation^[13]. In particular, the creation of an information portal and social advertising requires financial investments. At the same time, the information base will create an infrastructure for realizing the potential of CBT, will make it possible to identify and implement socially significant initiatives of citizens.

Thus, for the effective functioning of the CBT, specific measures are required to raise awareness of its activities, expand its social base, which will allow this tool to really act as a communication channel between the population and authorities, effectively solve current tasks, in particular in the field of urban improvement.