Are local governments able to give more power to poorer groups? And support their capacities for action and partnership? Are the urban poor able to make a creative contribution to the considerable challenges of urban management? The April 2004 issue of Environment and Urbanization describes how local governments, citizen groups and social movements are developing more participatory ways of working together. Much has been made possible by more democratic and decentralized government structures, and by bottom-up pressures and coherent alternative development approaches from citizens and civil society organizations. This issue explores new approaches and assesses their effectiveness

This issue highlights the importance of participatory governance in access to services and infrastructure. It also demonstrates the very real benefits for local communities and the state that can result from greater political inclusion. But the papers also illustrate the difficulties, as powerful groups oppose these innovations and as bureaucratic systems are resistant to change. It is easy for governments and international agencies to say that they want participatory governance; it is much less easy to change their structures and their relationships with poorer groups to allow this to happen.