Resident Participation in Urban Development: Rhetoric, Practice, and Tradition A Comparative Analysis Between Rotterdam and Liverpool

As cities navigate local urban transitions, they are increasingly adopting new forms of participatory governance to involve residents in shaping key decisions. This study explores these emerging participatory structures in both Rotterdam and Liverpool. In particular, these new governance approaches are analyzed through the lens of path-dependent, regionally embedded administrative traditions alongside national shifts toward similar reform discourses, highlighting emerging patterns of convergence. A small-n, qualitative abductive approach was employed within a Most Similar Systems Design. In-depth content analysis of municipal policy documents and 23 semi-structured interviews with local officials in Rotterdam and Liverpool were analyzed using ATLAS.ti. The study reveals a rhetorical convergence in both Rotterdam and Liverpool's approach to resident involvement, unexpectedly gravitating towards Germanic-style frameworks emphasizing structured, legally-based, and collaborative engagement, contrary to broader assumptions of a universal shift towards Anglo-American New Public Management (NPM) models. However, a pronounced divergence in practice is observed, with administrative traditions significantly influencing implementation: Rotterdam’s approach generally aligns with its Germanic legacy through structured facilitation, while Liverpool’s practice reflects its Anglo-American tradition via politically influenced, discretionary, and often fragmented engagement. Lastly, Rotterdam demonstrates a closer alignment between its policy rhetoric and practical realities, whereas Liverpool exhibits a significant gap between its stated participatory goals and actual implementation. This study enriches understanding of participatory governance by spotlighting the often-overlooked influence of administrative traditions at the city level, taking an administrative perspective, and contributing to the discussion on the ‘real’ degree of institutional convergence. Socially the findings offer critical insights for policymakers seeking to bridge the gap between participatory ideals and real-world governance.