The inclusion of social services as an urban policy as perceived by experts

Abstract

To date, there is no scientific academic discussion on the link between social services and urban policies. This research aims to investigate the possibility of including social services as urban policy. To this end, the results of a Delphi survey of experts in both public policies are presented, focusing on their evaluations from five dimensions: shared characteristics, contributions, common elements, joint incorporation and general evaluation. The main objectives are twofold: to ascertain the perception of the experts on the possibility of including social services as an urban policy and to compile proposals to facilitate this horizon. The results reflect the great acceptance of the experts to the proposal of incorporation. Its impact would be positive and reciprocal between both public policies, especially social services would contribute to reformulate the urban management model towards a more participative, inclusive and ecological model. Likewise, proximity to citizens appears as a common characteristic of the binomial. A total of twenty proposals are identified, highlighting, by proportion, those related to the inclusive approach and to the governance, citizen participation and community development group. In short, they do not require a great economic effort on the part of local governments, they imply a political will to actively listen to citizens and to direct them towards the social dimension.