The knowledge that citizens have of their own municipality is very useful for the local politicians and planners in the event of such a major reconstruction in the neighborhood. It is the residents in the area that are most affected, and their view on the reconstruction is valuable if the end result will be as good as possible. Since the municipality builds for the citizens, and wants them to enjoy the outcome of the reconstruction as much as possible, it is essential that the municipality get a chance to inspect the citizen’s views and experiences about it in an early stage. If the citizens don’t want to get involved, or if only a few people involve themselves, it will be difficult for the municipality to find a solution satisfactory to all. That all citizens should be happy with the outcome is of course very difficult, but the more people that are involved, the greater are the opportunities that as many as possible gets pleased.
The purpose of this thesis is to first highlight the problems and experiences in the area of citizen involvement in urban issues. This, together with the results of two surveys and a report on how other municipalities are working with the issue, will help the municipality of Eskilstuna to find ways that makes even those who normally don’t commit themselves to engage in these types of questions. In this thesis, these people are referred to as the "quiet" citizens.