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 * Why the participation of citizen is obvious in the design of an eco-district ?**

Citizen participation, in all contexts, is necessary in our society and this is not a new fact. Indeed, solidarity contributes to the establishment of a healthy society, based on democracy and respecting human rights. The lack of solidarity and clear-sightedness leads to the death of the civilisation. The most striking example is that of the Roman Empire sunk into barbarism because of its incapacity to deal with immigration. Yet, a few years before, it had enabled the Empire to become a powerful and glorious civilisation. This blindness was associated to people selfishness and cupidity. Hopefully, over the years, the sense of solidarity became an essential human value.

Introduction of participatory mechanisms in public decisions is a great democratic progress. Legitimacy of this participative approach in an urban project is based on a major fundament, the universal declaration of human rights preamble. Therefore, the right of participate to public decisions is a right for all and should be effective. The legislator should focus its work on the ways to make this right more accessible. The law of 27February 2002 concerning local democracy (creating neighborhood councils in cities of more than 80000 inhabitants) marked the comeback of this participatory approach in urban projects. Article L. 300-2 of the Town Planning Code deals with consultation on town planning action and operations. Nevertheless, this is more an advice than an obligation, that’s why organizations criticize the "minimalist" nature of the consultation. Participatory democracy is a new form of project engineering that relies on a dialogue between the project proponent and the stakeholders represented by citizens. This approach is back up to date through legislation that provides more importance to sustainable development Faced with tremendous demographic growth, the city of tomorrow makes sustainable urban management and improved quality of life its core issues. The concept of eco-neighborhood is faithful to its goal to minimize its environmental footprint and promote the quality of life of its inhabitants, that’s why citizen participation is a great tool used in "sustainable" projects. Knowing the habits and needs of people is one of the reasons for their presence and their central role in this type of project Sustainable urban project cannot take life without the intervention of citizens who are the guarantors of the sustainable development action on a specific environmental. While a collectivity handles project management (planning, participation, …), citizens care about their living environment Citizen participation is also a means to educate and guide people to adopt practices and a way of life respecting environment.