The concept of a restorative city is one of the most recent and fascinating developments in the field of restorative justice theory and practice. Despite the lack of universal model or standards of implementation, the concept of a restorative city can be defined as a process that aims at shaping both community life as well as urban space through the lens of restorative justice philosophy, values and standards. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the results of the analysis of how this concept has been implemented so far in a number of selected cities, systematise the knowledge about the process of implementing the idea of a restorative city and advance the discussion around the conceptual framework of this development. The paper concludes with a brief summary of activities that have been undertaken in Wrocław, Poland, in order to gain the status of a restorative city.
From January 2011 until December 2012, forty Family Group Conferences (FGCs) will be studied in the public mental health care (PMHC) setting in the province of Groningen, the Netherlands. Research should yield an answer to whether FGCs are valuable for clients in PMHC as a means to generate social support, to prevent coercion and to elevate the work of professionals. The present study reports on two case studies in which shame and fear of rejection are designated as main causes for clients to avoid contact with their social network, resulting in isolated and marginalised living circumstances. Shame, on the other hand, is also a powerful engine in preventing clients from relapse into marginalised circumstances for which one needs to feel ashamed again. An FGC offers a forum where clients are able to discuss their shameful feelings with their social network; it generates support and helps breaking through vicious circles of marginalisation and social isolation. Findings of these case studies confirm an assumption from a previous study that a limited or broken social network is not a contraindication, but a reason for organising FGCs.
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In the Netherlands, an individual’s problem is not usually considered to be the community’s problem. If you are a nuisance, you are sent out of the class. If a child is awkward in its dealings with others, it is sent for training in social skills. And if youths hang around the street and people feel intimidated, the youths are removed. Police officers move them on. Civic leaders introduce bans on assembly. In other countries, too, people are usually dispersed to prevent escalation.
