The EXPO 2010 workshop When People Matter is an attempt to discuss issues of public participation in the planning process as a driving force for sustainable urban development.

Are people passive consumers of urbanity or creative re-shapers of cities? In order to answer this question we need to bring in a humanistic approach to sustainable urban planning.

The aim of the workshop is to promote a Swedish-Chinese exchange of knowledge about the role of people´s commitment in the long-term transformation of the city environment. It also intends to create a forum for a vibrant discussion on how to turn social capital and cultural heritage into generators for a sustainable urban development.

The workshop is carried out as a part of a government assignment on sustainable urban development jointly commissioned to the Swedish Museum of Architecture, the Swedish National Board of Housing, Building and Planning, the Swedish Research Council Formas and the Swedish National Heritage Board.

The workshop forms an integral part of the EXPO 2010 SymbioCity Forum hosted by the Government Offices of Sweden and the Swedish Trade Council in the Swedish pavilion 1-2 of July.