The AELIA-model – involving users in urban development

In this paper we present the AELIA-model, which is concerned with getting the attention of citizens, keeping them interested through novel experiences, building capacity by introducing an element of learning, giving the citizens influence, and supporting action by relevant actors – in short AELIA. The model will be presented within the context of an ongoing project in the municipality of Aarhus. The aim of the project is to involve the citizens of Aarhus in reducing their CO2-emissions towards CO2-neutrality in 2030. In the paper we present some of the actions taken within the different stages of the model, and discuss the relevance for other large-scale development projects with a long time span, aimed at very diverse groups of users.