What do Participants Participate in? Insights from the Community of Peccioli

This research is part of a broader study investigating citizenparticipation in public decisions affecting the present and futureof the community of Peccioli, a small village in Tuscany (Italy),through repeated surveys on a random sample of the citizens,and within participatory processes promoted by the localadministration. The paper investigates how citizens whoparticipate in one of these processes take part in political,associative and cultural life, and through which channels. Theinvestigation is carried out in a small community, while the vastmajority of studies on participation mechanisms so far haveconcentrated on large urban areas. This contribution presents thefindings of a study carried out in 2022 through surveying arandom sample of these Peccioli citizens (n= 144). Unlike studiesof participatory processes reported in the literature, our study didnot rely on the involvement of other public institutions ororganized groups but considered ordinary citizens regardless oftheir potential affiliations.Our research found,firstly, that the respondents were stronglyinvolved in political, social and cultural activities, to a higherextent than reported at national level. Secondly, as expected,their participation in socio-cultural activities was higher than inpolitical activities. Thirdly, even in a small village like Peccioli, thevast majority of participants used a variety of media, particularlydigital media, to stay informed and up to date on current affairs.