Learning from Urban Conflicts: Community Planning for the Restorative and Resilient City

This study examines how community conflict, restorative principles, and community planning can be integrated into a framework for conflict-sensitive and resilient urban governance. It connects two Hungarian urban cases situated in different temporal contexts: the completed community planning process in Cseri Park, Kaposvár (2017–2019), and an ongoing developer–resident conflict in Balokány-liget, Pécs, that emerged in 2026. Using qualitative document analysis of municipal minutes and resolutions, development documents, a planning-team project description, and press sources, the study applies an asymmetric lesson-transfer approach rather than a symmetrical comparison. The findings identify six transferable process mechanisms from Cseri Park: institutional authorization combined with early engagement, multi-stage participation, dedicated mediation or facilitation support, integration of local and professional knowledge, community-building across stakeholder groups, and feedback-based refinement and priority-setting. The study develops a three-level analytical framework linking community conflict, the restorative city, and community planning, with local identity treated as part of conflict diagnosis and socio-cultural urban resilience as a potential longer-term outcome. The results suggest that adapted participatory mechanisms can support more transparent, collaborative, and resilient responses to urban conflicts.