Residents are often excluded from contractual negotiations, which limits their influence over development projects. In this article, I explored four cases in Hamburg and New York in which residents succeeded in negotiating agreements on developments in their neighborhoods. The aim of this study was to understand how residents can harness agreements to bend development processes toward their goals. In each case, various types of agreements were used. The agreements differed in terms of neighborhood benefits, planning, monitoring, flexibility and enforceability aspects. The benefits of each project to the respective neighborhood were first assessed by an organization that represents residents or involves individual residents. Next, each project was monitored through oversight committees or by providing reports to representatives of the neighborhood. The agreements in three of the four cases were relatively rigid. Lastly, the contracts were designed by the parties involved to include penalties or mitigation processes if parties failed to perform their obligations. This research project contributes to the body of literature on contractual governance and participatory democracy by showing how agreements are designed when residents are involved in negotiation processes. This study shows that contracts can be used as accountability mechanisms and enhance residents’ influence over development projects in their neighborhoods.

居民经常被排除在合同谈判之外，这限制了他们对开发项目的影响。在本文中，我探讨了汉堡和纽约的四个案例，在这些案例中，居民成功地就社区发展达成协议。这项研究的目的是了解居民如何利用协议将发展过程转向他们的目标。在每种情况下，都使用了各种类型的协议。这些协议在邻里利益、规划、监督、灵活性和可执行性方面存在差异。每个项目对各自社区的好处首先由代表居民或涉及个别居民的组织进行评估。接下来，每个项目都通过监督委员会或通过向邻里代表提供报告来监督。四起案件中，三起的约定都比较僵硬。最后，合同是由相关方设计的，如果各方未能履行其义务，则包括处罚或缓解程序。该研究项目通过展示当居民参与谈判过程时协议是如何设计的，为有关契约治理和参与式民主的文献体系做出了贡献。本研究表明，合同可以作为问责机制，增强居民对社区发展项目的影响力。该研究项目通过展示当居民参与谈判过程时协议是如何设计的，为有关契约治理和参与式民主的文献体系做出了贡献。本研究表明，合同可以作为问责机制，增强居民对社区发展项目的影响力。该研究项目通过展示当居民参与谈判过程时协议是如何设计的，为有关契约治理和参与式民主的文献体系做出了贡献。本研究表明，合同可以作为问责机制，增强居民对社区发展项目的影响力。