Abstract
The district councils of Italian Cities are evaluated as a most forward achievement of the decentralization and citizen participation among the west European cities.
This article intend to explore the present state of the district council in Bologna that had been reformed after new local government act 1990, paying particular attention to the citizen participation through the activity of the district council committees and social management of the other public facilities. This district governance, characterized by its participative-democratic structure, is conducted by a reform principle “liberal form of association” (LFA).
This study will suggest some controversial problem for the reform of local government in Japan of today.
