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Urban Initiative Espíritu Santo.A participatory experience of social and

urban regeneration

INTI Conference

Huelva 201321st-22nd

November

Social Innovation and

new ways of governance for

the socio-ecological transition

Rosa Mª Martínez GómezCarmen María Verde Martín

November 22th 2013

Context. The URBAN initiative

The Spanish Ministry of Economy decided to get involved in the Regional Operational Programs 2007-2013 in order to reinforce local interventions to face the problems of deprived neighbourhoods in cities. The Urban Initiative acts on the framework of the Policy of Cohesion of European Union80% of Urban Initiative is supported by the European Regional Fund (ERDF).

The project.URBAN Espíritu SantoURBAN Espíritu Santo is a project about the economic and social revitalisation of a deprived neighbourhood in Espinardo, located on the periphery of Murcia. There are 3.827 residents, of which 30% are gypsies.

The project.URBAN Espíritu Santo

The project aims to revitalize the community with culture, creative innovation and citizen participation as key factors to boost urban development.

The project.URBAN Espíritu Santo

The project aims to revitalize the community with culture, creative innovation and citizen participation as key factors to boost urban development.

INTEGRATED APROACH

The project includes a set of measures to transform the current life conditions of the area, according to three essential aspects of community life :

Rebuilding the physical space: ATTRACTIVE NEIGBOURHOOD

Energizing social and cultural life: CREATIVE COMMUNITY

Improving the economic environmment: CULTURAL DISTRICT

Interacting at the same time.

ATTRACTIVE NEIGBOURHOOD: Rebuilding the physical space, with cultural, educational, social and quality business facilities

CREATIVE COMMUNITYMeasures for social inclusion, Activities for boosting educational

achievement, Arts education.

CULTURAL DISTRICTMeasures to increase personal skills for employment, professional training

programme, business laboratories.

ParticipationDevelopment of the project with a participatory methodology, the creative force of citizenship as an engine for change. Through the forum of social participation citizens are involved in the entire project development process, including evaluation.

PARTICIPATION MECHANISMS

PARTICIPATION MECHANISMS. The annual Meetings. The regular general meetings and Working Groups.

PARTICIPATION MECHANISMS

Two key elements to involve citizens in the process

Achieving participation of the most active citizens. Therefore Urban laboratories workin group was set up.

Continuously communicating the neighbourhood transformartion process to everyone. So we designed an anual event: La Gala, performed by all the participants in the different activities.

URBAN LABSIs a reflective process on how to share collective space

and how to improve community living together. The methodology of this action was to engage citizens in the process of analyzing problems and designing solutions for the future redevelopment of the neighborhood.

PATHS OF KNOWLEDGE. Cammino della Conoscenza

• Is the first activity of URBAN LABS set up to analyse the actual space in order to draw up a map of perceptions.

• The purpose of the activity was for the residents to participate with their thoughts and proposals in improving the habitability conditions of the neighbourhood in order to convert it into an attractive space.

Path of Knowledge. Itineraries

• It consisted of neighbourhood walks following different itineraries and on different days and at different times. Groups of people were formed with photo cameras and notebooks to record the positive, neutral and negative aspects of the neighbourhood.

Circles referring to physical-urban aspects:

Triangles referring to social-perceptive aspects:

Paths of knowledge. Metaplan

The group contributions were all based on two crucial moments: creativity and and awareness deepening. This involved brainstorming for territorial research based on individual ideas.

Path of knowledge. Presentation of results

In order to share the results of the process with all citizens, an exhibition was held consisting of 9 explanatory panels on the entire process, the results and a visual flash.

Path of knowledge. Presentation of results

Building a square to live together

• A public consultation for the implementation of participatory design to remodel Constitution Square, located in the heart of the neighborhood and the future new neighborhood center.

• Three phases: Brainstorming and other consultation activities, Design, and presentations of results in an open session.

Building a square to live together

Brainstorming. Consultation contents

Regarding of the uses for the squareWhat do we use - is the square used for?What could we use it for?

Regarding the image of the squareWhat can we see from the square upon entering or

leaving?What could we see and not see?

Building a square to live together

• Other consultation activities

Artistics expressionsPainting workshop: “The Dream Square”Storytelling workshop: “Stories from the square”Improvised music "The Square Song”

Building a square to live together

Building a square to live together

Participatory journalismCitizens interviewVideo workshopCreation of a Blog:

http://elblogdelaplaza.urbanespiritusanto.es

Building a square to live together

• Design phase, considering the opinion of citizens and presentation

Key Learnings

• Reflexion as a key element in participatory methodologies allows for discovering the afective links which hold a community together, facilitating the search for an expression of the needs, desires and aspirations of citizens and empowering them as agents of change.

• This metodologies are more effective when taking into consideration observation, intuition and perception as key points in understanding resistence to change and searching for news tools to boost it.

Participatory Communication strategy

“LA GALA”: It’s an event designed to involve the most active participants in communicating the progress of the project in an accessible way to all.

Objectives:Strategic approach to living space To develop culture through the different levels:

physical, social, educational and economic.

Participatory Communication strategy

Gala 2010 Objectives:

To facilitate the use of the Cultural Centre as an educational and cultural

space for everyoneTo transmit the importance of Arts as an

educational and professional subject

Participatory Communication strategy

Participatory Communication strategy

Gala 2011Objectives:

To bring the public school closer as a creative space of open learning

To incorporate the arts in education to make education more attractive and catalyze the emergence of talent.

Participatory Communication strategy

Participatory Communication strategie

Gala 2012 / II Participation encounterObjectives:

To occupy the Constitution Square, new neighborhood center and the space in which conflicts are most intensely manifested.

To incorporate arts in education an vocational training f as a vehicle to improve estándar of living.

To comunicate how far we have progress.

Participatory Communication strategy

Participatory Communication strategy

Participatory Communication strategy

Gala 2013Objectives:

To make headway in artistic educationTo introduce people in cultural industriesPut the focus on the new facilites

Participatory Communication strategy

Participatory Communication strategy

Key Learnings

• Holding these events has been important to finding a comon language to comunicate to the citizens the philosophy, objectives, and actions of the project. The artistic performance comunicates with the senses, emotions and creativity to encourage transformation of the neigbourhood as a open cultural area.

URBAN Espíritu Santo

Thank you very muchRosa Martínez [email protected]

Mayka Verde [email protected]

European Programme ServiceCity of Murcia (Spain)

http://espiritusanto.proeuropeos-murcia.net