Small Interventions - Research Method for Small Public Space Redesign
Small Interventions is a pioneering project in Bosnia and Herzegovina where top-down approach in urban design is only used, resulting in the project's importance in terms of initiating a change in the local community. As a collaborative urban design method, it was developed on the basis of the expansive review of studies and practices dealing with the issue of public space design. It was tested in Banja Luka from 2019 to 2020 by the implementation of five pilot projects.
Local
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Small Interventions was implemented through five pilot projects (Park 2, Cleaning the City, Small Scale, Three passages and Water vs Plastics) in Banja Luka, in which the municipality was directly involved in all stages of public space transformation from 2019 to 2020.
Mainly urban
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)
No
No
Yes
2020-12-20
As individual(s) in partnership with organisation(s)
First name: Jelena Last name: Stankovic Gender: Female Please describe the type of organization(s) you work in partnership with: Faculty of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy, University of Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Municipality of Banja Luka City
Nationality: Bosnia and Herzegovina If relevant, please select your other nationality: Bosnia and Herzegovina Function: Member Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Vojvode Stepe Stepanovica 77/2 Town: Banja Luka Postal code: 78 000 Country: Bosnia and Herzegovina Direct Tel:+387 66 438-887 E-mail:jelena.stankovic@aggf.unibl.org
First name: Diana Last name: Stupar Gender: Female Please describe the type of organization(s) you work in partnership with: Faculty of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy, University of Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Banja Luka City (Municipality) Nationality: Bosnia and Herzegovina Function: Coordinator Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Vojvode Stepe Stepanovica 77/2 Town: Banja Luka Postal code: 78 000 Country: Bosnia and Herzegovina Direct Tel:+387 65 984-199 E-mail:diana.stupar@aggf.unibl.org Website:https://aggf.unibl.org/en/fis/zaposlen/1101
First name: Isidora Last name: Karan Gender: Female Please describe the type of organization(s) you work in partnership with: Faculty of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy, University of Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Banja Luka City (Municipality) Nationality: Bosnia and Herzegovina Function: Member Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Vojvode Stepe Stepanovica 77/2 Town: Banja Luka Postal code: 78 000 Country: Bosnia and Herzegovina Direct Tel:+387 65 819-623 E-mail:isidora.karan@aggf.unibl.org
First name: Milenko Last name: Stankovic Gender: Male Please describe the type of organization(s) you work in partnership with: Faculty of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy, University of Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Banja Luka City (Municipality) Nationality: Bosnia and Herzegovina Function: Coordinator Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Vojvode Stepe Stepanovica 77/2 Town: Banja Luka Postal code: 78 000 Country: Bosnia and Herzegovina Direct Tel:+387 65 511-771 E-mail:milenko.stankovic@aggf.unibl.org Website:https://aggf.unibl.org/sr/fis/zaposlen/1099-prof-dr-milenko-stankovic
First name: Tanja Last name: Trkulja Gender: Female Please describe the type of organization(s) you work in partnership with: Faculty of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy, University of Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Banja Luka City (Municipality) Nationality: Bosnia and Herzegovina Function: Member Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Vojvode Stepe Stepanovica 77/2 Town: Banja Luka Postal code: 78 000 Country: Bosnia and Herzegovina Direct Tel:+387 65 832-078 E-mail:tanja.trkulja@aggf.unibl.org
First name: Dubravko Last name: Aleksic Gender: Male Please describe the type of organization(s) you work in partnership with: Faculty of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy, University of Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Banja Luka City (Municipality) Nationality: Bosnia and Herzegovina Function: Member Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Vojvode Stepe Stepanovica 77/2 Town: Banja Luka Postal code: 78 0000 Country: Bosnia and Herzegovina Direct Tel:+387 65 805-137 E-mail:dubravko.aleksic@aggf.unibl.org
Small Interventions is an original research method for the renewal of public spaces through use of a multi‐sector and collaborative approach to public spaces that is small, efficient, flexible, transparent, democratic, dynamic, adaptable and temporary. It is primarily designed for contexts with lack of participatory culture and economic resources resulting in lack of quality public space and low awareness of their importance and of multiple roles public spaces play in urban life. The innovative character of the project is not only to provide a framework for public space redesign, but it is a tool for community building and regaining a sense of belonging to the space through common engagement and co-creation. It combines both top-down and bottom-up approaches in urban design in order to create massive small interventions limited by budget, time, resources and lack of legislation. The method used theoretical urban design approaches and innovative practice adapting them to local contexts through the set of mechanisms with an aim of testing methodological tools in the real environment toward more sustainable and resilient design strategies.
Small Interventions are the key to re-socialization of citizens in public space through their inclusion from valuing diversity to securing accessibility and affordability. When using Small Interventions, the city learns how to overcome sustainability challenges, socio-spatial discrimination, aesthetic and quality of experience for people by implementing a research method that facilitates and steers the transformation of our societies, making public spaces as polygons of dialogue for all stakeholders engaged in the process. The collaboration between the stakeholders, the City, Professionals and Citizens, has brought a new ”spirit” and changed their view toward public space. The future resides in the concept of “small” as it can trigger a wider change and innovation in the design process.
Public space
Small interventions
Sustainable
Inclusion
Citizen engagement
The key objectives of the project in terms of sustainability focusing on water management and greenery implies that:
- the project uses available local resources including physical, intellectual, human, and financial adapting them to all legal forms that are changed according to the need;
- the project uses locally available eco-friendly building materials that can be recycled and reused with an aim to make Banja Luka more lively, energetic and - -humane living space for all the citizens;
- the project decides on the urban space design that can be quickly assembled, disassembled, transported and reassembled to other location without damaging the previous one;
- the project strongly supports introduction of greenery and water in public spaces and offers a catalog with innovative and nature-based solutions for water management.
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The project has envisaged sustainable/circular approach and it can be exemplary in the context in a way that:
- implementation of individual pilot projects launches new initiatives expanding the network of new actors engaged in redesign process;
- self sustainable project refers to the crowdfunding method of financing through social engagement and constant use of public space (building sense of community);
- it requires constant citizen feedback on which every step and activity in redesign process is built, which in a long run contributes to building trust in collaborative processes and reinforces social capital needed for future cities change (e.g. Propose location, Propose project idea, Apply your project, Apply to participate, Apply for design solution, Apply for donation, Vote for the best design solution, Share your story….).
The project’s approach to public spaces is ‘massively small’, fast and efficient, flexible, transparent, democratic, dynamic, adaptable and temporary. In the long run, the project should contribute to sustainable management of public spaces through social engagement, reinforcement of social cohesion and a sense of belonging. It develops new and original methodology for the redesign of public spaces through a multi‐sector and collaborative approach for those engaged in public spaces with limited financial resources and time to find design solutions for improving the availability, attendance, quality and public space distribution. Urban renewal of small public spaces through collective engagement oriented toward restoring citizens’ trust raises their awareness of the protection of the common good in the city.
The aesthetics and quality of experience for people is the most important and indispensable element of small interventions considering that in total 1500 people were engaged in the project through design, positive emotions and cultural benefits. This involves: 11 members of the Small Intervention team; 30 close associates; 5 Banja Luka City departments; 5 civil and higher education institutions; 300 direct participants; 80 professionals; 2000 digital participants; 14 socially responsible companies and 9 media companies and web portals. Positive feedback from all the people engaged in the project demonstrates their contribution to bringing a sense of belonging, a “spirit” or “meaning” of places and communities that celebrate diversity, which got a lot of media coverage. We got feedback through questionnaires where people were able to assess the quality of pilot interventions and the quality of the experience of being a part of it.
Inclusion can be observed through the cooperation of all the actors engaged in the implementation of five pilot projects in Banja Luka.
Park 2 was a Small Intervention in terms of creating a redesign solution of an initial project of the central pedestrian zone in Banja Luka by the Small intervention team and other professionals (in total 24 participants) who, in an exceptionally short period of time, were identified as stakeholders and invited by the City Council.
Water vs Plastics affirmed access to free drinking water in public spaces in accordance with public and health standards, raising awareness of the ecology of city life with a goal of reducing the consumption of bottled water. The project implementation mechanism was an open online competition that ended with the submission of 18 design solutions of public drinking water taps. It established new communication models between the City and Citizens by using diverse media services where citizens can participate in decision‐making processes (52 stakeholders plus 1.731 people who participated online).
Three passages reactivated urban capillaries by making temporary artistic interventions. The project aims at the activation of insufficiently used and alternative pedestrian routes, the promotion of culture and local art scene and the encouragement of a creative environment. The project implementation mechanism was an invitation design contest by which young local artists were given an opportunity to create a new vision of Banja Luka's urban identity (around 51 participants).
Cleaning the City was a one-day citizen work action with the aim of raising awareness of the importance of public space as a tool of community building (around 264 participants).
Small Scale was a constructive workshop of students of architecture, civil engineering and geodesy that resulted in an open amphitheater – a small-scale wooden structure (around 64 participants).
Citizens benefiting from the project or affected by the project and civil society directly involved in the project have been impacted in a way that:
- their direct engagement in the project is represented in the selection process of a design solution and the actual use of their bodies by which they make a memory and become the ”patrons” of the city;
- their awareness of public spaces is raised which reflects in the intensity of use of public space;
- dialogue between them and city is significantly improved;
- local community is activated;
- local community spirit is re-established;
-open public spaces management is improved.
The project focuses on the citizens in a way that citizens are perceived not only as consumers of the project results, but also as creators and users of their own space. They are involved in all project activities from the problem definition and identification of where to intervene in Banja Luka, to specific activities on public space urban renewal. This project involves all citizens of Banja Luka, through:
- selecting the pilot project location and design program proposal;
- participation in the design workshop/voting for the best design solution;
- participation in the building workshop and crowdfunding construct.
The impact of citizen involvement on the project defines a project success as it is primarily based on citizens' reactions to it and on pilot project design solutions. Even though the project includes and interconnects all types of citizens and groups with different interests, needs, habits, etc. it addresses young artists and architects primarily.
Stakeholders engaged in the redesign process of public spaces are CITY, PROFESSIONALS and CITIZENS. Their dialogue was initiated by the Small Intervention team whose role as a mediator, moderator and catalyst of all phases of the redesign process was to proportionately engage all of the targeted stakeholders in the project.
The CITY refers to the institutions of local self‐government that manage public spaces and mostly provide and allocate funds for their maintenance, design and/or production. The CITY was represented through Banja Luka City Council (including the mayor's office and departments in charge) and city agencies dealing with the development of public spaces. The CITY initiated Small Interventions, decided on their implementation and participated in their realization through the preparation of the necessary documents in the legal framework and determining project budget. The CITY was a management structure that implemented projects in public spaces from top to bottom.
PROFESSIONALS referred to scientific, academic and educational institutions, companies and organizations that deal with spatial planning and construction, urban phenomena studies related to public spaces including civil society and international organizations that were active in the field of urban design. Professionals contributed in the following way by articulating citizen engagement initiatives, providing adequate technical and quality design solutions and introducing innovative and new approaches and methods.
CITIZENS were all the people involved in proposing and implementing Small Intervention. In this case, CITIZENS were not only individuals, but also legal entities (e.g. socially responsible companies, institutions, civil society organizations). Citizen participation knew different levels e.g. from voting for the best small design interventions to the phase of project initiation, implementation and investment in small intervention projects. CITIZENS made up a bottom‐up structure.
Although the project is primarily related to public spaces, the spectrum of activities, disciplines and/ or knowledge fields whose support was required for public space transformation exceeded the definition of public spaces (e.g. art, architecture, civil and forest engineering, etc.). This resulted in new collaborations and new study programs. The power of public spaces brings together the City and its citizens and evidently changes their behavior during the redesign process by teaching them how to work together through project engagement. The City enables the citizens to belong to the City by allowing them to act in organized and spontaneous actions in the public space. On the other hand, citizens, through active participation and engagement, identify with the City. The engagement of both is accomplished through collective power of Small Interventions that make massive small changes in the process of public space redesign, raising awareness of public spaces that reflects the intensity of their use, significantly improving the dialogue between the city and citizens by activating local community, re-establishing local community spirit, and improving public spaces management. In the whole process, Small Interventions include professionals that are urban activators, mediators and catalysts for the whole process of urban planning and management of public spaces. The City and its communication with citizens and professionals is significantly improved through invitations for cooperation, open source database, simplification and acceleration of administrative procedures, creation of a potential public space network owned by the City. Professionals have developed co-creative skills in terms of providing critical thinking and design solutions based on a common strategy and through engaging and inviting young local talents. That has opened new opportunities for young talents and strongly supported a collective design scene.
Results achieved by the project:
CATALOGUE of small public spaces in Banja Luka/ ACTIVE MAP, an open‐source map with a small location/ DIGITAL DATABASE bring together knowledge base on public space features, pilot project and design solutions database and participants database / FIVE PILOT PROJECT designs and reconstruction of public spaces in Banja Luka, applying Small intervention methodology and collaborative design principles/ BOOK called Small Interventions in Public Space/Research Methodology, published online in 2020.
Outcomes achieved by project involve:
- Exploring public space that is built (existing spaces tangible and intangible features) and public space that is planned (available studies, strategies, project and planning documents) in order to define public space problems and potentials, focusing on places of conflict and vitality loosing;
- Conducting typo‐morphological analysis and building an active map in order to define small public spaces and classify them according to size, form and selected themes (including greenery, water management, transportation modes, etc.);
- Proposing and selecting small public spaces for pilot projects, exploring mechanisms and procedures of collaborative public space design (that have to correspond to mechanisms and steps specified for implementation of Small Interventions methodology); such are mechanism of co‐design, co‐building, co‐financing and digital participation (e.g. workshop, competition calls, collective financing, etc.).
The project implies that urban life has to be free and deprived of unnecessary physical regulations and restrictions and environmental threats in order to enable a freedom of social relationships, engagement and action of both the city and citizens in public space. The impact of the Small Interventions method resides in encouraging citizens to change their behavior toward being more involved in maintaining and using public space.
The project is innovative in a way that:
- it uses unique Small Intervention methodology already tested in Banja Luka;
- it combines both top-down and bottom-up principles in order to create ‘massive small’ spatial interventions limited by resources, budget and time;
- it considers the local context and human resources, legislative and the lack of funds and searches for affordable, nature-based and community-led solutions;
- It is a tool for community building regaining a sense of belonging through common engagement and co-creation up to the point where citizens can actually design and govern their own public space;
- it is a creative hub for developing and sharing ideas, knowledge and experience about open public spaces, strengthening the power of community engagement;
- for the first time in the local context, it uses all available media and social networking services for a direct communication with the citizens;
- it brings together a Small Interventions community made of professionals, students, volunteers, donators, and endowments, creating a unique base of all participants involved in redesign process;
- it conducts public space redesign on original, design‐conscious and engagement principles;
- it decides for efficient and quick design solutions in order to circumvent slow, inefficient and unwanted regulations and legal forms;
- it uses social networks, initiating decision making by the use of bottom-up approach;
- it brings possibility of creation of Small Intervention digital platform;
- Banja Luka is seen as an opportunity to test all the phases in a unique location.
The methodological steps could be monitored in two ways:
1. Chronologically - from the detection of problems and potentials of public space to the small intervention realizations - in relation to mechanisms and tools that are specific to each type and size of small interventions.
2. Diagonally - following the engagement of the certain actors engaged in the redesign process of public spaces that is related to specific steps.
MS1/DETECTION of public spaces that can be improved with minimal intervention referring not only to their sizes, morphological types and functions, but also focuses on places of conflict and vitality loss.
MS2/CLASSIFICATION of detected public spaces according to their sizes, time and value and typo-morphological pattern, and developed in relation to the program guidelines - themes.
MS3/THEMATIC implies the recognition of public spaces through dominant themes i.e. whether they are predominantly green, traffic or water supplied spaces, small forms or urban areas.
MS4/REFERENCING makes a comparative analysis of detected locations and examples of good practices.
MS5/MATRIX implies multidimensional unification of components of size, typo-morphological pattern, theme and examples of good practice in relation to each individual detected public space.
MS6/MAPPING uses the method of urban acupuncture where each acupuncture point has the potential to become a vibrant place.
MS7/SELECTION of the pilot project is a set of five criteria used for the verification of potential feasibility for a number of candidate projects
MS8/ PILOT PROJECT DESIGN need to be elaborated, referring to the revision and determination of specific project goals.
MS9/PILOT PROJECT CONSTRUCTION is done primarily through constructive workshops and Citizen Work Actions.
MS10/ EVALUATION implies questionnaires for the participants distributed before the action and monitoring the intensity/ frequency of pilot site users during and after the action.
This project addresses implementation and testing of Small Interventions methodology for public space design and management issues widely replicable or transferred to other places where Small Interventions methodology is planned to be tested through selected pilot projects. It is applicable to countries in the region with similar local problems including weak project implementation, corruption, non-engagement of citizens, lack of opportunity for young professionals, lack of quality public space and low awareness of their importance in urban life. The small intervention methodology brings a solution to bypass slow procedures and in direct communication of all three stakeholders forms a new sense of belonging to public space. It faces challenges of collaborative urban design procedures, on the one hand, and valorization of public space as a catalyst for social cohesion and community empowerment, on the other.
By introducing collaborative design, Small Interventions could contribute to a wider and systematic change in urban design practices, after all, in regions passing through transitions and with lack of planning tradition or bottom-up movements in urban space. Given that the method consists of three main interrelated processes (components, implementation, and testing), it can be easily and partially adapted to different cultural contexts, local specificities, and applied in other cities in the region and abroad. In the case of Banja Luka, the Small Interventions project has contributed to establishing a knowledge of public spaces in the city that brought together both tangible (e.g. physical features, accessibility, etc.) and intangible (e.g. a sense of place, memory), features of urban space, and identified public space problems and potentials. Small Interventions can set in motion the future activities and global challenges the project addresses by providing locally-based and community-led solutions related to changes in existing regulations and policies, standards and protocols: a systematic form for open public space management; procedure acceleration and simplification; detection, selection and program guidelines for open public spaces; citizen and professionals engagement in all project phases from location detection to applying, participating, selecting and evaluating design project and form of direct communication between the city and citizens. The urban dynamics are becoming more and more fluid every day, which implies that we should act small, act continuously and act together and new, more dynamic, adaptable and open processes of public space design are coming. Otherwise, the Small Interventions method is an experimental platform that enables different types of small and collaborative projects to emerge, triggering wider change and innovation in design practices. The future resides in the concept of ”small”.
