ReGeneration in Reșița is a project dedicated to accomplishing societal cohesion through participatory urbanism and workshops dedicated to climate mitigation best practices. The area proposed for intervention is known for its Roma community, in serious risk of poverty and who faces the issue of school abandonment. To change the destiny of the children residing there and making education more appealing, the local education unit's square will be transformed and regenerated for the whole community
Local
Romania
Resita Municipality
Mainly urban
It refers to a physical transformation of the built environment (hard investment)
No
No
Yes
As a representative of an organisation
Name of the organisation(s): Local Development Institute – Think Global Act Local Type of organisation: Non-governmental organization First name of representative: Alex Last name of representative: Bojneagu Gender: Male Nationality: Romania Function: Project manager Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Street Timisoarei, number 2A Town: Resita Postal code: 320232 Country: Romania Direct Tel:+40730787492 E-mail:alex@urbanizehub.com Website:https://urbanizehub.com/
ReGeneration in Reșița is a project dedicated to accomplishing societal cohesion through participatory urbanism and workshops dedicated to climate mitigation best practices. The stages of the project include a preparatory stage, in which through consultative processes, citizens and public administration will be able to come together with a concept to communicate to the specialists who will think about the future public space. A calendar of activities and how citizens can get involved in the creation of the new place will be established together with the local administration. The role of this calendar is for people to take ownership of the space and take care of it after the completion of the project, that is, to develop a sense of belonging to the community in the broadest sense. In the implementation phase, planting actions will be organized, urban furniture installation, murals painted on the wall or pavement, and at the end of the project a workshop on the field of sustainable urban development, with the involvement of the public administration, educational institutions and civil society. Reșița is a multicultural city and the proposed neighborhood for intervention is home for German and Romanian ethnics, most of them who have ancestors working in the local mine before closing. Nowadays, the area is known for its Roma community, who lives in serious risk of poverty and who faces the issue of school abandonment. Due to this specific, the project will put the heritage into light due to the artistic interventions as well as the designing of the public space to make it more accessible for children and prioritise their educational needs.
Urban regeneration
Cohesion
Intergenerational engagement
Sense of belonging
Urban acupuncture
Regeneration projects need to pay attention to their own carbon footprint and the do-no-harm principles. In this context, the proposal will pay close attention to the greenery actions required for urban redesign that would also contribute in combating urban heat islands during the hot seasons. The main focus will be put on the public space and the functionalities it offers to the citizens. The urban furniture and other materials used will be chosen based on their sustainability features, with a strong preference for wood and its derivatives instead of plastic. Furthermore, the space will encourage active mobility and physical education due to the nature of the public space where children are able to practise sports and play games in open air.
Regarding the educational aura of the initiative, through workshops for co-selection of solutions organized in partnership with the local stakeholders (public, private, civil, academic, professional), the area will be activated also with the help of events dedicated to raising awareness on climate change, just transition and opportunities to get involved into the life of the city.
The proposed workshops will focus on children’s perspective on climate responsibility and on examples of eco-habits they can develop and encourage parents to adopt. Children’s rights are integrated into how urban areas are planned, built, and managed. Furthermore, the workshops will put accent on the importance of education and attempt to prevent school abandonment, during whose organization we will invite NGOs specialized in assisting Roma communities to offer input and know-how to organize these workshops.
Through street art and involving the creators in the design of the public space, the area will develop a personal identity assumed by every generation. Artists will be asked to propose works of art and the best ones will be chosen through a participatory process in order to be painted in the space. This approach will also contribute to the cultural brand of Reșița, being a city which strongly developed its cultural agenda in the last four years. Furthermore, due to the project being proposed in a suburb close to a lake of important touristic potential and a camp used by pupils during summer for various activities, the project also contributes to outlining the touristic variety of the area as well as providing a space for the community, encouraging at the same time people’s ownership of the public space.
The space will follow Jane Jacobs’ concept of “eyes on the street”, meaning the community will animate the area and provide a sense of security for the vulnerable. The theory suggests crowds provide safety for categories such as children or elderly and thus the degree of life quality is increased. Because it is both close to a school as well as in a residential area mostly comprised by houses, the principle will be achieved and the area will ensure safety for the users.
The planned area will encourage free movement in open air for all generations in order to support a healthy lifestyle living. A characteristic which will be integrated by the urban designers in the space is the openness for events promoting sports, artistic or other open air activities organized either by the public administration or the community.
People will be invited to participate in the co-design of the public space as well as participate in planting actions in order to both assume the public space and also promote the green education and respect towards nature.
The scope of the project is ensuring an open child-centered space that functions as an intergenerational learning lab. Due to the nature of the project, inclusiveness plays a core role in how the space will function.
Secu is a suburbia of Resita which became a part of the city in the last 20 years, acting as a territorial administrative unit prior to being absorbed as a neighborhood. The main issue of the population residing in Secu is the sense of belonging to the city due to the distance from the city centre. The residing population is confronting the ageing question, with fewer children to activate the area and a migration towards other city areas. In order to ensure territorial equity in the quality of public space, there is a need to focus on creating places where people of all generations can spend their free time and better connect to the city.
The public space will be designed in order to accommodate people with locomotor disabilities, with hearing and visual impairings as well as those who require assistance aid in integrating with others. A place centered on children is one that capacitates the children to interact with each other, to communicate and build bridges regardless of elements that could divide them. In other words, horizontal principles guide the children in becoming functional adults while also educate adults through the example of the children in becoming more tolerant and open among themselves. The most important aspect of this project proposal is the educational aspect on how people can co-exist, communicate and collaborate peacefully.
Participatory urbanism and education refer to the beneficiaries of the initiative and involving them in the process. In order to grasp the vision of the citizens, a consultation campaign coupled with a campaign aimed at informing the public on the scope of the project. The consultations will take place both online and at the site of the project so that a larger poll of opinions can be gathered and compiled into the final proposal.
The expected impact is co-designing a public space that encourages the dialogue between generations, where events dedicated to learning from each other and planting the seeds for building a better community. Through urban regeneration, people will regain a sense of belonging both for the public space in their vicinity as well as at a personal level regarding the role they play in their own community.
In order to reach this objective, the residents together with the civil society will be invited to discuss, debate and adopt a hands-on approach during organized actions for the revitalization of the public space. From pupils to adults and the seniors of the neighborhood, everyone will have a chance to make their voice heard and contribute to the new space. The actions will be a mix between physical and online consultations in order to facilitate the interaction between generations, but the workshops dedicated to raising awareness on sustainability goals and methods of building a community will be organized on the site of the project. Partners from the civil society will be invited in drafting the schedule for the workshops and come up with solutions as to how an action can help shape a person’s behavior and make it greener.
Developing a sense of belonging for vulnerable groups, in this case the Roma community, is essential in preventing school abandonment and ensuring school becomes a second home for children where they develop and affirm their personality. Most of the pupils come from families who benefit from social assistance a
The method of involving the stakeholders is a bottom-up approach. The first step is organizing a workshop with the participation of representatives of the City Hall and the leaders of the NGOs in order to clearly draft the broad idea of the intervention. The following action includes a sociological study and public consultations in order to identify how the community envisions the future public space. For the consultation to be more inclusive, they have an in-person component, due to seniors’ reticence in using technology, and an online component addressed to the large public. The end users, the children and teenagers, have opportunities to express their needs and vision throughout the regeneration process in order to the final solution to best answer community’s feedback. To a sense of ownership of the space among the residents, there are planned activities such as contributing to the design of the area by painting, planting and assembling the urban furniture. The activities will be planned together with the City Hall and agreed upon as far as the urban vision of the administration adheres to the goals of the regeneration process. Representatives of the educational institutions are key in facilitating the interaction with the young public and will be close partners in implementing the project. Together with local NGOs, schools will be consulted and have a direct communication with the implementation team in order to identify problems and remediate setbacks. This approach ensures the pupils and adults in the community become active actors in the urban life considering the direct democratic access. The best practices and lessons from the implementation process will be compiled and distributed online in order for other urban communities to scale the project.
These examples will be made available through articles published on www.urbanizehub.com for promoting the project on the European and national level. Our channels have reached 1 million people between2020-2022
Climate change and environmental sustainability lessons can be a useful strategy to integrate the Green Deal into the overall school curriculum. Environmental education offers many opportunities to take learning outside the classroom, into the natural world, giving pupils an enjoyable, interactive experience. Therefore, schools can host gardening activities to teach pupils and lay the basis for sustainability in one’s life.
The multidisciplinarity of environmental education, which ecompasses social, cultural, physical and biological topics, highlights its importance in overall education process. All these learnings will be more efficient and long-lasting if they are mixed with direct connection to the real world. Children will be able to brainstorm solutions for current environmental issues and have a better understanding of how policies are created if they understand the origins of these issues. Debating such issues will encourage teamwork in the classroom, encourage out-of-the-box thinking and raise awareness of aspects such as using renewable energy resources. Not only will all this make the environment an essential part of every decision-making process but also enable us to switch to a green and sustainable lifestyle.
Urban designers are responsible for putting together the wishes of the community and translating them into a plan for the public space. For these responses to be collected, a sociologist and an urbanist are in charge of collecting responses from the local community, informing them that the proposals have to be connected with sustainable development goals for regenerating a public space. In order to ensure the scope of the project is sustainable regenerating a public space for educational purposes with a focus on intergenerational transfer of knowledge, an expert in sustainable development will be part of the team.
The representatives of these fields of knowledge will conduct periodic work meetings to ensure coordination.
The project is tailored to meet the needs of a specific disadvantaged area, specifically a city that has experienced population decline and has an economy that was previously based on hard industry. The design of an intergenerational space in a shrinking city is an innovative approach for several reasons:
It addresses the needs of multiple generations by creating a space that is accessible and beneficial for people of all ages, promoting intergenerational interaction and social cohesion.
It responds to the specific challenges of shrinking suburbia, such as population decline and ageing populations, by creating a space that can help revitalise the community.
It integrates different functions and uses, such as recreational and educational opportunities, and community services, to create a more efficient use of resources and a more livable environment.
It incorporates the input and feedback of residents and stakeholders through participatory design methods, ensuring that the final design reflects the needs and preferences of the community, thus enhancing a sense of ownership and engagement among residents.
It fosters new forms of social interaction and collaboration, promoting social innovation and community development.
Overall, the innovative character of the project lies in its ability to address the needs of multiple generations, respond to the specific challenges of shrinking cities, integrate different functions and uses, use participatory design methods and encourage social innovation.
Due to the nature of the project, which is implementing a concept dedicated to creating an intergenerational learning environment, the rate of transferability and scaling is high. The most important aspect which is the core of the project must be the methodology through which the concept can be adapted to other urban communities.
In order to facilitate the transfer of knowledge, a guide will be created at the end of the project for disseminating and promoting the approach. This guide will include participants’ feedbacks and summaries of meaningful outcomes. These outcomes can be categorised into physical and visual changes, the scope and learning outcomes of activities that were held at the centre, but also into inherent developments in residents’ attitudes, such as a growing sense of belonging and of a shared future. The guide will also elaborate upon the conditions that were defining the situation at the start of the project, what changes were planned, what were the methods (community engagement, creative and learning workshops, intergenerational networking events, etc.) through which these changes were implemented and how successful were these actions in accomplishing objectives.
The guide shall, thus, create a framework for assessing relevant objectives and indicators when applying the concept to areas that face similar socio-economic conditions. It shall focus on defining the scale of the project, as in the quantitative and qualitative reach into the community compared to the costs and how these can be translated to instances where numbers, sizes and costs may differ.
The methodology used in our initiative can be summarised in three phases:
Preparation
The project will begin with a thorough preparation process, which includes discussions with all stakeholders and a consultation to present the idea of the project, good practices from other countries, and gather input. The consultation is thought of as a process of generating design directions from the community. Through an exploratory study, socio-demographic structural data will be gathered and the main poles of interest at the present time will be identified. Based on the information gathered, a proposal will be developed by specialists and publicly debated. During the development of the project, the implementation team will apply the horizontal principles referring to gender equality and sustainable development.
Through public consultation, citizens have the opportunity to interact in person with the research team, local authorities and, most importantly, with each other. The main purpose of the public consultation is to generate dialogue between the inhabitants affected by possible changes in the area and representatives of the local administration, who have a direct influence on the project.
Collaboration
Collaboration is a key aspect of the project, and together with the mayor's office, the activities and a calendar will be established to involve citizens in this initiative. The sense of belonging is strengthened because the project allows residents to actively participate in the development of the space.
Implementation
During the implementation phase, the established actions will be carried out by involving the community and encouraging residents to assume ownership of the space. Examples of actions include mural paintings, planting, and installing urban furniture. The project will culminate in a 2-day workshop on sustainable urban development, involving schools, kindergartens, the city, the municipality, the public sector, and civil society.
The topic of shrinking cities in need of investments to reinvent themselves and find a new destiny is one of concern worldwide, especially for those communities which undergo transitions from a certain traditional role to a new one in the economy of the 21st century. In order to provide assistance and a best practice example for Eastern European post-industrial cities, this project also contributes to the touristic potential of the urban areas as well as serving as a point of learning for the citizens, in finding new economic and social opportunities that will suit their needs in a modified environment.
A regenerated urban space has the highest potential to attract people to spend their free time or provide a setting for additional events connected with the vision of the people. Creativity and playfulness are pivotal for children in their path of becoming functional adults and these concepts have to be adapted also in the offer of available inclusive public spaces. Introducing children to the natural world and exposing them to environment literacy could lead to children growing up to being more conscious about their decisions and their impacts on the nature.
The workshops will contribute educating the participants on the basic principles of sustainability and how they can be accomplished by individuals. The topics will include SDGs, defining sustainable priorities for the community, understanding how skills contribute to SDGs and how to design actions together for the people.
In conclusion, the initiative addresses global challenges that ramify into local contexts and have a strong impact on communities traversing structural shifts.
The guide developed to transfer lessons learned and knowledge from the project will be a powerful tool for the community of Reșița. This guide will not only benefit the immediate area, but also serve as a valuable resource for other spaces in the city. The community of Reșița will be equipped with the knowledge and skills to share their experiences and successes with other communities in the city.
The guide will be an important resource for other administrative units which undergo transition from a postindustrial city to a green innovative and community approved city. These communities are facing similar challenges and can benefit from the knowledge and lessons learned in Reșița. The guide will provide them with a roadmap for addressing similar issues and help them to develop spaces to regain a sense of belonging in their own communities.
The guide will be designed to be easily accessible and user-friendly, so that it can be used by a wide range of stakeholders, including community leaders, government officials, and residents. It will cover a range of topics, such as urban design, community engagement, and sustainable development, and will be accompanied by case studies and examples from the Reșița project and beyond.
Involving citizens in the planning of cities in a structural manner may also involve addressing the power imbalance that exists between decision-makers and local communities.
Improved educational curricula on environmental issues is also developed. Non formal education includes organisation of extra-curricular activities like eco development camps, posters and essay-writing competitions, exhibitions, seminars, nature camps, nature-club activities, audio visual slides, mobile exhibitions etc.
The initiative brings sustainable development concepts closer to vulnerable groups and ensures pupils are involved in green practices that will serve as basis for further steps in their education. Moreover, the skills will complement the school curriculum by shaping pupils' mindset regarding sustainability and will contribute to lowering the risk of school abandonment.
