Enunciado del seminario de Paisaje Transversal en la UEM

Universidad Europea de Madrid. st Academic Year 2012‐2013, 1 Trimester

City Planning – Ordenación de la ciudad

“Participative approaches in urban planning: the (re) building of the city as a physical and social space” Seminar‐workshop with Paisaje Tansversal

Campus of Villaviciosa de Odón, 19 December 2012

Practical activity: the simulation of a participative process

Contents:

1. The game: instructions and phases

2

1.1.

The spatial context of the urban renewal intervention

3

1.2.

Suggested strategic lines of action

4

1.3.

The four questions: What, Who, With Whom, and How.

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1.

The game: instructions and phases

Students are requested to work in groups to elaborate proposals about how to focus a participative process for the implementation of an integrate urban renewal plan in a given urban area.

The main features of the area of intervention (inspired by Virgen de Begogna case) are briefly described below (point 1.1). The neighborhood is portrayed mainly in terms of problems and opportunities both make reference both to spatial and social issues.

A guideline about the possible strategies of intervention is also offered in order to facilitate students’ task (point 1.2).

The groups will have to answer to four main questions about the strategies to employ, the professional team that would be necessary to implement those strategies, the interlocutors or partners that should be involved, and the specific participative approach that it would be employed with each main actor or category of participants.

The outcomes of each group will have to be presented at the end of the discussion session (30 minutes). During the discussion session, participant professors and Paisaje Transversal team will be available to give advice to the groups. After the presentations, students will have to vote the group proposals in order to elect the best option.

UEM ‐ Universidad Europea de Madrid. Academic Year 2012‐2013, 1st Semester City Planning – Ordenación de la Ciudad

“Participative approaches in urban planning: the (re) building of the city as a physical and social space” Seminar‐workshop with Paisaje Tansversal; 19 December 2012

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1.1.

The spatial context of the urban renewal intervention

Virgen de Begoña, located in north Madrid, is just an example of the over 200 open block estates detected as priority intervention areas, due to their current urban deterioration. Many of the vulnerabilities found in this district have also been noticed in the other open‐block estates of these “intermediate outskirts”: building inadequacy and obsolescence, poor quality of the urbanization and lack of public space identity, weakened demographic and socioeconomic structure.

These are the main negative points (or issues) of the neighborhood:

¾ Bad conditions of the public or common private‐owned spaces ¾ Lack of social and cultural equipments ¾ Bad conditions of accessibility, especially for specific cathegories (elder people, disabled, children) ¾ Negative externalities: noise due to nearby motorway traffic and railway ¾ Lack of car parks ¾ Phenomena of privatization of the public space (also as a consequence of the lack of car parks) ¾ Episodes of vandalism ¾ Lack of economical activities (especially in the ground street level of the buildings) ¾ Unbalanced demographic profile: aged population and few elements of attraction for potential young dwellers

By the way, there are also a few good points, in terms of opportunities, to point out. These are: Principales oportunidades del lugar:

¾ High level of social activism in the local community, that counts with a quite structured neighborhood association ¾ Strategic location of the neighborhood (proximity to urban project area of Chamartín) ¾ Existence of strong borders that clearly delimit the neighborhood as a kind of “island”, facilitating within it the relationships among its inhabitants (enforcing sense of proximity and reciprocity) ¾ High integration of immigrant population in the local community ¾ Low crime index ¾ Proximity of the neighborhood to Ramon y Cajal General Hospital UEM ‐ Universidad Europea de Madrid. Academic Year 2012‐2013, 1st Semester City Planning – Ordenación de la Ciudad

“Participative approaches in urban planning: the (re) building of the city as a physical and social space” Seminar‐workshop with Paisaje Tansversal; 19 December 2012

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¾ Proximity of the neighborhood to relevant industrial areas (Avenida Llano Castellano and Polígono industrial Herrera Oria) ¾ Majority of middleclass population (higher economical capacity and cultural resources) ¾ Quite good public transport communication with the city centre (via subways) ¾ Good relationships with others close neighborhoods of the district.

1.2.

Suggested strategic lines of action

Suggested strategies are listed below. Groups have to organize the following steps of their participative approach (see the “four questions”) coherently to the strategies they selected as a priority.

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Strategy 1: Improvement of the accessibility and mobility conditions

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Strategy 2: Refurbishment and improvement of the public space and the urban landscape features

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Strategy 3: Integration and improvement of the green areas

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Strategy 4: Creation of new equipments or facilities meant to make the neighborhood more attractive to potential city users, investors, and future dwellers (“barrio marketing”)

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Strategy 5: Creation of new cultural equipments (of improvement of the existing ones) meant to be meeting points for the enforcement of the sense of belonging and identity among the members of the local community.

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Strategy 6: Contrast of the demographic weakness of the population through the attraction of new young dwellers

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Strategy 7: Attraction of new economic activities through the promotion of possible local physical & social resources (available properties, good location, skilled population, etc.)

UEM ‐ Universidad Europea de Madrid. Academic Year 2012‐2013, 1st Semester City Planning – Ordenación de la Ciudad

“Participative approaches in urban planning: the (re) building of the city as a physical and social space” Seminar‐workshop with Paisaje Tansversal; 19 December 2012

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1.3.

The four questions: What, Who, With Whom, and How.

Being the general objective the improvement of the neighborhood, in the development of the the task groups have to set out a participative strategy by answering these four following questions:

¾ Which are your main strategies? (groups have to chose three among the ones that have been suggested)

¾ Which professional profiles, skills or expertise would you integrate in your planning team? (these should be coherent with the selected strategies)

¾ Who would you contact or involve in the implementation process of your strategies? (such as institutions, neighborhood groups, companies, activists, specific networks, big investors, environmental associations, etc.)

¾ Which would be your participative approach to involve the selected partners or interlocutors?

The answers elaborated by the groups will be presented in the presentation session.

UEM ‐ Universidad Europea de Madrid. Academic Year 2012‐2013, 1st Semester City Planning – Ordenación de la Ciudad

“Participative approaches in urban planning: the (re) building of the city as a physical and social space” Seminar‐workshop with Paisaje Tansversal; 19 December 2012

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