Ecological Transition RO-FR Booklet

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ECOLOGICAL TRANSITION Organisers:

Partners:

Sponsors:

A Romanian-French Perspective


CONTENTS ● ● ●

The story of Citizens and the City in Ecological Transition @ATU 󰐬 Ecological Transition - The Movement in France @aaa 󰏃 Knowledge transfer on ecological transition: ○ ○ ○ ○

#1 Mobilising for air quality in Bucharest @Ecopolis 󰐬 #2 Architecture, urbanism & policy @La Preuve Par 7 󰏃 #3 Education for sustainability @Micile Bucurii 󰐬 #4 Active pedagogy with neighbourhood communities @YA+K 󰏃

Takeaways on opportunities for ecological transition Organisers:

Partners:

Sponsors:


The Story of Citizens and the City in Ecological Transition


Association for urban Transition - ATU ATU is a think-tank for urban issues: urban development and policies, urban culture and heritage, mobility and public space, collective housing and combating social exclusion. The organization promotes a multi / trans / interdisciplinary approach that addresses space as a central topic through its over 70 members belonging to various disciplines: architecture, urbanism, social studies, urban legislation and economics, anthropology, etc. One of the main concerns of ATU is the need to negotiate between the actors of the shared space. Always looking for balance, the organization has shared its knowledge so that civil society has as many opportunities as possible to participate in discussions with economic powers and decision makers. Many ATU projects are therefore associated with participatory democracy and transparent decision-making. ATU has been recognized by the Ministry of Education since 2008 as an independent Research Center. As a lead partner or partner of various universities in research projects, ATU promotes the improvement of living conditions, the improvement of the quality of public space and urban mobility, rural development and heritage protection.

Vera Marin, Founder & President http://atu.org.ro/ atu@atu.org.ro


CITIZENS AND THE CITY IN ECOLOGICAL TRANSITION Nov. 2019 / Bucharest

Feb. 2020 / Bucharest

Oct. 2020 / Timișoara

Project lunching - Citizens and the City in Ecological Transition

Follow-up working sessions with partners

BETA2020 Architecture Biennale

Initiated by aaa and organised by studioBASAR and ATU supported by OAR Bucharest. Features presentations and discussions around Participative Governance, Ecology, Urban Commons and a working session on principles and actions based on current challenges in Bucharest.

Series of workshops to validate the principles and actions mapped in the previous conference and lay the foundations for a collective platform for urban strategies, action areas and potential working scenarios.

Conceptual operationalisation through the COTE Charter -Consolidating the principles from the previous meetings into a mapping of principles for ecological transition to encourage existing and future initiatives to align to a similar way of working in line with the movement’s mission.


WHAT IS THE ECOLOGICAL TRANSITION? Ecological transition is about the planet and the environment at the intersection between physical space and social life. It’s about the city we live in and the ways in which local communities, our relationships and everyday life can support better the environment. The Principles for Ecological Transition helped us start to create a framework for advancing the movement in Romania. Site: http://cote.t-web.ro/

Climate emergency Urban equity

professionalism processes

Ecological economy

Communication

Communities Knowledge

Networks Places


10 PRINCIPLES

places There is a need for accessible spaces to everyone in which communities have the opportunity to meet, explore and apply, through

Places for real life demonstrations

concrete actions, the principles of ecological transition.

of ecological transition (collaboration)

Site: http://cote.t-web.ro/

Places for ecological practices are those spaces where groups of people who have common ideas or who share the same neighborhood (communities) act together. The focus of their actions is on collaboration to save natural resources. The meeting places are extremely important because they are also DEMONSTRATIONS that anyone can see and which anyone can actually contribute to.


10 principles

knowledge Knowledge about and for the

Ecological and civic knowledge must be produced and used by the city’s inhabitants, both children and adults, by its public institutions and economic agents, by civic groups and experts. The ecological transition values and develops a collective knowledge which is co produced and disseminated within the community. This knowledge is based on mutual learning, becoming relevant in the local context.

ecological transition (education and training)

Site: http://cote.t-web.ro/

By ecological knowledge we understand the formal and informal programs of education, as well as diverse living practices in the city. The ecological transition takes place through different instances, such as inhabitants’ everyday practices, like producing food in the city, together with expanding their technical capacities, like understanding the way pollution is measured independently. Moreover, through civic groups’ actions for sustainable development of their communities, a knowledge urban legislation mechanism is acquired in support of ecological transition.


10 principles

communities Communities of people strongly involved in the ecological transition (bottom-up initiatives)

Site: http://cote.t-web.ro/

People who have a strong sense of belonging to a place need to know each other and act together for the efficient use of natural resources. They need recognition and support in order to develop experiences for their benefit and for the environment in which they live, and to make these experiences visible among neighbors.

The capacity of communities to act for ecological transition is conditioned by the public recognition of initiatives that start from brave and creative people. But these people need encouragement and support from other people. Communities in ecological transition must be characterized by openness, inclusion, responsibility for common needs, co-production and knowledge sharing in order to address the climate emergency. Supporting communities is a way to approach the ecological transition, both as a product of the community and as a generator of community, by encouraging community involvement, public recognition and integrating the idea of participation into local identity and pride.


10 principles

processes Participative processes of decision making for the ecological transition (inclusiveness and dialogue)

Site: http://cote.t-web.ro/

The decisions for the common resources (apart from the public budget, the water, the air or the biodiversity are considered common resources as well) must be taken in a participative manner. The rights and duties of each category of urban actors, must be defined through a legal and methodological framework adapted to the participative principle. This has to be clearly communicated and applied in all situations. By participative processes of decision making we understand the ways of governing the city, the country, or the planet through an institutionalized dialogue (compulsory and clearly defined) between those who make decisions in what public resources are concerned, and different groups of citizens and communities which can contribute to the ecological transition - especially those marginalized until now. Such a legislative and methodological framework creates opportunities and offers solid and efficient tools that encourage collaboration, by including the voice of the communities and that of vulnerable groups as well. This participative approach to decision making requires the dismissal of the current top down perspective. Resources are needed, in order to create proper conditions for dialogue (collaborative instruments, hybrid institutions and specific knowledge operated by facilitators).


10 principles

networks Networks for collective impact (established connections)

Site: http://cote.t-web.ro/

There is a great need for groups of neighbors, teachers, activists, scientists, leaders from all society sectors who care about ecology, to start knowing each other and start communicating. Only in this way can a common agenda of public communication and advocacy (effort to convince decision-makers) be developed, so that the issue of climate urgency may be brought into as many spaces for debate and decision as possible. Collective impact of networks means the coalition between groups and the formation of influential networks (political, academic, administrative, corporate social responsibility-CSR, etc.). The influence is required in order to form alliances among and between nonprofit, profit and public segments, so that programs with this kind of impact are applied cross-sectoral, both at a national and local scale. People concerned about the ecological transition are more courageous and efficient when they have the opportunity to see examples and to exchange experiences with other people who have similar concerns. Sources of information and ways of online communication are very valuable, but there is also a need for both online and offline ways to confirm this network membership. Although locally active, these networks must be connected to the global movement for ecological transition through network nodes: people who have biographical and professional relationships with other network nodes in other geographical areas.


10 principles

PROFESSIONALISM Professionalism in planning and design (input from experts) Site: http://cote.t-web.ro/

Databases and their interpretation by professionals are an essential condition for planning and design that will ensure a built background, appropriate for sustainable development. The transition to ecology in all aspects of contemporary life requires planning and design processes in which specialists from various fields collaborate permanently. Although in the academic environment, the knowledge is offered to specialists, they rarely end up introducing solutions that would contribute to the ecological transition in urban planning or technical documentation. The design of the 21st century means assuming that an important aim is to reduce the consequences produced by carbon dioxide in the built environment. And planning involves interdisciplinarity and professionalism in all stages of participatory processes (previous principle), analysis, at various scales, of the needs and potential of a specific space (immediate neighborhood, neighborhood, locality, metropolitan area, county, region, the whole country), formulating different proposals and evaluating each proposal according to a complex set of criteria, and finally setting solutions in an appropriate regulatory framework (urban planning regulations, norms). As well, planning should also include a proper management of public and private resources, so that these will always reach the objectives set, setting implementation plans that show the roles and the ways of collaboration between urban actors, and as well should include the assessment of the results obtained after implementation, according to indicators of systematic evaluation.


10 principles

climate emergency Climate emergency as a filter for public decision

Site: http://cote.t-web.ro/

The consequences of climate change are already visible in Romania. Public investments from local, national and European budgets are necessary in order to ameliorate the existing situation and to inform the communities. Priorities in public decisions must be set according to climate urgency criteria. Adapting to climate change means saving natural resources and creating resources for resilient communities. In cities, this involves ensuring diversity in the production of goods and services, providing facilities that improve microclimate and air quality, and allow the storage or dissipation of large quantities of water in a short time, etc. Resilient communities are those in which there is social diversity and close connections between urban actors, a good knowledge of the needs of vulnerable groups and a constant mapping of available resources.


10 principles

communication Communication for the dissemination of ecological practices (journalism, new narrative)

Site: http://cote.t-web.ro/

Environmental practices and methods of counteracting the effects of climate change must be responsibly documented and communicated by the media, state institutions, business companies, organizations of all kinds and individuals. Communicating and making the ecological transition measures visible to the general public can transform participation in this movement into a respectable and socially rewarding activity (recognition and appreciation of being informed and contributing to the ecological transition). A new narrative based on a recent history of climate change and successful actions in the ecological transition, transmitted in an accessible way can contribute to the change of the techno-ecological paradigm at the level of a mass culture. Only with these clear beliefs and ideas can the general public put enough pressure on policy makers and economic actors to make the urgency of the ecological transition more obvious. It can thus be presented, in an accessible way, - this new narrative can therefore support the awareness of a change of techno-ecological paradigm at the level of popular / mass culture.


10 principles

ecological economy Regulations for responsible economic operators and encouraging economic models adapted to climate change

Site: http://cote.t-web.ro/

Economic operators that respect the environment and promote a responsible consumption have to be encouraged. Alternative economic practices based on caring for the planet have to be recognized and supported. Firm regulations are needed for systemic change and for a sustainable economic model. The ecological economy is based on the fact that there is no unlimited growth and that the Earth is a system in which excessive consumption and abusive exploitation have led to imbalances in the distribution of benefits and costs. Regulating and taxing companies that abusively exploit non-renewable resources can be an incentive to change the behavior of economic agents. Encouraging alternative and diverse economic models can lead to an ethical, socially and environmentally equitable economy. An ecological transition in the economy is conditioned by public decisions that can be politically implemented only if there are enough voices calling for regulations and encouragement for responsible economic agents and ethical economic practices.


10 principles

The ecological transitions require an equitable city, where its inhabitants can access and collectively use the existing resources. Here, diverse communities are participating in the construction of a democratic, inclusive and sustainable society. These structural transformations are asking for national policies which value social cohesion, not just the economic competition. The quality of life for the city inhabitants is strongly influenced by the decisions related to housing, public transport or public space. Thus, such decisions should take into account the needs of all the categories of inhabitants.

urban equity

Any inhabitant of the city should have the possibility to live in a safe and decent house, to travel anywhere in the city, to benefit from medical care, to learn and have access to qualitative public spaces. All these social needs are asking for investments and require a balanced spatial layout. These resources should not maintain or generate inequality in the city, but instead should follow the principle of equity.

Equitable distribution and universal

Through urban equity we understand the access - in the proximity of the house – for any inhabitant of the city to civic institutions (parks, libraries, community centres), to public infrastructure (education, culture, health, transport, utilities networks), to common resources (water, air, land, biodiversity). In an equitable city, all its inhabitants are city makers and can contribute to the production and redistribution of the resources and to the wellbeing throughout the entire territory of the city (spatial equity).

access to the public resources.

Site: http://cote.t-web.ro/


MAPPING - ROMANIA The project has continued since 2020 through the online community and more recently with the support of the French Embassy in Romania through the updated projects Citizens and the City in Ecological Transition - towards a strategic platform for action: ●

● ●

Mapping the initiatives that respond to ecological urgency and the need for change through direct action Creating a public map for project awareness Opening up the dialogue and common action for systemic change


FROM MAPPING TO COMMUNITY BUILDING We ran a survey in April 2021 to uncover over 50 initiatives and researched a further 100 in order to map the movement in Romania. Despite the numerous initiatives identified, ecological transition is still not anchored within a community. This is something we hope to develop in the future.


MAPPING THE INITIATIVES IN ROMANIA There are already numerous initiatives in Romania that promote the ecological transition through their activities from urban gardens or local community groups to online communities or sustainable businesses.


THE NEEDS OF LOCAL ACTORS Access to specialists

xx

Financing (access to funding) Know-how transfer, resources, good practices Networks and collaboration

Legal context

Infrastructure (partners, operational, human resources)


Ecological Transition in France


Atelier d’Architecture Autogeree aaa is a collective platform for exploration, action and research around urban change and the emerging cultural, social and political practices of the contemporary city. aaa acts through 'urban tactics', by promoting the participation of inhabitants in the self-management of abandoned urban spaces, by relativizing contradictions and bypassing stereotypes through nomadic and reversible projects, by initiating interstitial practices that explore potentialities contemporary cities (populations, mobility, temporalities). It is through micropolitical action that we want to participate in making the city more ecological and more democratic, in making local spaces less dependent on processes from above and more accessible to their users. The "self-managed architecture" is an architecture of relationships, processes and arrangements of people, desires, know-how. Such an architecture does not correspond to a liberal practice, does not involve building after building contracts; it is part of new forms of association and collaboration, based on exchanges and reciprocities with all those concerned (individuals, organizations, institutions), on whatever scale they are located. Our architecture is both political and poetic because it is first and foremost a "connection between worlds".

Doina Petrescu, Co-Founder www.urbantactics.org aaa@urbantactics.org


Source: R Urban / Networks of civic resilience

ECOLOGICAL TRANSITION @aaa


Knowledge transfer between France & Romania Good Practice examples


��🇴 ECOPOLIS Centre for resources on sustainable policies


Ecopolis Centre for resources on sustainable policies 2019: Launched aerlive.ro, an independent air quality monitoring platform in Bucharest with 3 purposes: • Engaging citizens in a collaborative platform • Determining authorities to act on air quality NOW! • Raising awareness on air quality issues in Bucharest Result: sensors made visible an unknown problem, the illegal burning of waste and materials in the outskirts of the city. 2021: Launched AerArs campaign, an online platform for informing citizens and the authorities, together with lobbying for change through media campaigns and public policy proposals. Results: put air quality on the public agenda together with the Integrated Plan for Air Quality and new legislative projects on monitoring pollution and limiting the spread of burnt materials. 2021: Lake Morii initiative aimed at improving air quality through the creation of the largest Natural Urban Park of Bucharest.

Oana Neneciu, Executive Director https://www.ecopolis.org.ro oana@ecopolis.org.ro


��🇷 LA PREUVE PAR 7 Experimental architecture, urbanism and landscape


LA PREUVE PAR 7 Mission: working towards an ecological transition through architecture, urbanism, and policy. This happens through a tripartite governance structure between elected officials, urban developers and civil society. The core idea behind the movement is that of the “architectural permanence” which sees projects and buildings being redesigned while still being lived in. This means that buildings are gradually renovated and immediately integrated in the life of the city and local community through modulated use. Project Lunel Mission: Like 3,000 others across France, the old Lunel station has lost its railway function. While the new mobility hub is being built around the current station, how can we find uses for it in line with contemporary lifestyles and travel?

Project Billom Mission: Towns can become dormant, like many others in the outer suburbs of Clermont-Ferrand. Who really lives in Pérignat-ès-Allier and Billom?

Emilie Flamme, Member https://lapreuvepar7.fr/ contact@lapreuvepar7.fr


��🇴 MICILE BUCURII Sustainability Community


MICILE BUCURII (LITTLE JOYS) Mission: Journey to a life in harmony with nature. When the hands, mind and soul work together to live in a sustainable way, then people and nature can coexist in harmony. Community born in 2018 to remind people about our vital connection to nature and the need to protect it and live better. In 2020, the community became an NGO. Activity and types of projects linked to nature & climate: ● ● ● ●

Educational projects, talks on sustainability Workshops, DiY projects and events for the public Eco-entrepreneurship by supporting local businesses Trainings, crash courses and workshops for companies

Presence online through 2 communities: ● ●

Little Joys around sustainable education Barter Place based on sharing economy principles

Initiated other projects on sustainability as well: ●

Climate Collage | Deplastificat | Live digital talks

Roxana Buzetelu, Founder https://micilebucurii.ro/ roxana@micilebucurii.ro


��🇷 YA+K Arch-urban-design-cultural collective


YA+K COLLECTIVE NGO working and experimenting around intermediary urbanism and situated architecture at the intersection of ecological, economic, social and cultural practices. Main strategy used in projects is creating a common culture from and with the space by focusing on 3 areas: ● ● ●

Identities - creating imaginaries of the place Relations - engaging with actions and gests Stories - documenting and telling experiential stories

The idea behind YA+K methods is to rethink architects into placemakers and push professionals to rethink their practices around function (profession) and place (social), methods of creation and representation, formats and forms. Etienne Delprat, Member https://www.yakcollective.org


OPPORTUNITIES FOR ECOLOGICAL TRANSITION


FOR MORE DETAILS:

📹 The Ecological Transition in RO & FR - Event Recording

final event recording


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