Description
The project aims at strengthening public participation in four districts of Gdańsk: Orunia, Osowa, Wrzeszcz Górny and Ujeścisko, through inviting local communities (inhabitants, district councils, NGOs) to take part in the city planning process. Four district micro-strategies will be developed. A tool for social space planning and cooperation between district officials and inhabitants will be created. The project will be implemented in partnership with Gdańsk Technical University, Sopot Graduate School, and in cooperation with City Hall of Gdańsk, in particular its Bureau for Development of Gdańsk and Roads and Green Areas Directorate. Students of the partner universities will participate in the project - prospective specialists in city planning will learn competencies in public participation methods. To sum up the project, a conference will be organised and a publication will be prepared presenting good practices in participatory city planning.The partners (two universities) will give courses on participatory planning processes and engage their students as volunteers in the project.
Summary of project results
"The project came as a response to the diagnosed poor social participation level in the process of planning public space in Gdańsk, absence of the vision for urban and social development within districts and the lack of consistency between citizen-driven initiatives and actual municipal investments. The objective of the project was to empower citizens, district councilors, local politicians, officials, municipal town planners and independent urban planners to develop the urban and social micro strategy for four districts: Orunia, Osowa, Wrzeszcz Górny, and Ujeścisko. Drawing on workshops, independent town planners drafted the framework of the multiannual district development plan that reflected priorities of local initiatives (e.g. the participatory budget) and became a viable vehicle in lobbying for amendments in urban planning and investments across all districts in question. Micro strategies were leveraged to help citizens formulate conclusions for the participatory budget, update the Land Use Plan, and design the future revitalization plan for the district of Orunia. 60 hours of workshops were delivered at partner universities for citizen-facing 40 volunteers - students of architecture and urban planning. Development of micro strategies was driven by the participatory strategic planning and town planning mentorship methodology. 60 hours of workshops in participatory planning delivered to more than 100 citizens from four districts contributed to identification of four micro strategies. All these activities were extensively covered on local websites (in more than 40 features). The project was recapped during a conference (120 participants) and in a publication (200 copies) that has been released on-line. Project beneficiaries included citizens from four district of Gdańsk, district councilors, and the local government. Its partners - Gdańsk University of Technology and Sopot University of Applied Science - trained volunteers, were accountable for editing releases and the substantive aspect of workshops and conferences. The project team had an opportunity to reinforce their competencies in developing town planning participatory tools by tapping into resources of local universities."
Summary of bilateral results