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Description
The Local Activity Lab is a project carried out by three organisations forming the Active City Collective in three neighbourhoods of the City of Poznan: Główna, Wilda and Dębiec. Its aim is to increase social activity and the sense of influence of these neighborhoods'' residents on the development of their immediate environment. As part of the project, we are setting up a group of local leaders (in particular youth and young adults), who will become involved in decision-making processes concerning the appearance and functionality of the space in the three neighborhoods. We are creating a development programme for the residents on environmental protection, ecology and local sustainability. We are carrying out a series of expert workshops and consultations, including conducting a diagnosis of the resources and problems of public space in the context of urban ecology, green and blue infrastructure development, rivers and riparian areas in the neighbourhoods. Next, the leaders will design and construct green common spaces, implement ecological initiatives in their neighbourhoods, run a social campaign addressing one of the diagnosed problems, and submit a joint project to the City of Poznan''s Participatory Budget. The project will be summarised in a publication – a notebook of good practices.
Summary of project results
The project was to address the problems of engaging local communities in pro-ecological activities in three housing estates (districts) of Poznań – Główna, Wilda and Zielone Dębiec. The aim of the project was also to increase social activity and the sense of influence on the immediate surroundings by appointing a group of local leaders who would engage in decision-making processes regarding the appearance and functionality of the space of the three housing estates.
As part of the project, the Local Activity Workshop was established, which was a development program for residents in the field of environmental protection, ecology and sustainable development in the local dimension. As part of educational and participatory activities, we carried out a series of expert workshops and consultations (including diagnosis of resources and problems of public space in the context of urban ecology, green and blue infrastructure, rivers and coastal areas in housing estates). As part of the project, we carried out a series of expert interdisciplinary workshops on water, greenery and design of urban spaces, participatory tools, as well as creating a social campaign in the form of 5 weekend meetings. In addition, we conducted 3 research walks mapping the green and blue infrastructure of individual housing estates, as well as a number of consultations on the diagnosis of resources and problems in the context of the green and blue infrastructure of the aforementioned housing estates. Thanks to the collected data and acquired competences, the group of leaders: — designed and implemented green common neighbourhood spaces – 3 community gardens on Główna, Wilda and Zielone Dębiec — implemented ecological initiatives in housing estates – we implemented a total of 16 initiatives (ideas, actions, activities implemented by residents of Poznań), — programmed a social campaign addressing one of the previously diagnosed problems (the problem of high sunlight and urban heat islands) – the social campaign had two stages, and two films were also created, which were presented in the media and social media, — submitted three jointly written projects to the Poznań Citizens'' Budget — designed and published a publication summarising the implementation of the project – a notebook of good practices, which was then distributed free of charge.
Among the soft results — which we learned thanks to conducting the evaluation study — it is worth paying attention to the benefits of participating in the project for the recipients. They can be grouped into 3 main categories: I. Results related to establishing new acquaintances: 1) Networking, the opportunity to meet people interested in the topic of involvement in the matters of the immediate environment (both experts and participants), a chance to enter the environment 2) Creating opportunities to establish potential cooperation or joint initiatives in the future 3) Meeting people who share similar values (related to the willingness to act and get involved in matters of the space) - this gives a sense of belonging 4) Positive reinforcement, "wind in the sails" for further action 5) Inspiring the desire to apply the observed methods of action to one''s own activities, also in local contexts with which they are associated II. Results related to a positive change in internal attitude and stance towards socially engaged activities: 6) Increasing openness to diversity and deconstructing stereotypes 7) Developing a sense of agency, influence and willingness to further engage in solving problems related to the immediate environment and local community 8) Sense of fulfillment, satisfaction III. Results related to acquiring new/developing knowledge and skills: 9) Acquiring new knowledge and skills. This particularly referred to the educational part of the project – materials received, opportunities for discussion and sharing information related to water and greenery issues. 10) Gaining knowledge about what is happening in the city, finding out who is dealing with local issues and who you can work with in the future. 11) A chance to gain practical experience and test your skills in action.