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Description
Residents of the Slupsk city are only to a limited extent engaged in public issues and participate in public consultations very rarely. This makes it difficult for the city authorities to take decisions on shaping urban space. Planned investments evoke a reaction from residents too late, and then possible modifications to projects are too difficult to carry out. Despite the openness of the authorities and officials to the opinions of residents, the city lacks friendly solutions to facilitate the submission of ideas and concerns. The procedures for public consultation are too difficult and not very attractive to residents, who do not believe that their votes will be taken into account. That is why in this project we want to create good opportunities to involve residents in the process of making decisions about space in the city. Together with officials and residents, we will launch the ‘Our Common Space’ programme and select the areas to create recreational spaces with elements of blue-green infrastructure. We will invite experts in planning spatial solutions in a participatory way. We will involve anyone interested in designing specific solutions for selected spaces. We will encourage all residents to take action to maintain urban spatial order – we will learn together and develop standards for shaping, designing and maintaining urban spaces. The project is implemented in cooperation with partners from Iceland and Croatia.
Summary of project results
The project responds to the need to increase the involvement of Słupsk residents in the processes decision-making, and in particular strives to increase the participation of residents in the activities of important for shaping space in the city. The key partner is the City Słupsk. When carrying out public tasks, the City of Słupsk conducts public consultations with: residents on issues specified in regulations and on matters important for the city
Standards for shaping, designing and maintaining space in Słupsk have been developed and will constitute the basis for selected activities carried out by various administrators of areas in the city that are important for order. spatial - these activities include the development of green areas, design and implementation of small architecture, recreation areas, bicycle paths, development of backyards, etc. The standards will determine many future activities affecting spatial order. New methods of consultation, decision-making and design used in the project. participatory will constitute a valuable lesson for the Polish partners of the project - the conclusions of the methods used will be used to prepare recommendations for the Regulations for consultations in Słupsk and can permanently improve the effectiveness of consulting the interested parties on matters important to residents
The benefits resulting from the activities carried out include, above all, increased awareness among residents in the field of local policies and taking responsibility for their own space. Simultaneously with the ongoing project this year, workshops and meetings on the participatory budget were held in the city, and an increase in applications submitted regarding the development of green areas, neighborhood spaces and spaces serving the common good was noticed. The methods used in the project were also used during activities aimed at increasing the interest of Słupsk residents in the participation tool that is the participatory budget. Thanks to meetings, workshops in various locations in the city and an information campaign in the mass media, a record number of applications was submitted and the number of votes cast was recorded. The number of people taking part in public consultations announced by the city, local meetings, field and research walks also increased. Residents submit more comments and ask more questions about published space development projects
Summary of bilateral results
During the meetings, we exchanged views on the issues addressed by our organizations and those from the point of view of this project. We planned a visit to Reykjavik together. Margrét Steinarsdóttir - the head of Mannréttindaskrifstofa Íslands introduced us to the issues of organizing her work and raising funds for the implementation of statutory goals or cooperation with other associations in the city. An organized meeting with representatives of the Reykjavik City Office, the Human Rights and Democracy Office - Sigurlaug Anna Jóhannsdóttir - director of democracy. We were introduced to programs run by the City of Reykjavik ("My Neighborhood", "Neighborhood Plan", Democratic Policy of the City of Reykjavik 2021-2030); The meeting with Citizens Foundation Iceland and president Robert Bjarnason allowed us to get to know the mission of the foundation, which is to engage people in dialogue and jointly develop innovative ideas that serve the community. The main goal of the foundation''s activities is to help the residents of Reykjavik by creating opportunities for them to speak publicly and encouraging them to participate in management. Without participation there is no democracy, this is a statement that accompanies the members of the organization in all their activities. We learned about ways to engage residents, such as the "Better Reykjavik" campaign/action. The visit was enriched by visits to Grasagaróurinn - a botanical garden in the city center; Óskjuhlio and Perlan - a beautiful forest area / Innovative use of raw materials - Recycled House / Hófói - a famous house in Reykjavik / Odin Square - small, green fingers of the district squares, as well as the Lakjatorg District - living statues, museum art in public space; revitalization of the urban space.