Connecting and training participation experts in Europe, Part of the European Leonardo da Vinci Partnership Program 2012-2014

Visit our website >>> LOCALSQUARES.EU <<<

The Project

The overall objective of LOCAL SQUARES is to contribute to the EU 2020 strategy of promotion of an urban integrated approach by enhancing innovative and participatory practices within a Europe-wide cooperation of VET providers and organizations active in the field of urban planning. LOCAL SQUARES is a training for urban planners that aims at identifying and experiencing participatory approaches in local urban contexts. The Training focuses on the design, development and testing of a toolbox of strategies and approaches to involve a broader diversity of stakeholders in the management of public spaces. LOCAL SQUARES looks at stakeholders (from institutional organizations to unorganised and informal citizens) as fundamental key informants (“daily experts”) who complement the professional knowledge of urban planners. The training combines both perspectives to develop sustainable and integrated strategies for urban planning in European cities.

LOCAL SQUARES is a unique occasion for urban planners to benefit of a know-how transfer of innovative tools within a European setting. The Partnership will involve Partners’ local projects as learning laboratory and, on the other side, make them benefit of the collective expertise of this European network of consultants.

The partners are…

• Interactive Workshop of Europe GbR (DE)
• Local Intelligence (NL)
• PlanSinn GmbH (AT)
• Basurama (ES)
• Catholic University of Louvain (BE)
• INCA Deutschland e.V. (DE)
• Stichting Elos Nederland (NL)
• Asociacion Esta es una Plaza (ES).

Everything started when we observed…

… that public spaces have a great influence in the way people live and interact with their city. An amazing playground for experimenting new lifestyles, connecting people and sharing values.

… that institutions and politics are currently (re)discovering public spaces and acknowledging the need to them differently.

… that citizens, on the other side, are already appropriating themselves of public spaces in their daily life, wthe creative, participated and concrete action (public art, urban gardening etc.)

… that there is a gap of communication and exchange between institutional and citizens practices.

… that resources to work creatively and in participated way with public spaces are already there, but are not connected among each other.

So we asked ourselves

How to establish a dialogue and create synergies among different actors working on PARTICIPATION IN PUBLIC SPACES?