LED 2016 Group H Landscape Democracy Challenge 4

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Rationale: Why have you chosen this case for the landscape and democracy seminar?

• Why is this case relevant?

I’ve chosen a demolished fenced storehouses area, placed in the Horta-Guinardò district of Barcelona, because it’s a local and medium scale site witch could represent a common situation in european cityscape, where citizens looking for interfaces area to connect with. It’s a place really close to my apartment, so I’m emotionally connected with it. It’s make part of my daily landscape, indeed I can observe it from my windows at the 11th floor or I can pass by to go to the metro stop. Also I think, there is a lack of community and green public spaces in the city. I would like to keep it as no-building area and convert it in an Urban Open Space Citizens Laboratory. I think it could be a good starting point for improve community testing space for sustainable and community building-up practices in the neighborhood.

Representation of your observations

• you are basically free to use one or a mix of different presentation techniques
• possibilities are: analytical drawings, graphical representations, collages, video clips, comic/graphic novel, written essay/visual essay
• please add any visual material to the gallery, videos can be placed below, you may add text as you like

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  case representation

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Reflection

What are the major challenges for changing the situation?

The first thing I see as challenge for changing the situation, is about district daily life separation due to the accentuated topography and the facilities placement faraway from that area. Barcelona citizen has a really strong sense of the neighborhood and their routine is almost made in a proximity of 500 m area. If that situation is true in the flat neighborhood of the city, in case topography accident is more evident. That’s why I personally see the continuous community engagement as a potential problem. The second one, is about the public license for the use of the space during design or/and construction phases. It would have to confer in a little time in order to not lost the citizen participation. Furthermore, the public and /or private fundraising could be change the quality of design and actors engagement.

What could be a starting point for democractically-based change?

It could be a really good starting point design a button-up program proposal and trying to connect with similar project in the city in order to create a network and obtain social support. Further, it could be useful to make a powerful program to “wake up” the citizens emotional sense of place, starting to engage closer schools and community association. At the same time, it would be beneficial organizing fundraising events and start a dialogue with town administration and political actors.

References

• http://ajuntament.barcelona.cat/ecologiaurbana/es/pla-buits (Barcelona empy spaces planning program)
• http://connecthort.wordpress.com/ (community veggy garden in Barcelona)
• https://www.glasgow.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=17879 (stalled places in Glasgow)
• http://www.foodurbanism.org/ (case studies of urban food production)
• http://www.giardinincampo.com/ (italian association for community garden design)

• Please make sure that you give proper references of all external resources used.
• Do not use any images of which you do not hold the copyright.
• Please add internet links to other resources if necessary.

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