The 6th April at
3:32 hour a lot of people in the centre of Italy ALMA
In the last decades in Europe ,
the crescent diffusion of structures and projects aimed to the involvement of the
community and more generally of local development and integrated public
policies, has lead to a radical shift in new models of approach to the city
planning. Tools like Local Agenda 21, Urban II are methods that simplify the
active participation of people.
Techniques, tools and methodologies for managing participatory processes we can count a
lot. Some
interesting methods and tools suggested method that have a resonance in
contemporary times are:
-GOPP (Goal Oriented Project Planning) is a method
that facilitates the planning and the coordination of projects through a clear
definition of objectives and is part of an integrated approach called PCM
(Project Cycle Management), published in 1993 by the European Commission.
- Metaplan born and spreads in Germany
-Open Space Technology (OST) is a management technique
workshop created in the mid 80's by Harrison Owen. It allows any group of
persons in any type of organization, to make meetings and work particularly
interesting and productive. The methodology, which is based on the self, allows
you to work together on a complex issue, groups with a number of participants
ranging from 5 to 1000 people in a day of workshops, conferences or three days
in the weekly staff meeting.
-Planning for real is a technique used to conduct a
process of participatory urban planning, widely used in northern Europe by members of the New Urbanism. Created and
released by the Neighbourhood Initiatives Foundation, it is an interactive tool
used during the 70s as a tool to give "voice" to the people, and a
clear idea of what
the local community needs to the professionals. It uses a large scale model
(1:300), which is constructed and manipulated directly by local residents to
make suggestions. The goal is to enable local planning and self-consciousness,
overcoming the psychological barriers that often prevent, thus allowing greater
clarity in identifying the problems and solutions of the neighbourhood by its
inhabitants and better communication between them, the engineers and external
consultants.
Participatory planning started in the period
between the late nineteenth and early twentieth century by Patrick Geddes, who theorizes a reform instrument for city
planning in a friendly-environment way, where "place", "people" and "work" are the key words of this method.
Participation is the way to better express the "culture" of the place in all its aspects. The resulting
design processes through the mobilization of individual and collective energies
lead to the creation of environments and spaces respectful of the place. The basis of the design process involved is an element radically different from
the standard practices of planning: the people are no longer passive subjects,
but they become active participants in the design process and through specific knowledge of
places and problems, produce a substantial quality jump.
Local knowledge in its cultural and economic aspects
is the hub of the territorial and social projects.
The enlarged communication, the critical listening, the interpretation of individual and collective needs, the
continuous exchange between participants of the design process outline in a
clear way the real needs, reveal the unspoken needs. The inhabitants become producers of the
territory and the environment. It is important to bring out the ability to be
"protagonist of changes", most of all the young generation.
“Participation is a complex matter. But I still believe that architecture is one of the ways out. The architecture is in fact a model of communication, which potentially everyone could use.” (G. De Carlo)
Credits: progettarepertutti.org, formez.it
Recommended reading:
G. Tagliaventi, Urban Renaissance, Grafis - Bologna
