enDansa
Basic information
Project Title
enDansa
Full project title
enDansa: age-friendly neighbourhood
Category
Prioritising the places and people that need it the most
Project Description
This project arises from the need to adapt the city to the different needs of its population. The COVID19 pandemic revealed the lack of adaptation of everyday environments, hindering people's quality of life, especially the elderly. The project proposes a collaborative construction of an intervention catalog to adapt a neighborhood to the necessities of old people through the use of an innovative methodology that incorporates body perception and community dance as an approaching method.
Geographical Scope
Local
Project Region
Valencia, Spain
Urban or rural issues
Mainly urban
Physical or other transformations
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)
EU Programme or fund
No
Description of the project
Summary
The project presented here arises from the need to adapt the city to the different needs of its population. The COVID19 pandemic has revealed more than ever the lack of adaptation of everyday environments, hindering people's quality of life, especially the elderly, who have been the most vulnerable population in this situation. The project proposes the collaborative construction of an intervention catalog to adapt the Nazareth neighborhood to the needs of old people through the use of an innovative methodology that incorporates body perception and community dance as a method of approaching the needs of this group.
The project has the overall aim of training architecture students and professors through innovative approaches, providing them with resources and tools to learn how to address spatial requirements and needs of civil society through body experiences, thus increasing the adequacy of architectural studies based on the UE principles of active and inclusive citizenship, unity, diversity, cultural and environmental awareness. As specific objectives, EnDansa seeks to create sustainable networks between the School of Architecture and different local organizations and to provide the residents of the Nazareth neighbourhood with resources that help them demand specific solutions from the administration to achieve an age-friendly neighbourhood.
To do this, the 4 helix innovation model is used through a collaboration between the UPV School of Architecture, the Public Administration, civil society entities and professionals from different fields to develop a project in 4 phases. A first participatory diagnosis, a second phase of analysis and spatial reflection through the body, a third phase of creative return and a final phase of elaboration of results. The results include the intervention catalog, and a Methodological Guide for Intervention and Evaluation to achieve inclusive cities, reproducible in multiple contexts with the aim of contributing to a fairer society.
The project has the overall aim of training architecture students and professors through innovative approaches, providing them with resources and tools to learn how to address spatial requirements and needs of civil society through body experiences, thus increasing the adequacy of architectural studies based on the UE principles of active and inclusive citizenship, unity, diversity, cultural and environmental awareness. As specific objectives, EnDansa seeks to create sustainable networks between the School of Architecture and different local organizations and to provide the residents of the Nazareth neighbourhood with resources that help them demand specific solutions from the administration to achieve an age-friendly neighbourhood.
To do this, the 4 helix innovation model is used through a collaboration between the UPV School of Architecture, the Public Administration, civil society entities and professionals from different fields to develop a project in 4 phases. A first participatory diagnosis, a second phase of analysis and spatial reflection through the body, a third phase of creative return and a final phase of elaboration of results. The results include the intervention catalog, and a Methodological Guide for Intervention and Evaluation to achieve inclusive cities, reproducible in multiple contexts with the aim of contributing to a fairer society.
Key objectives for sustainability
The project seeks not only the development of a new methodology to analyse the built environment through dance and body perception but also to generate a catalogue of solutions resulting from this analysis in order to improve the living conditions of older people through the achievement of an age-friendly city.
The catalogue develops a selection of parameters that are considered relevant to generate environments that welcome all people equally, both regarding housing and public space. Classified in five areas (1. connectivity, 2. diversity, 3. security and autonomy, 4. well-being and comfort, 5. identity and community), each of the reflected elements is described in a generic way with references to the current reality of the Nazareth neighbourhood of Valencia.
The solutions provided include increasing connectivity and reinforcing proximity and walkability by improving and expanding the pedestrian networks, which must be continuous and wide enough, as well as betting on intermodal, sustainable, and affordable mobility. Other proposed interventions, included in the catalogue, seek to guarantee acoustic, light, and thermal comfort, and there are also different actions that promote renaturalization and microclimatic improvement, increasing biodiversity, including shadow areas, and guaranteeing adequate ventilation.
All these lines of action imply a reduction in private mobility and, consequently, a reduction in emissions. Moreover, the catalogue generates a framework for the development of solutions based on nature that contribute to transforming cities into places where people can live in harmony with nature. The solutions provided also seek to contribute to the regeneration of our ecosystems and the increase of our environmental awareness in order to be conscious of our interdependence and the importance of taking care of each other and our environment.
The catalogue develops a selection of parameters that are considered relevant to generate environments that welcome all people equally, both regarding housing and public space. Classified in five areas (1. connectivity, 2. diversity, 3. security and autonomy, 4. well-being and comfort, 5. identity and community), each of the reflected elements is described in a generic way with references to the current reality of the Nazareth neighbourhood of Valencia.
The solutions provided include increasing connectivity and reinforcing proximity and walkability by improving and expanding the pedestrian networks, which must be continuous and wide enough, as well as betting on intermodal, sustainable, and affordable mobility. Other proposed interventions, included in the catalogue, seek to guarantee acoustic, light, and thermal comfort, and there are also different actions that promote renaturalization and microclimatic improvement, increasing biodiversity, including shadow areas, and guaranteeing adequate ventilation.
All these lines of action imply a reduction in private mobility and, consequently, a reduction in emissions. Moreover, the catalogue generates a framework for the development of solutions based on nature that contribute to transforming cities into places where people can live in harmony with nature. The solutions provided also seek to contribute to the regeneration of our ecosystems and the increase of our environmental awareness in order to be conscious of our interdependence and the importance of taking care of each other and our environment.
Key objectives for aesthetics and quality
One of the key objectives of the project is to get architecture students to approach the physical and social reality of the Nazareth neighborhood, experiencing space through contemporary dance. It is about being able to experience spatiality from a more corporeal than mental perspective, awakening and activating all the senses, and thus becoming aware of characteristics and realities that we usually do not pay attention to, either because they are too normalized or because they are always secondary. Insights gained in these workshops enrich the project practice, making it richer and more inclusive for all.
The dance we use is inclusive and accessible to all participants. It gives great importance to the processes activated when dancing and allows each one, with its nature and characteristics, to experience, feel, and express itself with its own body and movement. Its value does not reside in the mastery of the technique or in the idea of reproducing choreographies or forms. EnDansa proposes a way of dancing that explores places of pleasure and satisfaction but also situations that can be uncomfortable, provoking questions that do not have an immediate answer or a known solution.
EnDansa is committed to a dance that makes visible, in a clear and concise way, its connections with architecture, emphasizing the fact of breaking the borders between disciplines and avoiding the pigeonholing of knowledge to open new ways of looking at the world.
Three outputs of the project were a stage show, an exhibition and a round table. Students and elderly residents of Natzaret collaborate on the stage show in order to bring the project to the fore and to increase awareness and critical thinking in the audience in relation to the project's main items: elderly needs and architectural education. Secondly, the aim was to link average citizens to artistic processes, familiarizing them with contemporary languages so they could express themselves freely about what is happening.
The dance we use is inclusive and accessible to all participants. It gives great importance to the processes activated when dancing and allows each one, with its nature and characteristics, to experience, feel, and express itself with its own body and movement. Its value does not reside in the mastery of the technique or in the idea of reproducing choreographies or forms. EnDansa proposes a way of dancing that explores places of pleasure and satisfaction but also situations that can be uncomfortable, provoking questions that do not have an immediate answer or a known solution.
EnDansa is committed to a dance that makes visible, in a clear and concise way, its connections with architecture, emphasizing the fact of breaking the borders between disciplines and avoiding the pigeonholing of knowledge to open new ways of looking at the world.
Three outputs of the project were a stage show, an exhibition and a round table. Students and elderly residents of Natzaret collaborate on the stage show in order to bring the project to the fore and to increase awareness and critical thinking in the audience in relation to the project's main items: elderly needs and architectural education. Secondly, the aim was to link average citizens to artistic processes, familiarizing them with contemporary languages so they could express themselves freely about what is happening.
Key objectives for inclusion
The enDansa project has as a target group people > 65 years of age from the neighbourhood of Nazareth (19.5% of the total population of the neighbourhood) and 120 students from the School of Architecture at Valencia Polytechnic University.
On the one hand, with the methodology used and the activities developed, the coexistence of these two groups, the elderly and young students, has been achieved, generating intergenerational spaces for mutual learning. Through the workshops and the stage show, each person was able to experiment with their body and see the diversity of bodies and how this diversity has a presence and experiences the city in a different way. Emphasis has been placed on raising awareness of the discrimination, barriers, and segregation that exist in our neighbourhoods so as to offer solutions from architecture, urban design, public policies, and community work (strengthening networks between people and local entities).
In order to have an impact on the territory and to respond to the problems of the elderly who live in Nazareth, work has been done from the beginning with the association of residents of the neighbourhood and with other entities such as the older centre, the health centre, or Las Naves (the city's innovation centre).
In addition, the urban solutions provided in the resulting catalogue are aimed at achieving universal accessibility and the adaptation of public space and housing to the needs of older people, understanding that a city that responds to those who need it most will be a better city for all people. The catalogue aims to provide ideas and strategies for intervention that promote coexistence and social networks and focus on people's well-being (physical and mental).
One of the main objectives of this project is to promote the visibility of the elderly, their problems, and the needs they have in today's society, with the intention of offering solutions that improve their living conditions, achieving an age-friendly city.
On the one hand, with the methodology used and the activities developed, the coexistence of these two groups, the elderly and young students, has been achieved, generating intergenerational spaces for mutual learning. Through the workshops and the stage show, each person was able to experiment with their body and see the diversity of bodies and how this diversity has a presence and experiences the city in a different way. Emphasis has been placed on raising awareness of the discrimination, barriers, and segregation that exist in our neighbourhoods so as to offer solutions from architecture, urban design, public policies, and community work (strengthening networks between people and local entities).
In order to have an impact on the territory and to respond to the problems of the elderly who live in Nazareth, work has been done from the beginning with the association of residents of the neighbourhood and with other entities such as the older centre, the health centre, or Las Naves (the city's innovation centre).
In addition, the urban solutions provided in the resulting catalogue are aimed at achieving universal accessibility and the adaptation of public space and housing to the needs of older people, understanding that a city that responds to those who need it most will be a better city for all people. The catalogue aims to provide ideas and strategies for intervention that promote coexistence and social networks and focus on people's well-being (physical and mental).
One of the main objectives of this project is to promote the visibility of the elderly, their problems, and the needs they have in today's society, with the intention of offering solutions that improve their living conditions, achieving an age-friendly city.
Results in relation to category
The main results of the process are materialised in a methodological guide and a catalogue of interventions. Other results to highlight are the socio-spatial diagnosis, the dance workshops, the projects made by the architecture students, the open sessions in Nazareth, the stage show, the exhibition, and the round table with experts and stakeholders from the process.
Outcomes: 1. Elderly participants become more aware of their needs in relation to public space; 2. Neighbours of different ages do joint activities, get to know each other, and perceive the needs of the elderly, creating ties between them. 3. Neighbourhood associations and members of the university do activities together and create synergies. 4. Old people enjoy the activities of bodily perception, mentally (community dance), and physically (physical activity). It improves their quality of life in relation to health and reduces loneliness during the process. 5. Participating students improve their socio-spatial and transversal skills. In addition, they become more aware of the needs of the elderly.
Impacts: Through body movement, spatial perception, and the relationship with others, the participating people develop a greater awareness of the environment, of the experience in the built space, of the greater or lesser degree of inclusivity, and of the needs of people with different capacities and bodies. This awareness, along with the acquired knowledge and skills, makes it easier for future architects and urban planners to design inclusive places. Also, the relationship between people of different ages and their awareness of the environment and its possibilities of adaptation facilitates the social inclusion of older people, who increase awareness of their own needs and increase their empowerment.
Beneficiaries: People from all the target groups have directly benefited from this project: students, Nazareth neighbours of various ages, including people over 65 years old, and architects and urban planners
Outcomes: 1. Elderly participants become more aware of their needs in relation to public space; 2. Neighbours of different ages do joint activities, get to know each other, and perceive the needs of the elderly, creating ties between them. 3. Neighbourhood associations and members of the university do activities together and create synergies. 4. Old people enjoy the activities of bodily perception, mentally (community dance), and physically (physical activity). It improves their quality of life in relation to health and reduces loneliness during the process. 5. Participating students improve their socio-spatial and transversal skills. In addition, they become more aware of the needs of the elderly.
Impacts: Through body movement, spatial perception, and the relationship with others, the participating people develop a greater awareness of the environment, of the experience in the built space, of the greater or lesser degree of inclusivity, and of the needs of people with different capacities and bodies. This awareness, along with the acquired knowledge and skills, makes it easier for future architects and urban planners to design inclusive places. Also, the relationship between people of different ages and their awareness of the environment and its possibilities of adaptation facilitates the social inclusion of older people, who increase awareness of their own needs and increase their empowerment.
Beneficiaries: People from all the target groups have directly benefited from this project: students, Nazareth neighbours of various ages, including people over 65 years old, and architects and urban planners
How Citizens benefit
This project uses a participatory action research (IAP) approach, a research methodology that seeks a collective learning of reality based on a critical analysis with the active participation of the groups involved. With this approach, students analyse and become more aware of the problems and needs of the target group to whom their projects are addressed (in this case, the elderly), with the intention of being able to design with a greater knowledge of the future user’s reality. This process enables participants to learn critically about their reality and expands their social networks, making collective action possible and transformative.
From the beginning of the process, the Nazareth Residents’ Association, as well as other stakeholders in the area, have been counted on for the design and implementation of the different actions. During the first phase of the project, the technical team carried out an exhaustive mapping of the neighbourhood entities and of those organisations and projects in the city that were working on the needs of the elderly. The technical team and the students were able to organise various interviews with key stakeholders in order to get to know the real needs of the project's target group.
In addition, one of the main objectives of the project is the generation of spaces for coexistence through dance and movement between elderly residents and architecture students. These sessions were not only useful to extract knowledge and draw up the conclusions of the project, but they were also spaces for intergenerational coexistence that served to strengthen networks, generate new ties, and provide well-being to all participants.
The Natzareth Association of Residents was also a key stakeholder in the preparation of the catalogue and in the definition of intervention proposals. The conclusions of the project were presented at the end of the process in Nazareth in the presence of neighbours and representatives of various entities in the area.
From the beginning of the process, the Nazareth Residents’ Association, as well as other stakeholders in the area, have been counted on for the design and implementation of the different actions. During the first phase of the project, the technical team carried out an exhaustive mapping of the neighbourhood entities and of those organisations and projects in the city that were working on the needs of the elderly. The technical team and the students were able to organise various interviews with key stakeholders in order to get to know the real needs of the project's target group.
In addition, one of the main objectives of the project is the generation of spaces for coexistence through dance and movement between elderly residents and architecture students. These sessions were not only useful to extract knowledge and draw up the conclusions of the project, but they were also spaces for intergenerational coexistence that served to strengthen networks, generate new ties, and provide well-being to all participants.
The Natzareth Association of Residents was also a key stakeholder in the preparation of the catalogue and in the definition of intervention proposals. The conclusions of the project were presented at the end of the process in Nazareth in the presence of neighbours and representatives of various entities in the area.
Physical or other transformations
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)
Innovative character
This project uses an innovative methodology that combines the collective construction of solutions using the Quadruple Helix of Innovation approach and the introduction of new teaching methods so that future architects and urban planners respond to current social challenges, with the use of inclusive dance as a socio-spatial analysis tool and as a resource to strengthen community ties.
It is worth highlighting the potential of this method to analyse and reflect on the city through the movement of the body. Becoming aware of the great diversity of bodies and possible movements, as well as the interaction between them, brings enormous value when it comes to understanding how the city currently works, what shortcomings it has, and how we should intervene to transform Valencia into a healthy, sustainable, and fair city. There are several analysis methods used by technicians and professionals, but most of them are based solely on quantitative data. This new method of approach allows the introduction of new parameters and helps future architects and urban planners to deeply internalise the various ways of living in the city and the needs of groups such as the elderly.
On the other hand, it is important to highlight the aim of this project, which is to promote the transfer of knowledge between the university, companies and professionals, civil society organisations, and the neighbourhood, as it brings great benefits to all parties involved. Various educational innovation projects exist, but many times they are reduced to the university environment.
This methodology, based on a participatory action research (PAR) approach, has allowed the construction of bridges and networks between these stakeholders.
Finally, highlight the innovative nature of the solution by merging very diverse fields such as participation, dance, architecture, and urban planning for the construction of a caring and fairer city.
It is worth highlighting the potential of this method to analyse and reflect on the city through the movement of the body. Becoming aware of the great diversity of bodies and possible movements, as well as the interaction between them, brings enormous value when it comes to understanding how the city currently works, what shortcomings it has, and how we should intervene to transform Valencia into a healthy, sustainable, and fair city. There are several analysis methods used by technicians and professionals, but most of them are based solely on quantitative data. This new method of approach allows the introduction of new parameters and helps future architects and urban planners to deeply internalise the various ways of living in the city and the needs of groups such as the elderly.
On the other hand, it is important to highlight the aim of this project, which is to promote the transfer of knowledge between the university, companies and professionals, civil society organisations, and the neighbourhood, as it brings great benefits to all parties involved. Various educational innovation projects exist, but many times they are reduced to the university environment.
This methodology, based on a participatory action research (PAR) approach, has allowed the construction of bridges and networks between these stakeholders.
Finally, highlight the innovative nature of the solution by merging very diverse fields such as participation, dance, architecture, and urban planning for the construction of a caring and fairer city.
Disciplines/knowledge reflected
The project is mainly based on the articulation of two disciplines: dance and architecture/urban planning.
We have developed several activities in which we use contemporary dance. The type of dance we use makes visible, in a clear and concise way, its connections with architecture and breaks boundaries between disciplines.
Each workshop has been developed with very specific content, and the activities are articulated through highly structured improvisation exercises led by Vicent Gisbert. His instructions act as a guide and allow everyone to interpret and solve in their own way. All sessions start with body exercises and end with a reflection about the lived experiences and their relation to the architectural practice and the design of the city.
These workshops seek to: 1. go deeper into the socio-spatial parameters extracted from the neighbourhood analysis. 2. Experience spaces before planning them. 3. Become aware of the possibilities offered by the body and movement as a tool to express and communicate in a unique way. 4. Establish links between dance and architecture. 5. Foster creative freedom. 6. Enable reflection and criticism of realities that are not usually questioned. 7. Generate community and egalitarian relationships. 8. Facilitate participation by creating collaborative work environments. 9. Propose activities that promote better personal knowledge.
The result of this work ends up materialising in the various architecture and urban planning projects carried out by the students for the neighbourhood of Nazareth (the concepts learned and the experiences lived became part of the elements used to plan and design). In addition, all the conclusions drawn and the ideas that emerged are reflected in the catalogue of interventions for the neighbourhood of Nazareth, which has the will to influence the design of the city and the future public policies developed at a local level.
We have developed several activities in which we use contemporary dance. The type of dance we use makes visible, in a clear and concise way, its connections with architecture and breaks boundaries between disciplines.
Each workshop has been developed with very specific content, and the activities are articulated through highly structured improvisation exercises led by Vicent Gisbert. His instructions act as a guide and allow everyone to interpret and solve in their own way. All sessions start with body exercises and end with a reflection about the lived experiences and their relation to the architectural practice and the design of the city.
These workshops seek to: 1. go deeper into the socio-spatial parameters extracted from the neighbourhood analysis. 2. Experience spaces before planning them. 3. Become aware of the possibilities offered by the body and movement as a tool to express and communicate in a unique way. 4. Establish links between dance and architecture. 5. Foster creative freedom. 6. Enable reflection and criticism of realities that are not usually questioned. 7. Generate community and egalitarian relationships. 8. Facilitate participation by creating collaborative work environments. 9. Propose activities that promote better personal knowledge.
The result of this work ends up materialising in the various architecture and urban planning projects carried out by the students for the neighbourhood of Nazareth (the concepts learned and the experiences lived became part of the elements used to plan and design). In addition, all the conclusions drawn and the ideas that emerged are reflected in the catalogue of interventions for the neighbourhood of Nazareth, which has the will to influence the design of the city and the future public policies developed at a local level.
Methodology used
The project proposes a new methodology that incorporates body perception to increase awareness and influence in the diagnosis and design of solutions in order to respond to the needs of the elderly and guarantee the right to the city for all people. As a result, we obtained a methodological guide and a catalogue of interventions for the neighbourhood of Nazareth to improve the living conditions of the elderly through improvements in housing and public space. We worked in collaboration with ETSA Valencia on the specific needs of this group of people to find solutions that transform the cities and the spaces we live in for the sake of common well-being. The project consists of three phases:
1. 'DIAGNOSIS OF THE CURRENT SITUATION OF ELDERLY PEOPLE IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF NATZARET'. The technical team carries out a study with quantitative information and existing reports. We held individual interviews and collective workshops in collaboration with the Association of Neighbours of Nazareth and with the elderly. The result is a socio-spatial diagnosis and the definition of relevant parameters to be worked on in subsequent workshops.
2. 'SOCIOSPATIAL PERCEPTION SESSIONS'. With these contemporary dance workshops, students acquire greater socio-spatial knowledge and improve body awareness and personal interaction with others while reflecting on and becoming aware of the multiple and diverse experiences of the city. The inclusion of the elderly group is ensured at all times through an inclusive methodology that respects the various capacities and work rhythms, allowing everyone to feel valued and integrated into the project.
3. 'CREATIVE RETURN AND SOCIALISATION OF THE PROJECT'. It is necessary to share the information generated within the process with the people who have participated in it so that they can validate it and give feedback. We carried out a round table, an exhibition, and a stage show created by Nazaret seniors, students, and the technical team.
1. 'DIAGNOSIS OF THE CURRENT SITUATION OF ELDERLY PEOPLE IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF NATZARET'. The technical team carries out a study with quantitative information and existing reports. We held individual interviews and collective workshops in collaboration with the Association of Neighbours of Nazareth and with the elderly. The result is a socio-spatial diagnosis and the definition of relevant parameters to be worked on in subsequent workshops.
2. 'SOCIOSPATIAL PERCEPTION SESSIONS'. With these contemporary dance workshops, students acquire greater socio-spatial knowledge and improve body awareness and personal interaction with others while reflecting on and becoming aware of the multiple and diverse experiences of the city. The inclusion of the elderly group is ensured at all times through an inclusive methodology that respects the various capacities and work rhythms, allowing everyone to feel valued and integrated into the project.
3. 'CREATIVE RETURN AND SOCIALISATION OF THE PROJECT'. It is necessary to share the information generated within the process with the people who have participated in it so that they can validate it and give feedback. We carried out a round table, an exhibition, and a stage show created by Nazaret seniors, students, and the technical team.
How stakeholders are engaged
We understand citizen engagement as a process of institutional and citizens transformation. Therefore, the participation of the quadruple helix of open innovation is essential to this project. Stakeholders from various fields and levels collaborate and contribute to the process in its different phases. In this case, we have counted on the following entities and organisations:
1. Academy: The Technical School of Architecture of the Universitat Politècnica de Valencia has been involved with the participation of architecture students who have participated voluntarily in all the workshops and who have focused their project exercises on responding to the needs of the elderly in the Nazareth neighbourhood.
2. Public Administration. The Valencia city council finances the project through the Innovation Projects grant and monitors it with the collaboration of the city's Innovation Centre (Las Naves), which assigns one of its technicians as a supervisor.
3. Professionals and/or companies from various fields. The project is coordinated by Fent Estudi, a company made up of architects, town planners, and experts on citizen engagement processes, and from the beginning, the dancer, choreographer, and pedagogue Vicent Gisbert has been involved in the design and implementation. Other professionals and companies have also collaborated: Barbara Branchini from K-Veloce (an evaluation expert) and Concha Ros (an artist).
4. Civil society. The Residents’ Association of the neighbourhood has been a key agent, not only in the preliminary diagnosis and in the coordination of the activities but also in participating in the workshops. Moreover, the activities were open to elderly people in Natzaret.
The strategy used has covered three main dimensions in order to enable real empowerment: awareness about the action site, capacity building at the individual and collective level, and the generation of a favourable environment allowing the development of active participation.
1. Academy: The Technical School of Architecture of the Universitat Politècnica de Valencia has been involved with the participation of architecture students who have participated voluntarily in all the workshops and who have focused their project exercises on responding to the needs of the elderly in the Nazareth neighbourhood.
2. Public Administration. The Valencia city council finances the project through the Innovation Projects grant and monitors it with the collaboration of the city's Innovation Centre (Las Naves), which assigns one of its technicians as a supervisor.
3. Professionals and/or companies from various fields. The project is coordinated by Fent Estudi, a company made up of architects, town planners, and experts on citizen engagement processes, and from the beginning, the dancer, choreographer, and pedagogue Vicent Gisbert has been involved in the design and implementation. Other professionals and companies have also collaborated: Barbara Branchini from K-Veloce (an evaluation expert) and Concha Ros (an artist).
4. Civil society. The Residents’ Association of the neighbourhood has been a key agent, not only in the preliminary diagnosis and in the coordination of the activities but also in participating in the workshops. Moreover, the activities were open to elderly people in Natzaret.
The strategy used has covered three main dimensions in order to enable real empowerment: awareness about the action site, capacity building at the individual and collective level, and the generation of a favourable environment allowing the development of active participation.
Global challenges
Ageing. The world’s population is ageing. The World Health Organisation estimates that between 2015 and 2050, the proportion of the world's population over 60 years old will nearly double from 12% to 22%. The rapid ageing of populations around the world presents unprecedented challenges; our cities are unsuited for ageing populations. Our methodology and the resulting catalogue provide solutions to adapt cities to the needs of the elderly in order to create age-friendly cities. The catalogue created for the Nazareth neighbourhood is easily adaptable to other European neighbourhoods and cities. Moreover, a city adapted to the elderly with the solutions we propose is a better city for everyone, so we face another global challenge: the rise of inequality in our cities.
Among the solutions resulting from this project, it stands out: betting on the proximity scale (15-minute city), guaranteeing continuous pedestrian networks of sufficient width and without obstacles, and promoting sustainable and affordable intermodal mobility. All of these solutions help to make cities more inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable. Facing the global challenge of humanising cities that are increasingly populated and polluted
Another global challenge is the adaptation and mitigation of the effects of climate change, which in the context of European cities involves increasing green areas and shade and creating climate refuges for their inhabitants. The catalogue provides many solutions in this direction.
In addition, it also contributes to the challenge of strengthening institutions and the participation of civil society, betting on a methodology of collaborative work between various stakeholders that enables the transfer of knowledge from the university to civil society. This participatory action research approach, counting on the 4-helix innovation ecosystem, has the ultimate goal of improving policies and strengthening and making democratic institutions more resilient.
Among the solutions resulting from this project, it stands out: betting on the proximity scale (15-minute city), guaranteeing continuous pedestrian networks of sufficient width and without obstacles, and promoting sustainable and affordable intermodal mobility. All of these solutions help to make cities more inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable. Facing the global challenge of humanising cities that are increasingly populated and polluted
Another global challenge is the adaptation and mitigation of the effects of climate change, which in the context of European cities involves increasing green areas and shade and creating climate refuges for their inhabitants. The catalogue provides many solutions in this direction.
In addition, it also contributes to the challenge of strengthening institutions and the participation of civil society, betting on a methodology of collaborative work between various stakeholders that enables the transfer of knowledge from the university to civil society. This participatory action research approach, counting on the 4-helix innovation ecosystem, has the ultimate goal of improving policies and strengthening and making democratic institutions more resilient.
Learning transferred to other parties
Both the methodology used and the catalogue are elements designed to be replicated in other places and contexts and with other types of target groups.
One of the objectives of this pilot project is to create an innovative teaching methodology that can be reproduced in other contexts. The university, and specifically the architecture and urban planning studies, are often detached from the current challenges of society, and architects and urban planners often lack socio-spatial skills and are not aware of the multiple discriminations that occur in the urban environment. This methodology can be applied to different universities of architecture, urban planning, and design throughout Europe and worldwide. Moreover, although in this case we are addressing the elderly, this methodology can be used to raise awareness of the needs of other target groups: children, people with functional diversity, cultural diversity, etc.
Another replicable and transferable element is the catalogue of solutions to achieve an age-friendly city. This catalogue, despite offering solutions completely contextualised and adapted to the specific environment of the Nazareth neighbourhood, is structured in 5 areas that contain various elements explained in a generic way to be easily applicable to any urban context, above all, in the case of European cities. The catalogue offers recommendations so that public space and housing consider the specific needs of the elderly and attend to the following key concepts: 1. Connectivity and proximity 2. diversity; 3. safety and autonomy; 4. well-being and comfort; 5. identity and community; as the basis for the inclusion of all people.
Also exportable are the learnings that emerged and were collected in the evaluation, which is based on the theory of change and focuses on the expected results. The conclusions embodied in the "methodological guide" document contribute to making replicability and transferability to other places possible in an effective way.
One of the objectives of this pilot project is to create an innovative teaching methodology that can be reproduced in other contexts. The university, and specifically the architecture and urban planning studies, are often detached from the current challenges of society, and architects and urban planners often lack socio-spatial skills and are not aware of the multiple discriminations that occur in the urban environment. This methodology can be applied to different universities of architecture, urban planning, and design throughout Europe and worldwide. Moreover, although in this case we are addressing the elderly, this methodology can be used to raise awareness of the needs of other target groups: children, people with functional diversity, cultural diversity, etc.
Another replicable and transferable element is the catalogue of solutions to achieve an age-friendly city. This catalogue, despite offering solutions completely contextualised and adapted to the specific environment of the Nazareth neighbourhood, is structured in 5 areas that contain various elements explained in a generic way to be easily applicable to any urban context, above all, in the case of European cities. The catalogue offers recommendations so that public space and housing consider the specific needs of the elderly and attend to the following key concepts: 1. Connectivity and proximity 2. diversity; 3. safety and autonomy; 4. well-being and comfort; 5. identity and community; as the basis for the inclusion of all people.
Also exportable are the learnings that emerged and were collected in the evaluation, which is based on the theory of change and focuses on the expected results. The conclusions embodied in the "methodological guide" document contribute to making replicability and transferability to other places possible in an effective way.
Keywords
AGE-FRIENDLY CITY
Transdisciplinary learning
citizen engagement
contemporary dance
social and urban innovation
