A research lab at ICTA-UAB
Professional Course with Ecounion | 8-12 of May 2017
BCNUEJ researchers Tatjana Trebic, Isabelle Anguelovski, Helen Cole, and James Connolly have been working with the Barcelona non-profit Eco-Union in the development of a week-long training program for urban design and sustainability professionals on the the topic of Citizen Participation in Green Urban Spaces. As part of the PROGRESS Project, a series of best-practice exchange workshops across Europe funded by the European Union ERASMUS+ Program, the Barcelona training sessions will immerse young professionals in the theory and practice of participative democracy, social innovation, human-centered green space diagnosis and design, as well as introduce critical concepts of green gentrification and inequality through seminars and site visits. The involvement of Barcelona-based academics, designers, sociologists, city representatives, and activists brings a diverse set of perspectives on past and future relationships between citizens and green space development.
BCNUEJ researchers presented lectures on green inequalities and health inequities, some of which emphasized the relationship between green space creation, gentrification, and health outcomes. They also led a group exercise on what different stakeholders can do to green cities more equitably and create just and healthy cities. Participants focused their proposals on diverse solutions ranging from culturally-sensitive green space, community-based management of green amenities, and a green gentrification tax used to purchase vacant land or unused buildings for public-private-community redevelopment.