Iniciativa urbana Espíritu Santo. Una experiencia de regeneración social y urbana, con la participación ciudadana. Rosa MARTÍNEZ GÓMEZ; Carmen María VERDE MARTIN

1. INTI
Conference
Huelva 2013
21st-22nd
November
Social
Innovation and
new ways of
governance for
the socioecological
transition
Urban Initiative Espíritu Santo.
A participatory experience of social and
urban regeneration
Rosa Mª Martínez Gómez
Carmen María Verde Martín
November 22th 2013

2. Context. The URBAN initiative
The Spanish Ministry of Economy decided to get involved in
the Regional Operational Programs 2007-2013 in order to
reinforce local interventions to face the problems of deprived
neighbourhoods in cities. The Urban Initiative acts on the
framework of the Policy of Cohesion of European Union
80% of Urban Initiative is supported by the European Regional
Fund (ERDF).

3. The project.URBAN Espíritu Santo
URBAN Espíritu Santo is a project about the economic
and social revitalisation of a deprived neighbourhood in
Espinardo, located on the periphery of Murcia. There are
3.827 residents, of which 30% are gypsies.

4. The project.URBAN Espíritu Santo
The project aims to
revitalize the community
with culture, creative
innovation and citizen
participation as key
factors to boost urban
development.

5. The project.URBAN Espíritu Santo
The project aims to revitalize the community with culture, creative
innovation and citizen participation as key factors to boost urban
development.

6. INTEGRATED APROACH
The project includes a set of measures to transform the
current life conditions of the area, according to three
essential aspects of community life :
Rebuilding the physical space: ATTRACTIVE NEIGBOURHOOD
Energizing social and cultural life: CREATIVE COMMUNITY
Improving the economic environmment: CULTURAL DISTRICT
Interacting at the same time.

7. ATTRACTIVE NEIGBOURHOOD: Rebuilding the physical space, with cultural,
educational, social and quality business facilities

8. CREATIVE COMMUNITY
Measures for social inclusion, Activities for boosting educational
achievement, Arts education.

9. CULTURAL DISTRICT
Measures to increase personal skills for employment, professional training
programme, business laboratories.

10. Participation
Development of the project with a participatory methodology, the
creative force of citizenship as an engine for change. Through the forum
of social participation citizens are involved in the entire project
development process, including evaluation.

11. PARTICIPATION MECHANISMS
PARTICIPATION MECHANISMS. The annual Meetings. The
regular general meetings and Working Groups.

12. PARTICIPATION MECHANISMS
Two key elements to involve citizens in the process
Achieving participation of the most active citizens. Therefore
Urban laboratories workin group was set up.
Continuously communicating the neighbourhood
transformartion process to everyone. So we designed an
anual event: La Gala, performed by all the participants in the
different activities.

13. URBAN LABS
Is a reflective process on how to share collective space and
how to improve community living together. The methodology of
this action was to engage citizens in the process of analyzing
problems and designing solutions for the future redevelopment
of the neighborhood.

14. PATHS OF KNOWLEDGE. Cammino
della Conoscenza
• Is the first activity of URBAN LABS set up to analyse
the actual space in order to draw up a map of
perceptions.
• The purpose of the activity was for the residents to
participate with their thoughts and proposals in
improving the habitability conditions of the
neighbourhood in order to convert it into an
attractive space.

15. Path of Knowledge. Itineraries
• It consisted of neighbourhood walks following different
itineraries and on different days and at different times.
Groups of people were formed with photo cameras and
notebooks to record the positive, neutral and negative
aspects of the neighbourhood.
Circles referring to physicalurban aspects:
Triangles referring to socialperceptive aspects:

19. Paths of knowledge. Metaplan
The group contributions were all based on two crucial
moments: creativity and and awareness deepening. This
involved brainstorming for territorial research based on
individual ideas.

20. Path of knowledge. Presentation of results
In order to share the results of the process with all citizens, an
exhibition was held consisting of 9 explanatory panels on the
entire process, the results and a visual flash.

21. Path of knowledge. Presentation of
results

22. Building a square to live together
• A public consultation for the implementation of participatory
design to remodel Constitution Square, located in the heart of
the neighborhood and the future new neighborhood center.
• Three phases: Brainstorming and other consultation activities,
Design, and presentations of results in an open session.

23. Building a square to live together
Brainstorming. Consultation contents
Regarding of the uses for the square
What do we use - is the square used for?
What could we use it for?
Regarding the image of the square
What can we see from the square upon entering or leaving?
What could we see and not see?

24. Building a square to live together
• Other consultation activities
Artistics expressions
Painting workshop: “The Dream Square”
Storytelling workshop: “Stories from the square”
Improvised music "The Square Song”

25. Building a square to live together

26. Building a square to live together
Participatory journalism
Citizens interview
Video workshop
Creation of a Blog: http://elblogdelaplaza.urbanespiritusanto.es

27. Building a square to live together
• Design phase, considering the opinion of citizens and
presentation

28. Key Learnings
• Reflexion as a key element in participatory
methodologies allows for discovering the afective
links which hold a community together, facilitating
the search for an expression of the needs, desires
and aspirations of citizens and empowering them as
agents of change.
• This metodologies are more effective when taking
into consideration observation, intuition and
perception as key points in understanding resistence
to change and searching for news tools to boost it.

29. Participatory Communication strategy
“LA GALA”: It’s an event designed to involve the most
active participants in communicating the progress of the
project in an accessible way to all.
Objectives:
Strategic approach to living space
To develop culture through the different levels: physical,
social, educational and economic.

30. Participatory Communication strategy
Gala 2010
Objectives:
To facilitate the use of the Cultural Centre as an
educational and cultural space for everyone
To transmit the importance of Arts as an educational and
professional subject

31. Participatory Communication strategy

32. Participatory Communication strategy
Gala 2011
Objectives:
To bring the public school closer as a creative space of
open learning
To incorporate the arts in education to make education
more attractive and catalyze the emergence of talent.

33. Participatory Communication strategy

34. Participatory Communication strategie
Gala 2012 / II Participation encounter
Objectives:
To occupy the Constitution Square, new neighborhood
center and the space in which conflicts are most
intensely manifested.
To incorporate arts in education an vocational training f
as a vehicle to improve estándar of living.
To comunicate how far we have progress.

35. Participatory Communication strategy

36. Participatory Communication
strategy

37. Participatory Communication strategy
Gala 2013
Objectives:
To make headway in artistic education
To introduce people in cultural industries
Put the focus on the new facilites

38. Participatory Communication strategy

39. Participatory Communication strategy

41. Key Learnings
• Holding these events has been important to
finding a comon language to comunicate to the
citizens the philosophy, objectives, and actions of
the project. The artistic performance
comunicates with the senses, emotions and
creativity to encourage transformation of the
neigbourhood as a open cultural area.

42. URBAN Espíritu Santo
Thank you very much
Rosa Martínez rosa.martinez@ayto-murcia.es
Mayka Verde carmenmaria.verde@um.es
European Programme Service
City of Murcia (Spain)
http://espiritusanto.proeuropeos-murcia.net