Together with CEi CamBio project from the University Pablo de Olavide and the Energy and Territory Alliance - ALIENTE , we have organized the "Conference on listening to science and territory: ecological transition or energy speculation?   Let's do things right ” in order to open the debate and put on the table proposals to solve this conflict. The Social Council and the Department of Geography, History and Philosophy are also collaborating on behalf of the UPO. Other entities such as Som Energía and the Savia Foundation are also taking part.  So far the deployment of renewables has presented a high level of conflict in the territories, both for the lack of participatory decisions and for the insufficient environmental studies carried out, and ultimately for the lack of listening to the territories that has caused a judicialization of the whole process. The conference will be held in person at the Pablo Olavide University of Seville on October 24 and 25 in Classroom B11 of building 45 (Alexander Von Humboldt) . They can also be followed by streaming. Registration is required for both formats. Access the complete program at the following link: https://aliente.org/jornadas-de-escucha-a-la-ciencia-y-territorio Registration: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScc57X6yGvqAgYWl8TIF2tjmDuFQPG-DXn7UVFdA_3Tcp0Slg/viewform

Within the CONECT project “Collective Networks for Everyday Community Resilience and Ecological Transition” led by the UPO (ERA-NET/ENUTC 2021, PCI2022-133014 funded by the AEI and the EU with the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan) a resilience assessment model applied to the city of Antequera (Málaga, Spain) has been presented at the TECHNOHERITAGE Conference . This model evaluates resilience from an interdisciplinary approach, with the analysis of the variables that affect Cultural Heritage in small and medium-sized cities.  In this context, the municipality of Antequera carries out diagnoses and as a consequence has carried out 2 annual simulations of earthquakes, floods or fires in cultural heritage properties in which emergency professionals and citizens were included in order to train, coordinate and evaluate protocols to improve their response to emergencies. The results showed the need for safeguarding plans for cultural heritage sites (churches, archives, museums, libraries,...), the formation of interdisciplinary teams including firefighters, civil protection with their volunteers, police, health emergency experts, owners and managers of cultural heritage, as well as diagnostic experts (restorers). A key part of these drills has been to train and inform the population of the hazards in order to be prepared for disasters and to include young people from the local community.

On September 13, the CoNECT project met for a one-day symposium and workshop on living lab methodologies at the Hägerstensåsens medborgarghus  in Stockholm. Under the expert guidance of Meike Schalk, the day included presentations by other JPI-ENUTC projects, local initiatives, a tour of the ‘people’s house’ ( medborgarghus ), and a workshop on living lab methodologies. The CoNECT project members also shared their experiences with living lab activities in different countries. In this entry we reflect on the program and main insights, not necessarily in chronological order. An impression of the day's activities Let us start with the community center itself, where our event took place. Located in a south-western suburb of Stockholm, it has been operational in the current form since 1957 and it is part of a network of 500 such ‘people’s houses’ throughout Sweden. A vital piece of social infrastructure, the house is a spacious building with a variety of activity spaces from the library with its cozy fireplace; to a café that stays open throughout the day; a large event space used for folk dance performance, film screenings, and the popular ‘baby rave’(!);  an exhibition space; a dance rehearsal space (also used by the senior’s table tennis club); small study rooms; and even a couple of FM radio broadcasting studios. Our tour guide, one of the creative directors of the building, talks animatedly about the people’s right to art, about a place where people can participate without consuming, and about the pedagogical role of the people’s house. He and his colleagues have many plans for the future, including the new print shop they are setting up in the basement of the building. But the operation of the house is not without challenges, from neglectful government policies to lack of funding. For us as guests, it was impossible not to feel the positive energy of the place and be impressed by the commitment to an ideal of community cohesion. The program of the symposium included three presentations by guest speakers. Hanna Erikson Aalto kicked-off the presentation series with a talk about the MASSA project . Taking as its starting point the challenge of dealing with the enormous quantities of rubble from the extension of the Stockholm metro, the project included among many other activities, a set of creative living lab activities guides by local artists. Artistic and design-based methods were used as a strategy to break down barriers between different stakeholders, foreground unheard voices and perspectives to inform other ways of imagining the future, and seeing possibilities rather than problems. One example was a literal ‘deep dive’ that all the professionals involved in the project had to do in the Stockholm archipelago, donning wetsuits that made them all look the same, and engaging in a treasure hunt for underwater objects. Another intervention was a park bench mounted on an inflatable raft, on which professionals sailed out to the middle of the water where one proposal was to build an artificial island park – the participants could therefore experience first-hand how the city would look from this new park. Hanna reflected on the fact that including these creative activities help to break down the continuous drive to seek solutions – what she calls 'projectification' – and instead opened up the discussions and span of possibilities. Hanna Erikson Aalto shares some of the artistic methods used in the MASSA Project Eva Wolf and Cecilie Sachs Olsen introduced the CONTRA project , a JPI-ENUTC project focused on facilitating productive conflict in local urban development as a way to advance sustainability transformations. The main part of Eva and Cecilie’s presentation focused on their living lab activities in the project – the ‘Drama Labs’. These creative participation methods utilize different kinds of performative exercises inspired by theatre play in order to make underlying conflicts visible and allow them to play out in a facilitated setting. They presented four cases with a variety of situation adapted exercises. One case revolved around a conflict over a disused hospital building and explored two polarizing positions: demolish and redevelop, or keep and repurpose. Participants in the lab went through a series of steps from sitting around a centrally placed map of the site and placing their porcelain coffee cups to meaningful places on the map, to taking an audio tour of the site where different physical objects ‘voiced’ opinions about demolishing or preserving, to an echo chamber exercise where one group of participants (the demolishers) was smashing the cups on the map with a hammer, while the other group (the renovators) was repairing cups using kintsugi techniques, to a shouting match, and finally a reconciliation and reflection moment. Eva and Cecilie pointed out how the constructed sets of the play enabled people to question reality and the set frames in which problems are cast, stepping out of ingrained assumptions and positions. Through tactile engagement and embodied action, participants experienced first hand what it means to be in the opposing groups. Voices that are usually not heard were given a part in the play and made visible – for example in the form of the ‘child of the future’ as a silent observer in the discussions over future developments. A question that remained with us is whether these playful living lab activities really have an impact on policy and managerial processes in local governments, or if they can sway developers one way or another. From the answers of the two presenters it seemed clear that on a personal, relational level, participation in the labs did make a difference and helped to recast relationships between participants (municipal employees, developers, citizens) in a much more empathic way. Eva Wolf and Cecilie Sachs Olsen presenting the CONTRA project Finally, the third presentation by Martin Emanuel introduced the EmbedterLabs project , another JPI-ENUTC project focused on understanding the impact of street experiments, such as temporary cycling lanes or pop-up parks, on local mobility policies. Martin’s presentation focused on learning processes and took us through a historical trip into Stockholm street experiments. We could see a clear progression and a sort of institutionalization of street experiments, but also a shifting focus from changing mobility patterns to making public space more attractive through temporary installations. Through their interviews in the project, Martin and the team of EmbedterLabs uncovered a set of learning processes happening in these ‘experimental’ labs. These learning processes went beyond the site-specific learning called ‘performance learning’, toward more procedural, collaborative, communicative and organization learning that they called ‘process learning’. Martin’s presentation offered a great counterpoint to the first two presentations that focused on specific examples, by reflecting on the usefulness of labs and urban experimentation beyond the moment of their implementation. Martin Emanuel shares some of the analysis of the EmbedterLabs project Following a lovely lunch provided by the community center café, the afternoon of the event was dedicated to a workshop in which we tackled a set of questions about living lab methodologies in small group discussions. Without attempting a full recap of the discussion, a few key insights were about the ability of labs to create impact at the personal and community level through engaged co-production and co-creation. Labs can build trust in communities when done right, but at times too many expectations are assigned to these experimental set-ups. While living labs have become quite ubiquitous in research projects, especially those funded by the EU, there are clear risks that labs have to deal with, such as their temporariness and their often-unsustainable funding structures. There are situations in which labs fail to meet their aspirations especially if the expectations of participants are unclear or incongruent. Also, there remain unanswered (and maybe unanswerable) questions about the ability of labs to get to the root of problems and offer ways forward, given their local scale and temporary nature. Finally, it is important to stress that the kinds of living labs discussed in this event are a particular type of labs focused on deep citizen engagement, based on feminist theoretical perspectives that emphasize grace, care and empathy, and aimed at creating capacity especially in communities where social cohesion is low. In these contexts, living labs can contribute to building trust between (groups of) residents themselves, and between residents and local authorities or institutions. The careful management of expectations, continuity and follow-up is crucial in order for this trust to be sustained in the longer term and for participants’ time, energy and trust to be respected and rewarded.

Au cours des mois d'avril et mai 2024, les partenaires du Terreau ont co-conçu un événement de lancement du réseau. Bagneux Environnement a proposé au réseau de faire le lancement pendant la fete d'inauguration du tiers lieu de la Lisette, et l'ouverture de la nouvelle recyclerie le 15 Juin, a l'Agrocité de Bagneux. Une suite de rencontres a eue lieu au Lycée avant le Lycée, pour concevoir les activités, les horaires, distribuer les taches et organiser l'événement. Nous avons produit un flyer, dessiné par Julia Desfour; preparé un chariot pour accompagner le stand et exposer les flyers et dessins; developpé un exercice de cartographie des initiatives solidaires et écologiques; et conçu un atelier de dessin du logo du réseau Terreau... Julia Desfour du Lycée avant le Lycée a préparé un dessin et un flyer pour l'évènement. Elle a aussi transformé son chariot en Expo Terreau itinérant prêt pour afficher les logos du public et les flyers.

Le réseau Terreau s'est ouvert au public pendant l'inauguration du nouveau tiers lieu de la Lisette a Bagneux, et l'ouverture de la nouvelle recyclerie de Bagneux Environnement. Les partenaires Terreau avaient un stand pour presenter le réseau au public pour la première fois, en menant 3 activités : lire et signer la charte, faire une cartographie des activités écologiques et solidaires de Bagneux et les environs, et dessiner un logo pour le réseau Terreau. Plus tard dans l'apres-midi, une table-atelier Réseau Terreau a eu lieu au recyclab. En commençant par des presentations des partenaires (Le Plus Petit Cirque du Monde et le Lycée avant le Lycée, Compagnie SourouS, Bagneux Environement et le Pôle TEDD et le CLTE de la Mairie de Bagneux, AAA), nous avons ensuite invité le public a à reflechir sur leur rêve écologique, et des besoins de chacun pour faire réaliser ce rêve.

Pour continuer a comprendre les initiatives écologiques locales formelles ou informelles, du quartier La Courtille et aux alentours, l'equipe de CoNECT a organisé un atelier de cartographie à la Médiathèque Gulliver, pour parler avec les jeunes gens et agrandir le réseau EcoLab. Cet atelier s'est déroulé le mercredi 26 Juin dans l'après-midi, quand il y avait beaucoup de personnes qui passaient ou travaillaient à la Médiathèque. Ensuite nous avons invité les jeunes gens a réfléchir sur leur rêve écologique, et d'en faire un dessin.

La troisième itération de l'expo itinérante EcoLab a ouvert ses portes le 12 Juin 2024. Le vernissage a consisté d'une presentation du projet EcoLab aux jeunes de la médiathèque, par un des élèves du College La Courtille et AAA.

Mardi 23 avril 2024, nous nous sommes rendus au conseil de maison de la Maison de quartier Floréal Saint Denis pour discuter du projet EcoLab93, qui sera construit au collège La Courtille, avec les habitants et les associations locales. Ce fut aussi l'occasion d'en apprendre plus sur le réseau local et le tissu associatif du quartier dans le cadre du projet CoNECT (Réseaux Collectifs pour la Résilience Communautaire au Quotidien).

Vendredi 3 mai 2024, un nouvel atelier participatif organisé par AAA et Fabien David, paysagiste, s’est tenu au collège la Courtille de Saint-Denis. Au mois d’avril, les élèves de 6eme ont choisi l’emplacement de deux îlots paysagers ainsi que les espèces végétales qui y seront plantées. Dans la continuité du dernier atelier, l’objectif de cette séance était de se retrousser les manches pour semer les graines choisies. Avant de planter quoi ce soit, il leur a fallu travailler la terre. Pour commencer, Fabien a jugé bon de leur faire une petite présentation des outils de jardinage qu’ils allaient avoir l’occasion d’utiliser durant l’après-midi : bêche, fourche, râteau, pelle, grelinette… Ensuite, les élèves répartis en deux groupes, ont retracé l’emprise au sol des buttes paysagères déterminées la dernière fois. C’est là que le travail physique a commencé. À grands coups de fourches, de bêches et de grelinette, les élèves ont tenté de retourner la terre. Une tâche pas toujours aisée avec les herbes hautes. Fabien fut ainsi appelé plusieurs fois à la rescousse. Finalement, ils ont achevé la préparation du sol et la dernière demi-heure fut consacrée aux semis de moutarde, bourrache et sarrasin. Les élèves devraient voir assez rapidement ces plantes pousser avec l’arrivée de l’été ! Parallèlement, il était proposé un atelier radio, par groupe de deux ou trois, dans une salle du collège. Interviewés par Elsa, les élèves ont pu parler du projet EcoLab93, des ateliers participatifs, de leur rapport à l’écologie...

In the discussion of community resilience, there is often a tendency to focus on the ability of communities to adapt to environmental, social, economic or political changes - that is, resilience as a reaction to an external force or event. What is less commonly discussed it the proactive aspect of resilience: the recognition that communities can also actively imagine and implement changes from within, rather than in response to external pressure. A resilient community, in this framing, is one which can exercise agency over its own future, steering towards the preferable and potentially avoiding those circumstances which it would otherwise have to forcibly adapt to. What then are the spaces and practices which cultivate this proactive resilience? The systems innovator Cassie Robinson has coined the term 'imagination infrastructure' to refer to 'the infrastructural preconditions for societal imagination'. In order to transform our lives and societies, we need to be able to imagine how things could be different. But in an increasingly globalized, individualistic and precarious everyday, it can be hard to find the time and space to imagine alternatives, much less to build or experience them. (Renowned anthropologist and anarchist thinker David Graeber has written that neoliberalism can best be understood as a political project of 'trying to make capitalism seem the only viable economic system' - that is, as a suppression of alternative imaginaries.) Yet imagination is 'a crucial component for collective agency and our broader capacity for long-term survival and thriving as a species' (Finn and Wylie, 2021) meaning that it is important to notice and support those spaces which do permit and facilitate the important work of societal imagination. In the Netherlands, the CoNECT team have been engaged in ethnographic and participatory research within four 'buurthuiskamers' - neighborhood living rooms. These are self-organized spaces existing outside of the market, the institution and the private home; spaces where the normal rules and patterns of everyday life are disrupted, or suspended, and where people are therefore encouraged, even obliged, to decide collectively what to do, and how to do it. Using the framing of 'imagination infrastructure', these spaces can be seen to contribute to a transformative project in three key ways: 1) Revealing desires These places express and articulate the latent needs and desires of residents in their everyday lives. When citizens are given the space to 'act otherwise' in a space that is not governed by the predetermined norms of the home, the institution or the market, the things they choose to do, and the way they choose to interact with each other, represent choices about what kind of world they want to live in, and what might be missing or inadequate in those other spheres of daily life. This is not only in reaction to shortcomings or reduced public services, but also 'proactive and playful visions and imaginaries of how the world could be different.' (Thompson, 2019:1174) 2) Inducing desires Secondly, and following on from this point, they function as generators or incubators of new initiatives, and offer room to experiment with alternative possibilities. By demonstrating new ideas or practices, and giving people 'permission' to imagine and propose alternatives, participants discover things they did not yet know they wanted: new desires are stimulated by experiencing something more desirable. 3) Prefiguring alternative futures This immediate, embodied experience of alternatives can be read as a form of prefiguration: the political strategy of collapsing the means and the ends of political change into direct manifestation in the world. So, rather than imagining a desired endpoint and working backwards to figure out the means to get there, prefiguration asks us to act 'as if' we already lived in that world. In addition to generating possibilities and future imaginaries, the direct and participatory nature of these spaces means they also demonstrate the viability of these alternatives - to the participants themselves, to their neighbors beyond the initiative, and potentially to policymakers or authorities. As a sort of proof of concept, they show that something is possible because it already exists. This in turn can provoke more people to imagine new possibilities, through the process of seeing and partaking in alternatives, and being given the space and tacit 'permission' to imagine and do otherwise. Based on our ongoing research within these spaces, we can argue that neighborhood living rooms (and other kinds of community spaces and practices) support and facilitate the development and the trying-out of alternative models, futures and ways of being - an essential contribution to resilient communities and to a wider socio-ecological transition. Seen as a form of social and spatial infrastructure, these 'buurthuiskamers' empower active citizenship and agency over people's living environment and over the future of our cities and lifestyles. They are (or can be) highly valuable to the city as generators of solutions to current, future and unseen challenges. And finally they foreground everyday urban life as the locus of both the right questions to be asking about the future, and possible answers to those questions. And if we see these kinds of spaces as a form of infrastructure vital to the life of the city, we must also ask, how do we support the creation and maintenance of this infrastructure, in the same way we prioritize transport and energy infrastructure? How can cities and the spaces themselves broaden participation to include diverse voices in the imagination process and spread the rewards of participation more widely (or, who gets to participate in shaping the future)? And as researchers and urban practitioners, how can we valorize the knowledge produced though these experiments, for collective benefit? (This post has been adapted from a paper presented at the Architecture, Media, Politics, Society conference 'Local Cultures - Global Places' in December 2023 by Louwrens Botha: Viable futures in the everyday: neighborhood living rooms as ‘imagination infrastructure’)

We recently met again at the Faculty of Sociology, University of Bucharest, for the 4th group gathering of the URBOTECA Fellowship 2024 teams. The meeting provided a platform for insightful discussions and collaborative learning. Here are some key aspects we explored together: 1. Analysis of Urban Relationships and Actors Each team of fellows presented their preliminary observations, offering a detailed picture of the interactions and relationships that shape the urban environment. We discussed how each actor influences and is influenced by the urban context, which is essential for understanding the dynamics in our urban settings. 2. Application of Social and Spatial Mapping Tools Our experts, Gruia BƒÉdescu and Oana Dru»õƒÉ, guided us on the effective use of mapping tools. They demonstrated how to adapt these tools to meet the specific needs of the communities we are working with. Here are some highlights: Participatory Mapping We learned how to involve local communities in data collection. This method helps identify areas of interest and the concerns of residents in the Creative District. Social Network Analysis We examined the networks formed between residents and various organizations in Cișmigiu, identifying how interactions among these actors influence community development. Aerial Photography with Drones Using drone technology, we obtained detailed images of the Victoria Depot, providing a broad perspective on this area with potential for urban regeneration. Interviews and Surveys We discussed how structured interviews can help gather deeper insights into community needs. This method is crucial for better understanding the needs of visual artists in the MALMAISON project. 3. Developing Research Methodologies The teams of fellows worked on defining and refining their approaches, planning data collection and analysis methods. This part of the meeting emphasized the importance of careful planning and a deep understanding of the research context and objectives. Special thanks to our partners: Teatrul Masca Atelierele Malmaison Grupul de Inițiativă Civică Cișmigiu Cartierul Creativ Centrul de Teatru Educațional Replika

On March 24th, the entire URBOTECA Fellowship team gathered for their third meeting at CINETic UNATC. It was a day brimming with insights, collaboration, and fresh ideas that inspired all of us. The fellows took the stage with detailed presentations of the public places and spaces that caught their attention during their urban explorations, focusing on the so-called "third places" in the areas hosted by the project hosts. Highlight of the Meeting The highlight of the meeting was the online participation of Emilio Da Cruz Brandao, a special guest from the CoNECT project consortium. He shared valuable insights on the application of storytelling in urban studies. How can stories influence the perception of urban spaces and encourage community participation in urbanization processes? Knowledge Sharing and Discussions Following this, the fellows were introduced to relevant knowledge about the essence of urbanism, sources of power in society, and how it operates. Have you ever thought about the power that shapes our public spaces and places? The discussion also proposed studying the crucial role of relevant actors for the "third place," using social network theory and game theory as tools for analyzing actors and proximate communities. Next Challenge By the next group meeting on April 7th, the fellows have a new challenge: to list and analyze the actors for each case study. Reflect with us: What does a "third place" mean for your community? How can urbanism transform the story of the places we cherish? Stay tuned for more updates as we continue our journey in exploring the dynamics of urban spaces and community involvement.