Residents take the lead in neighbourhood regeneration
Press Release -
GINNGER project combines long-term social strategies with innovative digital solutions to trigger the sustainable transformation of EU neighbourhoods, putting citizens at the heart of the regeneration process.
The EU-funded GINNGER project aims to create new, inclusive and participatory processes of neighbourhood regeneration, designing co-creation activities to ensure that the voices of all community members are heard. Motivations and drivers behind these processes will be analysed against a wide social perspective, aiming to understand push and pull factors for all the stakeholders involved. Green Neighbourhood Facilitators (GNF) will be trained to liaise between citizens, stakeholders and authorities, supporting the establishment of collaborative processes for decision-making.
GINNGER will also develop toolkit of 13 digital tools and resources grouped in four blocks, representing four key aspects of regeneration: Energy, Renovation, Resources and Mobility. This will assist in the planning and deployment of actions towards more inclusive, affordable and low carbon living spaces.
Both the co-creation methodology and the digital toolkit will be tested at 6 pilot sites during the project: Langreo (ES), Plovdiv (BG), Massago (CH), Murcia (ES), Orte (IT), Paris (FR). Pilot cities have been selected for their diversity of settings and populations: rural and urban environments, different climates and income levels
Urban areas (from villages and towns up to cities and metropolitan areas) are pivotal in the transition towards a greener future. The role and importance of sustainable urbanisation is acknowledged by the United Nations, which defined one of its sustainable development goals as: Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable). However, the European building stock still creates considerable impacts. According to the Built4People European partnership, energy and resource consumption in this sector reaches 50% of all extracted materials, 30% of water consumption, 40% of energy consumption and 36% of CO2 emissions in the use phase. Complexity is at the core of the built environment, as it involves many economic sectors and different stakeholders.
The project started in November 2023, with the kick-off meeting held in Zaragoza (ES) and hosted by the coordinating organisation, Fundación Circe. “This meeting provides the starting point and a plan for the consortium demonstrate a co-creation methodology and deploy the GINNGER digital toolkit, while at the same time implementing regeneration actions”, stated Montserrat Lanero, GINNGER Project Manager at Fundación Circe.
Camilla Mele, Project Management Officer for ICONS, remarked on the same occasion: “The kick-off meeting laid the foundations for positive collaboration between the partners to create social impact in neighbourhoods by establishing the GINNGER co-creation methodology to support decision-making processes for regeneration projects“.
For further information on the project, contact Camilla Mele, Project Management Officer.