The city of Gdansk started their pilot activities on participatory district development planning “Piecki-Migowo - Together we plan the development of the district!” with the first workshop on identifying the various challenges of public space governance faced by citizens.
Out of 120 registered interests, 45 local citizens were selected for the workshop, covering age groups from 16 to 65+ and all three levels of secondary, high school, and higher education.
Participants of different demographic groups jointly identify and discuss challenges.
The potential challenges were divided into four categories:
1. sustainable mobility and commute
2. urban planning and governance of spaces
3. places for citizen activities
4. nature and recreation spaces
Participants started with writing down freely all the challenges they encountered within these five topics. They were then able to elaborate further on these issues in smaller groups, as well as listen to problems encountered by others. The event concluded with participants voting on the most pressing and realistic challenges to the district, which will be tackled in future meetings.
Respectively, the most shared concerns are:
1. There are too many cars on the streets, resulting in high traffics and with no attractive alternatives (e.g., the buses are slow and overcrowded). It takes too much time to commute inside the district and to other areas.
2. No concrete plan from the local housing co-op, coupled with chaotic structure and disorganisation of the housing development.
3. There is a need for a neighbourhood centre for facilitation of cultural, sport, and social activities, which should be located in an accessible and attractive building/location.
4. There is a lack of parks and viewpoints, nor is there any tree-planting plan in the future.
Following this workshop, citizens will jointly develop solutions and implementation strategies to address these challenges. The final result of the workshop series is a masterplan supporting future district planning.
For more info about the workshop series in English and in Polish.