Participatory Planning initiatives in Greece

Participatory Planning initiatives in Greece

Participatory planning is an approach to decision-making that involves active involvement of stakeholders, including citizens, in the planning process. In Greece, participatory planning initiatives have gained momentum in recent years, particularly in response to the challenges posed by economic crises, urban development, and environmental sustainability. In this context, 3 active actors that capture that momentum in participatory planning are showcased, with each one highlighting different aspects of the participatory approach.

Urbana

URBANA is a Civil Non-Profit Partnership, consisting of architects, social scientists, political scientists, and educators, founded in 2019 in Athens, Greece (https://urbana.gr/en/urbana/).  Urbana envisions cities that take care of people’s diverse needs, open and inclusive neighbourhoods, with people that participate and work together for the well-being of their communities. Its mission is to guarantee the right to the city for all, focusing on the social groups that were traditionally participating less in urban planning and decision-making, such as women, children, and the elderly. URBANA’s core values are Inclusivity, Participation and Feminism.

URBANA has worked on many projects, some of which are:

• Ioannina: Bridges of Participation (https://urbana.gr/en/portfolio/ioannina-bridges-of-participation/)
• Participatory Workshops: Athens, a city for all ages (https://urbana.gr/en/portfolio/participatory-workshops-athens-a-city-for-all-ages-2/)
• Public spaces of Athens from the gender perspective – URBANA (https://urbana.gr/en/portfolio/the-urban-space-of-athens-from-a-gender-perspective-urbana/)

Realising the way modern cities are shaped and that the life in them is very complex and multi-layered URBANA strives to approach this complexity by using tools and methods from different research fields as well as modern practices, focusing on highlighting the experiences, needs, and desires of everyday life. They design anthropocentric methodologies taking into account the characteristics of the social context each time while prioritizing community participation.

Inter Alia

Inter Alia (https://interaliaproject.com) is a civic action, non-profit organisation aiming at the creation of an inclusive and active European civil society.  It was created in 2013 in Athens, in the shadow of a deepening crisis as a new, autonomous and self-funded initiative. Its aim was to create space for citizens and communities at a national and European level to share knowledge and expertise and develop impactful civic action in a range of fields.  Inter Alia  is active in the fields of education, advocacy, youth work and culture with the aim to:

• Promote and enhance civic action and civil society’s interconnectedness and effectiveness in influencing decision-making at any level.
• Empower youth and increase employment opportunities through training, skills development, and civic and social participation.
• Confront interpersonal and intergroup stereotypes and enhance intercultural understanding inside and outside the perceived limits of Europe as a means to peace and well-being.

The guiding values of Inter Alia include democracy, openness, inclusiveness, sustainability, creativity and pluralism.

Inter Alia has worked on projects such as:

• The “Diverse Acting” project (https://interaliaproject.com/project/diverse-acting/), which promotes active intercultural citizenship and political participation of young people by providing opportunities for dialogue, intercultural exchange and experimentation with youth initiatives.
• The FILMINTS (Filming at Intersections) project (https://interaliaproject.com/project/filming-at-intersections-filmints/), which promotes equal opportunities and access of marginalised groups to policy and public life by equipping adult learners with knowledge and skills for advocating for their rights and overcoming barriers to their participation and representation.

Participatory LAB

The participatory LAB is an active interdisciplinary community that studies, documents, learns, disseminates and applies participatory design processes for public space, with the aim of adapting cities to climate change. It is part of a wider Commonspace initiative aimed at creating participatory design methodologies and supporting tools that support climate change adaptation plans, projects and actions.

The participatory LAB engages in participatory research, training and seminars, awareness raising events and participatory activities (https://en.participatorylab.org/copy-of-εκπαίδευση-σεμινάρια ) which include:

• Urban Heat Island and Public Spaces (Workshop for mapping the effects of the heat wave in the center of Athens)
• Two-day participatory planning workshop in the framework of the European project ISL, Erasmus+
• Urban Trees – Chalandri (Participatory workshop / focus group)