User – friendly City: civic engagement for revitalization of brownfields

The project promoted an innovative model of community involvement in the gentrification processes (transformation of abandoned and degraded former industrial sites into urban areas) of three former industrial/ historical areas owned by the local authorities: the Hala Laminor within the industrial complex Republica from Bucharest, the Princely Palace of Alba Iulia and the Arad Fortress. For this initiative we followed the successful model of the Flon neighborhood in Lausanne, Switzerland. Using a participatory approach that involved both the community (2,400 people through surveys, and 179 people through direct participation in public consultations organized by the local public authority and IPP) and the civil society, creative industries active in promoting sustainable development at local level, the project brought together local and central authorities, academia, cultural and creative industries’ experts from the major cities of Romania, as well as citizens interested in the further purpose of the mentioned buildings/ sites.
In the framework of a competition, three revitalization ideas have been selected: the one in Alba Iulia will be implemented in the greatest part, the one in Bucharest will be a starting point for future discussions/ plans, and in Arad, before any revitalization, the ownership of the fortress must be transferred to the municipality. A delegation of representatives of municipalities, governmental institutions, civil society and winners of the idea contest took part in a study visit to Switzerland, where they also visited the Flon neighborhood in Lausanne.

Executive AgencyAssociation Institute for Public PolicyPartnersN/AContract NumberCSM 30ComponentEnvironmentCountyBucharestImplementation areaRegionalThematic areaQuality of urban environmentImplementation period01.05.2016-31.05.2017Budget of the project (CHF)58,136Swiss Contribution (CHF)51,136Project websiteN/AExecutive Agency websitewww.ipp.ro