Network of micro spaces in Merida

The underutilized and abandoned spaces distributed throughout the city, generate important environmental problems, the accumulation of garbage is the most pressing to solve, for this reason, the strategy presents the articulation, rehabilitation and integration of vacant spaces in the city, these spaces appear as a result of the disarticulation of some areas of the city and especially the public space linked to squares and parks. The objective is the integration of a network of micro-spaces in the metropolitan area of the city, with the purpose of promoting citizen participation and the rapid recovery of underutilized spaces. The proposed micro spaces adopted urban intervention solutions with sustainable characteristics framed in regional urban planning mechanisms, which seek to respond to the needs of citizens, become a flexible, temporary and experimental alternative that creates value to underutilized areas, these micro spaces consist of pocket squares, micro orchards and green separators and sidewalks, these actions are framed within the context of tactical urbanism, characterized by quick, low cost and creative interventions, which in our case arise from the organized population, during the confinement by Covid-19, the organized community was dedicated to rehabilitate their closest public spaces and the result were micro spaces dedicated to enjoyment and recreation.

Overview

Type of instrument:

Knowledge, communication and innovation instruments›Communication/awareness raising

Challenges addressed

Green space management (e.g. accessibility)
Heat stress and heat island effect
Social cohesion
Social equity
Reconnection to the biosphere / environmental education
Human health, comfort and well-being

Consideration of nature-based solutions:

The Micro Spaces Strategy focused mainly on strengthening the fundamentals of sustainable urban planning to support the creation of a network of green spaces with the purpose of articulating a system of places that provide comfort and recreation for the population. The proposed network seeks to take advantage of recycled materials that together with the use of vegetation to rehabilitate spaces would help address the challenges of urban development in a sustainable manner with solutions proposed from the SbN.

Targeted (peri-)urban areas:

Parks and (semi)natural urban green areas

Allotments, community gardens or agricultural areas

External building greens

Urban green space connected to grey infrastructure

Good practice characteristics:

Effective

Locally appropriate

Potential to be replicated / upscaled

Innovative

Inclusivity

Governance

Non-governmental actor(s)

Initiating body:

Citizens or community groups / NGOs

Details about how the instrument was designed:

For the development of the micro-spaces strategy, groups of organized citizens and private enterprise participated, and together with the cooperation of the School of Architecture, they proposed intervention proposals that were discussed with municipal authorities, who directed the recommendations and strategies for the development and implementation of the project.

Targeted actors:

Private: household, real estate developer, business , financial

Researchers, university

Coalition

Citizens or community groups (CBOs), NGOs, NGOs, etc.

Details about the implementation:

The application of the strategy was carried out at a pilot level in different parts of the city, in which private enterprise and civil society collaborated, resulting in the creation of a network of micro-spaces for the metropolitan area of the city of Merida, where different areas were rehabilitated basically by the joint work of the organized community.

How did the government support the instrument?:

The intervention grounds of the underutilized spaces were homologated with the land use ordinance of the municipality of Libertador, as a criterion of agreement between the parties involved, in due course the municipal authorities should promote more spaces like those proposed in order to create a denser network of sustainable micro-spaces.

Financing

Sources of funding:

Crowd-sourcing

Budget:

Unknown

Details about instrument financing:

No governmental funding was required, as it was an initiative of citizens and private enterprise who provided the necessary resources.

Monitoring, evaluation and impacts

Achieved outcomes and impacts:

Potential impacts/benefits: Rehabilitation of vacant and underutilized areas. Increase in sustainable street furniture. Improved urban landscape. Development of community ownership. Community learning on climate change and SBN. Benefits: Improvement, protection and restoration of vacant areas. Reduction of areas with solid waste. Contribution to climate change mitigation. Restoration of green areas in the city. Increased interactions and exchange of ideas among citizens.

Success factors and lessons learned:

In spite of the deep economic crisis that the country is suffering, the organized community generated autonomous dynamics of rehabilitation and improvement of its spaces, group work, the use of recyclable materials, the contribution of its own economic resources and collective knowledge united and strengthened the communal ties of different areas of the city. This constitutes an innovative fact of design, programming and maintenance of public spaces in our city without waiting for intervention projects from the State. The urban micro-spaces constitute an excellent opportunity for social integration, as well as for moving towards sustainable cities, since the urban furniture of the micro-spaces is made with recycled materials. In terms of governance, it can be established that the technical-legal mechanisms benefit from this type of action because the citizen directly proposes actions for the city from his or her cultural perspective, which greatly favors social inclusion and strengthens the sense of belonging.

Sources and further information

References

List of references:

Mendez, E. (2020). Network of microspaces for the metropolitan area of Merida. Faculty of Architecture and Design. Universidad de los Andes. Javier, G.(2018). Association between public green spaces and quality of life in the municipality of Santa Fe, Argentina. Conicet - National University of Litoral. Lisi, J. (2018). Green public spaces as constructors of social imaginaries. Faculty of Architecture and Design. Universidad del litoral.

Photos

@edgaralbert29