We're not slowing down! Another workshop with residents, this time on the square at Monte Cassino Street.
On Tuesday, 24 October, at 6 p.m., Primary School No. 30 at 12 Konfederacka Street will host the second meeting in the series ‘Life Pact – adapting the city to the needs of tomorrow’. During the consultations organised by the Climate–Energy–Water Management unit, residents, together with landscape designers and officials, will take part in designing a green retreat on Monte Cassino Street.
The outcome of Tuesday's meeting will be the development of a concept for the development of this residential area in cooperation with the widest possible group of people interested in this place and representing various communities. Let us remind you that a lot will be happening here thanks to The Management of the Kraków Municipal Greenspace Authority, which is located right next to PLANTY DĘBNICKIE as part of the participatory budget of the city of Krakow.
It is worth mentioning that during the first open meeting, which took place on 19 October at Secondary School No. 14 on Chełmońskiego Street, all aspects of urban planning were taken into account, including social and environmental aspects imitating nature, the so-called NBS. Intensive workshop sessions involving 50 residents, designers, officials and district councillors became the starting point for the project, which KEGW will soon commission architects to carry out. The consultation team became the key to understanding the problems and creating a new concept for the site.
During the workshops, discussions with residents highlighted the identity of the square on Ehrenberga Street – small-scale trade in fruit and vegetables straight from the producer. The residents almost unanimously wanted a shelter to be built on the site to provide shelter for a friendly trader. In accordance with the residents' wishes, easy-to-maintain new shrubs, grasses and ornamental plants will be planted on the site. It is worth mentioning that the expectations of the parties were often mutually exclusive. During the joint discussion, it became clear what some residents really wanted and what others absolutely did not want. It was decided that the plot on Ehrenberga Street was definitely not the place for a playground.
The first meeting was an opportunity for an open, honest and lively discussion, during which residents could share their concerns, suggestions and expectations for the future of the neglected square. Issues that could not be resolved immediately and which divided neighbours, such as where to sit down, were recorded in the minutes and will require a good solution to be found.
Krakow's partners in the Life Pact programme, Madrid and Leuven, have already benefited from the method of participation in creating a friendly environment. Following the workshops, interesting concepts were developed and have already been implemented locally, such as green walls and rain gardens. The involvement of all participants in previous Life Pact workshops confirmed that participatory workshops are a great idea for changing the environment of a school, home or neighbourhood. A new and attractive urban fabric is the sum of the ideas implemented by residents and local conditions.
