Program for the Development of Public Spaces
I PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES The purpose of this research study is to gain a better understanding of the state
and problems of Croatian towns today, with a special emphasis on public spaces, and to propose policy recommendations for a multi-sector, community-based
approach to their revitalization and development. The overall goal is to encourage partnerships among citizens, private business and government in creating more
creative, usable and livable public spaces that will bring communities together through an array of activities, ranging from the entertainment and culture to
education and eco-tourism, to sport and recreation, and small businesses. The idea is therefore to rebuild communities bottom up, rather than through a
traditional top down approach that lacks citizen involvement.This research will be based on the strategic plans for urban planning and
development as adopted by national and local government agencies, activities conducted by non-governmental and community-based organizations, and,
especially, an innovative model for the development of public spaces offered by the Czech organization, Partnership for Public Spaces (PPS), a local partner of the
New-York based organization Project for Public Spaces (PPS). The objectives of the research study are to: Identify ten-fifteen towns of different size
and characteristic (Mediterranean, continental, mountainous) in Croatia that can offer a variety of potentially interesting public spaces and research the state of those towns and
places;In close consultations with representatives of various groups (NGOs, government, private sector), select three-four projects that could be developed into the creative and
sustainable public spaces, on the basis of a multi-sector, community-based approach;Explore and identify strategies for their funding and further development into a
locally-operated program for sustainable urban communities;Develop a network of livable public spaces that will share information, successful models, lessons learned and offer
technical assistance to each other; andExplore possibilities of applying this approach to other countries of the post-Yugoslav region, especially Slovenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia.
II PROPOSED RESEARCH PHASES Research will be conducted in three phases:Phase 1: Research of the state of towns and public spaces This part of the research will include direct interviews and surveys with different
groups in ten-fifteen previously identified towns in Croatia (local/national government officials; NGOs and community based organizations (CBOs)); experts
(urban planners, architects, and engineers); citizens (pensioners, students, families, teachers, artists) on the following questions:
- Their understanding of public spaces,
- Problems related to the current use of public spaces,
- Their vision on how to develop a specific public space in their town,
- Recommendations for their improvement.
The initial research and interviews will help identify:
- Key problems related to public spaces in each town, approaches to community involvement and potential funding sources.
- Key contacts/groups who are already involved in urban planning and development (e.g. Program for the Strategic Planning of the Ministry for
Urban Planning, Environment and Development, Strategic Plans of the City of Rijeka, Kastav and Varazdin, plans of the local governments' Offices for
the Protection of Culture and Cultural Monuments);
- Local government's approach to the development of public spaces – e.g. are they open to the partnership with other sectors; or how much involvement
there is from the citizens in the process of planning and design;
- NGOs, CBOs and other experts with skills in e.g. eco-tourism, planning and urban design, parks, streets, traffic and small business development. who
are currently involved in the process of urban planning, economic improvement and revitalization of towns or who have an interest and
potential to become involved as potential partners.
In addition to the research within Croatia, travel and research will be conducted in
Central and Eastern Europe, especially in the Czech Republic (e.g. visits to the Partnership for Public Spaces' projects in Brno, Vankovka factory complex and
Blatno; Nadace Via, the Czech Greenways, and the Environmental Partnership for Central Europe/Czech Republic); Slovakia (Healthy City Foundation, and
EPCE/Slovakia); Romania (EPCE/Romania). In addition, similar projects could be visited in Netherlands, Denmark and/or Germany to learn more about advanced
models and approaches to urban planning and design, eco-tourism and community-based revitalization. Phase 2: Identify and Help Develop Three-Four Pilot Projects for Public
Spaces On the basis of initial research and interviews with representatives of different groups, identify three-four pilot projects for public spaces (e.g. park, public
market, street, bike path, and town-square) that could be further developed and improved by applying the PPS approach of community involvement and
development. The approach would be modified and adopted for the Croatian environment in close consultations with the PPS/New York and the Czech Republic.
In addition, in this phase, assess the situation and problems related to funding of public spaces and create a strategy for the future funding and sustainable
development of these projects (this part of the research will continue into the phase three). Each (pilot) project will be developed in close cooperation with different groups
who have been previously identified as open to this kind of partnerships and will provide guidance and expertise on different issues. In addition, projects will be
developed in consultations with potential donors, such as the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the Open Society Institute, Urban Institute, private foundations
in Germany, EPCE/German Marshall Fund and USAID). Projects will be also developed in close consultations with the Czech and Slovak partners – lessons
learned from their experiences. Technical assistance on both developing projects and identifying funding sources (e.g. a series of customized community workshops)
will be provided by the PPS, New York, Mr. Steve Davies and his colleagues, as agreed through our previous conversations. All the necessary material will be
developed and translated when/if needed. Phase 3: Explore Potential Resources for Funding Pilot Projects
In this phase, focus on identifying different international and local resources that could fund all or some of the identified pilot projects. Conduct individual interviews
and surveys among potential funders (e.g. international donors that have been previously identified), government officials, local companies and individual donors).
In this phase also explore a potential for the start-up of a local foundation that could be established and funded by both international and local resources
(identified among government officials, corporations and individuals), specifically with the goal to help develop sustainable, livable urban communities. Currently,
conditions for the development of local philanthropy are slowly starting to emerge. For example, the Open Society Institute is starting with the program for
developing local foundations, some corporations that are involved in grantmaking are also thinking of establishing corporate foundations, national government office
for NGOs is interested in exploring this option as an alternative to their funding. There is a definite need to find alternative funding sources to international and
government funding, which is currently a primary source of funding in Croatia, and develop a long-term, sustainable, community projects that have, in its core, an
inter-disciplinary and multi-sector approach.Also, research a potential for developing volunteerism and increasing citizen involvement in the design and
development of public spaces through advocacy, education and training programs. III METHODOLOGY Interviews will be conducted with representatives of the following stakeholders in ten-fifteen towns in Croatia:
1. Government Agencies (national and municipal) such as the Ministry for Urban Planning and Development, Ministry of Tourism; local agencies for Development,
Urban Planning and Environment, and local offices for the Protection of Cultural Monuments; 2. NGOs (national, well-known, seen as resource to others);
3. Local/community based NGOs; 4. Local citizen's initiatives, associations and groups; 5. Interest groups (teachers, disabled, pensioners);
6. International NGOs and foundations; 7. Independent researchers and experts in civil society (e.g. Marijan Turcic,
Jasminka Ledic, Diego Chersi, Rijeka; Goran Susic, Cres; Boris Suran, Pula etc). 8. Businesses (major companies, financial institutions, potential donors -- Rijecka
and Zagrebacka Banka, PLIVA, KRAS, Microsoft etc). IV RESULTS Year One
Results of the research will include: 1) a clear developed policy strategy for a
multi-sector/community approach to the improvement of public spaces in three-four out of ten-fifteen researched towns in different parts of Croatia; 2)
identified experts and resources (both local and international) interested in developing multi-sector partnerships for public spaces; 3) identified potential
funding opportunities for the development of the pilot projects and 4) created a model that could be applied to other towns and cities of the post-Yugoslav region.
By Year Five: Development of a Local Foundation for Sustainable Urban Communities If the environment for the development of the local philanthropy proves fertile
enough, develop a proposal for the development of a local foundation (in year one or two) that would help fund local NGOs and CBOs in implementing projects for the
sustainable development of public spaces. The proposal would be developed on the basis of the research results, especially related to the results of the phase
three (explore and identify funding sources) who would express an interest in funding the start-up and an operation of a first local foundation on sustainable
livelihoods and communities in the urban areas of Croatia. The three-four pilot projects for public spaces, identified in the research could then become an
established program of the local foundation. Foundation could start in the year two or three. By the year five, the foundation would operate as a local foundation on the basis
of both international (initially) and local resources (later in the project--local government, corporations and individual donations). The foundation would give
small grants to the identified projects whose aim is to create sustainable communities and develop more healthy environment that can contribute to the
growth of economic opportunities, tourism and offer better traffic solutions. Work would be conducted in close cooperation and partnership with the OSI, Mott,
German Marshall Fund, Healthy City Foundation, as well as local NGOs, government and corporate representatives. |
