PC03 NATURALIZATION OF PRIVATE SPACES

Aim

Apply one or more Urban Solutions, in private properties but specificaly in common areas where several owners can coordinate. It promotes social interaction, increases the spaces available in the city for enjoyment and, depending on the solution applied, acts on some of the issues related to sustainable strategies.

Why?

Sustainable Urban Solutions are not exclusive activities for the public space. There is a considerable surface area of land, properties at ground level or the interiors of block courtyards, suitable for any of the proposed interventions.
They provide multiple benefits that can go far beyond the scope and the goal of adaptation to climate change for which they were originally designed and offer various collateral benefits in terms of environmental quality (in the vectors of water, noise, air and soil), human health and well-being, urban regeneration capacity, improved habitability conditions,
increased land value or job creation.

How?

There are many examples of cohousing. In a neighbourhood community, there are different degrees of privacy that can be defined. Underused areas can be used, such as unoccupied portions of the plot, community patios or even some practicable roofs to implement common services, a living area or to generate economic activities to fund part of the
interventions.
In blocks of buildings of various properties, the block courtyard is a surface that can give rise to different interventions. It will depend on the configuration of the accesses and the distribution of common spaces. If the entry has direct communication with the courtyard it makes the intervention easier. In some cases there are floor levels used as shared for the neibourhood or storage rooms that allow this communication.
Another alternative is to enable a corridor on the ground floor through commercial properties. This may result in linking the intervention with some commercial activity, such as simply obtaining light or views through that space, its partial or complete enjoyment, or participation in the use of its facilities, if there is water collection or renewable energy. There are examples where ground-floor commercial establishments have the leading role, which are the ones that activate the project.
There are also experiences of intervention in disused plots, through the organization of short-term activities with naturation criteria. These spaces of opportunity allow the establishment of natural solutions of different types, such as landscaped areas, urban orchards, comfortable leisure spaces but always with the aim of low maintenance demand.
The creation of these disused spaces requires the involvement of the local population in their implementation and maintenance, contributing to the social interaction, comfort and natural regeneration of these areas. Previously it will be necessary to manage the ownership permission.
Beyond their direct benefits in terms of adaptation to climate change, the interventions in abandoned spaces can contribute to security in these areas and therefore to reduce the risk of criminality and increasingn the feeling of belonging in the neighbourhoods.

► The possible interventions in common or solar areas are:
– Community gardens
– green areas or leisure gardens
– installation of shading systems
– installation of photovoltaic or wind panels for energy generation
– collection and storage of water for community use
– development of common areas for recreation, sport or economic activities
– improvement of walls using green façade systems in courtyard or main façades
– combination of solutions or mixed uses
► Standard procedure:
1. Approach to the proposed occupation or intervention.
2. Identification of neighbours interested in being involved.
3. Search for funding, if necessary. If the use has a certain public character, it can be negotiated with the city council. It may also be useful to a company as a sponsor if it can make the investment profitable.
4. Definition of roles in process management:
– negotiations between interested and non-interested neighbours
– procedures in the city council, financing
– Recruitment of technicians to draft the proposal
– maintenance management
– adjustment of the legal status of the intervention by contract, if required.

5. Routine planning of organizational meetings, discussion and evaluation of the process
6. Drafting of the intervention project by a qualified technician.
7. Execution of the work.
8. Management of the use.
9. Maintenance

Example of the documentation that shows the opportunities in the urban structure. A Milagrosa. Lugo. Source: http://www.sedecatastro.gob.es/

Roof naturalization. http://www.cartademexico.com/

Urban orchard in St. Charles Health Centre hospital Kensington and Chelsea, London. source: www.agrohuerto.com