workshop – UPSURGE Project

Co-design Engagement Workshop in Budapest 18th District

Mateusz Korcz — Tue, 07 Mar 2023 08:49:33 +0000

The UPSURGE team in Budapest hosted its co-design workshop aimed at engaging stakeholders to imagine nature-based solutions for the district.

Before finalizing the design, a co-design workshop was held on 15/02/2023, at Tomory Lajos Museum, that will be the flagship site of our various NBSs. The event attracted the local green organizations, schools and kindergartens with ecological attitude. Several colleagues from environmental department of the Mayor’s Office and leaders from Municipality were present as well. Every attendees welcomed the nature based approach, and shared the importance of the climate protection.

As plans of rain-gardens and tree-trenches have strong hydrological background, the co-design process targeted the topic of the plants and maintenance, and had educational purpose as well. Attendees actively took part in finding the key aspects for plant selection: they should fit for our climate, even the dry summer periods and be aesthetical, even in wintertime. The maintenance works should be minimal and responsible persons should be appointed, for example in form of “adoption”, by a kindergarten group.

Study trip to Katowice

tgff — Wed, 12 Oct 2022 08:32:04 +0000

The Municipal Urban Greenery in Katowice and IETU hosted an UPSURGE project group from Queen’s University in Belfast and CENTOURIS, an institute at the University of Passau, on September 27-28. The main goal was to visit the five demo sites in Katowice and to discuss the implementation of the planned NBS there as well as the progress of the stakeholder workshops. Besides that, the visiting group had an opportunity to meet with the representatives of the nearby Ochojec Hospital and the Silesian Park administration, where green bus stops will be set up close by. The group was also welcomed by Mariusz Skiba, Deputy Mayor of the City of Katowice, for a brief chat at City Hall. During the meeting with the mayor, we presented the key concept of the UPSURGE project and how it is being implemented in the city.

First round of stakeholders NBS co-design workshops in Katowice, Poland

tgff — Wed, 07 Sep 2022 08:48:00 +0000

The first round of workshops with city residents and other stakeholders implemented by IETU and the Municipal Urban Greenery Enterprise in Katowice took place on 2-6 September 2022. It was a one of a kind experience with great creativity, involvement and commitment of working together with the residents, local community leaders, NGOs to co-create the final design of the NBS solutions of the infrastructural demos in line with community needs. Beside the co-creation workshops, we interacted with the stakeholders directly at the five locations of planned NBS investments with short interviews. These discussions allowed us to get first hand spontaneous reactions and true contributions to our NBS planning process on what are the resident’s expectations and concerns. All the great ideas will be taken on board for the final planning process of the Katowice demos.

The NBS solutions to be implemented under the UPSURGE project are foreseen to be installed at 4 bus stops and on the market square. The places have been selected as being exemplary sites of urban heat island.

Our workshops are the first stage of the round of public meetings in UPSURGE as an important part connected with public involvement in creating solutions which would be useful for other cities as a pattern to follow on NBS developments in the future.

Co-design Engagement Workshop in Belfast

tgff — Fri, 29 Apr 2022 09:05:00 +0000

The UPSURGE team in Belfast hosted its first co-design workshop aimed at engaging stakeholders to imagine nature-based solutions for Belfast.

April 29, 2022

The UPSURGE team in Belfast held its first co-design stakeholder engagement workshop with stakeholders from the Quintuple Helix, including local government, academics, residents, businesses, and several social/environmental action groups to develop re-naturing strategies for the city.

Mixed groups of stakeholders looked at three scales; city, neighbourhood, and demonstration site, to consider current perceptions of nature, existing routes, important stakeholders and potential nature-based solutions (NBS).

From community gardens to green mobility corridors, a new ‘water culture’ and spontaneous rewilding – there was no shortage of ideas to re-nature Belfast.

The next co-design workshop takes place in late May and will focus on determining specific NBS insertions at the city and site scales as well as reach out to include stakeholders missed at the first workshop.