Funding Program: Ministerio de ciencia, gobierno de España
Duration: 36 months
Main researchers:
- Santiago Eizaguirre Anglada
- Marc Pradel Miquel
Researchers:
- Ana Cano Hila
- Victor Climent
- Marisol García
- Montserrat Simó
- Marina Elias
- Rommy Morales
- Jesús Vicens
- Xavier Martínez Celorrio
Summary:
ECOSOCITIES aims to understand how city strategies for growth and cohesion are being reframed in Southern European cities in the context of the COVID-19 crisis and the need to cope with environmental challenges. The project analyses cities from Spain and Portugal, including Barcelona, Bilbao, Sevilla and Oporto and focuses on two intertwined aspects: the development of recovery agendas and strategies, and the role of civil society actors in the development of new views and socially innovative initiatives to cope with the ecological crisis and social justice. The post-covid Scenario draws a new set of opportunities for European cities in terms of investments and economic transformation. The European strategy for recovery brings the possibility of investments in ecological transition and digitalisation in different fields, allowing for the transformation of public space and transport systems, improvement of digitalisation of small and mediumsized businesses, transforming energy systems, or fostering circularity in economy, amongst others.
The project wants to assess in the first place how Southern European cities are developing recovery strategies in this framework, attending to the influence of the European programs, the existing of previous agendas and the inclusion of different actors in the policy process. We are especially interested in how environmental and social issues are tackled , and the role of civil society actors and organized citizens in the development of such strategies. We are also interested in the role of urban regeneration in such strategies and how sustainable urban development is understood and negotiated. In second place, we want to focus on the role of socially innovative initiatives in providing views and initiatives to transform key aspects of cities economies. We want to analyse the emergence of socially innovative initiatives that combine elements of social justice and empowerment with the transformation of the socio-natural metabolism of the city. We are interested in initiatives linked to the creation of new food and energy provision mechanisms (consumer groups, food cooperatives, community gardens), the transformation of the public space and transport (biking groups, anti-pollution movements, initiatives to transform derelict space), and the provision of new economic models (initiatives from the solidarity economy, groups for degrowth,etc.). We want to analyse discourse behind these practices and their relationship with the local administration. These initiatives do not appear out of the blue but are linked to their institutional context. We want to analyse how these initiatives collaborate or not with the administration, and what is the role of existing social infrastructures such as schools, public libraries, or cultural centres in the emergence of strengthening of these initiatives, as they offer resources for sociability and debate, and often technical support from workers involved in these services. Finally, as a first step to assess impact, we want to explore the relation between the existence of these environments and initiatives and the performance of certain neighbourhoods in terms of education, health, or the environment. With these objectives ECOSOCITIES is in line with the objective 11 of Sustainable Development Goals, on resilient, inclusive, safer, and sustainable cities.