Focus Experience # 1

Focus Experience # 1 Title Paths in the City (Caminhos da Cidade) Transformation process of the centre of Belo Horizonte Basic data City: Belo Horizonte Country: Brazil Number of inhabitants: 2.300.000 Topics: Urban development, policy and administration, citizenship participation Principles of the Charter of Educating Cities: 1, 4, 6, 11, 18 Summary Starting in the 70s, Belo Horizonte went through a process of motorization, accompanied by public investment in thoroughfares in order to avoid traffic problems and improve vehicular flow. This process involved an increase in sound, visual and environmental pollution that had a negative impact on the urban landscape, the quality of life, pedestrian safety and the Estação Square organization of social life in urban spaces. As from 1993, the City Council of Belo Horizonte began to correct this type of urban design that prioritized the automobile over pedestrians. Amongst the measures that were taken of special note have been those aimed at to impede the investment of public funds in major works to expand the road network that placed pedestrian safety and Rio de Janeiro Street welfare in the background. As from 2000 a new stage has begun on this challenge, marked by a recovery of public spaces to the benefit of a more human city and a more sustainable culture of mobility. In this context, in 2002, the “Paths in the City” program was launched to recover public spaces in the city centre and which consists of the creation of a network of streets free of barriers that are safe and comfortable for pedestrians, connected to the public transport system. The program, which has broad citizen support, has transformed the centre of the city into a more appealing place, accessible to the population, improving town planning conditions and habitability, while fostering social, cultural and economic development. 1 Objectives -To generate open, welcoming urban spaces in the city. -To foster citizen participation in town planning projects. -To encourage the citizenry to stroll in the city centre and appropriate it for themselves -To develop awareness, understanding and appreciation of urban environmental quality. Methodology First phase (2002-2006) The city’s public transport company, BHTRANS, and the local regional government of Centro Sur began a series of actions to refurbish and improve the intersections and pavements of the streets, avenues and squares, in order to facilitate pedestrian movement, access to public transport and the enjoyment of the city space. Actions carried out in this period: improvement of the conditions of the pedestrian cross-walks at the intersections of Sete Square; improvement of the pavements and refurbishments of the fronts of historic buildings on Caetés Street; refurbishment of the esplanade in Estação Square; improvement in access to public health centres, adapting them to the use of persons with mobility handicaps; and an increase in the number of pedestrian cross-walks with traffic lights. Second phase (2007-2009) The “Paths in the City” objectives were incorporated in the strategic plan of the city centre and in the mobility plan. In this stage, the urban renovation projects followed these directives: Organisation of vehicular traffic in order to improve the efficiency of public transport; implementation of bicycle lanes; creation of incentives for the use of non-motorised Carijós Street ways of travelling; and increase and improvement of signage for pedestrians and people with special needs. Following these directives, Carijós and Rio de Janeiro streets, Amazonas Avenue, Arrudas Boulevard and Soares Square were improved. The urban transformation of Rio de Janeiro Street began on the basis of a field study that consisted of auditory, sensory, olfactory and visual rounds. During these rounds the surrounding environmental noises, the smells, the condition of the pavement and the obstacles to pedestrians (the sensory round was made by two individuals, one with reduced mobility and another who was sight impaired) were monitored, and the fronts of buildings that did not match the urban style of their surroundings were photographed. With this information the City Council decided to harmonise the landscape of this public space by planting aromatic trees, eliminating obstacles on the pavement, signage and guidance for the handicapped, reduction of traffic speed limits, pedestrian overpasses, etc. The refurbishment of Plaza Raul Soares was chosen by the population as a priority in the digital participatory budget. The City Council makes available to the public Internet access points and a toll free telephone number so that people can contribute their ideas and participate in the decision-making on projects in which public funds will be invested. This is how this square was chosen, which had once been a marginalized area, and has now become a space for democracy, diversity and socialisation. 2 Current phase: According to the strategic plan and the mobility plan, executive projects were developed in order to be implemented into the new improvement phase of the public transport network, such as, for example, the BRT (swift bus transport), which involves, amongst other actions, works in the sidewalks, the reorganisation of the traffic lanes, the improvement of the public transport system in the city centre, the creation of new stops and connectivity of September the 7th Square different city areas by public transport. All these refurbishments have been accompanied by awareness campaigns in order to promote a change in the culture of mobility and foster respect for pedestrians. Social and Belo Horizonte is the capital and main urban context services, knowledge and technology hub in the State of Minas Gerais, a region located in southwest Brazil. The first settlements date back to the beginning of the 18th century, but the city, as it is known today, was planned in 1897, based on the models of Paris and Washington. It went through a major growth in population in the last few years of the 20th century, and now has 2.3 million inhabitants. Belo Horizonte Aerial View Assessment -Safe, appealing spaces have been created in the city centre that are more adapted to pedestrians, and have notably increased the number of people on these streets. -Connectivity in the city has improved through public transport. -The citizenry has participated in the decision-making in the improvements made. -Establishing a new culture of behaviour in the city that prioritises pedestrians will take time. Contact Organisation: Prefeitura de Belo Horizonte (Belo Horizonte City Council) Contact: Mr Marcelo Cintra do Amaral Urban Planning Direction - Sustainability Policies Coordinator Email: [email protected] Phone: +55 31 33795735 You can consult more than 1.000 Educating Experiences in the website of the Educating Cities International Documents Databank (BIDCE): http://w10.bcn.es/APPS/edubidce/pubPortadaAc.do 3 Focus Experience # 2 Title Max Jacob Cultural Centre of Quimper (Pôle Culturel Max Jacob) Basic data City: Quimper Country: France Number of inhabitants: 67.255 Topics: Associationism and participation, urban development, art and humanities, Lifelong learning. Principles of the Charter of Educating Cities: 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 10, 14, 18 Summary Quimper City Council, in order to encourage the exchange of cultural activities, promote diversity and develop meetings between artists and citizens, has set up the “Max Jacob Cultural Centre” project, a space for artistic and cultural experimentation. The centre will be in the area of a neighbourhood undergoing transformation; that of the station. The space will be open to the whole city and View of the future building Alvéole Son all age groups. Cultural proposals will Berranger & Vincent have specially adapted spaces, based around an old renovated theatre: the Max Jacob Theatre. The spaces will include rehearsal rooms, training classrooms, exhibition and performance areas and so on, to practice music, plastic arts, live performances, Breton culture (music, language, dancing and so on). There will also be a teaching space dedicated to gardening. The project brings together organisations that are committed in various ways to education (the young Workshop of music and dance of the Conservatory of theatre association, amplified music, the Music and Acting of Quimper (April 2011) conservatory, art school, Breton culture etc.). The centre will thus make it possible for synergies to form between various experiences in order to propose transversal educational routes. The Max Jacob Centre management team that is bringing together the various agents in the territory will take an original composition. The City Council wants the project to be built cooperatively, involving not only the cultural agents of the territory but also the citizenry. 1 Objectives -To have a dedicated space for artistic and cultural experimentation, which will include a space for coexistence. -To create the conditions needed to encourage meetings and exchange between artists and the citizenry. -To support the artistic and cultural activities done in the city. Methodology In Autumn 2008, Quimper City Council polled the citizenry on the subject of the general state of Culture. This was aimed at all the citizens and the objective was to open up cultural policy to debate. This meeting gave rise to the idea of creating a cultural and artistic space: the Max Jacob Cultural Centre. In 2009, the first stage consisted of gathering the 10th Anniversary of the Très Tôt Théâtre Cultural Association at wishes and needs expressed the Max Jacob Theatre garden (2010) by cultural agents and © Pascal Perennec politicians. Before taking a decision, a number of considerations, opinions and standpoints needed to be shared in order to reach an agreement on the future of the centre. To do this, professionals and experts were invited to present and share their experiences in the context of developing innovative cultural projects. At the same time, a specialist in cultural policy ran a number of workshops with cultural agents in order to create an ethical consensus protocol to express the shared values and principles on which this new initiative should be based.

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