Plovdiv residents gave creative ideas at a meeting for neighbourhood regeneration under a European GINNGER project

 

Тhe first co-creation meeting in Plovdiv was held in the penultimate week of December. The meetings are being realized within the framework of the Horizon Europe-funded GINNGER project, whose main goal is to encourage and involve citizens in activities and initiatives to regenerate the urban environment they live in. The Bulgarian partners are the Energy Agency of Plovdiv and the Municipality of Plovdiv with Pilot region of District “Trakia”.

The meeting was hosted by the Trakia Regional Administration. Examples from European cities for neighbourhood regeneration and creation of a quality living environment were presented to the gathered active citizens: ▪ the installation of photovoltaic panels on public and residential buildings - a sustainable way to reduce energy bills; ▪ placing of solar powered benches; ▪ lighting and slots for charging mobile devices; ▪ landscaping of inter-block spaces and school yards; ▪ creation of vegetable gardens in municipal spaces shared by the residents; ▪ implementing measures such as limiting vehicle access and reducing speed limits; ▪ promoting practices and implementing campaigns for waste minimization.

                                                                  Photo credit: Municipality of Plovdiv

 

The citizens reacted positively to the presented ideas. They also made their suggestions. Representatives from the Departments of Environment of the District “Trakia” and Plovdiv Municipality, experts from the Energy Agency of Plovdiv participated in the meeting discussion, too.

Among the citizens’ ideas were:

§  Regeneration of the inter-block space around block 7 and block 310 in the A-9 microdistrict in the Trakia District, which is currently a muddy spot, but has the potential to be a modern space for people living, landscaping and parking cars;

§  Afforestation with different types of trees and shrubs in Lauta Park. These woody plants can be planted in different places in the park or grouped thematically, with each of them being given a plaque with its Latin name. The Plovdiv resident made the proposal, explaining that he walks with his children in the park almost every weekend and creating a dendrological collection would be a great educational way to introduce them to some of the plant species;

§  Renovation of the space around the path from Chernorizets Hrabar Secondary School to the main traffic zones;

§  Organizing more days for neighborhood cleaning and providing new waste containers, including separate collection;

 

 

§  Regeneration of Laut Tepe or the so-called small mound, which is located near the Trakia railway station.

It was discussed that the next meeting would be held in February. It is worth mentioning that the Bulgarian partner - the pilot district "Trakia" launched a campaign #RegeneratingTogether, aimed at increasing the engagement of citizens in the regeneration actions of their neighborhood.

The campaign involves attracting the participation of more citizens who want to jointly achieve a better living environment, focusing on the development and implementation of sustainable energy and environmental solutions for their residential neighborhood. The initiative aims to encourage citizens to openly share their ideas, as well as to seek alternatives with local authorities for their implementation.

 

Source:

Energy Agency of Plovdiv

Municipality of Plovdiv

District “Trakia”