Cities 8-80: how to think public spaces for all ages

One of the great challenges of current urbanism is thinking about inclusive cities. The growth of the urban population, the pandemic and climate change forced us to reflect on who and how inhabit cities and, above all, what can be done to improve daily life in large cities. Creating green spaces, reconfiguring the streets, tearing down walls and bars, improving public transport: the ways to generate healthier, more equitable and sustainable cities are diverse.

With this objective, Ciudad 8-80 emerged, a non-governmental organization based in Canada that proposes to rethink large urban centers so that they can be enjoyed by the entire population, with a special focus on children and the elderly. "If everything we do in our public spaces is fine for an 8-year-old person and for an 80-year-old person, then it will be fine for everyone," they maintain from the NGO that has already worked in parks and public spaces in more than 300 cities. .

Among the projects that Ciudad 8-80 has worked on since its founding in 2007, the Klyde Warren Park stands out, located in Dallas, United States, which managed to transform an old highway into a beautiful urban oasis. To create this space, a part of the eight-lane highway that crosses the city center was covered with a large public park of more than 21,000 square meters where free activities of all kinds are offered, such as yoga, dance, readings, concerts, and movies. outdoors, among others. In addition, it has a playground for children, an area for pets and food trucks. “Klyde Warren Park demonstrates how community-led ideas and a multitude of activities can keep a park vibrant all year long,”

The guide, created in conjunction with the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) —an American organization that works to improve the quality of life of people over 50— and The Trust for Public Land —NGO whose mission is to “create parks and protect the land for people, and ensure healthy and livable communities for generations to come”— ​​mentions among the benefits of creating public spaces in cities the improvement in the physical and mental health of the community, the positive impact on the ecosystem and the increase in the value of properties in the area. In addition, it indicates that one way to evaluate the design of a public space is to see how many female users, how many adults and parents with children it has. “Their presence is an important indicator of good design.

Since its opening in 2012, Klyde Warren Park —which has 37 species of native plants and 322 trees— has received more than one million visitors per year and has become a benchmark for urbanism both in the United States and internationally. international. The great success of this park is based on the fact that it is not only used daily as a meeting and recreation place for people of all ages, but also that it integrated two parts of the city that were divided by the highway: the suburban neighborhoods with the mall of dallas. In this way, it was shown that this type of intervention also serves to restore the urban fabric and strengthen community ties.

According to data from the World Bank, the urban population is growing globally: currently, 56% of people in the world —4.4 billion inhabitants— live in cities and it is estimated that this proportion will rise to 70% by 2050 In addition, the United Nations (UN) calculates that, for that year, 1 in 6 will be over 65 years of age and the number of people over 80 will have tripled. This increase in urbanization and the adult population poses the challenge of moving from the current city model, mostly designed by and for young men, to a new paradigm that is more inclusive for women, older adults, children, and adolescents.

The Colombian architect Guillermo Peñalosa, founder of Ciudad 8-80, assures that urban centers must be evaluated "according to how we treat the most vulnerable citizens." “Let's stop building cities for 30-year-old vehicles and athletes,” he said in an interview with El Universo. The specialist considers that “we have not built cities in a good way. They are not environmentally or financially sustainable, nor are they good for physical or mental health” and, for this reason, it is urgent to reinvent urban planning models and democratize the use of space.

And it is that in most large cities, those who mobilize in a private vehicle are 18% of the people, but they occupy 80% of the space on the streets, while 82% travel in other ways —either by public transport public, by bicycle or on foot—but it has barely 20% of the urban space. Faced with this inequity, Peñalosa proposes a city with more parks and green spaces, with better connectivity, and the creation of safe and friendly circuits that facilitate mobility for the most vulnerable populations.

Although Ciudad 8-80's proposal implies a comprehensive redesign of cities, there are also quick and low-cost interventions that make it possible to create a friendlier public space. These actions are known as “tactical urbanism” and have gained greater visibility since the pandemic.

Small changes such as painting colored stripes on the streets and sidewalks, incorporating mobile furniture and creating circuits that give priority to pedestrians emerged as a quick and cheap response to create safe spaces against COVID-19 in cities around the world. The main characteristic of this proposal is that it deals with transition projects so that communities can improve their quality of life and be part of the reconfiguration process of their cities.

However, not all interventions that have emerged from the pandemic are tactical urbanism. Since 2020, the expansion of bars and restaurants above the public space —with tables, bars and even metal gazebos in some cases— has become commonplace in the big cities of the world, but specialists maintain that these interventions are not designed by nor for the neighbors and cannot be considered as part of this urban redesign project.

With the same spirit as Ciudad 8-80, the Villa Clorinda Project was born in Peru. It is an initiative of Sumbi —an NGO that promotes the development, care and protection of children— and the Ania Association —which is dedicated to promoting initiatives for the protection of the environment and empowering children and adolescents as agents of change. — to recover public spaces in Villa Clorinda, a popular neighborhood in the Comas district, about 15 kilometers from the center of Lima. In 2016, both organizations, together with the Coordinadora de la Ciudad en Construcción (CCC), won a fund from the Australian Embassy to develop a natural, playful and safe space for girls and boys from that neighborhood in a park that was unused. .

Within the framework of a citizen participation model, the boys and girls of Villa Clorinda were asked how they imagined their ideal park and it was they who created the initial proposal that was presented to the CCC for its design with plasticine, colors and various playful elements. and elaboration. As a result of this work, a plan for the comprehensive improvement of the public space emerged, which was implemented in two stages with the participation of organizations, neighbors, boys, girls, volunteers, and municipal staff. Until then, Villa Clorinda was a neighborhood that was fragmented and fenced off for security reasons; Despite the fact that it had a forest and a viewpoint nearby, these spaces were not connected or used.

It was necessary to remove the vehicles parked in the area, remove a garbage dump, open a pedestrian walkway to integrate the park with the neighborhood, and tear down the bars and walls that prevented entry to that space. Today the Villa Clorinda Park has an area of ​​750 square meters —which will be extended to 2,100 in a second stage— with games made with recovered materials, a large slide, murals painted by neighborhood children, a climbing wall and living spaces. for families. In statements to the local press, Javier Vera and Paula Villar, architects from the CCC, celebrated the acceptance that the park had among the community and that the place, previously unused, has become a meeting point between the residents of the area and a space full of boys and girls.

However, not everything was so easy for the community. The intervention also had some resistance among the residents of the neighborhood, especially those who, without municipal authorization, charged people for parking on the street. That is how, a few months after having inaugurated the park, those who defended the privatization of that space managed to replace the bars, although this time they included a door to allow access. The organizations that participated in the project maintain that this experience helped them learn that it is essential to communicate the benefits that a citizen intervention of this type can have before its implementation, to minimize possible conflicts and rejections. "We believe that the best way to reduce conflicts and voices against the intervention is to involve as many people as possible in the development of your initiative from the beginning," they point out in their manual Urban interventions made by citizens: Strategies towards better spaces public. And they conclude: “Finally, keep in mind that you can also learn from rejections and conflicts. Think that, at least, you will have managed to generate debate around the transformation of the city and small-scale actions. That is already a great achievement.” At the very least, you will have managed to generate debate around the transformation of the city and small-scale actions. That is already a great achievement.” At the very least, you will have managed to generate debate around the transformation of the city and small-scale actions. That is already a great achievement.”

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This note is part of the Solutions for Latin America platform, an alliance between INFOBAE and RED/ACCIÓN.

“Klyde Warren Park demonstrates how community-led ideas and a multitude of activities can keep a park vibrant all year long,”The guide, created in conjunction with the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) —an American organization that works to improve the quality of life of people over 50— and The Trust for Public Land —NGO whose mission is to “create parks and protect the land for people, and ensure healthy and livable communities for generations to come”— ​​mentions among the benefits of creating public spaces in cities the improvement in the physical and mental health of the community, the positive impact on the ecosystem and the increase in the value of properties in the area.