What is innovative about this project?
- Social: Combining different target groups to counteract segregated housing.
- Social: Aligning different interests that might promote or hamper district renovations by considering the role of mediators.
The social mix model was used as a criterion to assign the dwellings of the building. Acer carried out a data analysis to identify the family and people with suitable characteristics. Mediators were engaged to facilitate the cohesion among the different groups and to involve them in the community-building process. Inhabitants were offered training to become community facilitators and were encouraged and supported in writing a handbook of good living practices.
Local Partnership
- Company: –
- Municipality: Municipality of Bologna
- Housing provider: ACER
- Other: Bologna Open Group, Local Authority for the right to study, Region Emilia-Romagna, Resident Committee, ARCI, Other non-profit organisations
The prospective residents were not involved in the planning of the refurbishment of the buildings but were strongly involved in the management phase: creation of a community and definition of common living rules.
The social regeneration of the area was achieved mainly through strong involvement of the resident population. As a result of the participatory process and community building process the residents wrote a handbook of good co-living practices (with the help of Open Group – a social cooperative). The work was done in stages with monthly meetings, which involved the inhabitants for six months.
Key Facts
- Year of construction: N/A
- Renovation period: 2017-2022
- Area of intervention (m²): N/A
- Number of dwellings (before/after): before 160/after 154
- Housing typology: multi-apartment buildings
- Housing tenure: social (non-for-profit) rental housing
- Number of residents: N/A
- Shared facilities: common areas inside the building
Financial information
- Funding sources: The project was funded by the Regional Fund “Programme for the Recovery and Rationalization of Buildings and Public Residential Housing’’ and with a co-financing scheme from the Municipality.
- Total cost of renovation (€): 7,000,000 €.170,000 € used for social intervention (around 90% of which was personnel costs)
- Subsidies received (€): N/A
- Rent before and after renovation (€/month): the rent did not change because for public houses it is fixed based on income and the presence of social fragility of the families
- Energy bill (€/month): N/A
Context
In Bologna, as in many other Italian cities, most public housing units were constructed in the second half of the twentieth century in suburban districts. The difference between social housing areas and other districts is often striking, due to the dilapidated state of social housing buildings. The blocks in via Gandusio, owned by the Municipality of Bologna, are an illustration of the potentially dangerous situation that can arise in ill-planned large social housing settlements. Over the years, these buildings have experienced not only the natural age-related physical deterioration but also social conflict phenomena which have affected the neighbourhood’s quality of life. The degradation of the buildings’ condition and the concentration of social problems led to the realisation of the need to renovate. At the moment of the renovation, the dwellings were empty, with the exception of a small group of squatters.
Goals
- Transform a critical public housing area, through social innovation, dealing both with the renovation of the buildings and its social fabric.
- Improve the social cohesion of the district, where environmental quality and social mix are keywords.
Interventions
- Retrofitting of the public houses. This included the refurbishment of the façades with thermal insulation; renovation of the balconies, roofing, atriums and stairwells; improvement of the electrical and gas system; replacement of fixtures; installation of heat meters; renovation of common green areas.
- Assignment of community facilitators (placed at a designated office inside one of the buildings). Also, social mediation actions were carried out to foster good coexistence among residents.
- Offering of training courses for residents to become community facilitators.
- Distribution of the renovated apartments to different social groups, including low-income university students (social mix model).
- Organisation of activities and events to foster social cohesion in the common spaces and the green areas surrounding the buildings.
- Drafting by the tenants of a manual of good conduct.
- Creation of a website dedicated to the development of the project, open to the collaboration of inhabitants and citizens.
- Training of a resident facilitators to serve as a liaison between the municipality, building management (ACER), and residents.
- Establishment of a multi-channel communication flow at the outset of relocation with the aim of facilitating the information flow between the inhabitants, the project partners (Acer and the Municipality of Bologna) and the local associations. A condominium chat was created on WhatsApp to facilitate the communication between operators and tenants which consisted mainly of dissemination of notifications of general interest and knowledge and sharing common concerns.
Impact
- Higher energy efficiency was achieved.
- The improvement of the façade and the overall building exterior contributed to changing the image of the street and the perception of the area for residents and the wider population.
- The inhabitants felt empowered by the process of co-creation and this gave them the motivation to be directly involved in the co-management of the community.
- Mediators have been successful in guiding the community, but also in coordinating efforts towards a community needs.
- Increased trust within the community. The tenants have formed strong relationships among themselves and are actively involved in Villaggio Gandusio’s affairs.
Advice to future “Lighthouse Districts”
- Develop preparatory analytical work in relation to the social mix, as well as the involvement of residents in the development of common rules of coexistence.
- Involve local / community associations.
- Hire or involve mediators in community-building processes. Community facilitators played a key role in the development of the project, and, thanks to them, it was possible to give continuity to various activities during changes in the coordination and management. Once the community building process was completed and the community facilitators trained, the residents formed a committee to keep alive and develop the Villaggio Gandusio community.
- Open communication channels between stakeholders. Lack of communication in the project led to lack of communication of the renovation work schedule.