“Insieme per la nuova Piazza de’ Ciompi” (“Together for the new Ciompi Square”) is the name of a participatory project that fits in with the process of urban renovation of the Sant’Ambrogio/Ghiberti area in the center of Florence. The purpose of the project was to involve local citizens in the decision about how to reorganize the square after the local antiquarian street market moved to the nearby Ghiberti/Annigoni Square. Indeed, far-back in time the sellers of the antiquarian street market claimed the necessity of a new site for their stands.
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Summary
This case study features a series of workshops, assemblies, and information sessions to promote civic engagement in the renewal of a municipal square in Italy. After the participant selection process, which paid special attention to children, three phases of participation took place. The project ultimately fostered community discussion and understanding before the renovation of the square.
Uniontown, a community of about 3,000, is located in the heart of Alabama’s Black Belt, named for a deposit of dark, fertile soil extending from Mississippi’s border through the heart of Alabama. This region faces declining population, persistent poverty, inadequate health care, substandard schools, and weak business development.
Figline Valdarno is an Italian municipality in the Province of Florence, Tuscany, with a population of about 17,000 inhabitants. In 2008 Figline Valdarno celebrated his 1,000th anniversary from his foundation. This represented an opportunity to rethink the evolution of public spaces and their usage. Attention was dedicated to the old town and particularly to the main square. The historical center of Figline is still surrounded by medieval walls and crossed by many narrow streets; its main feature is the medieval market Marsilio Ficino square.
MUNICIPALITY OF BUONCONVENTO: LAND USE PLANNING (VARIANTE AL PIANO STRUTTURALE)
Problem and Purpose
Between February 2009 and March of the same year, the Municipality of Buonconvento (Tuscany, Italy) carried out the participatory process partecip@progetta.bc aimed at updating its Structural Plan; it decided to do so by involving its population in order to solve some critical situations, dealing with 'urban accessibility'.
As the first participatory budgeting experiment ever carried out in Colle di Val d’Elsa, this PB process began in November 2009, with the goal of directly entrusting part of the municipal budget to young residents – ranging from 16 to 25 years of age. During formal and other autonomously self-organized meetings, the participants gathered to discuss and deliberate on projects aimed to improve activities for the youth, that the city administration committed to implement.
