Community engagement challenges in public space design: Lessons from the spanish cases

Abstract

The aim of this article is to detect problems of community engagement and to develop recommendations to strengthen engagement processes in public space design in Spain by creating an analytical framework which defines dimensions and variables of community engagement in public space design. The research method is based on literature review and a case study including observation and face-to-face /online interviews on three projects in Spain, as Valladolid Millennium Square, Madrid Rio Park and Barcelona Poblenou and Sant Antoni Superblocks. The projects were analysed in three dimensions related to community engagement in public space design as legal, institutional and political context, citizen participation process, public space design and implementation process and the outcomes of the projects were evaluated. In all cases, the projects were criticized for lacking clear design objectives to address future urban design challenges, their high costs of implementation, and inefficient governance in achieving desired outcomes. Recommendations were also made to improve design and implementation processes and to enhance stakeholder participation. The original value of the study is the effort to contribute to urban design process, both academically and practically, by drawing lessons from public space projects implemented in different contexts and scales through a systematic and holistic analysis method related to community engagement in public space design.