The BdV screen of memory and Ciutat d'Asunción boulevard at the Baró de Viver neighborhood (Barcelona): (re)thinking citizens' participation in urban design

Abstract

We present a case of citizen participation to design some public spaces in Baró de Viver, a neighbourhood of the city of Barcelona. Our aim is to reflect on the ways to understand citizen participation in political and academic agenda, the role of different actors (citizens, professionals, politicians...) and strategies and methods used in participatory urban planning. The experience showed in this paper is located in a scale of urban design very close and well known to the people. We begin with a brief historical overview of the neighborhood where the project arose. Then we give an account of the stages of the participatory process, showing the main milestones, features and methods. Finally we propose some ideas to rethink the conceptual and methodological aspects of the intervention and urban research in environmental psychology and people-environment studies.