Spain
City of Vic
2020 - 2023
This participatory process was born from the need to have a good analysis of the current situation and a strategic plan 2021-2023 for the Remei neighbourhood in the municipality of Vic, thus providing a roadmap with concrete and achievable actions within the current mandate.
A total of 898 people participated in the process, representing 13% of the population over 16 years of age in this neighbourhood.
Vic is a city, the capital of a county, located in the centre of Catalonia and currently has around 48,000 inhabitants. Vic is rich in contrasts, where tradition and modernity coexist, rurality and historical and cultural heritage, which is manifested by the quality of its museums and historical buildings, the market and commerce and the abundance of associations with civic, cultural and artistic concerns. The economic structure is based on the commercial, industrial and service sectors. Vic is also a university city with fairs and markets of reference.
In recent years, the city has experienced spectacular demographic growth with the arrival of people from different parts of the world. The immigration rate is currently around 25%.
The Remei neighbourhood, where the action is focused, is one of the most densely populated neighbourhoods with a ratio of 28,500 inhabitants per square kilometre, more than double that of the rest of the city. In 2020 there were 8,139 people registered on the population register, with a high percentage of the population of working age. Of the 8,139 inhabitants, 45% are of foreign origin (54 different nationalities).
Income distribution in the neighbourhood is 25% lower than in the rest of the city (€9,760 / person) with a high poverty rate of over 21%, which implies a significant risk of social exclusion.
Methodology
The process of elaboration and deployment of the Remei Strategic Plan is developed in different phases:
1) Preparatory and coordination phase, through the drafting of a Framework of Trust document between the City Council and the entities of the neighbourhood. This commitment of trust is drawn up on the basis of 4 sessions to iron out differences between the two parties.
2) Participation phase:
a. Drawing up a participatory diagnosis
b. Proposals
3) Participatory evaluation and drafting of the Plan
4) Approval of the Strategic Plan by the Municipal Plenary.
5) Creation of an operational Neighbourhood Council
6) Creation of two working commissions
7) Participatory process to create a climatic shelter in the Horta de la Sínia park, located in the Remei neighbourhood. https://participa311-vic.diba.cat/processes/hortadelasinia
8) Drafting and implementation of the Comunalitats project led by the Fera Ferotge cooperative, the Neighbourhood Association, Tapís (a social and solidarity economy company) and the City Council.
Impacts and results
The main impacts and new forms of governance of the process have materialised in the following ways:
Quantitative results of participation:
Drafting process of the Strategic Plan for the Remei neighbourhood:
Of the 898 people who took part, by age and sex:
600 people took part in the process of remodelling the Horta de la Sínia park, most of them pupils from the La Sínia school.
More information (in Spanish and Catalan)