Patrizia
Di Monte
Validated Lead Expert
Generic Skills
B.1. Understanding of integrated and sustainable urban development:
The activity carried out in the last years combines the professional experience with the educational and research activity all in the field of the new strategies for urban regeneration, Integrated Urban Renewal Temporary use, Citizens Engagement. I' m architect by IUAV (Venice), I have realized the Master and the PhD on Urban Design at ETSAB Barcelona. The professional field includes projects as well as building, for private and public developers. Many of them come from public competitions. In the experimental field, I am the founder of the "estonoesunsolar" (thisisnotaplot) experimental program, a reference at an international level, worldwide, widely recognized, awarded and published. At present, I take part in the development of urban strategies in many European cities, as well as in the advise for the implantation of actions of reuse. I have worked as a teacher of Social Architecture and Urbanism at San Jorge University, as well as in the participation of many congresses, workshops. I also practice a knowledge transfer throughout publications and papers in books, magazines, blogs, etc. The ecological and Sustainable development conceptions of the city are basic references of my work. I've had the opportunity of a direct influence in the implementation of strategic and experimental plans, realized through the collaboration with administrations. Hence, work results in specific experiences are recognized as good practice, and are being exported to other countries.
B.2. Understanding of exchange and learning processes at transnational level:
Knowledge is "that which moves", therefore, it is necessary going out to look for it. The professional experience has allowed me to participate at different levels in several international programs. On one hand, I have taken part in a series of European programs (Rehabitat, Erasmus +, Youth in Action, Habitat 2.0), international laboratories linked to universities (Rome, Milan, Venice, Rotterdam, Chiba, Calgary, Beirut) or private foundations (Fondazione del Monte Bologna), informative and participative workshops (Vienna, Tokyo, Milan, Rome, Seville, Oporto, Bochum). Likewise, I had the chance to articulate the transfer of knowledge by participating in diverse Congresses and specialized Forums (Merida Mexico, Belo Horizonte Brasil): I have realized this exchange of knowledge at all the levels, from children workshops, university programs, participative processes or forums with the intervention of different actors from the administration or political. We have been able to develop urban renewal program in several countries, each one with its own specific characteristics, including -therefore- different European realities (Spain, Italy, Germany, Netherlands, France, Portugal, Slovenia), Asians (Japan, The Lebanon) as well as American (Mexico, Brazil, U.S.A.). We have participated in several processes of reactivation and urban regeneration, at different scales, with different agents and in diverse countries. Each country, each reality demands a unique solution.
B.3. Proficiency in English:
For the development of the majority of the activities mentioned above, English has been an essential key. Between the years 2013 and 2014 I worked as Coordinator for the International Relations Department at the School of Architecture (San Jorge University ), incorporating 7 new bilateral agreements with diverse European universities. I have developed part of my academic training in Venezia, Barcelona, London and Paris. The intense work in publication and research has allowed me to go across the different European countries, providing me with a high understanding and a clear perception their realities.
Expertise for the design and delivery of transnational exchange and learning activities:
Summary Expertise for the design and delivery of transnational exchange and learning activities:
My experience achieved in different European countries provided me with the possibility of knowing the specific needs of each local reality. I acquired this experience across the many forums, workshops, congresses or projects realized for Municipalities and European Institutions. I have special interest in offering my urban proposals across different levels (associations, institutions, universities) understanding, thereby, that I covered diverse fields with their own specific realities. In all cases, there has been a transfer of knowledge in a bidirectional way. With the aim of linking all the agents through participative processes. These processes have been always adapted to the particulars of each situation. The different points of view learned from the every experience have allowed me to obtain a complex and transversal vision of the different urban strategies of regeneration implemented and on progress in the European panorama, and to be able to perceive a panoramic vision of the same one. In all these processes, it has always been important the intention of being able to tack the relations, sometimes detached, between citizens and institutions. For that reason, I have managed to implement transverse processes, so that the practices bottom-up and top-down get in balance. The knowledge and the analysis of the good practices realized at a European level have allowed me to hold a strategic fundamental background to confront the problems of the contemporary city.
Thematic expertise:
Theme / Policy:
Urban Strategic Planning
Summary Thematic expertise:
After the Master and the PhD, I developed the adquired knowledge, focused on on new sustainable regeneration strategies, through urban planning competition and as urban planning consultant. I designed the urban regeneration experimental program ESTONOESUNSOLAR, recovering vacant lands into new temporary public spaces, through citizens participation. The program marked an innovation step in the field of urbanism, sociology, anthropology, economy, politics, being higly awarded and published. I achieved a big effort creating a system and a methodology to make it exportable, replicable in other cities. I have an active participation as expert adviser in the planning of different European municipalities interested in the urban and economic re-use strategies of empty spaces. I elaborated several manuals of procedures and methodologies of urban regeneration that include diverse lines of action and which constitute an Action Plan to revitalize urban areas: urban axis, hybrid uses, Vacant Lands temporary uses, abandoned Buildings re-use. I had the opportunity to approach these problematic issues from different areas (universities, institutions) and I have been able to implement the specific good practices in both academic and professional fields. The professional development has always been accompanied by the interest of spreading knowledge through publications, and learning, through congresses, forums, workshops, as elements for transferring knowledge and creating city networks.
Theme / Policy:
Integrated Urban Renewal
Summary Thematic expertise:
I have almost 20 years of experience in integrated urban renewal as practitioner and researcher.
My work has been defining new fields of urbanism, wich got the tags of “soft urbanism” “flexible urbanism” “mainwhile urbanism”, exhibited at NAI, DAZ, MAXXI, and awarded as winner of “Eurocities 2011- Planning for people”, “IQU Innovation of Urban Quality”, “Saie 2012- Urban regeneration and development”, “Smart Future Minds”, and has been the winning proposal at LLGA wards 2013 Cities pilot the future as one of the best urban solution among the world. Our programs on integrated urban renewal have been published in several books, defined as best practice in several European Nets, have been subject of research groups at an International level, and is permenently object of invitations to congress, symposia, master ecc...
Our experimental approach on participatory urban planning and citizens engagement at different levels, have been also awarded at II Biennale Spazio Pubblico as implementation of an “Open source city”. We are also part of Smart Citizens research of Smart City Expo World Congress. We share our vision and knowledge on participatory planning and integrated urban renewal on several blogs, web platforms and scientific pubblications.
Sociologist, economist, social workers are always part of our team.
“We understand architecture and urbanism as a way of creating a platform that can produce multiple routes, intersections, and interactions”
Expertise support to local authorities and other stakeholders in designing & delivering integrated and participatory policies
E.1. Knowledge on participatory methods and tools for co-production and implementation of local polices :
I have had the opportunity to work changing or influencing several local policies through estonoesunsolar program. As a background, I took part, as urban consultatnt, to the editing team of PICH (Integrated Plan of the Old Town) of Zaragoza, which was an instrument that had the opportunity to design and introduce some flexibility tools within the rigid urban planning. Zaragoza, through these initiatives, promoted a program of abandoned spaces recovery, being the first city to host a program of this nature and scale at the municipal level. This example has since been moved to various cities like Alcoy, Bologna Rome and Foggia. With this experimental program, a process in which the will of citizens in urban planning was introduced began, and thus a new current of civic and participatory sensitivity in local decision-making was incorporated.
E.2. Knowledge on integrated approach for the design, delivering, monitoring and evaluation of urban strategies/policies:
As its creator, I have participated in assessment systems of estonoesunsolar program. To do this, we have developed a methodology that collects specific data along with intangible ones. In most of the lots (we cannot forget that they arose as temporary interventions in the city, so, a long term stay, was not intended for them) their condition has been monitored (cleaning, maintenance, street furniture status, lighting, fences, etc ..) but as mentioned above, statistics monitoring of their use has also been performed (who, schedules, intended uses and contingencies, developed activities, scenes of conflict, etc.). All of this is creating a casuistry of performance, validation and evaluation. The nature of the program and its immediacy makes it possible to react to the detection of any item that is not working properly. It has the needed flexibility to act quickly without waiting the traditional planning long terms, not adaptative with the necessary flexibility of our meanwhile context.
E.3. Awareness of the main policy and funding schemes for sustainable urban development at EU and national level:
The method of knowledge of funding programs for sustainable urban development has been acquired from my experience and exchange in specific forums around this subject matter. I have had contact in this regard, with teams that have been involved in the development of programs such as SCC, Smart Cities and Communities, LIFE, Horizon 2020.
E.4. Ability to understand specific local situations and adapt tools and content to different local realities:
Due to all the acquired experiences recounted above, I have had the opportunity to understand, investigate and share a variety of local and specific realities. It is in that range (even in that unpredictability) where my proposals can be best developed, which seek to provide global solutions but from the local, from the possible. And this effort is only possible uniting wills, building networks to achieve complex objectives.
As Chair of the tecnical office at the SMZH: I designed the urban regeneration experimental program ESTONOESUNSOLAR, recovering vacant lands into new temporary public spaces, through citizens participation (over 60 citizens ass, municipla boards, schools, old care centers involved). As first step, I provided a wide report on best practices wich allowed me to design a very efficient and inclusive strategy. The program marked an innovation step in the field of urbanism, sociology, anthropology, economy, politics, being higly awarded and published. I achieved a big effort reporting a system and a methodology to make it exportable, replicable in other cities. I managed the construction process execution, creating a technical and executive team. A finla evaluation report was done: the processes ends with the evaluation of interventions through SWOT analysis systems.
Summary Expertise:
Through professional practice and research, I have acquired a great experience in urban integrated policies that I have been able to apply in several European countries. The importance of including participative processes tries to incorporate part of the citizens that usually can't find themselves taking part of the decision making for their own environment. These processes, always opened, have complemented each other with digital strategies that reinforce them. I have always tried to establish strategies with a transverse and multidisciplinary dimension. My fundamental role in the approached processes has consisted in connecting citizens from each layer (children, young, associations, neighbors, eldier people etc) with the local authorities, in order to achieve a mutual benefit. This system gathers a social sensibility around the implication of citizens in the decision making, and tries to shorten the existing distance in many cases between them and the institutions. I have managed to unite agents, to provoke collaborative connections in order to reach common aims. For that to happen, the comprehension of the local realities is essential, each one governed by its own specificity, demanding a local adjustment of the general good practices.
“We understand architecture and urbanism as a way of creating a platform that can produce multiple routes, intersections, and interactions”
Informations
Residence location:
Spain
Languages:
Italian - Mother tongue
Foreign Languages level:
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Foreign languages:
Foreign Languages level:
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Email:
patrizia@gravalosdimonte.com