In Murcia, online Citizen Participation: #SantaEulalia

In this article we’ll focus on part of the online participation, and the way neighbours can give their proposals, ideas and opinions online.

We started on Wednesday March 29th, and since then the residents of the of the Santa Eulalia neighbourhood, a district in the centre of Murcia City, are actively participating in this municipal initiative.

The main reference for information (static) is the website adnmurcia.es, where visitors have been able to get to know the details of the project, its implications and the goals it pursues. It also has a practical participation tool,  an online assistant that allows the page visitor to choose, in a very intuitive and simple way, which urban elements need improvement (from their opinion as a neighbour and user) which can be squares, green areas, lighting, etc. and in which areas neighbours consider the project needs to promote the activation of the neighbourhood, a way in which the users can freely express what actions they consider necessary for Santa Eulalia.

The participatory tool also has a form (sign-up-sheet) which allows people to sign up for different activities which take place physically in the neighbourhood, be it for different age-groups, general events, etc. And it puts us in contact with the citizens in order to gather the information directly from the neighbours and other interested parties. It also allows us to send them information directly, or in a future to communicate our final proposals.

To publicize the initiative, a Blog has been added to the webpage, and profiles in social networks have been created on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (facebook.com/ADNMurcia, twitter.com/adn_murcia, instagram.com/murciadn) from which detailed information on the progress of the project and all activities, events, etc. are announced, as well as calls for participation, real time coverage of certain activities and summaries of activities once they have concluded. On the webpage www.adnmurcia.es the blog and links to all social media channels can be found.

Thanks to this wide array of communication channels, the neighbours are able to transfer their real needs to the City of Murcia online, comfortably from their PC, Tablet or Smartphone, at home or in the street, and this innovative participatory system is having a wide acceptance among users. Citizens that live in Santa Eulalia and other people interested in the project are commenting on it and expressing support and contributing ideas like for example Antonio: -I would encourage the integration of the bicycle in city life, with more parking spaces and more cycling paths-, or Magdalena, who proposes "I would like to see the Museum of Fine Arts revitalised and brought into direct connection the with the neighbourhood and its neighbours!".
 
In just one week we collected more than 300 contributions by citizens, and almost one hundred have expressed their interest in collaborating in the next steps of the process. A substantial part of the contributions (ideas, suggestions, problem focus, etc.) is taking place via the webpage, roughly 18%. Proposals and opinions that undoubtedly provide a realistic view and will provide the bases to work on the progress and welfare of the Santa Eulalia neighbourhood of and its residents.

Martín Pinar Cárceles
Urban Local Group
Interactive Cities Murcia