Ensuring Security in a large and historical public green space

The project focuses on the occupation and use of public spaces by citizens and their individual and collective needs. Using this information, local urban authorities can have a new perspective in interpreting the statistical and spatial data they are collecting in their cities and thus improve their perception of the impact of city planning actions on urban safety. In addition, the network will contribute to the development of new ways of civic participation processes, particularly with regard to safety issues.

The area identified for the implementation of the project was the Park Ducale in Parma. Through this important process of participation, capacity building and knowledge exchange among all partners and local stakeholders on the project issues, we hope to achieve our goal to contribute to the growth of a more liveable city, more objectively safe and smart with the aim to offer to the citizen users, families and future generations also a greater perception of security.

The Parma local police regularly patrol the park areas in the afternoons and evenings to prevent crime and anti-social behaviour, they also promote pedagogical activities with the users and in particular with school children. The work carried out in recent years by Parma City Council in the Park Ducale has involved the State Police and the non-profit associations. Both have become strategic co-actors in the production and promotion of urban security at the local level. Participatory security is a crucial instrument and its effective implementation requires partnership between all stakeholders.

The patrol activity inside the park is carried out in partnership with volunteers of the Civil Protection Department, retired officers of State Police, and a bike patrol unit of the Red Cross association which operates in conjunction with the Local Police for some days per month. However there are still problems that have been analysed in this project.

The area covered by the project, reflects a situation that can be seen in some peripheral areas of the city, where there are forms of crime such as drug trafficking, theft, but also episodes where gangs of boys, after targeting minors or defenceless people in more isolated or poorly lit areas, commit intimidation activities or even robberies. 

A working group ULG was set up for this project, and the main objective is to bring together around a table the different vested interests and perspectives in order to frame problems and agree on policy priorities, and design concrete solutions so as to address these problems in the most efficient way.

The members of the ULG of the City of Parma comprise:
- Project Team (European Project Department) - Local Police - Prefecture and Carabinieri (National Forces) - Departments of the Municipality - University of Parma and 2 high schools - Street Unit of Local Service for drug addiction - Neighbourhood Committee of volunteer citizens - Cultural associations, volunteer and civil society organisations - Profit actor which manages the kiosk within the park. 

The foreseen actions aim to:
- reopen one of the gates closed some time ago to facilitate the passage of police cars 
- make the police bicycles officers pass through the park. 
- involve Carabinieri (Corps which have a dual role as a Police and Armed Force) and police officers on leave walking through the park as volunteer patrols. 
- finance a video surveillance system. 
- involve schools and associations to do sports, organize events or take care of green areas (e.g. teachers and students of the agricultural school that is attached to the park could take care of the maintenance of the planters) 
- get people and citizens to live in and reappropriate public spaces and urban commons 
- organise outdoor exhibitions and events to revitalize urban down-towns, e.g. exhibitions of murals in deprived or dangerous areas of the city

The two SSAs developed in park Ducale. One is an “hard” intervention consisting in a physical investment to make the Park more accessible and controlled, while the second small-scale action is a “soft” and immaterial intervention, being an online survey to users of the park to better understand habits, usages of the area and gather proposals for improvements.

This project was presented at the URBACT City festival 2022 in Paris, in the breakout session 'SHOW & TELL' Greening as a Pathway to Health and Resilience.

links:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO-G-6w6W3wXZSZ7X6zH16Q

https://urbact.eu/parma