The municipality of Breda is going to redesign a residential area, Doornbos-Linie Zuid. We do this based on NBS. The 5 topics of NBS are Eco-sensitisation, Social Benefits, Gender-based NBS verification, NBS Economic opportunities and enabling NBS-supporting political capital. On Tuesday, September 19, we met with the competency group. The competency group consists of 4 people with different expertise and 2 residents of the neighbourhood. Due to other commitments, 2 people from the group could not attend.
We work together based on co-creation. All participants have the same influence on the process.
We started with a presentation about the origins of UPSURGE. The survey results and explanation of the meeting were also discussed.
After this, we presented the final design of the district. We did this to inspire the group. The residents of the group have been living here for 20 and 30 years. They have a good idea of the feasibility of some ideas. Because of language and culture, these must be simple ideas and something that curiosity is aroused. The district also mainly consists of social housing.
However, all NBS specifications must be reflected in the idea.
The group has concluded that this is doable. However, this must grow and arise naturally.
Many people with a migration background live in the district. It is difficult to inform these people well and understandably.
We came up with an idea with 4 of the pillars of NBS. We look at the 5th pillar in the course of the process.
The group has become so enthusiastic that we will test our idea on October 4. On the 5th of October, we come together to reflect and learn.
The idea is to organize a meeting every month on one of the squares in the neighbourhood. The members of the group provide a large blanket and a tent in case of bad weather. Curiosity must be aroused so it must be visible to everyone.
Coffee and tea are provided and the idea is that people take turns providing snacks.
It is possible that someone will sit all alone at the first meeting. The residents think they will be approached a lot. The residents can explain what they do and what the goal is. We expect that some people will come to the next meeting. This way the event can grow until it becomes a regular afternoon once a month. And maybe, with success, weekly. Our goal is to bring people together from different cultures. Especially women. We hope that if women from certain cultures take the difficult step to come, more women from that culture will follow. We also want to encourage people to help each other. A kind of exchange so they do not pay someone to do this for them. For example, If someone has difficulty with garden maintenance, someone offers to help. The other person can reciprocate, for example, by helping with bookkeeping or filling out difficult forms. We are going to start with this monthly event and would like to hear what the needs of the residents are. But it is essential that everything has to grow naturally.
Another idea may be born from the competency group. We will keep you updated closely.
