Citizen participation in the definition of the new Sant Bartomeu del Grau square

GMG Gestió i Participació ciutadana has been in charge of the participation process associated with the creation of the new town square, on the land previously occupied by the industrial buildings of the Puigneró factory.

For many years the activity of Sant Bartomeu del Grau revolved around the textile factory Filats i Teixits Puigneró, an industry that occupied most of the surface of the town center and which closed its doors in 2003, which generated an important social and urban planning problem.

In 2009, Sant Bartomeu obtained a grant from the Neighborhood Law fund granted by the Generalitat de Catalunya focused on improving the old core of the town. The project, in which GMG Gestió i Participació had also collaborated, provided for, among other actions, the demolition of industrial buildings to create a square that would act as a central space for citizens .

The city council started a citizen participation process in order to define this unique public space and several actions, debate and consultation bodies were held in which the elderly, young people, traders and also children participated from some workshops organized at the Monjoia school.

The participatory workshops have been very satisfactory and, apart from the results obtained, they have served to strengthen the feeling of belonging to the village. In the specific case of the school, several specific dynamics were carried out, depending on the age of the children, visits to the site before and after the demolition of the ship, etc… The consequence of this work has been a greater connection of the boys and girls with the project of the square and, through them, of the families.