Building Capacity to transform existing residential subdivisions into smart and robust urban ecosystems (R-7904)

Developing smart and sustainable transformation pathways requires technical and conceptual innovation. The project CAPA.CITY starts from the hypothesis that these innovations can only be implemented in a durable way if they are supported by a process of capacity building. The main objective of CAPA.CITY is therefor to develop a theoretical and operational framework that can help the building of the, so-called, collective capabilities that are necessary to create smart and robust urban ecosystems. Collective capabilities refer to the ability of a collective - consisting of citizens, businesses, NGO's and institutes- to meet a set of predefined objectives. The point of departure is that building these capabilities is a process of joint learning. For this reason, CAPA.CITY proposes to experiment with location-based experiential learning methods to trigger this process. Given that joint learning is context-dependent, CAPA.CITY proposes to work within one urban context, namely the retrofitting of existing residential subdivisions. CAPA.CITY will initiate capacity building processes in 6 residential subdivisions located in Belgium, Denmark and France. And will explore 3 location-based experiential learning methods, namely telling, envisioning and making.

Keywords:collective capabilities, location-based experiential learning, residential subdivisions

Disciplines:Architectural engineering, Architecture, Building engineering, Interior architecture, Architectural design, Art studies and sciences