Purpose: The Programme “Zambujal Gets Better” was brought into life in partnership with the Municipality of Amadora, the Institute of Housing and Urban Renewal and with the Intercultural School of Professions and Sports (Amadora) and it was approved by the Management Committee of Lisbon Regional Operational Programme. The main purpose is to rehabilitate the Zambujal neighbourhood, setting into motion a process of change and social development.
Stimulus/Rationale:
Main goals:
- To rehabilitate the residential buildings in order to restore the former conditions of inhabitability and to improve the comfort levels;
- To selectively restore dwellings, encouraging and rewarding the active participation of residents in order to gradually obtain their ownership;
- To preserve the common areas of residential buildings with the involvement of residents;
- To improve the environmental quality of the residential area by having a sustainable green built structure for people to enjoy;
- To enhance the centrality of this neighbourhood, by intervening in the public space;
- To Improve the urban environment by its re-planning, improving the accessibilities and the mobility, the public lighting, the parking area and road signs, as well as the selective collection of waste;
-To turn this neighbourhood outwards by qualifying the main connections at the level of roads and pedestrian areas;
- To foster healthy living, in particular by rehabilitating and having outdoor recreational leisure spaces that provide leisure and sports activities, strengthening socialisation and bringing different generations together;
- To reshape two stores, operating as opportunities spaces for the resident population;
- To boost information /training actions and to promote new opportunities regarding school and labour integration;
- To foster socio-cultural actions for the local community;
- To motivate and to foster the development of business opportunities;
- To promote the sustainability of the neighbourhood (economical, social, environmental and urban) through the participation of the residents and their engagement in management and preservation of the public space / green areas and other ways of residents self organisation;
- To promote equal opportunities and intercultural dialogue and cohabitation;
- To foster the partnership and mobilise the local community;
- To create teams of neighbourhood facilitators (young people from different communities), training social, personal and community intervention skills:
Process: The intervention occurred between 2010 and 2011 and was divided into 3 axis:
Axis 1: Housing: maintenance work in municipal housing buildings
Axis 2: Environment and public spaces: new or renewed roads, parks and pathways; environment projects with children (recycling, reusing, etc.)
Axis 3: Social and economic development, including:
The creation of a social business, to ensure the increase in job opportunities for the local population. The objective is to create a business to ensure the maintenance of green spaces. A dedicated training was promoted, to capacity-build future entrepreneurs in this field.
The project also created community spaces to provide “community-based services". These spaces intend to act as local opportunity sites for neighbourhood residents, by providing services allowing access to information and academic and vocational qualifications, as well as supporting population initiatives (meetings, exhibitions, socio-cultural activities, etc).
The initiative “living Together” was also developed, it aimed at strengthening ties among institutions which are in the neighbourhood, empowering them to collaborate in a focused manner in the local community problems. Several activities were carried out requiring the active participation of the population in identifying, planning, implementation and evaluation of actions to be developed, by holding the "Zone Congress," methodology employed in other interventions in the municipality (Community Initiative Programme URBAN II - in the boroughs of Damaia and Buraca; Generation Project/ EQUAL Opportunity).
Impact: The Zambujal Melhora Programme established the "facilitators neighbourhood" idea which is the joining of two people with different ethnic backgrounds in order to receive training at the same time in a certain area, and then to work together in their own neighbourhood, and in other districts.
Key reference documents: http://www.cm-amadora.pt/images/artigos/extra/projetoscofinanciados/zambujal_melhora/pdf/zambujal_melhora_brochura.pdf
