The International Urban and Regional Cooperation (IURC) Latin America programme recently concluded an insightful webinar titled “Urban Co-Creation and Social Justice (Medellín – Lecco): Coinvite – Storytelling for Urban Learning.” The event brought together experts, academics, and practitioners from urban planning, social urbanism, and social justice fields to explore the power of storytelling in urban development, community engagement, and social inclusion.
You can watch (or re-watch) the webinar here: Webinar #18: click here
The main objective of the webinar was to provide practitioners and policy-makers with concrete examples from relevant case studies on Cultivating Urban Resilience through Co-creation and Storytelling: Case Studies from Medellín, Colombia – Lecco, Italy. The agenda included:
◻ Catalina Ortiz (Associate Professor, Development Planning Unit, University College London)’s presentation emphasized the critical role of storytelling in urban planning, transformation, and community engagement. Her presentation spotlighted the successful urban transformation of Medellín, highlighting key factors such as a change in planning culture, leadership and institutional factors, high-quality design, mobility integration, and community involvement. She also delved into the importance of care, memory, connections, and recycling in urban planning, emphasizing that care should be a central theme in urban development.
◻ Angela Colucci (Adjunct Professor/Post-Doc Fellow, ABC Department, Politecnico di Milano) focused on engagement in urban planning, emphasizing the importance of community involvement, storytelling, and a coproduction approach. Her presentation stressed the understanding of complex systems in urban planning, community participation for social inclusion, strategic priorities for inclusion, networking and collaboration, and the importance of addressing fragmented areas. She also discussed the role of collaborative workshops and data collection in making informed urban planning decisions.
This webinar represented an exciting opportunity to learn from the experiences and knowledge of these experts in the fields of urban planning, social urbanism, and social justice. It provided a platform for global stakeholders to share ideas and collaborate on creating more inclusive and equitable cities. Participants from 15 cities and 12 countries joined the webinar.
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