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About the project

“Urban Regeneration” is a Erasmus+ KA210-YOU – Small-scale partnerships in youth project, ref. nr. 2024-1-IT03-KA210-YOU-000253178 which as a transnational cooperation initiative brings together youth organisations and local actors to explore how young people can actively contribute to the regeneration of public spaces through participation, sustainability, and community engagement.

The project responds to the growing need for inclusive, people-centred approaches to urban regeneration by placing young people at the heart of the process. Rather than focusing solely on physical transformation, the project understands regeneration as a social and educational journey — one that strengthens relationships between young people, communities, and public spaces while fostering a sense of ownership and responsibility.

Implemented through a combination of local and international activities, the project supported young people in analysing their local contexts, identifying underused or neglected public spaces, and co-creating regeneration actions together with community members and stakeholders. Through non-formal education methods, participants developed practical skills related to civic participation, sustainability, teamwork, and strategic planning, while gaining hands-on experience in transforming ideas into concrete actions.

A central element of the project was the exchange of practices and peer learning between partner organisations from different countries. An international training activity provided space for young people and youth workers to deepen their understanding of urban regeneration, reflect on local challenges, and collaboratively refine regeneration ideas before implementing them at local level. This transnational dimension strengthened the quality of the actions and allowed participants to see urban regeneration as a shared European challenge with locally adapted solutions.

The project resulted in the regeneration and reactivation of public spaces in Italy, North Macedonia and Spain accompanied by community events and visibility actions that encouraged collective use and long-term engagement. Beyond physical outcomes, the project created lasting learning experiences for young people, reinforced cooperation between civil society and local communities, and produced a practical methodology that can be adapted and replicated in different contexts.

Through Urban Regeneration, young people were not only beneficiaries, but co-designers of change — actively shaping their environments and demonstrating how youth participation can contribute to more inclusive, sustainable, and vibrant communities.

Main aim

To promote the idea about urban regeneration of abandoned/unused spaces in the communities of involved organizations as a way for community development and for young people to take ownership and initiatives for the well-being of their communities.

Objectives

To educate and train young people

to identify abandoned/unused/disused spaces in their local communities and to plan and execute concrete transformative actions of urban regeneration with local stakeholders (authorities, social and cultural entities etc.)

01

To stimulate active citizenship of young people

motivating them to (re)appropiate a sense of belonging to their local communities, enabling them to undertake concrete initiatives to redevelop the identified urban spaces

02

To raise awareness about environmental issues

as well as sustainable urbanism and waste management (in line with EU Youth goal #10 and UN’s 2030 Agenda goal #11) through educational activities and practical workshops

03

To foster creativity, innovation and social entrepreneurship

by enabling youth workers and young people in general to learn and practice construction techniques (street furniture, tile making), landscaping (gardening, space design), artistic expression (wall illustrations, graffiti), or design (visual and creative elements)

04

To build international cooperation

and exchange of competencies, practices and experiences between youth workers, organizations and young people from Italy, Spain and North Macedonia in the fields of active citizenship, youth participation, urbanism, sustainability and environmentalism

05

To promote non-formal education as methodology

and Erasmus+ programme as a tool for community development and encouraging active citizenship.

06