Maria Arana is an architect at URBANBAT, a participatory urban planning office that offers support in planning of the territory to groups, communities, and local administrations. Through their work (participatory processes, workshops, interventions in the public space...) they promote social innovation and urban creativity with the purpose of favoring a culture of citizen participation that contributes to the care and improvement of the environment. URBANBAT is made up of people who come from the world of architecture, urban planning, social sciences, communication, and pedagogy. Thanks to a multidisciplinary approach based on networking, they liaise between the parties involved in urban planning and regeneration projects. At the same time, they promote urban pedagogy programs that explore the multiple educational dimensions of the city. In this sense, they have developed Arkitente, a platform to bring architecture closer to children. They organize the annual urban planning and social innovation festival URBANBAT in Bilbao.

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Proposal

Arkitente. Urban learning through play and citizen participation.

 

 In this workshop, we will discuss the origins and development of the Arkitente project. From the first playful learning experiences that combined the use of ICTs and more conventional methodologies, to the systematization and development of the program. An open, flexible and available web tool for educators, pedagogues, and institutions interested in promoting citizen participation from childhood.

 

 Arkitente uses the potential offered by the city and the Urban Pedagogy to learn DE (from), EN (in) and LA (the) city itself through the game and encourage interest and participation in its construction and improvement. We will look at some projects of child participation for the design of public spaces made by arkitente and we will reflect on the learning and connections that arise from these experiences.