We will organize eco (ecological) placemaking activities in Hungary, France, Portugal, and Slovakia (where partners have experience in eco placemaking). Target audiences are local rural citizens, youth and seniors alike, who will be mobilized to participate in local co-design activities (participant numbers are conservatively estimated between 25-50 per project country but we are able to host, and in fact, expect more local people to participate in the events).

Placemaking is the process of creating quality places where people want to live, work, play, and learn. Eco placemaking adds another dimension to this concept as it weaves in sustainability as a central focus, encouraging people to capitalize on a local community’s assets and potential and create green public spaces that are healthy, sustainable, inclusive, and people-friendly. The process of placemaking is situated, differing in each place it is performed as it is based on local characteristics and community needs.

It can range from transforming abandoned places into recreational areas through creating eco-friendly community spaces from repurposed materials and objects to improving walking and biking infrastructure, just to name a few examples out of the endless possible avenues. This will enable us to try and implement different ideas, building up a repository of eco placemaking practices, which can be informative and inspiring for other communities in the future. Eco placemaking will add a new dimension to citizen participation by empowering people to take ownership of their immediate environment and collaborate to create more beautiful, healthier, and greener spaces. It will develop the skills and capacity of rural communities and local inhabitants to make their voices heard on development issues for their community and create impactful and transformative community projects. This community action can also inspire participants to address the larger environmental crisis and become more active in environment-related action on a local level in the future.