Program for Adoption of Squares and Green Areas

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Description

Intro

The unbridled growth characteristic of large cities in developing countries made it possible to observe the loss of control with regard to the maintenance of public spaces, hence the governance perceived the possibility of establishing partnerships with private companies and the population to share the responsibilities of actions. The Program works through a public-private partnership, assisting in the urbanization and maintenance of public spaces, as well as the awareness of the inhabitants, in order to develop preservation habits. From the launching of the Program in June 2013 to the present date, it has obtained a number of 300 adopted spaces.

Objective of the practice

The Program aims to integrate Urbanism and Environment policies. Such integration focuses on sustainable development considering its three pillars: ecologically correct, economically viable and socially just; in strict compliance with urban and environmental legislation; and the approximation and appreciation of civil society participation in decision-making processes. The attitude is innovative and represents a paradigm shift for the city, and especially for society, which usually dissociates environmental issues from urban issues. The Program has a legal basis in Decree No. 13,397 / 2014, which regulates the partnership with the private initiative and organized civil society for the maintenance of public spaces in the Municipality of Fortaleza. The Program intends to promote the participation of society in the urbanization, care and maintenance of public squares, municipal parks, flowerbeds, green areas or gardens and other areas together with the Public Power, thus transforming the city in a more inclusive, safe and acessible space.

Partners

The main beneficiaries of the Program are the citizens, but they are also the main partners needed for the Program to succeed. The companies and other private entitites are also key collaborators, because the adoption gives visibility to social responsibility and reinforces the institutional image, as it associates the company with the quality of life, through the valorization of the natural spaces and the well-being of society. Some squares have undergone a complete restructuring, making them points of reference in the city. The most significant results of the program are routinely published in the press, thus attracting more partners.

Implementation of the Project/Activity

The implementation of the Program is the result of a joint effort among several public agencies, such as the Municipal Secretariat of Urbanism and Environment - SEUMA, responsible for the coordination and technical execution of the Program, the Regional Secretariats as field collaborators of the areas to be adopted and the Legal Office of the Office of the Mayor responsible for all legal protection related to the Program. The Municipality of Landscaping and Urbanism of Fortaleza - URBFOR that, when requested, perform tree pruning and landscaping services. However, the largest collaborators involved come from civil society, who propose to contribute to the maintenance and preservation of the public spaces adopted, sharing with the costs and the workforce of the services.The methodology used is based on flowchart and with an agreement instrument, involving 3 organs of the Municipality of Fortaleza: Municipal Secretariat of Urbanism and Environment (SEUMA), Regional Secretariat and the Mayor's Office. It is intended for individuals, private entities, legal entities governed by public or private law. The interested party must submit to the Regional Secretariat the following documents: Request 01 to open the file; Form for Adoption, indicating with specificity the area and / or object of interest; Letter of intent, expressing interest in maintenance or reform and the documents of identification and proof of address. After initiation, the process must be sent to Seuma for the analysis of the project in question and being approved, it is sent to the Mayor's Office for the agreement to be finalized with the signature between the parties. After the adoption process is finished, technicians from SEUMA execute periodical inspections to check if the services described in the Work Plans are been correctly done

Results/Outputs/Impacts

The economic impacts generated are the results of the economy to the public coffers with the maintenance, remodeling and landscape improvements contained in the work plans submitted by the applicants along with the documentation necessary to open the process. From 2013 to 2016, the amount saved totaled R $ 20 million reais; and from the beginning of 2017 until May 2018, when the monthly value of the investment of the volunteers reaches R$ 121,254.38, totaling R $ 7,275,262.80 for the next 5 years (term of the contract). The involvement of the public power and civil society as a result of the Program, promote the productive social insertion of the population and the improvement of the quality of life in several territories of the municipality. There is also a strengthening of social cohesion, where individuals and companies adopt the same place together, remaining united and integrated with the same objective, improving public spaces. It is widely observed the increase in the use of public spaces by the inhabitants of the surrounding squares, with elderly people walking in groups, children playing in the playgrounds installed, or the equipment of bodybuilding being used, as well as the holding of fairs and other cultural events. In some cases, divergences occur between the adopter and the surrounding community, or even with business owners due to personal interests with the desire to use the particular space to be adopted; when that occurs, normally the SEUMA technicians carry out an educational service to moderate the situation.
As for environmental impacts, because of the more active presence of the adopter, the quality of the services performed in the spaces adopted and their handling lead to notorious improvements for the development of the region, offering pleasant and clean leisure areas. The Program provides the city with an increase in public green areas for leisure and environmental preservation for the community, greater thermal comfort, shading and reduction of direct solar incidence, attenuation of noise pollution / creation of acoustic barriers and atmospheric pollution

Enabling factors and constraints

Even with of the Local Governance will to achieve good results with the Program, there was a certain difficulty to create an executive commission formed by different public agents to coordinate the Program and carry out prospection services to attract new partners. After the proper establishment of the Comission, it has brought positive outcomes, so nowadays there's monthly reunions to discuss new strategies on how to reach more partners and improve the internal process.

Sustainability and replicability

By promoting the quality of leisure areas, such as parks, squares and wooded walks, people are attracted and new centralities are created. With 91 squares, the Program has managed to reach approximately 2,000 families, who by using these centralities, can contribute to urban mobility by reducing travel, using new modes (bicycles and walking), reducing gas emissions and fuel consumption during traffic jams).Among the services contained in the Work Plan proposed by the volunteer adopters, we can list: painting services in public equipment, cleaning, gardening and landscaping improvements, watering, installation of toys and planting of native trees. Because it is a low-cost project that still brings savings to the public coffers, it has a great possibility of replication in other municipalities, not only those close to the city of Fortaleza, but throughout the national and international territory. The adopter contributes the way he can, which makes the project extremely affordable.

Conclusions

Through the Program, social cohesion was strengthened, where individuals and companies adopt the same place together, while remaining united and integrated with the same objective, improving public spaces. This practice showed an improvement in the conservation and care with the urban furniture and the green areas making a city more pleasant and, by extension, more humane. This partnership proved to be more efficient compared to previous models.

Other sources of information

Official website:
https://catalogodeservicos.fortaleza.ce.gov.br/categoria/urbanismo-meio…

Newspaper articles:

https://www.opovo.com.br/jornal/cidades/2018/02/novos-espacos-publicos-…

http://diariodonordeste.verdesmares.com.br/cadernos/cidade/online/forta…

https://www.fortaleza.ce.gov.br/noticias/programa-adocao-de-pracas-alca…

SDGS & Targets

Goal 11

Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

Deliverables & Timeline

N/A

Resources mobilized

Resources

Staff / Technical expertise

Technicians from SEUMA and also 2 on each Regional Secretariat are designated to coordinate the Program, as well as the legal team from SEUMA and the Mayor's Office.

Partnership Progress

No progress reports have been submitted. Please sign in and click here to submit one.

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