In early June, partners from IRIDRA visited the demo site in Cuba, Portugal, to support the next phase of the project’s participatory regeneration process. The visit combined a site inspection with a Readiness Assessment Workshop, bringing together local partners, stakeholders, and community representatives to strengthen the foundations for the co-creation process.
The visit focused on Chafariz da Fonte dos Leões and its historic public washing tanks, a site of significant cultural and social value that has remained abandoned for more than a decade. Together with the Municipality of Cuba and Make it Better, the SPICE team explored how participatory Nature-based Solutions (NbS), guided by the principles of the New European Bauhaus, can help transform the area into an attractive, inclusive, and climate-resilient public space.
Walking through the site allowed participants to observe its current condition and collectively reflect on its challenges, opportunities, and future potential. Two key issues emerged as priorities for the regeneration process: addressing water scarcity and ensuring meaningful community engagement throughout the project’s implementation.
Building on these place-based observations, the Readiness Assessment Workshop introduced participants to the SPICE project, its objectives, and the participatory methodology that will guide the regeneration process. The workshop created a shared understanding of the project’s expected outcomes while encouraging participants to reflect on their hopes, concerns, and motivations regarding the transformation of the site.
Through facilitated discussions, participants identified potential barriers and enabling factors for inclusive participation and explored different levels of stakeholder involvement in decision-making, from consultation to co-development and self-governance. The session also helped align expectations, establish a common basis for future collaboration, and reinforce the value of structured participatory methods in supporting informed and transparent co-creation.
The visit marked an important milestone in the readiness and framing phase of the SPICE process in Cuba, laying the groundwork for the development of a detailed action plan and the transition towards implementation. By combining local knowledge, community participation, and NbS, SPICE continues to support the creation of public spaces that are environmentally resilient, socially inclusive, and deeply rooted in local heritage.
