An EU-funded project for New European Bauhaus transformations towards climate-neutral, beautiful and inclusive cities
The ASD Publics: Activating Spaces for Neurodiversity project has created new tools and methods to design sustainable and inclusive play areas for and with children with ASD and their families.
The aim of the project is to reimagine and transform playgrounds in cities in order to provide design guidelines to increase the potential for inclusive play and nature-based solutions in public space that can be implemented in other cities or countries.
The pilot was held in the Les Glòries park and in the courtyard of a school in Barcelona. The workshops had temporary facilities where children were invited to play and experiment freely. Observing their sensory and psychomotor responses, as well as their choices for specific materials and spaces, will offer valuable information about their play preferences and spaces that the project aims to understand.
Results
Co-creation method
The method will allow exploring public spaces together with children and families from the ASD community in order to enhance more inclusive play and nature-based solutions.
Design playbook
The playbook will offer guidelines for the design of public spaces considering what has been learned through the different activities of the project.
Media
Workshops at La Clariana, Les Glóries park. Barcelona.
Blanca Calvo (Principal Investigator): “The needs of children with autism are hardly ever taken into account»
«The families were very happy because we also offered them the opportunity to go to the park without feeling judged. That wasn’t the objective of the project, but we realized the number of social conflicts they have to deal with every day. They were also very pleased that someone was thinking about what they needed.»
Public space, play and neurodiversity
Challenges towards an urban european agenda
International online seminar
24th of January 2023
Chaired by
Ramon Ribera-Fumaz. Urban Transformation and Global Change Laboratory (TURBA lab), Universitat Oberta de Catalunya
Participants
Urban Design and Planning for Autism
Valentina Talu. Università di Sassari – Dipartimento di Architettura, Design e Urbanistica (DADU). www.tamalaca.com
Autism Spectrum Disorder, a singular perception of the city
Marie Pieron. Integrative Neuroscience and Cognition Center, Université de Paris – CNRS. www.incc-paris.fr
Play and public space….reflections from Wales
Marianne Mannello. Play Wales. www.playwales.org.uk
AutSPACEs: co-creating a citizen science platform
Georgia Aitkenhead, Helen Duncan, Bastian Greshake Tzovaras and Otis Smith. The Alan Turing Institute. www.turing.ac.uk
Activating Spaces with neuroDiverse Publics
Blanca Calvo Coixet and Raquel Colacios. Urban Transformation and Global Change Laboratory (TURBA lab), Universitat Oberta de Catalunya.
About us
TURBA (Urban Transformation and Global Change Laboratory) research group is the project leader of ASD Publics. It is part of the Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3) at Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC). TURBA has extensive experience in European co-creation projects. Examples of these initiatives are PERFORM, COOLSCHOOLS ,T-Factor and EPSN.
Global Institute of Neurodevelopment Integrated Care (IGAIN) is a national reference centre for the diagnosis of neurodevelopmental disorders and treatment. It trains professionals in ASD and accredits ASD diagnostic instruments in America and Europe. It offers evidence-based treatment for people with ASD throughout their life cycle.
LEMUR urban emergency laboratory is an interdisciplinary international association that generates communal spaces of wellbeing and promotes ecosocial transitions through educational and research initiatives, integrating architecture and environmental engineering. Some examples of its projects are Arrels, El cos de la casa, De l’escola al mercat, and La pell de la ciutat a Glòries.
Barcelona City Council participates through the involvement of the Area of Ecology, Urban Planning and Mobility, and the collaboration of the Municipal Institute for Persons with Disabilities (IMPD) and the Barcelona Institute of Childhood and Adolescence (IIAB).
Past activities
Public space, play and neurodiversity
Challenges towards an urban european agenda
International online seminar in English.
24th of January 2023 11:00 h.
Public space, play and neurodiversity
Present and future challenges for the design of neurodiversity inclusive public spaces
Face to face (català). Barcelona, 23rd of January 2023 17:00 h.
Col·legi d’Arquitectes de Catalunya (COAC), Sala Mirador.
Designing cities for inclusive play
ASD Publics Learnings: Playable Cities for Everyone
Online in Spanish. December 14 2022 14:30-16:00 (CET)
Workshops
October at Glòries square, invitation required
The workshops are organised for a small group of children with ASD and their families. They aim to put into practice and improve the co-creation methodology developed by the project, to test nature-based solutions (NBS) of playable spaces in the city.
Discussion sessions
November, invitation required
The results and learnings from the workshops will be reviewed by different experts in the discussion sessions. The objective is to evaluate the co-creation methodology and outline the design guide.
ASD Publics’ public presentation
Face to Face.
Friday, 21st of October 2022, UOC 22@
Partners
Collaborators
Supported by
Authorship
© Authors
© CC by-sa-nc ASD Publics | BCNeuroinclusiva consortium.
Disclaimer
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.