A Redesign of Parque Bidebieta Using Diverse Perspectives

In recent years, the concept of public space has experienced a shift from being a vibrant political and community-centric realm to a more complex entity influenced by various societal and urban factors such as technology and commercialization. Consequently, we face the considerable task of implementing initiatives that revitalize public spaces, turning them into environments that foster social harmony, embrace diversity, and contribute to the well-being of local residents.

In order to be inviting and successful, public spaces need to offer qualities such as ease of accessibility, the ability to engage in a variety of activities, and safety and cleanliness, among others. However, it is not uncommon for public spaces to undergo transformations over time, often leading to a state of neglect or insignificance due to shifts in demographics, maintenance, or public interest. For these reasons, it is essential to continue developing new strategies in terms of local urban planning that incorporate citizen opinion within the context of dynamic public spaces.

We Design Bidebieta Park

In Diseñamos Parque Bidebieta (Eng. We Design Bidebieta Park), a project located in Donostia-San Sebastián’s diverse Eastern District, Paisaje Transversal utilized a collaborative design process with an emphasis on gender equality that strove to integrate the various needs of the community, including those of women, children, youth, seniors, people with disabilities, and recent immigrants. The methodology of the Triple Dimension of Public Space, with perspectives in accessibility and safety, comfort and identity, and use and management, helped reach conclusions that combine the community’s viewpoints into attainable and realistic plans for Parque Bidebieta. Moving forward based on participatory responses, the goals of the park’s redevelopment, most broadly, are to make it more accessible and continuous, “add” from subtraction, and create a center that is flexible and inclusive.

Three phases of initial work were carried out between October and December of 2021. The preparation phase involved giving a public presentation that outlined the objectives of Diseñamos Parque Bidebieta and looking at previous work. The following phase of diagnostic observation consisted of surveying the park and its surroundings in a participatory manner as well as having group sessions with various aforementioned stakeholders over a span of about two weeks in order to incorporate their feedback into the proposal. Through the collective GIS mapping of both the physical park and the verbal responses from community members, we then created a synthesis document showing areas of potential enhancement. Subsequently, during the concluding phase of improvement strategies, collaborative workshops were conducted, wherein the Triple Dimension of Public Space was employed to develop a comprehensive plan.

The subsequent aspects are significant to note:

The consideration of accessibility and safety ensures a seamless integration of the park with its immediate surroundings, and establishes connections with the neighborhood.
Ensuring comfort and image involves designing the space to meet climatic and environmental requirements, while simultaneously integrating landscape and identity criteria.
To understand use and activity, it is important to take into account the different uses of the park and its activities, and how they relate to each other.

Together, the three phases of planning segued into ten tangible and concrete sectors of action, which were prioritized according to their estimated costs and impact. Separate ideas were proposed in order to foster a dialogue between possible options that led to a joint agreement of a single goal in each of the ten areas, which will be explored in their respective categories based on the three overarching themes.

Concerning the establishment of a more accessible and continuous park, the first three proposals are:

To facilitate new connections and routes in the wooded area surrounding the church with the rest of the park so that more people can enjoy it.
To modify the pond, which was agreed to be a hazard in the participatory phase and to replace it with a water play area level with the ground, which will also increase east-west connectivity.
To increase leisure and recreational space in the northwestern part of the park.

Under the theory of adding from subtraction, the next four proposals are:

To adapt the covered space of the park by relocating it away from areas with higher foot traffic for effective use.
To reconstruct the athletic court by removing the current fence so that it can be used for multiple activities.
To expand the northern forested part of the park by widening the pavement, which will expand its potential as a useful zone, especially for those with mobility issues.
To execute various actions of low cost but large impact, including:
- The relocation of shrubs to enhance drainage;
- The implementation of drinking fountains for everyone;
- The adaptation of old and unused water areas for activities such as skateboarding and parkour;
- The inclusion of new exercise equipment for adults in the forested areas of the park along the trails.

Lastly, in the interest of creating a more active, flexible, and dynamic center of the park, the final three proposals are:

To build a public restroom, which was strongly requested during the participatory phase of the park’s redevelopment.
To extend the children’s play area toward the central space by expanding the playground, installing new leisure infrastructure, using the natural slope in the area as an opportunity to institute slides, rock climbing walls, and ropes, and partially covering the play area with the relocated pergola.
To repair the southeastern part of the park, which is currently in a state of disuse, and make it more accommodating for teenagers, who currently lack a meeting space in the neighborhood.

The collaborative design process undertaken for Donostia-San Sebastián’s Parque Bidebieta exemplifies the application of incorporating diverse perspectives in order to transform the space to become more inclusive and equitable. By integrating multiple viewpoints and employing the methodology of the Triple Dimension of Public Space, we aim to revitalize the park so that the current needs of the eponymous neighborhood are better met. Through the measures determined most beneficial during the diagnostic planning, Parque Bidebieta will hopefully become more accessible and continuous, regenerate new growth from the old, and remain a sustainable project that serves to uphold the heterogeneous and evolving community.