The project came as a response to the diagnosed poor social participation level in the process of planning public space in Gdańsk, absence of the vision for urban and social development within districts and the lack of consistency between citizen-driven initiatives and actual municipal investments. The objective of the project was to empower citizens, district councilors, local politicians, officials, municipal town planners and independent urban planners to develop the urban and social micro strategy for four districts: Orunia, Osowa, Wrzeszcz Górny, and Ujeścisko. Drawing on workshops, independent town planners drafted the framework of the multiannual district development plan that reflected priorities of local initiatives (e.g. the participatory budget) and became a viable vehicle in lobbying for amendments in urban planning and investments across all districts in question. Micro strategies were leveraged to help citizens formulate conclusions for the participatory budget, update the Land Use Plan, and design the future revitalization plan for the district of Orunia.
60 hours of workshops were delivered at partner universities for citizen-facing 40 volunteers - students of architecture and urban planning. Development of micro strategies was driven by the participatory strategic planning and town planning mentorship methodology. 60 hours of workshops in participatory planning delivered to more than 100 citizens from four districts contributed to identification of four micro strategies. All these activities were extensively covered on local websites (in more than 40 features). The project was recapped during a conference (120 participants) and in a publication (200 copies) that has been released on-line. Project beneficiaries included citizens from four district of Gdańsk, district councilors, and the local government. Its partners - Gdańsk University of Technology and Sopot University of Applied Science - trained volunteers, were accountable for editing releases and the substantive aspect of workshops and conferences. The project team had an opportunity to reinforce their competencies in developing town planning participatory tools by tapping into resources of local universities.