Galdakao Zeugaz Launches Community Co-Creation Initiatives in Tximelarre and Urreta
On May 27, the neighborhoods of Tximelarre and Urreta held a co-creation workshop aimed at strengthening neighborhood support networks. The goal was clear: to work together to connect residents’ real-life challenges with the solutions and resources already available within the neighborhood itself.
Identified needs and challenges
After listening to 100 local residents and recording their feedback on the K tool platform, the team shared the issues that most concern and motivate the residents of Tximelarre. The session confirmed very clear challenges that need to be addressed: the need to create spaces where young and old can come together (intergenerational spaces), to strengthen the sense of pride and belonging to the neighborhood, and to support people experiencing “migration grief” after leaving their home countries. In addition, residents proposed redesigning and revitalizing existing spaces, such as the Adult Education Center (EPA), to make much better use of them.
Walkers' Network
During the event, the success of the Bengoetxe Walking Group was highlighted—a well-established group of 12 people over the age of 60 who go for walks together and have transformed the way loneliness is addressed. The key lesson from this experience is its shift in focus: rather than simply seeking out people who are already isolated (which is often very difficult), the project focuses on engaging neighbors with an active lifestyle to serve as “community radars.”
As these people go about their daily lives in the neighborhood, they become connectors: they identify those who are struggling, those who are becoming isolated, or those who need support in their daily lives, and invite them to participate. Seeing the positive results in Bengoetxe, the groups in Tximelarre and Urreta got to work to figure out how to adapt and replicate this same model of community walks in their own streets.
First proposals and tools for the neighborhood
This collaborative effort resulted in several proposals for social innovation in the neighborhood:
-Revitalizing building lobbies with mutual support initiatives (“You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours”).
-Reviving the Capi Neighborhood Association.
-Assigning more community-oriented roles to building managers.
-Community welcome meals, organized by long-time residents to welcome, integrate, and support new families who have just moved into the neighborhood.