BLOCKS IN TRANSITION | Neighbourhood initiatives to move towards fairer and more sustainable neighbourhoods

Blocks in transition is an experimental project that aims to accompany several blocks of flats in the district of Puente de Vallecas, Madrid, in the implementation of actions that allow the neighbours to save money, improve the quality of life and reduce the environmental impacts of the communities of owners.

Some of the planned interventions have to do with energy, such as promoting energy production within the energy community, energy self-consumption or distributed generation, providing advice on how to apply for public subsidies or accompanying the changeover to green and cooperative energy suppliers. On the subject of mobility, actions such as bicycle parking in common areas and encouraging the use of car sharing are envisaged. There is also room for fostering the care community through, among other things, recreational activities to improve trust and increase community cohesion. On a greener level, it is proposed to re-naturalise rooftops, greening the building, and installing a community garden and composting plant in communal areas. Food also has a place, with actions such as collective cooking and setting up consumption groups. With regard to water management, one of the initiatives will be the collection and use of rainwater to irrigate the communal gardens. Finally, the reuse of objects is taken into account and initiatives will be implemented to facilitate the repair of objects, as well as having a common toolbox.

In addition, Blocks in Transition aims to promote community-based action at the neighbourhood level. To this end, it will have a Just Transition Office (OTJ), which will be located in the Palomeras Bajas Neighbourhood Association. This will be a place to go to receive information and advice and, in turn, will be responsible for organising awareness-raising activities and promoting, in a participatory manner, actions aimed at moving jointly towards more sustainable and fairer ecological and social models.

cambiaMO, who has been involved in the conception of the project, is responsible for the mobility actions with a special focus on mobility related to care and commuting. Furthermore, with this project, cambiaMO is putting into practice its approach to just transition based on the three aspects of social justice: recognition justice, procedural justice and distributive justice, i.e. the “triumvirate of tenets” as proposed by McCauley et al. 2013.