Cultural mapping in the city’s co-creation processes

Abstract

The H2020 project URBiNAT has adopted cultural mapping in its approach to co-create healthy corridors in the public space, based on the co-creation of nature-based solutions with citizens. This paper reports on work-in-progress in the integration and use of cultural mapping within this project. In Part I, the authors demonstrate how culture and cultural mapping can be interrelated with activities and thinking about sustainability in theory as well as in a diversity of practices. Part II documents and reflects on how cultural mapping has been applied in URBiNAT in the early stage of its co-creation process. The analysis provides evidence of the challenge of approaching cultural mapping as a means of supporting participatory planning and not as an end of interdisciplinary research and community development. Part III complements this application by means of reflections on action research experiences involving mapping. The authors also raise issues to be further explored in testing cultural mapping in the context of inclusive and innovative urban regeneration.