Cooper-Active Map: strengthening of community networks in Poblenou (Barcelona)

Abstract

This article is a first advance of a diagnostic exercise based on a participant action  research project (hereinafter) called "Building Poblenou in Community", which aims to learn about the process of strengthening community networks in the Poblenou neighborhood (Barcelona) in relation to the urban community space. This is carried out by analyzing the needs and resources of the network, mapped in a participatory way on online platforms, supported by geographic information tools. After describing the context in which the research takes place, the methodological application of PAR is shown from a rediagnosis exercise to give continuity, validation and adaptation to the changes generated by the health crisis of COVID-19 in the neighborhood. The participation and construction of joint knowledge is articulated through the exercise of digital social mapping, where this first stage of collective construction takes place. This is reflected in a map of relationships, needs and resources of community networks, which allows
systematizing and analyzing both the information and the complexity of the participatory process carried out with an interactive digital tool. This exercise aims to facilitate the study the joint development of proposals and alternative methodologies to address the transformation of the community public space and thus satisfy community needs through local resources themselves.