The participation of territorial communities and citizens’ active support are pillars of the Green Deal realisation: everyone  needs to engage and participate in climate action and build a greener Europe. From a local perspective, it is clear that the  sustainable implementation of the Green Deal implies a profound change not only in the way that urban organisation is  conceived but, most importantly, also in the development of social relations within and among local territories. Since the  outcomes of the Green Deal will largely depend on its further assimilation, interpretation and implementation, it is  essential that the green transition becomes also a just and inclusive transition, which is desirable from a social  perspective, too.

The project has been developed by taking into account a number of general and context-specific needs, all of which consider  the engagement of local communities as a prerequisite for the success of the current and forthcoming green and sustainable  strategies. Against this general background, the CO-GREEN action pursues the following objectives: 1) To strengthen citizens’ perception and raising their awareness about the Green Deal benefits (e.g. fresh air, clean  water, healthy soil and biodiversity, healthy and affordable food, sustainable transport, cleaner energy), as well as a  number of complex issues affecting the communities where we live, which are connected with the environmental  transition and the strategic priorities of the Green Deal, such as: the rural/urban divide, the management of migratory  phenomena and of the related inclusion processes, urban degradation, depopulation processes in the most  disadvantaged areas (e.g., the so-called “inner areas” as defined in the EU Cohesion policy), etc. Participants need to  become actors of the social innovation processes implemented in their communities, reinforcing the relations between  individuals and organisations as peers who collaborate on those green issues that are common to all. The method  implies that the actors exchange experiences, understandings, and context-specific plans that strengthen links with the  land and the broader environment as a source of life.

2) To promote in peripheral communities the change in paradigm with respect to sustainable development (consistently with the Green Deal and the SDGs), fostering the ideas of community awareness, empowerment and self reliance, interconnection, responsibility and accountability, as alternative solutions to the concepts of demand,  production, consumption, and closed borders. In this respect, we aim at strengthening citizens’ participation in local  processes regarding social and environmental (land/water/energy) policies in their own territory, particularly ensuring  inclusive processes for often excluded groups within these peripheral communities, such as women and youth.

3) To enhance existing methods and approaches practised in community development. The project concentrates  on the collaboration between NGOs, local authorities and academic/research institutions to reinforce community-based  participation practices founded on evidence and data. This kind of alliances encourages complementarity and new,  stimulating approaches that connect local leaders and deal with the specificities and constraints of local communities in  specific regions.

Such objectives are shared among the participant territories/communities and have been embedded in the project’s local  activation processes (the demonstration phase). Consistently, the following country-specific needs have been highlighted:

Poland

In the involved sites, Social Service Centres (CUS) will be implemented, representing a key reform of social  policy at the local level. The selected sites are characterised by the following features and needs: – everywhere there was a diagnosis of social problems and civic activity

– CUS can develop ecological activities

– they have to develop participatory and community activities (community organising)

– they should develop cooperation with the non-governmental sector and informal groups

– form a nationwide network of CUS (the solutions developed can be disseminated)

– have human, financial and organisational resources

– can act in many fields (culture, social assistance, youth, seniors, ecology, civic education, etc.)

The selected places:

1. Starachowice. The town has about 50 thousand inhabitants, is located in the valley of Kamienna River and is surrounded  by vast forests – the remnants of the Świętokrzyska Forest. Starachowice is an industrialised town, and an important role is  played by employers concentrated in the Special Economic Zone „Starachowice”. S.A. However, this raises a number of  problems related to how to reconcile industrial development with environmental protection. Activity and social capital in  Starachowice are at a low level. This is evidenced by e.g. participation in local government elections, voting turnout for civic budget projects and a relatively low number of „third sector” organisations. The social diagnosis revealed a low level of trust  in relations with others and the need for action to promote health and a healthy lifestyle. 
2. Górzno. A small commune in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship which is a kind of bedroom community for the nearby Kielce. Due to its geographical location (proximity to the Świętokrzyskie Mountains, to Kielce and to domestic traffic routes), Górno commune has a relatively high potential for tourism, especially weekend tourism. Main problems: high share of residents benefiting from social assistance, problem of wild dumps, high unemployment, lack of pavements and bicycle lanes (low  level of safety, aggravated by the lack of lighting), planned construction of express road 574, which may be a source of noise  and pollution, and impede local traffic, perception of Górno commune as a „dormitory” only, which may cause a decrease of  the economic attractiveness of the commune, problem of combining nature protection with the demand for building and  recreational areas, relatively week non-governmental sector. 
3. Wiązowna. A small commune near Warsaw (2,500 inhabitants) is an attractive recreational place not only for its residents, but also for those living in the capital. The population of the commune is growing very fast, which causes many tensions between old inhabitants and new settlers. There are quite a few NGOs and social enterprises in the municipality. An  innovative development programme based on social participation has been developed, which includes the creation of  community places in the village, a programme of open institutions and co-creation of social and environmental services by  the inhabitants.
4. Elbląg. Elbląg has a population of about 125,000, which is steadily declining. It is located on the Vistula lagoon in the direct vicinity of the Kaliningrad region. In the near future it will gain direct access to the sea (by digging up the Vistula Spit) which on one hand may be a great stimulator of development, but on the other hand generates great tensions of an ecological  nature (social protests, threat to the natural balance). Only 1/3 of the inhabitants surveyed in the social diagnosis believe that people can be trusted. The most frequently undertaken forms of social activity include: participation in local government  elections, participation in meetings of a housing cooperative or community and undertaking neighbourhood activities. Despite  the limited social activity in Elbląg, there is a non-governmental organisation (ESWIP) developing very innovative civic  activities that can be an ally for green activism.

Italy

The network that will be selected identifies territories in the inland areas of three Italian regions (Veneto in the North,  Marche in the Centre and Calabria in the South) as a priority and central to the development of project activities. The selection  will be based on criteria concerning the presence of activities that have had and/or have negative consequences both on the  environment and on the social community and on the impoverishment of social cohesion and of the conditions of participation  of the population in decisions on future social and environmental development. 

1. Chioggia is a municipality of 48 086 habitants, located on the southern edge of the metropolitan city of Venice (Veneto Region) and borders the Venetian lagoon to the north and west, the Adriatic Sea to the east, and the mouth of the Adige and the Po Delta to the south. The strong environmental impact due to the port area of Mestre has led Chioggia to lose much of  its historical identity, and the environmental crisis has a strong impact on the community. The green vocation is very relevant  and an intervention would have a great impact on the community.
2. Amandola is an Italian municipality of 3 401 inhabitants in the province of Fermo in the Marche region, it is a town of great culture. Half of the population moved to the coast because of the earthquake, and the community and economic activities have been severely disrupted, although there are the first signs of economic recovery. There is a strong sensitivity for the  territory and a strong presence of young people motivated to stay in the area that needs support for a social development of  the community.
3. Lamezia Terme is an Italian municipality of 67 323 inhabitants in the province of Catanzaro in Calabria. it is characterised by a strong presence of third sector actors, but at the same time by a strong pressure of organised crime. the territory is divided into three areas, very different from each other that can start to confront each other and grow in the perspective of a  social community development with a support

Croatia

The network of sites selected in Croatia is situated in the region of Kvarner, a bay in the northern Adriatic Sea,  located between the Istrian peninsula and the northern Croatian Littoral mainland. It comprises islands and a strip of land on  the coast with numerous towns and villages. The main city centre is Rijeka, the principal seaport and the third-largest city in  Croatia. Rijeka has about 100 thousand inhabitants and the whole Kvarner about 300 thousand. Due to its attractive  geographical position, numerous protected monuments of culture (276), and clean waters of the Adriatic, the Kvarner region  saw a rise in its tourism development already in the late 19^th century. Today, tourism is one of the most important branches  of the economy: despite the world pandemic in 2021, over 2,3 million tourists visited Kvarner and spent over 15 million nights  in different types of accommodation. Tourists mainly come from Germany, Austria, Italy, Slovenia and Czechia. Highly  developed tourism raises a number of problems related to reconciling the tourist industry with environmental protection.  Many issues need to be resolved in the network of small coastal and island towns: the embankment of beaches, garbage  selection and collection (including small things like a ban on mini portions of sugar or other food in restaurants and coffee  bars), water protection (for instance, limited showering), energy efficiency (installation of solar panels). Moreover, sustainable  tourism relates to different interested parties on many levels: local tourist boards, city administrations, hotels, private renters,  and local inhabitants. Although a few non-governmental organisations in Kvarner are developing civic activities that can be  an ally for green activism, a more profound insight into communal policymaking and the interconnectedness of all involved  parties needs to be activated. 

Greece

the project will be implemented in the territory of the Municipality of Karditsa, located in Central Greece in the  region of Thessaly. It is home to 55.216 inhabitants and covers an area of 647.92 Km2 at the west part of the Thessalian  plains. It occupies lowlands (44.30 %) of the Thessalian plain, but also mountainous areas (44.56 %) of the mountains of  Pindos. Most of its area is covered by cultivated lands, related to the agricultural activity in the fertile plain of Karditsa.  However, the heterogeneous morphology of the municipality area results in different problems for different areas of the  municipality: the lowland area issues relate to the intensive agricultural activity, while the mountain areas are  underdeveloped and rely heavily on traditional farming/livestock production. The city of Karditsa with a population of 40.000  is the only urban centre in this vast rural municipality made up of many small towns and villages. One of the main issues in the area has been its high dependence to agriculture, traditionally the main economic activity in the area. When the  agricultural sector was hit hard during the period of the crisis of the Greek economy (10 years ago), unemployment in the  Karditsa area was the highest in the region, and to an extent the local economy has not fully recovered yet. The main  environmental issues present in the area relate to the area morphology (lowlands and mountainous areas) that makes  environmental management difficult, as well as to the local economic model which causes:

– Water and soil pollution, due to the illegal dumping of waste and untreated wastewater from industrial plants and  livestock farms, the intensive use of pesticides polluting the soil and underground waters.

– Deterioration of aquifer levels due to the reckless use of water for irrigation purposes; lack of procedures for systematic  measurement of water and air quality.

– Environmental problems caused by illegal hunting and overgrazing in mountain areas.

– Environmental issues caused by the unregulated tourism development, mainly on the mountain parts. – Environmental problems resulting from car emissions and noise pollution due to traffic problems, in the city of Karditsa  and on main roads connecting the city to surrounding towns and villages.

– Lack of a comprehensive fire protection and forest protection plan.

– Furthermore, residents and farmers have a low environmental awareness, as local surveys show.

For approaching and tackling the issues presented above, a collaborative approach is necessary, bringing the local  communities and stakeholders together to reach consensus and share responsibility. The Municipality of Karditsa has made  an effort through its Development Agency to foster a collaborative mentality through the development of the “Ecosystem of  Collaboration”, the result of a long-term strategy launched at the same time with the establishment of the Development  Agency of Karditsa in 1989. The Ecosystem’s objective is to bring all local stakeholders together (local authority, regional  authority, NGOs, the local cooperative bank, the church etc.) in supporting the development of new initiatives. However, this  effort has still not reached the level of engaging citizens and communities in discussions and action related to our climate  and environmental issues linked to the green transition. There is still insufficient involvement of the civil society in the  consultation and decision-making processes not only in the area of Karditsa, but in Greece in general. In particular, young  people and women are usually absent from consultation procedures. The reasons behind the insufficient involvement of  citizens in decision-making processes reflect weaknesses of both civil society and local authorities, and are commonly linked  to lack of awareness of environmental issues and of the notion of “common good”, related to the need to implement  participatory processes at all levels (Information, Consultation, Dialogue, Partnership).