The common thread of all presentations and panel discussions at this meeting, organised by the prestigious university based at Santander, showed that 21st-century urban design has placed people at the heart of its different approaches. A concept that came through in the master class by Peter Bishop, Professor of Urban Design at the Bartlett School of Architecture and author of the famous essay “The Temporary City”, and in the presentations by experts such as Helen Goodwin (Design South East London), Jone Belausteguigoitia (Lur Studio), Alicia Gómez Nieto or Gustavo Romanillos, who shared their professional experiences in social engagement processes in different urban development projects around the world.

DNC’s Social Engagement Manager, Gema del Pozo, shared her experience in Madrid Nuevo Norte, a project in which citizen engagement is particularly relevant. This urban regeneration project seeks to close the vast void created by train tracks in an area where over half a million people live in Madrid, and that impacts mobility, security and lack of facilities. “DCN believes that engagement is essential and, for this reason, our company has been a pioneer in creating a Social Engagement Area, our bridge to the citizens,” Del Pozo explained.

The outcome of DCN’s work with citizens was illustrated during the panel discussion with citizens who engaged first-hand in major national and international urban developments. Paulina Bonilla, a member of a women’s group that took part in the safety audits of the Madrid Nuevo Norte Gender Report, Lorenzo Álvarez, president of the Las Tablas Residents’ Association, and Eduardo Morán, president of Pymes Chamartín, shared their viewpoints on their collaboration with Distrito Castellana Norte and what it has contributed so far.

“The creation of the Social Engagement Area marked a turning point, because, at long last, ordinary citizens were able to talk about urban design in simple terms, not in technical jargon that is incomprehensible for many of us”, explained Morán. “They listened to us, and we were able to debate what city model we want. For instance, we considered essential that the project take care of neighbourhood businesses, and our call was heard,” he concluded.

In this same vein, Álvarez affirmed that “Madrid Nuevo Norte can be the solution to many problems faced by Las Tablas district”, including mobility, physical connection with the Fuencarral-El Pardo district, and few public facilities. For this reason, the association considered from the outset that our involvement in the project was essential to get the neighbourhood’s demands acknowledged. For her part, Paulina Bonilla shared her experience with the safety audits organised with the residents of the districts surrounding Madrid Nuevo Norte to identify “black spots” that limit women’s’ freedom of movement. Madrid Nuevo Norte has a Gender Report that was taken into account since the planning phase to ensure that the new neighbourhood is genuinely inclusive, and accommodates different uses for all segments of the diverse population that make up the city, its infrastructures and its public spaces.