Future in Places

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FUTURES REGIONS Making Futures Work for
Regional Development Futurreg project final
conference Sligo, 9 October 2007
Future in Places  Molinay 2017  how to deal
with futures at the scale of an urban area
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Structure of the presentation

• Rationale of Molinay 2017 (context, objectives,
  motivation)
• Methodology and process
• Specific features
• Lessons learned

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Molinay 2017 Localisation
Acho 2047
DPPE
Molinay 2017
FOR-LEARN

• The Molinay area is part of
• Seraing, a city (61.000 inh.)
• that lies near Liège, Wallonia, Belgium. 600.000
  people live in the Liège area, often presented as
  the economic heart of Wallonia.

Z 2020
MLP
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Molinay 2017 context
1) The Molinay area is declining for 30
years This area is heavily marked by industrial
history (steel industry, currently owned by
Arcelor-Mittal) and has not yet recovered from
the industrial crisis. Poverty, insecurity, empty
shops and black spots are common images as the
Dardenne brothers (moviemakers) show in their
awarded films.
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(No Transcript)
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Molinay 2017 Context

• 2) The city Master Plan
• Since 2001, the local authorities work on a
  Master Plan for the whole industrial valley.
• The aim is to transform the image of the city and
  to improve living conditions through various
  means redevelopment of land, green investments,
  attraction of investors, development of PPP, etc.
• The Molinay area will be marginally affected by
  this plan, and possibly negatively.

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Molinay 2017 Context

• 3) The reopening of the blast furnace
• In 2007, the economic context is hesitating.
  Steel demand is increasing. Arcelor-Mittal
  decides to reopen the blast furnace n6 of
  Seraing in November 2007.
• This industrial unit is located at the bottom
  the Molinay area.
• Perspectives are not bright for the area
  investments outside its limits, pollution and
  noise coming back, declining commercial context,
  impoverishment of the population
• There is a need to transform this undesired
  scenario of the future

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Molinay 2017 the application manager

• A wish The  Centre dAction laïque  of the
  city of Seraing (www.calliege.be) works in the
  Molinay for 10 years as field actor. It wants to
  overcome those difficulties and to participate
  more actively to recovery of the city.
• The CAL is a non profit making organisation
  invested in the participation of all the citizens
  to the management of the city. Its promotes
  democracy, freedom of thought, multiculturalism
  and tolerance.

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Molinay 2017 the launch of the exercice
Objectives To develop a mobilising project for
the area, for and with its inhabitants (bottom-up
approach) in order to fill in the gaps of the
citys master plan where the Molinay area is
concerned. Time scale 10 years forward gt
2017 (10 years backward arrival and
establishment of the CAL in the area)
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Molinay 2017 Methodology
0
Evaluation of the process and outputs
Prepartion of the foresight exercise
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5
Steering and monitoring of the implementation
1
Foresight diagnosis (actors and factors)
Participation
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April 2007
Definition of the Strategy and action plan
2
Identification of the Long terms issues
December 2007
3
June October 2007
Building of a common vision
November 2007
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Molinay 2017 Tools
0
Evaluation of the process and outputs
Prepartion of the foresight
6
5
Steering and monitoring of the implementation
1
Foresight diagnosis
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? SWOT analysis
Participation
Definition of Strategy and action plan
2
Setting out the Long terms issues
3

• ? Future workshops
• Experts panel

Building the common vision

• Future workshops
• Scenario building

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Molinay 2017 the process
0
Evaluation of the process and outputs
Prepartion of the foresight
6
5
Steering and monitoring the implementation
1
Foresight diagnosis 19 april 2007 AFOM meeting
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Participation
Definition of Strategic axis
2
Setting out the Long terms issues
3
Building the common vision
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The Molinay area first insights of the diagnosis

• Opportunities
• The city project for redevelopment (masterplan)
• A new mayor
• The trend towards sustainable development
• A regional will to develop the Liege area
• A stronger media interest for locals actions

• Strengths
• Compact urbanism
• Strong cultural diversity
• Will of the actors
• historical patrimony
• The geographic situation

• Threats
• The housing policy / Risks of ghettos
• The economic context
• The Move of the public services (city) out of
  the area

• Weaknesses
• - The industrial pollution
• The negative image of the area
• Insecurity problems and feelings
• The commercial decline of the area
• Difficulties with the teenagers
• A nostalgy of the past
• A weak accessibility

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Molinay 2017 the process
0
Evaluation of the process and outputs
Prepartion of the foresight
6
5
Steering and monitoring the implementation
1
Foresight diagnosis 19 april 2007 AFOM meeting
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Participation
Definition of Strategic axis
2. Setting out the Long terms issues Three
futures workshops were organised in
June Participative method (World Café)
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Building the common vision
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Molinay 2017 the process
0
Prepartion of the foresight
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3. Building the common vision A first event has
been organised on Sunday 9th September with the
inhabitants of the area 99 were present to
evoke pictures of their Future
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Foresight diagnosis 19 april 2007 AFOM meeting
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Participation
2
3
Building the common vision
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Next steps

• An interim report is being finalised
   diagnosis and issues 
• The definition of the shared vision for the area
  is in progress and will be further developed in
  November together with the local actors and
  inhabitants
• One meeting is foreseen with a panel experts in
  order to enrich the process
• On these bases, a task-force will set up an
  action plan based on a limited number of
  priorities

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Molinay 2017 first lessons learned

• Processus still ongoing
• Small territorial size does not mean less
  complexity ()
• Small territorial size allows to mobilise almost
  all relevant stakeholders (and might impact on
  their work)
• Small scale approach (and possibly concrete
  solutions) to large scale problems (e.g. Arcelor
  Mittal in my garden)
• Nice way to speak about Europe with M. and Ms.
  Smith
• Local foresight challenges the defensive
  attitude of public authorities (proactivity
  instead of preservation of immediate interests
  long-term perspective)
• A bottom-up process must not forget to integrate
  top down aspects and to attain political
  legitimacy
• At this level, something must happen ! One must
  not deceive the expectations of the citizens. Not
  just a question of means, but also of results

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Molinay 2017 a citizens project

• Participation is an essential feature of the
  exercise.
• The World Café is a creative process for
  facilitating collaborative dialogue and the
  sharing of knowledge and ideas to create a living
  network of conversation and action.
• In this process a café ambiance is created, in
  which participants discuss a question or issue in
  small groups around tables.
• At regular intervals the participants move to a
  new table. One table manager stays and summarises
  the previous conversation to the new table
  guests.
• Thus the proceeding conversations are
  cross-fertilised with the ideas generated in
  former conversations with other participants.
• At the end of the process the main ideas are
  summarised in a plenary session and follow-up
  possibilities are discussed.
• (Participatory Methods Toolkit. A practitioners
  manual. New edition, 2005, Baudouin foundation
  www.kbs-frb.be)

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Molinay 2017 a citizens project

• The organisation of a festive meeting on Sunday
  the 9th September inside the cultural centre of
  Seraing which is located in the Molinay
• Objective contact 100 persons from the area
• Outputs a desired future for the area
• 5 spaces
• imagination with the help of pictures of the
  Molinay, symbols (street furniture, greenery),
  scissors and glue, one can imagine the future
  area
• memory the work of the CAL during 10 years is
  presented
• discovery example of other urban declining
  areas that have been transformed
• reflexion a futures workshop (with translation
  and recording).  In 2017, you go out from your
  home, could you describe what you see, what you
  hear ? 
• practical aspects crèche and a convivial
  dinner (buffet).

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Molinay 2017 a territorial foresight exercice

• A first attempt at practicing Futures at a very
  local level !
• A element of a wider regional network the
  Walloonian territorial intelligence
• network
• www.intelliterwal.net

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Thank you ! Institut Destrée Michaël Van Custem
/ Céline Hermand vancutsem.michael_at_institut-destre
e.eu www.institut-destree.eu Centre dAction
Laïque de la Province de Liège Cécile Parthoens /
Nathalie Boinem seraing_at_calliege.be www.calliege.b
e