The project established a framework for the Urban Community Builder (UCB), a role promoting ecological values and fostering citizen engagement in urban regeneration ("regeneractions"). This initiative addresses ecological challenges—psychological, social, and environmental—drawing on Félix Guattari’s Three Ecologies. The UCB framework equips individuals and organizations to bridge gaps between public administrations and communities, enabling participatory processes and social innovation. Drawing on experiences from Paris, Matera, Rijeka, Évora, and Valencia, the framework was developed collaboratively using the living lab methodology, emphasizing inclusivity, plurality, and trans-local exchange. It defines the skills, knowledge, and practices needed to empower UCBs to lead ecological, urban, and peri-urban initiatives effectively. This trans-disciplinary approach also provides innovative training modules applicable across Europe. The project aims to increase UCB employability and support community development through sustainable social innovation. Its outcomes offer tools to foster active citizen participation, encourage partnerships, and drive impactful ecological and social transformation across diverse local contexts.
Within the framework of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, addressing urgent challenges of digitalisation, innovation, ecological transition, and social inclusion, the consortium aimed to establish a common framework for a new figure in urban regeneration and social action. This role, emerging from the Italian PNRR debate, holds the potential to activate communities, initiate participatory co-design, and foster social and cultural entrepreneurship projects if fully recognized by public authorities. Envisioned as both individuals and social organizations (e.g., cooperatives, associations, enterprises), this figure serves as a bridge between Public Administration and civil society to enable Public-Private-People-Partnerships (PPPPs). The project addressed key needs: (a) providing methodological support to local action groups, practitioners, and aspiring Urban Community Builders; (b) defining skills and knowledge frameworks for youth entering the workforce and adults undergoing career transitions; and (c) rethinking the relationship between local communities and policymakers.