Pilot inDialogue: Toruń

In Toruń, the subject of the consultation “Recreation on the stream. How to develop the areas along Struga Toruńska?” was the development of the areas along the river, with particular emphasis on recreational areas and green areas.

The arrangement of green zones in three selected areas was subject to consultations:

Grębocin – an area with great recreational potential. This is where the artificial bed of the Struga Toruńska begins. As part of the consultation, we will consider how to develop this area in order to preserve its natural character and at the same time create a place that residents will be able to use.
In the area of the Chrobrego housing estate – it is possible to arrange a full recreational and sports space here, because this area combines residential and recreational functions and has been a place of activity for residents for years.
At the estate on Donimirskiego st. – an area that the residents of the estate willingly use. It requires ordering and development in terms of the needs of the residents. The Department of Social Communication and Information of the City of Toruń was responsible for organizing the consultations.

As part of the consultation, a text debate on the platform, a face-to-face meeting (research walk) and an online survey are planned. During the consultation, no technical or organizational problems emerged that would prevent the implementation of any of the planned stages of the consultation.

In preparation for the consultation, the project team, in cooperation with the Office, organized two workshop meetings in Toruń. The first one took place on January 16, 2017 and was attended by a total of 25 people, including representatives of the City Hall, local NGOs and organizations supporting people with disabilities. The aim of the workshop was to familiarize users with the functions of the inDialogue platform. The next workshop, which took place on April 26, was attended by four representatives of the City Hall. The aim of the training was to create a framework of consultations on the Toruńska stream on the platform and to obtain information about the accessibility of the platform for residents with disabilities.

Information materials

The information materials prepared on the inDialogue platform contained basic information about the areas along the river whose development was subject to consultation, as well as information on possible limitations in the implementation of the plans (e.g. ownership issues, water quality, environmental protection). The proposed solutions presented possible forms of land development in the three above-mentioned areas: maps and photographs showing the current state of these areas were attached. Relevant resolutions with references to these documents are given in Sources of information, and reports on previous consultations on the development of areas along the river (as well as other documents relating to the problem of consultations) are attached.

Recruitment

Recruitment for consultations lasted from 24.04-08.05. As part of the recruitment, representatives of the City Hall sent out invitations to local institutions and NGOs, and also informed about the consultations in local media, including websites related to the City Hall and in social media. The In Dialog project team supported the recruitment process through e-mail and telephone invitations to participate addressed to local NGOs.

Debates

As part of the consultation, residents could take part in a text debate on the platform, which lasted from 8 to 27.05. As part of the textual debate, residents were asked to answer six questions:

Which area(s) lying on the Struga Toruńska do you use most often?
How do you use the land/areas lying on Struga Toruńska?
Is the area of Struga Toruńska located near your place of residence?
What are your suggestions related to the development of Struga Toruńska and its surroundings?
Should the areas along the stream be a refuge for the natural environment?
How to protect Struga Toruńska from littering?

On May 13, a consultation meeting with residents took place, which took the form of a walk with three meeting points:

time. 10.00 – 12.00 – intersection of Olsztyńska st. with Ceramiczna st.
time. 12.00 – 14.00 – square in front of the building on Donimirskiego 9 st.
time. 14.00 – 16.00 – green square at Wojska Polskiego st.

The face-to-face debate questions were analogous to the questions in the text debate.

Experts

The experts in the debate were:

Józef Czerwiński
Szczepan Burak
Jolanta Swinarska
Rafał Wiewiórski
Marcin Kowallek
Mirosław Bartulewicz
Marcin Maksim

Questionnaire

Apart from the debates, the City Hall also prepared an online survey on the platform. The survey contained three metric questions, as well as five questions about the use of the areas around Struga:

Have you used the areas on the Struga Toruńska for recreational purposes in the last year?
How often during the year do you use the areas on Struga Toruńska for recreational purposes?
Do you use the areas by the stream with your child?
Do you use the areas by the stream with your pet?

Consultation report

The consultation report, taking into account the conclusions of both types of debates, was placed on the platform on June 23, and until June 30, residents had the opportunity to submit comments on its content. The report is available here.