The renovation of apartment building courtyards and areas adjacent to them in Vilnius is gaining momentum – it is planned that this year the renovation work will begin in 19 neighborhoods. More than 6 million euros have been allocated for their renovation, and the selected communities will soon be invited to sign tripartite cooperation agreements. Experts analyzed as many as 53 applications submitted by 85 apartment building communities. Residents were particularly motivated by the updates to the Neighborhood Program conditions, which allowed for faster procedures, and several times increased funding.
The public organization "Let's Renew the City" has been administering the Neighborhood Program, which has been implemented together with the Vilnius City Municipality for seven years. This program allows residents of apartment buildings to tidy up their yards and the area next to them - thus turning them into a cozy leisure space, and the community itself decides what changes will be made.
The latest call for applications for the Neighbourhood Programme was announced in October last year, and applications were accepted until January 31 of this year. After the deadline, it became clear that the total amount of funding requested is 12,264 million euros, and the people of Vilnius wish to renovate 175 thousand sq. m. of area.
Possibility of fundamentally renovating the yard
According to Eglė Randytė, director of "Let's Renew the City", information about the Neighborhood Program is spreading more and more widely, and after eliminating some of the previously valid requirements and increasing funding, residents have gained motivation to take more active care of their living environment.
"It is easy to notice that people's awareness is growing - some Vilnius residents take care of flower beds or greenery in their yards on their own initiative. However, the Neighborhood Program allows for a substantial, rather than cosmetic, renovation of the yard, and the residents themselves decide what changes will be made, as the needs of each community are different. Using this program, it is possible to repair pedestrian paths, sidewalks, parking lots, update yard lighting, and install rainwater collection facilities," emphasizes E. Randytė.
Vilnius residents want to see not only car parks in their yards parking lots and paths, but additional greenery and flower beds would appear. So the Neighborhood Program is focused not only on maintaining infrastructure, but also on creating well-being - more greenery, benches, and maybe even a small garden with raised beds may appear in the yard. The neighborhood members themselves undertake to maintain the arranged territory for 10 years, which is also indicated in the signed cooperation agreement.
Makes you feel like the masters of the city
According to Vilnius Mayor Valdas Benkunskas, the city's maintenance work has been going on very actively for the past couple of years. This year, it is planned to continue repairing streets, renew sidewalks, build bicycle paths, and repair 3 bridges in the capital. The Neighborhood Program organically fits into this process, and residents appreciate the changes very quickly.
"I am glad that Vilnius is getting more and more beautiful every year, and its renovation is taking place in a comprehensive manner - not only the main streets and bridges that carry traffic are important to us, but also other infrastructure - bicycle paths, playgrounds, courtyards of apartment buildings. By arranging these spaces, Vilnius residents can enjoy their city even more - being in the fresh air, taking care of greenery, and spending their free time actively," he says. V. Benkunskas.
Vilnius city municipalities According to Ilja Karužis, Head of the Infrastructure Group of the Administration, the Neighborhood Program is one of the most striking examples of how Vilnius residents themselves can change their living space – although the municipality provides funding, the initiative comes from the residents.
"This is an opportunity for Vilnius residents to feel like the masters of their city: when the neighborhood area is arranged according to their wishes and needs, a new relationship with the environment emerges, and the motivation to care for and maintain it grows. The neighborhood program causes a kind of snowball effect - the more territories are arranged, the more visible they are, the more new communities are interested in the possibilities of renewing their yards," he says.
Visited all neighborhoods that submitted applications
The received applications were evaluated by a working group formed by the Director of the Vilnius City Administration, which ranked them according to several criteria. The ratio of the population to the undeveloped area of the neighborhood was assessed, the ratio of the area of worn hard pavement to the area of the total hard pavement, which was assessed in each case by inspecting the territory, etc.
"The leader in terms of the number of applications submitted was New town"Residents of Naujoji Vilnia, one of the largest neighborhoods in terms of area, were very active. A number of applications came from Verkiai and Pašilaičiai neighborhoods," says E. Randytė, the head of "Let's Renew the City."
Vilnius residents whose neighborhoods were able to participate in the Neighborhood Program apartment buildings houses were built by December 2002, 31. Residents themselves elected a neighborhood representative who submitted an application "Let's Renew the City" signed by all neighborhood members.
Motivated and facilitated conditions
So far, 22 neighborhood territories have been renovated for approximately 0,5 million euros. However, those who previously submitted applications for the Neighborhood Program faced a number of challenges. Now, with the renewal of the program, the process has become easier and shorter. For example, the condition to form and lease land plots around apartment buildings from the state has been abolished. Meanwhile, previously, a neighborhood renovation project could only be prepared after implementing these time-consuming conditions.
The funding for the improvement of 1 sq. m. of yard area has also increased several times – previously 10 euros were allocated for this, now up to 1 euros are allocated for 70 sq. m. of neighborhood area not built up with buildings. One person can also apply for funding. apartment building, for which a neighborhood has been formed.
