The Active City

A report of the European Commission “Quality of life in the European cities 2015” ranks Sofia at one of the lowest places regarding: Health care services, Air quality and State of the urban environment. How one can improve the aspects of the urban environment and the overall health condition? What happens after the formal submission of a project?

The thesis project is based on the "Active city" concept which focuses on promoting physical activity through urban design and improving the overall health condition of the residents. The aim of the project is to present possible planning approach for creating a network of public spaces that stimulate daily physical activity based on active collaboration between the local authorities, residents and experts. This idea has been further developed by adding two more aspects – proactive local authority and active citizen participation in the process of decision-making. Based on these three elements “the Active city” model was developed and topics such as accessibility, sport, recreation, and public realm which were defined. The project also covers issues related to the process of creating an active social environment, sense of community and places for interaction.\nThe main proposals in the project are grouped as follows: 1. Proactive local authority which determines a multi-criteria assessment for prioritasing projects 2. Active citizen participation that suggests methods for community involvement in the process of decision-making 3. Active urban environment which presents a possible implementation of the “Active city” model and suggests a concept for spatial development with key projects and stages for their realisation. The concept proposes activities in two main areas - (1) the residential complex „Yavorov“ with focus on creating an attractive environment for communication, and (2) towards northeast part with focus on commercial services and sport activities. It also suggests pedestrian routes between the two parks. It aims to improve the quality and accessibility of existing active zones. \nThe active city is a possibility for future development on neighbourhood level of planning. In recent years, Sofia has significant development in some of the topics set in “the Active city” model. Nevertheless, the residents rank the city in one of the lowest places regarding quality of green spaces, recreation areas and the state of the urban environment among the capitals of Europe.