CHESS x European Commission

Revitalising Communal Spaces in European Cities

Across Europe, urban planning has tended to focus on big parks. The smaller spaces in between, like alleys, pocket parks, courtyards and the green links that connect neighbourhoods, have received far less attention, even though they shape how people move, meet and feel in their city every day.

CHESS (Common-space Health, Equity & Social Simulation) is a four-year, EU-funded Horizon Europe project, part of the New European Bauhaus, that aims to change this. It will help cities turn small, overlooked spaces into greener, safer and more welcoming places.

The project will study how these spaces are used in different seasons and after dark, combining on-the-ground observation, conversations with residents and light sensing. It will test simple measures such as adding lighting, shade and seating, and it will look closely at who benefits, when, and for how long.

The work will take place across 19 European cities, with pilots in Zagreb, Leuven and Dublin. In Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, the Irish pilot will explore how a chain of suburban greens and play spaces can be connected into a shaded, safe route.

Most importantly, CHESS is designed with and for communities. Sites will be revisited a year later, and findings will be tested with residents and practitioners. The result will be practical, ready-to-use guidance to help cities and communities create small spaces where people feel they belong.

The CHESS Consortium

• TH!NK E (Belgium)

• Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR) (Italy)

• iVOX (Belgium)

• POSAD Maxwan (Netherlands)

• Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam (Netherlands)

• University College Dublin (Ireland)

• A Playful City (Ireland)

• University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn (Poland)

• North-West Croatia Regional Energy and Climate Agency (REGEA) (Croatia)

• Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council (Ireland)

• Zagreb City Institute for Spatial Planning (Croatia)

• City of Leuven (Belgium)