Photo: from archives of the Ideas Garden in Pilaitė, Vilnius
IDEAS GARDEN IN PILAITĖ, VILNIUS The Vilnius City Municipality allocated about EUR 3 million for arranging public spaces in residential areas. Pilaitė also received some of these funds, installing new squares, children’s playgrounds, benches and lighting in the neighborhood. These infrastructural upgrades are very important for the local residents, but have little to do with fostering a sense of community in itself. The famous Danish architect Jan Gehl, who visited Lithuania in 2018, talked about the strategy “Metropolis for People” for public spaces in Copenhagen, which he also contributed to himself, saying that “An important part of this strategy was a focus on quality public spaces that would invite people to spend more time outdoors, because this is important for the security of the city, social inclusion and democracy. Another important element was encouraging people to leave their private spaces and spend more time communicating with other residents”. Today public spaces are arranged in Pilaitė, adapting them for different needs of residents, but there is a lack of “soft” initiatives which would turn these spaces into the foci of a sense of community, encouraging people to spend more time outdoors, getting to know each other, sharing knowledge and experiences, learning and creating their own environment together. Without “soft” initiatives, people have no 51
