Krizevci’s residents give their neighbourhood a makeover

For the residents of Križevci, Living Streets began on the 19th June 2021 at the bus station neighbourhood, in Petra Zrinskog Street and most of Matija Gupca Street.

What is a Living Street? Find out here

They installed a space for people to eat and have fun together: a barbecue, a trampoline, a parasol, some benches and a wooden table.  They set up a solar energy DJ station to play music in a sustainable way.

The mood was light as the tenants build a trampoline and tried it out. People used chalk to draw on the sidewalk, and played cross and circle, like when they were kids. A special guest attended his first neighbourhood get-together: 3 months old Fran, who was welcomed with food and a picture book about the city.

This get-together/urban living lab was an opportunity to connect and allow new conversations to occur, as described by Ivana, one of the tenants:  “We went back to childhood, but had ‘grown-up’ conversations and strengthened friendships. Could it be any better?”

After lunch, residents discussed about energy, citizen involvement and the importance of connecting tenants, planting trees, renovating old benches: “A lot of things have been designed by our residents and we are looking forward to implement them” explains Ivana.

The first action meeting took place on June 26th in the neighbourhood of the Health Centre from 8 am to 2pm. The activities included some gardening: they planted a 3-meter-high tree, added five rose seedlings, two blueberry bushes and cleared the weeds around the buildings. There was also a DIY workshop, as the tenants fabricated benches out of wood pallets to provide more seating for future gatherings.

This project motivated our tenants to continue investing in the common space.

Ivana, resident of Krizevci

Children were also active participants as they painted bird houses and left their handprints on the bus station giving it a colourful and creative makeover. The local Utility Company donated materials to build a tennis table that will be set up in the future, to host tournaments. After the activities were over, residents had a barbecue and tried out the new furniture they built.

The first action meeting enabled many new conversations and ideas about future plans for the neighbourhood, as Ivana underlines : “this project motivated our tenants to continue investing in the common space.” And the conversations were beneficial, in fact they decided to maintain this way of gathering : “We made new friends and were invited to come to the next barbecue party in the unofficial edition. We believe that by then table tennis will be the main sport of the neighborhood … The next actions meeting will take place on July 3^rd in the Bus district. We look forward to it!”

The next Living Street in Krizevci will take place in the Radić district on July 10th.