Last week, as part of the European project SPACE‑NEST – Sustainable Path Advancing Community Empowerment, we hosted a focus group in Izola in collaboration with the Municipality of Izola. Eighteen participants—from architecture and education to business, culture, and civil society—came together to share insights and shape our collective vision for sustainable community empowerment.
Together we discussed how the values of the New European Bauhaus (NEB) – aesthetics, sustainability, inclusion – can transform abandoned or underused spaces into the heart of the local community.
Key community needs
What clearly emerged from the discussion was that young people need more support, spaces for expression and participation. They lack physical spaces to create, socialise and learn – but also a sense of being seen and heard by the community. As one participant said:
“Young people need to be given a hand – they won’t walk through the door on their own, they need to be grabbed and pulled.”
There was also a need for intergenerational cooperation, better access to the hinterland and more events that bring local people together. Many participants stressed the importance of reviving forgotten cultural and technical heritage, such as the chimney in the Argo area, which has a strong symbolic value for Izola.
What can we do with abandoned spaces?
Through group work, participants came up with concrete proposals for revitalising the Argo area:
- A cultural and culinary centre with temporary use, where pop-up shops, coworking spaces, escape room and outdoor events intertwine.
- The “Izola Living Room ” – an open community space that connects young and old and provides a space for meeting, creating and preserving heritage.
- Experimental urbanism: letting space co-shape the community over time, with small steps and minimal investment. One solution that stood out was “a space that can adapt to needs over time”, meaning a flexible, sustainable space that grows with the community.
Obstacles in the way
The biggest challenges identified by participants were the lack of involvement of residents and the municipality, unclear ownership relationships, lack of funding and support, and fragmented engagement between stakeholders. Nevertheless, there was a great willingness and desire to work together:
“We cannot work alone – we need to involve other organisations, the community.”
Why is SPACE-NEST important?
The SPACE-NEST project, co-funded by the European Union, aims to transform rural spaces into inclusive, sustainable centres of the social economy. In Izola, the project aims to bring people together, revitalise spaces and create a platform for community action based on collaboration and local values.
