Validation Criteria

Strategic/Sustainable

Oriented towards public realm
Greater or renewed accent on the public realm and on public activities, and thereby encouraging social inclusion, cohesion and integration. (eg. cultural projects, legalizing informal settlements and land tenure, recreational facilities bringing people together of different status, public sanitation, sewage and waste disposal services, etc)
Equal benefits for men and women
The project is oriented both towards men and women and supports gender equalities in the community
Resource-conserving
Achieving a balance between the consumptive and productive use of resources, particularly the non-renewable. (eg. recycling) Careful management of resources; 'energy, space, money, raw materials, etc. as scarce resources' - for present and future generations (i.e. revolving funds) Cost-efficiency/ transparency of management
Providing realistic, flexible and intelligent infrastructures
Clarifying and strengthening the basic structure of the settlement/city and/ or creating new spatial sustainable fabrics and infrastructural solutions (easy to maintain, logic connections, alternative means of transportation, etc) Stimulating multifunctionality also in land-use (densification, productivity of land; eg. urban agriculture)
Evidence of clear lessons learnt in process of the project, concerning the above mentioned topics.

Co-operation and Co-productiveness
Partnerships that are truly co-productive with shared benefits and commitments. (eg. the participation has contributed to empowerment, as means of capacity building). The project's objectives and management are transparent, communicative, and accountable to the involved communities and partners.
Gender equality in participation
Encouraging equal participation of genders. Substantial women's contribution in achieving the project's goals.
Cross-sectoral partnerships
Creating interaction between formal & informal sectors- (Involvement of different economic bodies, multidisciplinary project team) - public/ private sectors (eg. PPP). There are at least 3 actors from different sectors, of which the public sector (local government) is one.
Participatory decision-making
Democratic decision-making process through the involved community/ reiterative political processes. Stimulating community involvement in actions (eg. tree-planting, garbage collection, etc) whereby the co-operation does not avoid to address the present establishment and actual power-relations (topdown vs bottom-up)
Clear lessons learnt from the partnership, and genuine exchange of experience between the involved partners

Socially adaptive
Easily adaptive and sensitive to other social & cultural contexts & lifestyles. Broadening local public support for the applied approach beyond the locality.
Economically adaptive
Applicability of practice into a several economic sectors. Adaptable to high and low economic conditions.
Small ecological footprints/ minor impact
Replicability of urban practice without increasing too much the pressure on the local and global environmental balances (eg. ecological footprint of project)
Based on innovative and replicable principles
Realistic, feasible and evolutionary implementation (well-phased), ensuring the credibility of the project and the replicability of its compontents. Clear spatial principles usable as reference for other projects.
Indication of shortcomings, successes and lessons learnt in attempts to apply the project elsewhere. For replication purposes, the experiences and lessons learnt are disseminated.

Involvement and empowerment of local actors
Local actors as primary interest group (local consultants, councils, youths, NGOs, CBOs, experts, universities, institutions, etc, ). Based on local knowledge bases, while benefiting from new knowledge. Local empowerment (eg. community consultation strategies, local community has a sense of belonging to the project)
Serving as a catalyst for strengthening local economies
Possible to be carried out by the local economy, strengthening local enterprise/ entrepreneurs (manufacturing business, recycling business and similar initiatives in the social economy, local fund-raising activities, etc)
Historic & Natural preservation
Preserving the natural and ecologic diversity of the place. Using local materials/ resources.
Facilitating spatial cohesion
Facilitating urban cohesion without diluting specificity (diversity and /or variety) of locales within the city. Stimulating urban linkages and denser use of space so as to counter sprawl (densification)
Generation of local knowledge and strengthening the local identity
The project has raised knowledge on the locality and its people and concerns, as well amongst the externally involved partners as amongst the locally based institutions themselves.

Increase of responsibilities and citizenship amongst poor communities
Increased responsibilities, confidence and co-management by the community of less-advantaged urban dwellers/ Exploration of new models of co-ownership, and thereby strengthening the potentials and moral of poor groups, men & women (increasing 'moral' and sense of belonging to the project).
Providing income generation and job security
Helping to generate income and job opportunities. Ensuring security of tenure, sense of ownership, land affordability.
Making use of sustainable low-cost solutions
Setting limits to individual property rights of fundamentally common and non-renewable resources. Use of natural resources to alleviate poverty (eg. solar energy to low-income housing, slum upgrading)
Improving access to social services and public land
Providing productive space for small-scale activities (petty trade) and survival in the city. Providing new connections and access to social services, situating itself nearby or in the more disadvantaged neighbourhoods like the slum areas or informal settlements (or constructing new houses for 'relocated' people). Connection/ integration of these neighbourhoods into the City Structure (eg. public transport, new busroutes)
Lessons have been learnt by the partners of the project in the above pinpointed topics.

Capacity building of all actors
Developing skills of communities, professionals, govnt. officials, etc., and strengthening social networks and social capital. (Technical guidance and feedback on the project process, workshops,seminars, field surveys, group discussions, forums, action-planning sessions, etc)
Gender awareness raising
women empowerment through raising awareness activities
Enhancing the economic capacity
(eg. by providing loans, debt-release, developing micro-credit schemes, etc)
Raising environmental concerns Awareness raising and motivating to mainstream environmental concerns (eg. workshops, education & training in urban design skills, etc). Preserving and enhancing the 'spatial and ecological capacity' in short and long terms (eg. landscape quality, reserve land, etc).
Indication of innovative and successful ways of transferring knowledge and building capacity (meetings at community level, use of drama and theatre to convey the message, sensitisation campaigns, etc)

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