A consortium of international partners led by Errenteria Town Council and NAIDER has submitted a proposal called DENOK (Diverse Engagement through Neighbourhoods and Open Knowledge) to the HORIZON-NEB-2025-01 PARTICIPATION-04 call for proposals under the Horizon Europe programme.
DENOK was created to address one of Europe’s major urban challenges: regenerating neighbourhoods without causing displacement while preserving social diversity, local identity, and affordability. The project brings together fifteen neighbourhoods from five countries in a European network combining scientific evidence, citizen participation and public innovation to anticipate and manage the risks of gentrification.
Three neighbourhoods will act as main demonstrators: Galtzaraborda (Errenteria), Balbriggan District in Fingal (Dublin) and Serra Venerdì (Matera). These will be joined by 12 other partner neighbourhoods from Spain, Portugal, France, Italy and Turkey, offering a variety of urban, peri-urban and rural contexts.
In line with the spirit of the New European Bauhaus — beautiful, sustainable, together — the project aims to consolidate a knowledge, data and collaboration infrastructure between municipalities, universities and citizens. Specifically, the DENOK network intends to develop innovative urban management tools, including:
- The European Gentrification Risk Atlas:
- The Gentrification Pressure Index (GPI):
- The Early Warning System (EWS).
- The I-SUE Index measures inhabited beauty, emotional connection, and wellbeing.
- The DENOK Toolbox and Policy Sandbox guide public policy.
- The Neighbourhood Knowledge Platform is an open digital platform for local knowledge.
DENOK aims to recreate the city without moving, by expanding the right to the city and strengthening local identities.
Illustration: Bence Boros
