The project took place over four months and consisted in the development of a participative process that would result in an intervention in the neighborhood's public spaces, pursuing not only the improvement of the physical structure, but also allowing the community to rediscover the city through its involvement in these process, thereby stimulating the critical sense, the care for the environment and the use of these spaces.

The objective of the Ubirajara TransformACTION project was to contribute to the improvement of the public recreational spaces at the Jardim Ubirajara neighborhood. This improvement occurred mainly through the involvement of the community in the process of planning and implementing an intervention project in a square at the neighborhood. This engagement boosted the benefits of the practice by allowing the project to be planned according to the wishes and needs of the residents, ensuring its future use. Also, the involvement of the community in all stages of the process reinforced its bond with the place, stimulating the care for that space.
The main challenge faced by the team was to mobilize the residents. Since the team had no previous contact with the residents and the community had no strong leadership, the first promotion actions took place through schools, especially the Municipal School Maria Lucila da Silva Barros, in conversations with the residents and placement of banners and posters. From this first contact, a direct communication line was created with a group in a messaging application, through which most of the meetings were announced. The workshops had some participation peaks, with a greater attendance in the practical workshops and a lot of turnover in most of them, but some of the residents actively participated during the entire process, starting from the diagnostic workshops until the practical ones, getting the most of the engagement in the process.
The weather, as well as the short deadline, were also great challenges. According to the submission bid, the project was meant to last for four months. Therefore, it was necessary to reduce the scope related to the demands presented by the community. In addition to the short deadline for a big intervention, the execution phase of the project coincided with the rainy season in the region, making some activities impossible to be scheduled and demanding more workshops than expected.

The project was idealized by the Modular group, an association of architects and engineers whose mission is to contribute to the improvement of the urban habitat. Its main partner was the MRV Institute, through approval in the "Educar Para Transformar" program. Additionally, the project was also aided by the Municipal School Maria Lucila da Silva Barros, the Municipal Department of Urban Services, which assisted in the cleaning of the site, and the companies GeoBlocos and Rei das Tintas, which donated part of the materials used. The project had as beneficiaries the residents of Jardim Ubirajara, in Cuiabá, Brazil.

The project was divided into three phases: one month for planning activities and acquiring basic materials, one month for diagnostic workshops and preparation of the intervention proposal and two months for carrying out the joint efforts for implementation.
The first contact with the community was held in an open meeting for the presentation of the project and was widely publicized. At this meeting, the residents had the opportunity to express their opinions about the proposal.
Diagnostic activities were carried out through workshops with adults and children. These activities consisted in the approximation of the work area with the help of city and neighborhood maps, locating the neighborhood in relation to the city, its houses and reference points. We also identified the leisure spaces and points with infrastructure, sanitation and security issues. Some participants had never seen the city through a map, it was an important exercise for the perception of the city and the place where they live. With the help of a map, the residents had to identify the conflicts and potentialities of the area, and could already point out and draw up intervention proposals that resulted in the square’s intervention project.
The activities with the children had the focus on the spaces to play, through play workshops to identify these spaces. The children also worked with satellite images, photographs and notes. After identifying the current situation, the children presented what they would like to be done in the neighborhood.
After the diagnosis and definition of the project, the execution of the proposals was started. The project consisted of painting the wall that delimits one of the sides of the square, the execution of benches for seats, playground equipment for children, a flowerbed and a protection fence for the soccer field which has one side near a watercourse.
The execution was carried out through teamwork during the weekends with the contribution of the residents through their work force. In addition to the assistance in lighter work, such as painting, children were also responsible for recording such activities, learning basic techniques for photo and video. The material produced was organized into a short documentary.

The project indirectly benefited about 700 people (neighborhood population). More than 160 people participated in the activities during the four months, 70 of them being children. More than 15 meetings and 80 hours of work have resulted in a pleasant space that offers greater possibilities of use, besides the implantation of two playground equipment, offering leisure activities closer to home for the children, being the only playground in a 1 km radius.
In addition to these benefits, the project also helped to highlight some leadership among residents, encouraging the struggle for further improvements and the continuity of projects.

Testimonials of the participants:

"I think it's cool because they're helping to clean up the neighborhood, they'll be able to improve, so all the kids will be able to play [...] Today I'm also learning to use the camera, I also learned how to regulate to get closer, stay further away. When you go closer you can see only the face and when you go further you can see everything "(Lucas, 10 years old)

"We are doing the cleaning of the square, but not only cleaning, but also making the population aware of helping to clean up an environment that belongs to the community" (Lidiane, 19 years old)

"We have to take care of our stuff. If we don’t care, who cares, right? We can’t miss this opportunity. "(Jessica, 13 years old, October 13th)
"I don’t use it so much, but I hope to use it from now on because it didn’t have a good structure for us to come and stay here, but now it will, so I intend to use more" (Anelidy, 22 years old)

Faced with our desire to include the population in the urban theme through education and participation, we found in the Program "Educar para Transformar" from the MRV Institute, the possibility of putting our action into practice. We also had the support of the neighborhood public school that opened the doors to the activities and the involvement with the students. The project had an exhaustive time, since it demanded a lot of work during the execution of the project for the square, but it did not stopped the engagement of the community in the activities that made its accomplishment possible.
The participants understood the importance of collective work and felt motivated to continue the improvement actions. They are already preparing to restore the Community Center - now in a state of abandonment - next to the square, as well as organizing to manage the neighborhood's public space.

The inclusion of the community in the development of the project is what contributes to its sustainability, since even if other agents can act in the future, the residents are a constant and can guarantee the development of the activities according to their needs and desires. During the development of the project, some residents began to organize themselves to resume the residents' association and find ways to meet other demands that arose during the proposed diagnostic activities, with the support of the group responsible for carrying out the project, which also intends to continue working in the neighborhood. It shows that strengthening the bond between the community and the place helps them to become even more involved in the decision-making processes that relate to their neighborhood, encouraging their search for improvements.
This practice has the potential to be replicated in other communities, especially if public policies are created for this purpose, encouraging the involvement of the population in the decision-making process regarding public spaces, ensuring that decisions meet the real needs of the residents' benefits.

The participatory process was the key to the realization of the project and although this practice occurs in other parts of the world, including as inspiration for the group that idealized it, this was the first time that we were aware of such project being held in Cuiabá, opening up new possibilities for working with urban issues in the region.
In addition to the impact on the physical space through the improvements on the existing square, providing new possibilities of use, the project also has a social impact through the use of spaces and community engagement in decision processes, as well as establishing a relationship between the group of professionals and the community forming a basis for the conception of future projects.

Social Medias:
http://facebook.com/modular.at
http://instagram.com/modular.at

Articles:
http://www.olhardireto.com.br/conceito/noticias/exibir.asp?id=15862&noticia=projeto-de-cuiaba-vence-votacao-popular-e-recebera-r30-mil-do-instituto-mrv
http://www.folhamax.com/cidades/projeto-social-cuiabano-participa-de-capacitacao-no-instituto-mrv/177159
https://www.institutomrv.com.br/pt/noticias/social/um-bairro-revitalizado-para-chamar-de-meu
https://www.olivre.com.br/jovens-arquitetos-e-engenheiros-dao-inicio-a-projeto-de-melhoria-de-bairro-de-cuiaba/
http://www.reportermt.com.br/geral/projeto-social-cuiabano-participa-de-capacitacao-no-instituto-mrv/83627
https://www.jornaldacidadebh.com.br/atualidades/educar-para-transformar/

Short documentary about the project:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FqCjLaNTbs&t=6s