Oasis Urbano

Oasis Urbano is an intercultural and multidisciplinary collective that facilitates the co-production of common spaces and liveable cities

www.oasisurbano.org

Oasis Urbano co-produces inclusive strategies for holistic neighborhood transformations. We understand informal urban settlements not as a problem but as an essential part of the solution for the most pressing challenges that cities are facing today and in the future. We connect local communities with academia, civil and cultural organizations, businesses and public decision makers to exchange knowledge and experiences. In multidisciplinary, intercultural urban labs, these diverse stakeholders meet on site to discuss, design, build and have fun together. These collective experiences build trust and prove the potential of co-production in open outcome design processes with surprising results. By finding common languages, we bridge the gap between bottom-up initiatives and top-down planning, and enable the co-creation of a city worth living for all of its habitants.

The idea for Oasis Urbano arose out of friendships between Medellín and Berlin. Rooted in the Colombian informal neighborhood of Moravia, the project has steadily expanded with a spirit of intercultural collaboration and unity, reaching other places and communities across Latin America, Europe and beyond. In Moravia we learned how to facilitate processes of urban co-production together with local actor networks and urban stakeholders. Our principles and methods have proven their potential to negotiate and create liveable and inclusive public spaces, not only in Moravia and similar informal contexts, but also in the formally designed city. If you want to learn more about the fascinating microcosm of Moravia, check out the documentary Sesiones Tropicales and our book Moravia Manifesto, and don‘t hesitate to contact us!

We are a dynamic team that works across continents and disciplines, united in passion for inclusive spaces that trigger human interaction. Around the core of Cielo, Nina, Max, Albert, Tobias and Dubian, our tribe of committed and talented people from Medellín and Berlin is made of community leaders, architects, artists, activists, designers, scientists, builders and storytellers: Cleyda, Elsy, Ana, Alejo, Juliana, Karl, Matt, Moritz, Angie, Nasim, Lina, Diego, Laura, Deivy, Pino, Novio, Amira, Roberto and Julian, and countless supportive volunteers.