A stakeholder-based approach managing conflictual values in urban design processes. The case of an open prison in Barcelona

An urban intervention has to deal with a pre-existing context. It follows that the design phase must be preceded by a careful and in-depth preliminary analysis addressing historical, morphological, topographical, and geographical reasons. Besides, subjective requests prove to be decisive in the design process in the face of the heterogeneity and multiplicity of possible responses from the actors involved. The contribution aims to support Decision-Makers in the preliminary stages of the project, to provide a global vision of the multidimensionality of the urban context and the feedback of the different subjects that come into play. The main objective is to create an evaluation framework capable of supporting the decision-making process in urban transformation problems starting from the needs of the stakeholders. The approach integrates the analysis of the stakeholders with the SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) to compose an impact matrix based on the Community Impact Evaluation (CIE). The methodology has been tested to develop an open prison in the city of Barcelona (Spain). The framework made it possible to obtain an overall vision of the area’s transformation process, consistent with the project’s objectives, intending to support strategies definition valid from multiple points of view.