Community-led urban living lab in Thessaloniki

Pervolarides Thessalonikis is a grassroots non-profit organisation based in Thessaloniki, Greece, with experience in community-based urban sustainability, food justice, social inclusion and participatory governance.

We are looking to join or co-develop a DUT Call 2026 consortium, particularly within the Circular Urban Economies and 15-minute City pathways, as well as projects addressing the adaptive reuse of existing urban structures and spaces.

Our organisation can contribute:

• Community engagement and co-creation with residents and local stakeholders
• Design and implementation of local living labs and small-scale urban pilots
• Food rescue, redistribution and circular local food systems
• Community gardens, composting and participatory urban greening
• Neighbourhood regeneration, urban commons and community-led use of shared spaces
• Knowledge and research experience in community-led and cooperative housing
• Workshop facilitation, participatory research, qualitative data collection and dissemination
• A strong focus on social inclusion, accessibility and environmental justice

We can provide access to grassroots networks and community-based initiatives in Thessaloniki and support the testing of practical, socially grounded solutions in real neighbourhood contexts.

We are interested in collaborating with municipalities and local authorities, universities and research organisations, SMEs and social enterprises, and other civil society actors. Our preferred role is as a community implementation, co-creation and stakeholder engagement partner, with the possibility of hosting or supporting pilot and living-lab activities in Thessaloniki.

We are open to proposals focused on circular and resilient neighbourhoods, innovative maintenance and activation of urban green spaces, local neighbourhood economies, adaptive reuse, inclusive public spaces, urban food systems, community-led housing and transferable models of citizen participation.