In Laayoune, the Phosboucraa Foundation is launching the second phase of the “Dessine-moi une ville” (draw me a city) initiative, a citizen consultation project to design a city that meets the needs of all its users, with the aim of putting people at the heart of urban development.

The project consists in assessing the specific needs of children, young people, women, and people with reduced mobility, who are not taken into account as much as they should be in traditional urban planning. Thanks to this project, these groups will have the opportunity to share their expectations for their living spaces and help shape ideas for development related to mobility, green spaces, and public spaces.

Participants experience a form of playful expression based on drawing. They can transform urban space according to their needs and desires using an interactive creation tool, proven more effective in a collaborative design and consultation process than traditional survey- or questionnaire-type techniques.

The project has three phases:

- In May 2019: Workshops were held in schools and at the Foundation’s training center, the Laayoune Learning Center. Facilitators trained in advance in Laayoune supervised the four types of users during indoor workshops. They compiled what users desire as expressed through collage, drawing, and the use of an application.

- In February 2020: In addition to the programming of indoor workshops in some schools, youth centers and summer camps, this phase was distinguished by the launch of outdoor workshops to broaden the sampling of those consulted. Thus, the teams of animators went to meet the users in the public spaces of Laayoune and Foum El Oued. Digital consultations are done via tablet, analog consultations through cutting and collage workshops.

- End of 2020: Results sharing to present the needs of the local population in order to consider them in the future development or construction of the city’s public spaces.

Inspired by the famous phrase in The Little Prince, “draw me a sheep,” the “Dessine-moi une ville” project is much more than a collaborative design platform. It is a call for the social inclusion of all minorities. This mission is led by the Phosboucraa Foundation with the local support of its partners, Wilaya and Laayoune Sakia El Hamra Region, Municipalities of Laayoune, Foum EL Oued and Al Marsa, Ministry of Education, as well as the Southern Agency.