SPACE-NEST. Sustainable Path Advancing Community Empowerment. New European Bauhaus for Social Economy and Transformative Living

This book explores how abandoned and underused spaces can become engines of social innovation, ecological transition and community empowerment. Developed through a transnational partnership involving Italy, Spain and Slovenia, SPACE-NEST project connects the principles of the New European Bauhaus — sustainability, beauty and inclusion — with the objectives of the European Green Deal and the social economy. The book presents a methodology based on territorial mapping, stakeholder engagement, focus groups, Social Economy Missions, Design Thinking, participatory prototyping and action planning. These tools were applied in three pilot territories: the Province of Bergamo, the Province of Malaga and the Primorska region. Through a comparative analysis of the three contexts, the volume shows how local communities, public authorities, social enterprises and civil-society organisations can collaboratively identify new uses for abandoned buildings and spaces, linking cultural heritage, green entrepreneurship, circular economy, sustainable crafts and inclusive community services. The book combines theoretical reflection, practical guidance and territorial case studies. Its Action Plans demonstrate that regeneration is not only a physical process, but also a social and political one, requiring transparent governance, shared responsibility and long-term community participation. SPACE-NEST ultimately proposes an adaptable model for transforming underused spaces into inclusive, sustainable and locally rooted centres of collective life.