IN-HABIT researcher Isotta MacFadden participates in the 1st International Congress on Art and Social Context to explain the case study in Las Palmeras.

Isotta MacFadden, a researcher from the European H2020 research project IN-HABIT, presented at the first International Congress of Art and Social Connection, outlining the way in which citizens’ health and well-being can be promoted through heritage and culture.

With her intervention: “Social cohesion and mental health: the heritage of art and culture as tools for vulnerable contexts”, the Doctor in Sociology presented all the activities the IN-HABIT project is carrying out in Cordoba in the areas of art, heritage, and culture.

MacFadden explained that: “the IN-HABIT project explores how undervalued solutions can improve health and well-being in small and medium-sized cities.” Following the determinants of health approach, art and culture are considered as undervalued solutions for improving inhabitants’ quality of life.

The project therefore explores the role that both culture and heritage can play in promoting health and well-being in vulnerable contexts, using the co-creation process with inhabitants as an inclusive and intergenerational opportunity.

During her presentation at the congress, she also described the methodology used to establish a participatory action plan together with the inhabitants of the neighbourhood, and delved into the pilot study of Las Palmeras, Cordoba. She emphasised the challenges and opportunities of co-creating an urban action plan that includes art and culture in its implementation.