Coproduction for change: participatory tools for inclusive health and wellbeing in European small and medium size cities

This paper outlines the participatory tools utilised in the IN-HABIT Horizon 2020 project, aimed at co-creating solutions for inclusive health and wellbeing (IHW) in four small to medium-sized European cities. Unlike conventional studies that prioritise greening measures for health and wellbeing, IN-HABIT highlights inclusivity, gender equality, and broad social involvement. Each city established a thematic emphasis within IHW, leading to the creation of four distinct projects. The co-creation methodology aims to improve public participation in these initiatives by including the theory of change, sustainable integrated development, and participatory action research, with the objective of engaging stakeholders and enabling IN-HABIT members to monitor and self-document their progress. The duration of IN-HABIT has facilitated the analysis of how these methodologies have been adaptively modified in response to changing public engagement dynamics over 5 years´ time. The paper concludes with reflections on deviations, commonalities, and transnational learning across the four urban contexts