By Daniel Millor Vela, PhD in Health Sciences and Architect, Asertos Programme (Quatorze and Arquitectura Sin Fronteras España)
For too long, our approach to urban inequality has been trapped in a deficit-based model, focusing solely on fixing what is broken. But what if we stopped seeing our neighbourhoods as a collection of problems to be managed and started seeing them as a systemic organism full of untapped potential? The core message I will share at the ESSC is not a proposal for “better” social services, but an inspiring alternative: the transition toward a salutogenic urbanism where community autonomy and well-being are co-produced by the citizens themselves.
This vision is embodied in the figure of the “Celestina Urbana” (Urban Matchmaker). Rather than a traditional service provider, this represents a new form of citizen organization centred on care and the management of shared resources. It is about triggering a new “socio-anthropological time”. In this model, social services do not just “assist the vulnerable”; they act as the glue that connects local talents, from manual construction skills to deep-rooted community networks, to rebuild the social fabric of our cities.
Breaking Silos: A Transversal Revolution
To achieve this, we must mainstream social services, breaking the institutional silos that separate them from health and urban planning. Our work with the Asertos Programme demonstrates that a truly healthy city requires a systemic shift:
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Urban planning must prioritize the most vulnerable to ensure equitable access to essential goods.
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Social services should engage all layers of the population, leaning on less vulnerable groups to foster bridging social capital and mutual support.
From Assistance to Common-Pool Resources
The future we propose is built on Elinor Ostrom’s concept of Common-Pool Resources. By utilizing cooperative models for housing and shared services, we move beyond “managing poverty” toward precipitating community autonomy. This is what we might call, in Freire’s words, our “unprecedented possibility” (inédito viável): the possibility for residents to no longer be passive recipients of aid, but active agents of their own Good Life (Buen Vivir, or Sumak Kawsay in Quechua language).
I invite you to attend Plenary 2 of the European Social Services Awards – “Bridging Gaps, Building Hope: Responding to Complex Community Needs” on 19 May 2026. Together with Valeriu Nicolae, who will draw on his rights-based action to highlight pathways to dignity, and Julie Beadle-Brown, a leading expert in inclusive practices for people with complex needs, we will try to offer a compelling vision for more just, responsive, and humane social service systems.
Alongside moderator Jane Dudman, we will explore innovative grassroots approaches to strengthen support networks and elevate citizen voices. Let’s discuss how to transform our roles into “social elevator operators” who don't just fix parts of a broken machine, but support communities in building a completely new sense of coherence and belonging
I hope to see you in Valletta to discuss cross-cutting approaches within our professions!
