TRANSIENCE AS A DESIGN CHALLENGE. ITALIAN RADICAL NARRATIVES ABOUT THE ROLE OF DESIGN PROCESSES IN/FOR THE INCORPOREAL TRANSFORMATIONS OF CITIES (1969-1974)

The capacity of design culture to interpret changes and mediate different fields of research and action by integrating material, immaterial values and experiences, is becoming increasingly relevant, considering the deep transformations generated by the contemporary crisis, wars and migrations. The concept of transience therefore appears to be the only condition and dimension we can design, influence, shape, test, experiment and consume, but also use to narrate the not-linear relationship between design - as a culture of doing, producing, mediating, building relations, anticipating - and the transformations in cities and societies. This paper therefore intends to propose a transverse and inclusive interpretation of transience mediated by design, examining narratives of design-centred approaches in Italy, considering performative and temporary expressions as designed artefacts, with an influence on the development of urban spaces, and where spontaneous initiatives have been expression of latent processes of creativity and culture. The period under examination primarily covers the decades of 1960s and 1970s, a period in which the search for overlapping between disciplinary boundaries, the aggression of the overall vision of the project - which proposes a circularity between scales - and the climate of protest with movements and activism, brought with them the need for change. Moreover, the relationship between design, crisis and sustainability was a transversal theme that led design cultures to weave collaboration with different forms of knowledge and to explore transverse processes and methods. The design discourse around sustainability continues, today, to be fuelled by new instances of triple transition pervading the European landscape, in a process of continuous refinement of methods and practices that introduces new tools, with an eye to digital and new technologies, cross-fertilised by a variety of disciplines, because the forces conditioning change in contemporary and future societies are many and sometimes unexpected

An advanced design approach to support urban transformations through multi-stakeholder collaborations

Urban transformations depend on the uses of the city by “old” and new citizens (residents, workers, migrants, refugees, students, seasonal, homeless individuals, tourists, city-users, commuters), and on their relation within urban spaces and resources, triggering regenerative opportunities, networking and empowerment processes. Considering the city and its heritage as a common good, in which each citizen could access and play for the knowledge, management, conservation and transformation of urban contexts, the contribute illustrates the results of experimental actions in Bologna (IT) finalized to test new stakeholder engagement processes and to develop new tools for participatory practices and new productions for the reactivation of the city. In the last years Bologna represents a field of experimentation for different forms of collaborative approaches with the aim to test and innovate tools and policies for the public space. The paper presents the results of specific projects linked to EU funding schemes (ROCK project) and local multi-stakeholder initiatives, such as the Bologna Design Week, which are part of the research and experimentation carried out by the research unit team. This article illustrates a model to improve the regenerative capacities of the city, by reinforcing local identity and culture, fostering participation through active engagement of all relevant stakeholders, allowing a diversity of responses of groups of actors with different roles and different strengths

Rethinking social housing: behavioural patterns and technological innovations

The building sector accounts for 40% of energy use and 25% of CO2 emissions, mainly due to inefficient building practices and energy consumption during the operational phase of buildings. Social housing accounts for a significant proportion of the European building stock and about 50% of the existing buildings are likely to require large-scale renovations in the coming years, meeting the current EPBD directive. This could represent an opportunity to renovate the affordable building stock, often characterized by premature disrepair, resulting in a bad perception from inhabitants and community. Significant European experiences have already shown the importance of an integrated approach finalized to the construction or renovation of social housing, leveraging on environmental sustainability, creating urban identity, adopting measures to face social disadvantage, offering at the same time quality housing standard. In this regard, it seems necessary to match technological advancements and knowledge in energy retrofitting with social needs and habits. The implementation of energy-efficiency improvements in social housing requests support and participation of the final energy consumer. The paper investigates how to deal with knowledge gaps in the relationship between retrofit technologies and users\u2019 behaviour and possible strategic measures to increase awareness between tenants through two case studies

Regional policies and eco-industrial development: the voluntary environmental certification scheme of the eco-industrial parks in Tuscany (Italy)

Industrial ecology is presented in the literature as both a policy tool and an academic theory. This paper discusses a voluntary certification scheme adopted by the regional government of Tuscany (Italy) as a policy tool to disseminate the concepts of industrial ecology. The approval of a regional regulation represents the first adoption in European environmental and industrial policies of a voluntary tool aimed at stimulating the creation and dissemination of eco-industrial parks. This new certification method is analysed by focusing on the prevention of pollution. The criteria required to obtain the qualification, and the roles and responsibilities of all the actors involved are outlined. Finally, the strengths and weaknesses of the certification scheme are highlighted and the Italian standard compared with the national standard issued in China by the State Environmental Protection Administration. The findings contribute to the discussion of policy measures aimed at disseminating the concepts of Industrial Ecology including a tool based on voluntary co-operation and third-party certifications

Research-Action-Research Towards a Circular Urban System for Multi-level Regeneration in Historical Cities: The Case of Bologna

Urban regeneration is a key topic in Europe as cities are asked to propose efficient actions for the transition toward a more liveable system. The singularities and specificities of each city urges for a flexible and multi-scale approach able to face and combine a mix of cultural heritage, social and economic constraints, climatic and architectural specificities. In order to work toward the definition of site-specific and flexible methods, the ROCK project investigates how to move towards a Circular Urban System Model to be applied to historic centres. The paper presents the concept and the pilot actions undertaken in Bologna to build a site-specific approach enabling local stakeholders to collaborate toward the definition of action plans for the transition into sustainable systems of places. The project adopts a multi- level methodology to create links among key areas, resources, stakeholders and tools in order to re-circulate local values for their valorisation and enhancement. The paper describes the elaboration and the research-action-research initiatives as results of Bologna\u2019s University area experimentations, deepening the relation among public spaces, local stakeholders and social exchanges. In particular, it presents the first experimentations of the project into this area: The Living Lab approach and co-design experiences

Participatory Mapping of Citizens\u2019 Experiences at Public Open Spaces: A Case Study at Bologna Living Lab

In recent years public open spaces (POS) are considered as potential settings for urban regeneration strategies. A POS is successful when it is incorporated into the activities of the citizens, is accessible to people from different social and economic backgrounds, suitable for recreation and also supports people\u2019s security and comfort (Eyles, 2007). Thus, planning process should include citizens\u2019 experiences, opinions and needs. The aim of this paper is to gain insights on the citizens\u2019 experiences and opinions during their presence in POSs by using global positioning systems (gps), geotagging techniques and participatory approaches, while experimenting in the living lab of Bologna established within the framework of the European Union Horizon 2020 project \u201cRegeneration and Optimisation of Cultural heritage in creative and Knowledge cities\u201d (ROCK). For that purpose, a participatory data collection was conducted in Bologna, Italy. The participation of 42 residents was facilitated via Bologna Urban Living Lab (U-Lab). Via Zamboni, Via delle Belle Arti, Via S. Giacomo are the most visited routes in the area. In total 273 subjective experiences were registered, mainly at Via Zamboni, Piazza Verdi and Piazza Scaravilli. 75% of these experiences were associated with positive feelings while 25% were associated with negative. Respondents reported that problems/issues at POSs occurred mainly due to insufficient accessibility and neglect of POSs. U-Lab exploited the results of data collection and organised participatory meetings in order to co-create solutions to transform negatively experienced POSs into positively experienced ones. The paper concludes with the discussion of how this approach can be used as evidence-based design tool for regeneration of POSs

Service design for smart energy management: simulation tools and energy maps

Within the complex and interrelated nature of the smart city concept, the importance of considering both the potential contribute of informed end-users and the impacts of a more organized – district based – approach to energy management are rising as relevant topics. This paper reports the progress of a research aimed to map energy use at district level, translating the zoning concept to balance actions to be delivered in different areas into a city level perspective. The adoption of energy maps is aimed to facilitate the understanding and the communication of the potential impacts in order to increase end-users and key-players awareness on the energy issue as well as to support decision makers to prioritize actions according to a shared systemic approach

An advanced design approach to support urban transformations through multi-stakeholder collaborations

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