Upside Down Flows
Basic information
Project Title
Upside Down Flows
Full project title
Upside Down Flows. Redeeming the landscapes crossed by the Olona river in Milan
Category
Reconnecting with nature
Project Description
The Upside-Down Flows is an explorative urban landscape proposal envisioning the green transition led by the deculverting of the Olona River in Milan, bringing a sustainable 'green revolution,' positively transforming the open public spaces along a newly assembled green-blue corridor and enhancing urban biodiversity and resilience.
The Olona becomes a ‘green palimpsest,' merging the downside 'buried’ water landscapes with the upside-built fabric, creating an experimental pathway to human-landsc
The Olona becomes a ‘green palimpsest,' merging the downside 'buried’ water landscapes with the upside-built fabric, creating an experimental pathway to human-landsc
Geographical Scope
Local
Project Region
Municipality of Rho
Municipality of Pero
Municipality of Milan, Italy
Municipality of Pero
Municipality of Milan, Italy
Urban or rural issues
Mainly urban
Physical or other transformations
It refers to a physical transformation of the built environment (hard investment)
EU Programme or fund
No
Description of the project
Summary
The Upside-Down Flows is an explorative urban landscape proposal envisioning the green transition led by the deculverting of the Olona River in Milan, bringing a sustainable 'green revolution,' positively transforming the open public spaces along a newly assembled green-blue corridor and enhancing urban biodiversity and resilience.
The Olona becomes a ‘green palimpsest,' merging the downside 'buried’ water landscapes with the upside-built fabric, creating an experimental pathway to human-landscape redemption. The result is a vision for a holistic metamorphosis, turning neglected spaces into thriving, sustainable urban landscapes. Collectively, it redefines the essence of Milan, cultivating a greener, more resilient Milan for generations to come. Thanks to a transdisciplinary approach and multi-level engagement, it opens the dialogue on sustainability from a local to a collective perspective.
This experimental canvas delivers a roadmap for urban regeneration, aiming to be an engine of change and resilience. It delivers an explorative pathway towards a carbon-neutral Milan by 2050. Inclusion and culture are integral aspects of this transformative journey, ensuring that the metamorphosis is not only ecological but also socially enriching.
The Olona becomes a ‘green palimpsest,' merging the downside 'buried’ water landscapes with the upside-built fabric, creating an experimental pathway to human-landscape redemption. The result is a vision for a holistic metamorphosis, turning neglected spaces into thriving, sustainable urban landscapes. Collectively, it redefines the essence of Milan, cultivating a greener, more resilient Milan for generations to come. Thanks to a transdisciplinary approach and multi-level engagement, it opens the dialogue on sustainability from a local to a collective perspective.
This experimental canvas delivers a roadmap for urban regeneration, aiming to be an engine of change and resilience. It delivers an explorative pathway towards a carbon-neutral Milan by 2050. Inclusion and culture are integral aspects of this transformative journey, ensuring that the metamorphosis is not only ecological but also socially enriching.
Key objectives for sustainability
-Once upon a time there was a river in Milan
The project stands as a 'visualizer' echoing the potential of urban transformation along the Olona River. Its deculverting serves as a beacon of transformation across the neighborhoods it crosses.
-Echoes of Buried Landscapes
It opens the dialogue of reintroducing buried, but living, water landscapes into dense urban tissue, bringing along a positive transformation of neglected public spaces, nowadays delivering a low performance regarding their ecosystem services, due to the reduced presence of vegetation and the lack of variety of the vegetal species.
-Reintroducing Milan's Lost Water Heritage
By implementing Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems, it manages urban runoff naturally, repurposing green spaces into organs of an innovative water upcycling system. 'Public green' becomes part of a larger ecosystem, where the Olona takes center crafting mesmerizing narratives of water-vegetation interactions.
-A New Green Artery Uniting Communities
The river's deculverting serves as a catalyst, shaping a dynamic green-blue corridor that extends into surrounding neighborhoods. This transformation ushers a gradient of change towards the rural ‘'South Agricultural Park', a blend of private-public land with sustainable, locally productive farmlands and eco-friendly practices.
-A Unified Front Against the Climate Crisis
Milan, like many European cities, grapples with the harsh reality of the climate crisis. The project isn't just a response; it's a resilient solution integrating green-blue infrastructure, emphasizing its natural capital as its primary asset in countering climate change, cooling the city, combating pollution, reducing PM10 particles and introducing sustainable transport alternatives integrated into existing systems. Sustainability isn't a dream; it's a tangible reality. The project, more than a visual spectacle, is a blueprint for cities across Europe where sustainability meets allure and innovation.
The project stands as a 'visualizer' echoing the potential of urban transformation along the Olona River. Its deculverting serves as a beacon of transformation across the neighborhoods it crosses.
-Echoes of Buried Landscapes
It opens the dialogue of reintroducing buried, but living, water landscapes into dense urban tissue, bringing along a positive transformation of neglected public spaces, nowadays delivering a low performance regarding their ecosystem services, due to the reduced presence of vegetation and the lack of variety of the vegetal species.
-Reintroducing Milan's Lost Water Heritage
By implementing Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems, it manages urban runoff naturally, repurposing green spaces into organs of an innovative water upcycling system. 'Public green' becomes part of a larger ecosystem, where the Olona takes center crafting mesmerizing narratives of water-vegetation interactions.
-A New Green Artery Uniting Communities
The river's deculverting serves as a catalyst, shaping a dynamic green-blue corridor that extends into surrounding neighborhoods. This transformation ushers a gradient of change towards the rural ‘'South Agricultural Park', a blend of private-public land with sustainable, locally productive farmlands and eco-friendly practices.
-A Unified Front Against the Climate Crisis
Milan, like many European cities, grapples with the harsh reality of the climate crisis. The project isn't just a response; it's a resilient solution integrating green-blue infrastructure, emphasizing its natural capital as its primary asset in countering climate change, cooling the city, combating pollution, reducing PM10 particles and introducing sustainable transport alternatives integrated into existing systems. Sustainability isn't a dream; it's a tangible reality. The project, more than a visual spectacle, is a blueprint for cities across Europe where sustainability meets allure and innovation.
Key objectives for aesthetics and quality
-From a constellation of fragments to a green entity.
Amidst the decay of neglected urban spaces, the project envisions a transformation – turning these fragments into a holistic green entity. The current urban fabric, marked by decades of decay, has unwittingly given rise to 'faceless spaces, pockets of public realm, fragmented by vehicular routes that discourage interaction, leading to minimal municipal investment. The result? Monotonous visuals, limited biodiversity, low ecosystem performance, and a struggling environment.
-“Green spaces, Assemble!”
The proposal pioneers a vision of unity, where fragmented spaces coalesce into a thriving network of urban green. By prioritizing pedestrian and cyclist journeys, it delivers safe transit routes. Through strategic placemaking, these areas evolve into vibrant hubs, fostering community activities, culture, and commerce, breathing life into forgotten corners, infusing the city's ‘spirit’ into Milan's decaying western flank.
- “Adventure awaits”
Imagine a corridor pulsating with life, hosting diverse cultural, leisure, and commercial experiences, sparking curiosity and excitement among citizens. This transformation dignifies Milan's multicultural western periphery through multidisciplinary and flexible public spaces. By encouraging locals to become 'tourists' in their city, the project unlocks a realm for Milanese to embark on adventures within their own city.
The project aims to be an exemplary testament to redefining aesthetics, enhancing the quality of urban experiences, and embracing sustainability, seamlessly integrating beauty, functionality, and cultural richness, making sustainability effortlessly accessible and undeniably attractive.
Amidst the decay of neglected urban spaces, the project envisions a transformation – turning these fragments into a holistic green entity. The current urban fabric, marked by decades of decay, has unwittingly given rise to 'faceless spaces, pockets of public realm, fragmented by vehicular routes that discourage interaction, leading to minimal municipal investment. The result? Monotonous visuals, limited biodiversity, low ecosystem performance, and a struggling environment.
-“Green spaces, Assemble!”
The proposal pioneers a vision of unity, where fragmented spaces coalesce into a thriving network of urban green. By prioritizing pedestrian and cyclist journeys, it delivers safe transit routes. Through strategic placemaking, these areas evolve into vibrant hubs, fostering community activities, culture, and commerce, breathing life into forgotten corners, infusing the city's ‘spirit’ into Milan's decaying western flank.
- “Adventure awaits”
Imagine a corridor pulsating with life, hosting diverse cultural, leisure, and commercial experiences, sparking curiosity and excitement among citizens. This transformation dignifies Milan's multicultural western periphery through multidisciplinary and flexible public spaces. By encouraging locals to become 'tourists' in their city, the project unlocks a realm for Milanese to embark on adventures within their own city.
The project aims to be an exemplary testament to redefining aesthetics, enhancing the quality of urban experiences, and embracing sustainability, seamlessly integrating beauty, functionality, and cultural richness, making sustainability effortlessly accessible and undeniably attractive.
Key objectives for inclusion
-Making Sustainability Tangible for Everyone: Empowering All Voices.
The project’s mission goes beyond creating a sustainable city; it's about making sustainability accessible, understandable, and visible to everyone, from local to the global scale.
It communicates the potential futures of Milan by translating intricate research data into compelling visual narratives. These visuals not only provoke thought but also vividly depict the city's deserved transformation. We're not just building places; we're fostering shared spaces, encouraging communal interaction and ownership.
-The Green Symbiote: Embracing Unity
The project delivers the concept of a possible integratory entity capable of delivering a resonance of sharing and shouting-out the positive transformations that the city can develop.
This can be achieved by self-attaching intellectually and financially, to these many ongoing sustainable policies, incorporating the already generated global knowledge of the many EU-funded projects and replicating them acting locally.
By facilitating access to the on-going transformation, neighbors, citizens and local governments will have better capacity and opportunities to collectively contribute to the city’s wellbeing.
-360: Think global, act local
Through diverse funding structures, from micro-scale neighborhood crowdfunding to larger European initiatives, it seeks an engagement with multi-level funding mechanisms, alleviating the burden on municipal budgets. This strategy nurtures spaces reflecting collective decisions, fostering a sense of pride and ownership among the community and bridging the gap between global vision and local action. The proposal offers a journey, where sustainability is not just a concept but a tangible reality for all and where Milan becomes a model of inclusive governance, affordability and, proving that a sustainable future is within everyone's reach.
The project’s mission goes beyond creating a sustainable city; it's about making sustainability accessible, understandable, and visible to everyone, from local to the global scale.
It communicates the potential futures of Milan by translating intricate research data into compelling visual narratives. These visuals not only provoke thought but also vividly depict the city's deserved transformation. We're not just building places; we're fostering shared spaces, encouraging communal interaction and ownership.
-The Green Symbiote: Embracing Unity
The project delivers the concept of a possible integratory entity capable of delivering a resonance of sharing and shouting-out the positive transformations that the city can develop.
This can be achieved by self-attaching intellectually and financially, to these many ongoing sustainable policies, incorporating the already generated global knowledge of the many EU-funded projects and replicating them acting locally.
By facilitating access to the on-going transformation, neighbors, citizens and local governments will have better capacity and opportunities to collectively contribute to the city’s wellbeing.
-360: Think global, act local
Through diverse funding structures, from micro-scale neighborhood crowdfunding to larger European initiatives, it seeks an engagement with multi-level funding mechanisms, alleviating the burden on municipal budgets. This strategy nurtures spaces reflecting collective decisions, fostering a sense of pride and ownership among the community and bridging the gap between global vision and local action. The proposal offers a journey, where sustainability is not just a concept but a tangible reality for all and where Milan becomes a model of inclusive governance, affordability and, proving that a sustainable future is within everyone's reach.
How Citizens benefit
-Radical, yet Possible: A Canvas of Transformation
The project is a visual tapestry woven with the threads of transformation. It's radical yet possible, improving the quality of life while safeguarding our environment, outlining 4 drivers serving as pillars of change: enhancing neighborhoods, boosting ecological wellbeing, preserving urban biodiversity and reducing pollution. The introduction and requalification of green-blue surfaces, the reduction of asphalt, and the integration of slow-mobility leads to a livable, comfortable, and healthier cities.
Co-creating multiscale coalitions, starting at the neighborhood level, where citizens have a say in shaping their communities through neighborhood-level crowdfunding apps and other participatory schemes as tools for site-specific solutions.
-Co-designing democratic landscapes
A testament to the power of collective wisdom, a human-driven design that weaves the voice of the people, fostering participation and making sustainability a part of daily life; empowering citizens to understand the urgency of investing in sustainable policies
and the impacts of climate change on their physical and mental well-being.
Workshops and participatory activities become platforms for citizens to give their input and witness their ideas come to life in real-time, cultivating a sense of belonging, identity, and responsibility. Public realm a space for culture and knowledge-sharing.
-Go with the Flow: Transforming Mobility
Reimagining the streetscape means efficient and less redundant transits, fostering multidisciplinary corridors with shared spaces. The traditional "piazza" is rethought as ‘woonerf’, making way for a pedestrian-friendly realities through reachability, permeability, and accessibility, respecting the needed vehicular transit. Changes aren't limited to infrastructure; they bring new amenities, activities, and immersive experiences, elevating quality of life and revaluing property values along this corridor.
The project is a visual tapestry woven with the threads of transformation. It's radical yet possible, improving the quality of life while safeguarding our environment, outlining 4 drivers serving as pillars of change: enhancing neighborhoods, boosting ecological wellbeing, preserving urban biodiversity and reducing pollution. The introduction and requalification of green-blue surfaces, the reduction of asphalt, and the integration of slow-mobility leads to a livable, comfortable, and healthier cities.
Co-creating multiscale coalitions, starting at the neighborhood level, where citizens have a say in shaping their communities through neighborhood-level crowdfunding apps and other participatory schemes as tools for site-specific solutions.
-Co-designing democratic landscapes
A testament to the power of collective wisdom, a human-driven design that weaves the voice of the people, fostering participation and making sustainability a part of daily life; empowering citizens to understand the urgency of investing in sustainable policies
and the impacts of climate change on their physical and mental well-being.
Workshops and participatory activities become platforms for citizens to give their input and witness their ideas come to life in real-time, cultivating a sense of belonging, identity, and responsibility. Public realm a space for culture and knowledge-sharing.
-Go with the Flow: Transforming Mobility
Reimagining the streetscape means efficient and less redundant transits, fostering multidisciplinary corridors with shared spaces. The traditional "piazza" is rethought as ‘woonerf’, making way for a pedestrian-friendly realities through reachability, permeability, and accessibility, respecting the needed vehicular transit. Changes aren't limited to infrastructure; they bring new amenities, activities, and immersive experiences, elevating quality of life and revaluing property values along this corridor.
Physical or other transformations
It refers to a physical transformation of the built environment (hard investment)
Innovative character
-L’agent Provocateur: The Art of Provocation
The project embraces its 'provocative' essence, aiming to forecast sustainability from a distant concept into an irresistible reality for the public. By delving into the technical intricacies of Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) and Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS), it weaves seamlessly into the fabric of everyday life.
Through visually captivating representations, aims to bridge the gap between complexity and simplicity, making the green transformation tangible and relatable.
-Visualizing Tomorrow: The Power of AI and Imagination
In the design journey, AI becomes a creative ally, harnessing the potential of generative software to craft visuals that transcend imagination. They can serve as windows into a future where Milan transforms into a green palimpsest, rewriting its history. By triggering the imagination and sparking dialogue, it allows citizens to envision a circular, safer, healthier, and greener city.
-‘Chi cerca, trova’
The proposal serves as a compelling challenge to the decisions of the past, questioning the choice to bury the Olona River beneath our feet, like rubbish under a rug. While this decision may have seemed convenient, attempting to resolve the challenges of over-industrialization and exploitation, the underlying issues persist. The Olona's waters, tainted by historical industrial neglect, demand our attention. Despite improvements, pollutants linger, reminding us of the unresolved problem.
The project invites citizens and municipal actors to peel back the layers, to rediscover what lies beneath our city. By confronting the buried truth, we find the catalyst for change. "Chi cerca, trova" – those who seek, find. The Olona River, once hidden, becomes the symbol of our city's untapped potential. It beckons us to reclaim our heritage. Together, let's unveil the hidden treasure beneath our feet, reimagining Milan as a greener, more vibrant city for generations to come.
The project embraces its 'provocative' essence, aiming to forecast sustainability from a distant concept into an irresistible reality for the public. By delving into the technical intricacies of Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) and Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS), it weaves seamlessly into the fabric of everyday life.
Through visually captivating representations, aims to bridge the gap between complexity and simplicity, making the green transformation tangible and relatable.
-Visualizing Tomorrow: The Power of AI and Imagination
In the design journey, AI becomes a creative ally, harnessing the potential of generative software to craft visuals that transcend imagination. They can serve as windows into a future where Milan transforms into a green palimpsest, rewriting its history. By triggering the imagination and sparking dialogue, it allows citizens to envision a circular, safer, healthier, and greener city.
-‘Chi cerca, trova’
The proposal serves as a compelling challenge to the decisions of the past, questioning the choice to bury the Olona River beneath our feet, like rubbish under a rug. While this decision may have seemed convenient, attempting to resolve the challenges of over-industrialization and exploitation, the underlying issues persist. The Olona's waters, tainted by historical industrial neglect, demand our attention. Despite improvements, pollutants linger, reminding us of the unresolved problem.
The project invites citizens and municipal actors to peel back the layers, to rediscover what lies beneath our city. By confronting the buried truth, we find the catalyst for change. "Chi cerca, trova" – those who seek, find. The Olona River, once hidden, becomes the symbol of our city's untapped potential. It beckons us to reclaim our heritage. Together, let's unveil the hidden treasure beneath our feet, reimagining Milan as a greener, more vibrant city for generations to come.
Disciplines/knowledge reflected
The project is a bold narrative, conceived as a disruptive urban landscape proposal. It aspires to be a prophet of a much-needed sustainable transition, rewriting Milan's industrialized story. In the heart of our city, neglected spaces find new purpose, transformed into incubators of green reforms. This isn't just a transformation; it's a pathway of action against the daunting challenges of climate change.
-Data-Driven Wisdom: Harnessing Satellite Insights
Guided by satellite geodata sourced from open channels, the project unveils the ecological shortcomings of Milan's current green spaces along the Olona. Armed with this knowledge, it embraces NBS and SUDS. These tools aren't mere concepts; they are the gears that requalify and dignify our public realm.
-Redefining Connectivity: Slow Mobility Meets Innovation
In this transformation, spaces find room to breathe, creating pathways for slow mobility solutions along alternative routes weaving seamlessly through towards existing mass transit systems.
This approach champions the reduction of single-occupancy vehicles along peri-urban routes. By optimizing existing satellite parking lots, it mitigates carbon emissions, reducing the release of PM10 particles into the air. This isn't just a shift in mobility; it's a promise of cleaner, healthier air for Milan.
-Spirit of the City: Breathing Life into Public Spaces
Through strategic placemaking, the project infuses identity, intrigue, and allure into once 'faceless fragments of public space.' This transformation gives rise to captivating itineraries, drawing citizens and visitors alike. Milan's western flank becomes a canvas for disruptive art, vibrant commerce hubs, itinerant fairs, and temporary art activations, enhancing the city’s pulsating creativity and innovation.
The project isn't just a vision; it's a testament to Milan's resilience and creativity, making sustainability accessible, attractive, and integral to our urban fabric; it rewrites Milan's
-Data-Driven Wisdom: Harnessing Satellite Insights
Guided by satellite geodata sourced from open channels, the project unveils the ecological shortcomings of Milan's current green spaces along the Olona. Armed with this knowledge, it embraces NBS and SUDS. These tools aren't mere concepts; they are the gears that requalify and dignify our public realm.
-Redefining Connectivity: Slow Mobility Meets Innovation
In this transformation, spaces find room to breathe, creating pathways for slow mobility solutions along alternative routes weaving seamlessly through towards existing mass transit systems.
This approach champions the reduction of single-occupancy vehicles along peri-urban routes. By optimizing existing satellite parking lots, it mitigates carbon emissions, reducing the release of PM10 particles into the air. This isn't just a shift in mobility; it's a promise of cleaner, healthier air for Milan.
-Spirit of the City: Breathing Life into Public Spaces
Through strategic placemaking, the project infuses identity, intrigue, and allure into once 'faceless fragments of public space.' This transformation gives rise to captivating itineraries, drawing citizens and visitors alike. Milan's western flank becomes a canvas for disruptive art, vibrant commerce hubs, itinerant fairs, and temporary art activations, enhancing the city’s pulsating creativity and innovation.
The project isn't just a vision; it's a testament to Milan's resilience and creativity, making sustainability accessible, attractive, and integral to our urban fabric; it rewrites Milan's
Methodology used
-Treasure map: pathway to a green palimpsest
The project commenced by delving into the historical factors and motives behind the culverting of the Olona River over the past century, juxtaposing them with the current scenario. Historical mappings revealed the river's forgotten path, paralleled by the emergence of industries along the Olona's basin, unfortunately, the primary source of pollution.
Following the 'pirate's map,' our research traversed the Olona's culvert at ground level, conducting site visits to understand the resulting spaces after culverting. This physical survey illuminated the qualitative and quantitative attributes of existing equipment and infrastructure in these areas.
Analyzing open data sources provided insights into the dynamics experienced by neighbors along this public realm transect. The proposal phase involved gathering information on the climatic and physical state of the metropolitan city, correlating qualitative and anthropogenic dynamics. Extensive research explored potential strategies and policies for hypothetically transforming the public realm into a green-blue corridor.
The proposal materialized as a 'visualizer,' a tool translating research into a diagnosis of the existing situation. It identified potentialities and opportunities designed to complement other sustainable policies, fostering expertise in sustainable urban transformations. This initiative empowers Milan to redefine itself, amplifying the people's voice and expert guidance to revive its dwindling 'water' spirit, transforming into a green palimpsest and becoming a beacon of sustainability.
The project commenced by delving into the historical factors and motives behind the culverting of the Olona River over the past century, juxtaposing them with the current scenario. Historical mappings revealed the river's forgotten path, paralleled by the emergence of industries along the Olona's basin, unfortunately, the primary source of pollution.
Following the 'pirate's map,' our research traversed the Olona's culvert at ground level, conducting site visits to understand the resulting spaces after culverting. This physical survey illuminated the qualitative and quantitative attributes of existing equipment and infrastructure in these areas.
Analyzing open data sources provided insights into the dynamics experienced by neighbors along this public realm transect. The proposal phase involved gathering information on the climatic and physical state of the metropolitan city, correlating qualitative and anthropogenic dynamics. Extensive research explored potential strategies and policies for hypothetically transforming the public realm into a green-blue corridor.
The proposal materialized as a 'visualizer,' a tool translating research into a diagnosis of the existing situation. It identified potentialities and opportunities designed to complement other sustainable policies, fostering expertise in sustainable urban transformations. This initiative empowers Milan to redefine itself, amplifying the people's voice and expert guidance to revive its dwindling 'water' spirit, transforming into a green palimpsest and becoming a beacon of sustainability.
How stakeholders are engaged
-Dream Large, Scale Smart!
The project is a testament to the power of collective dreams, bridging the gap between visionaries and realists. At every level – local, regional, and European – stakeholders have come together, each playing a crucial role in shaping this transformative journey.
-Local Insight, Global Impact: A Grassroots Revolution
The project embarks its journey at the local level, immersing in the intricacies of Milan's demographics, understanding how people interacts with their public spaces along the Olona and the services around them.
Through surveys and questionnaires, it opened a dialogue with the public, tapping into their collective memory of the city's 'water spirit’ and wondering the kind of new programs and experiences they require.
At metropolitan level, the project becomes a hub bringing together diverse stakeholders. Foundations, initiatives, and policies aligned themselves with our vision. From tree-planting advocates to placemaking associations, academic and research foundations engaged in EU-funded projects (such as Life and Horizon) – each found a home within our strategy. Through shared goals and functions, our project gained unparalleled depth and breadth, enriching the overall strategy envisioned by the Olona's deculverting.
-A Vision Beyond Boundaries: European Insights and Inspiration
Beyond regional borders, a European perspective draws on the outputs of Life and Horizon research projects, recognizing the stark reality – a significant portion of the population is vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. This realization fueled our determination to boost resilience and inclusivity by landscape design, delivering a canvas of change. The involvement of stakeholders infuses diverse perspectives and rich cultural nuances. Through visuals, we make sustainability easier, attractive, and undeniably accessible. Every voice added a layer to the tapestry of progress, turning dreams into tangible, transformative reality.
The project is a testament to the power of collective dreams, bridging the gap between visionaries and realists. At every level – local, regional, and European – stakeholders have come together, each playing a crucial role in shaping this transformative journey.
-Local Insight, Global Impact: A Grassroots Revolution
The project embarks its journey at the local level, immersing in the intricacies of Milan's demographics, understanding how people interacts with their public spaces along the Olona and the services around them.
Through surveys and questionnaires, it opened a dialogue with the public, tapping into their collective memory of the city's 'water spirit’ and wondering the kind of new programs and experiences they require.
At metropolitan level, the project becomes a hub bringing together diverse stakeholders. Foundations, initiatives, and policies aligned themselves with our vision. From tree-planting advocates to placemaking associations, academic and research foundations engaged in EU-funded projects (such as Life and Horizon) – each found a home within our strategy. Through shared goals and functions, our project gained unparalleled depth and breadth, enriching the overall strategy envisioned by the Olona's deculverting.
-A Vision Beyond Boundaries: European Insights and Inspiration
Beyond regional borders, a European perspective draws on the outputs of Life and Horizon research projects, recognizing the stark reality – a significant portion of the population is vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. This realization fueled our determination to boost resilience and inclusivity by landscape design, delivering a canvas of change. The involvement of stakeholders infuses diverse perspectives and rich cultural nuances. Through visuals, we make sustainability easier, attractive, and undeniably accessible. Every voice added a layer to the tapestry of progress, turning dreams into tangible, transformative reality.
Global challenges
Climate change is an undeniable antagonist in our daily lives. In recent decades, it has grown into a formidable threat, its erratic and unpredictable behavior endangering our safety. Among the many symptoms impacting Milan, the Urban Heat Island effect and the rise in Land Surface Temperature Anomalies stand out prominently. Data and maps from the 2021 ESA-Copernicus research have provided us with a precise understanding of areas where livability and comfort are compromised.
Local research, funded by the Life Project 'Metro Life Adapt,' further enriched our knowledge.
By overlaying data from site visits with outputs from diverse researches, the project gained insights into population vulnerability and recognizing corridors with high pollutant emissions, contributing to increased levels of nitrogen and PM10 particles in the air.
Our project goes beyond mere requalification of public green spaces and the revitalization of neglected natural assets. It aims to co-create spaces that are not only beautiful but also vital for physical and mental well-being. These spaces foster social cohesion and inclusivity, enhancing the quality of life.
Moreover, by proposing sustainable slow-mobility solutions for the urban fabric, it anticipates the benefits of reducing car usage. This, in turn, brings Milan closer to achieving its goal of carbon neutrality by 2050, creating a healthier, more sustainable future.
Local research, funded by the Life Project 'Metro Life Adapt,' further enriched our knowledge.
By overlaying data from site visits with outputs from diverse researches, the project gained insights into population vulnerability and recognizing corridors with high pollutant emissions, contributing to increased levels of nitrogen and PM10 particles in the air.
Our project goes beyond mere requalification of public green spaces and the revitalization of neglected natural assets. It aims to co-create spaces that are not only beautiful but also vital for physical and mental well-being. These spaces foster social cohesion and inclusivity, enhancing the quality of life.
Moreover, by proposing sustainable slow-mobility solutions for the urban fabric, it anticipates the benefits of reducing car usage. This, in turn, brings Milan closer to achieving its goal of carbon neutrality by 2050, creating a healthier, more sustainable future.
Learning transferred to other parties
Leading the way towards a sustainable transition, the project ensures visibility and understanding of sustainability for all. By encouraging dialogues among overarching disciplines, citizens, and neighbors, it paves the path for an inclusive future. The communication strategy aims to be a replicable model disseminating the sustainable framework derived from interacting policies to diverse stakeholders.
Through research translation and site-focused concepts, we demystify complexity.
Moreover, our initiative sparks inspiration. By transforming hidden culverts into assets, we urge municipalities and authorities across Europe to embrace their natural capital as driver to combating the climate crisis. This ripple effect prompts the reconsideration of buried streams, exporting the 'green revolution' to diverse sites, catalyzing transformative change.
Through research translation and site-focused concepts, we demystify complexity.
Moreover, our initiative sparks inspiration. By transforming hidden culverts into assets, we urge municipalities and authorities across Europe to embrace their natural capital as driver to combating the climate crisis. This ripple effect prompts the reconsideration of buried streams, exporting the 'green revolution' to diverse sites, catalyzing transformative change.
Keywords
Dissemination of a sustainable urban transition
Resilience and adaptability through NBS and SUDS
Placemaking strategies for public activation space
River deculverting and river renaturation
Reawakening the 'water spirit' of the city
