A. D'Arrigo Sub-urban park redevelopment
Basic information
Project Title
Full project title
Category
Project Description
The business idea is based on urban regeneration and service innovation by creating a multifunctional centre in a green lung, redeveloping an unused and worthless area offering services to the citizens of Catania's outer belt.
The project combines social and commercial purposes and represents an example of socially innovative entrepreneurship: as a first step, the park will be made usable again, then accommodation, cultural, sports, study, commercial and research activities will be integrated.
Project Region
EU Programme or fund
Description of the project
Summary
The idea consist in creating a multifunctional centre, redeveloping an unused and worthless green area applying service innovation:
- Naturalistic purposes: The intention is to make the urban park an example of biodiversity and to create attractive areas for the local community, sports enthusiast and tourists. The possibility of allocating an area to an urban garden is also being evaluated.
- Tourist accommodation: This area will mainly consist of a food and drink area (0 km, seasonal and organic) focused on providing services for athletes, students, researchers and professionals, but also patrons who come to enjoy the park and its services. A more park-like concept will therefore be combined with a more sophisticated one designed to welcome evening visitors.
The tourist reception in the narrower sense will initially be based on the creation of a hub for tourist tours in the surrounding area and the future possibility of creating a glamping area with zero impact is not excluded.
- Sports promotion purposes: the aim is to offer more or less common sports the opportunity to be practised in nature and at a short distance from the town centre, with all the comforts of an equipped area. In particular, there will be a mountain bike track, a climbing area, fitness areas, etc... The idea is to rely on associations in the sector, bringing experience in the sector and redistributing the economic benefits.
- Educational purposes: Another focus of the project is on outdoor educational activities. This area will be used for projects with children and disadvantaged people. A co-working and co-study area will be developed and synergies with university institutes will be used to build research projects on naturalistic, social, economic, etc.. aspects of the park.
- Cultural promotion: the aim is to provide cultural activities using the park's theatre. Cultural associations and local artists will be involve by offering them a common space to perform and share.
Key objectives for sustainability
The objectives that Ecoistituto Siciliano wants to achieve through the redevelopment of the "Angelo D'Arrigo" suburban park are in line with its mission to promote sustainability in various sectors: education, events, business and by participating in network projects with foundations and organisations.
By creating a multifunctional area that brings together sport, nature education and accommodation, the aim is to provide a service for which, according to market research, potential customers would have to travel to different parts of the city.
Nonetheless, the project will faithfully adhere to the dictates of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainability:
- The project provides product and services innovation in accordance with the aims of SDG 11 "Sustainable cities and communities"
- Naturalistic purposes: the intention is to make the urban park an example of the biodiversity of the Mediterranean maquis, maintaining the existing state and planting endemic vegetation in accordance with SDG 15 "Life on Land".
- Tourist accommodation: using the concept of sustainability, offering certified zero-km, seasonal and organic products and taking advantage of any area of the park set aside for horticulture to promote the concept of SDG 12 "responsable conumption and production". The tourist reception is designed to develop the concepts of promoting the area and reducing pollution.
- Sports promotion: the aim is to offer an activity with sustainable principles that helps to achieve the objectives of SDG 3 "good health and well-beeing".
- Educational purposes and cultural promotion: through work in nature and the communication of sustainable concepts we want to promote the concepts of "Quality Education" (SDG 5).
Key objectives for aesthetics and quality
The aim of the project from the point of view of aesthetics and quality of experience is to provide an immersion in nature that on the one hand contributes to the wellbeing of the individual, developing his or her motor, intellectual and cultural skills, and on the other increases the symbiosis with nature for more sustainable and resilient communities.
Key objectives for inclusion
The aim of the project is to design the activities to meet the needs of each possible patron. In designing the idea, we took care to imagine what the difficulties and needs of various categories of disadvantaged people might be in using the park's services.
Each area of the park, for example, will be designed for access by people with motor disabilities, and the sports area will also be designed to allow activity for these people.
Nevertheless, it is also a project objective to be inclusive towards those with economic disadvantages in using the park. Access will be free of charge and packages will be devised to meet the needs of those who cannot use all the services.
Innovative character
Our project concerns the exercise of an activitỳ still underdeveloped in the Italian and Sicilian territory; the construction of a multifunctional area in nature, structured to offer integrated services, does not find the presence of similar examples in the area where the project is carried out. Moreover, the pandemic, as revealed by our co-design activities, has increased the need and desire to use green spaces to carry out daily activities. Nevertheless, a multifunctional area that allows for multiple activities allows for the development of multipotential capacity, as well as lateral thinking and soft skills for the people who attend. The integration of activities gives the possibilitỳ to obtain, for each activity, a mutual benefit that will be distributed on the territory. Through the support of the partner organisations and associations, a higher quality of the different services is guaranteed and a better capacity to offer interesting and integrated services to the patrons is achieved.