Viale Monza 335
Who, what, when & why? | location
As a part of the design studio Living streets, in collaboration with the project Alle Porte di Milano (At the gates of Milan), we have been given an opportunity to take a closer look at the streets of Milan and give them a new purpose and re-define their meaning.
The aim of the project is to design, transform and rehabilitate several territories in question in the City of Milan in order to restore their dignity in terms of identity and propose adequate services to make these areas more functional and appealing to the citizens. Strategy of using tactical urbanism, as a main tool to make these changes happen, represents a quick, efficient, smart, collaborative approach to improve quality of these spaces and make them more valuable, inviting and fun!
Located in the northern suburban part of Milan- municipality 2, situated on one of the most significant streets, Vialle Monza 335 at the same time represents both inspiring and challenging area to work on. Environment characterized as “sensitive” refers to the complexity of relationships that could be found on this location. Area of our intervention, space in front of the association Pane Quotidiano, represents a part of a bigger scope. Context that surrounds this location includes territory around the Villa S. Giovanni (Line 1) metro stop where conflicts and other critical issues have been detected both in physical and social sense. Consequently, attempts to solve problems of this space must dedicate equal amounts of attention and energy to both concerning aspects of this area.
God save the Google | research
As a first step in understanding the location, we asked our good friend Google to help us! The power of internet and easy access to needed information seem to be of greater importance than ever! At this critical time, when we are facing restrictions in movement and obtaining necessary inputs in person is not possible, the only way to really get to know the location we have been assigned is through the internet browser (and a little bit of imagination)!
Contextualizing our location on a macro scale (city) and micro scale (neighborhood) was a first thing that needed to be done. Simultaneously, we tried to get to know the history of this place and understand, how certain processes and events affected this location and transformed it through time. Analyzing maps, urbanistic plans and photos of the location was essential in order to understand the space, therefore it represented a crucial step in this part of the research. Once the spatial identity of this area was established (dimensions of the space, position in urban tissue, provided services and their distribution, relationship between elements of the space, 3D appearance, main physical characteristics of the space), we started the next chapter of our research focused on the social aspect.
The second phase of the research, understanding the space in human-centered way, was more difficult to conduct via internet. Absence of physical interaction with residents and inability to observe the life of this neighborhood drove us to realize how essential they are in understanding social interactions and energy of the space. Our way to reach out to the users of this space, and collect their input, was trough the contacts of associations and organizations involved in this project. Unfortunately, at this time of crisis they had to deal with an emergency of a global scale and were unable to participate. Without them as our source and connection to the people, we were unable to carry out the survey meant for residents, volunteers and users of this space. They were supposed to be protagonists in a series of questions and interviews, in order to help us to develop a reflection of this space through the eyes of its users. This was an obstacle that we had to overcome in order to focus on finding other ways to get the answers we needed.
Since we were unable to obtain “first-hand information”, we turned to social media as a tool to help us dive into a more “personal view” of the space. Conducting research about this location trough social media generated useful information related to personal experiences, human interactions and a general sense of community. This process helped us discover positive activities and initiatives, but also detect problems and conflicts descriptive of the area. It served as a good starting point for further research that led us to other useful sources such as newspaper articles, texts about former initiatives to improve this space etc. Every step of this process led us closer to understanding how layered and complex this area is and the extent in which spatial and social aspect are interconnected.
Discussing diversity| problem framing
Based on analysis of gathered information we can conclude that our area of intervention, space in front of Pane Quotidiano association, is situated in one of the most socially diverse zones of Milan regarding age, socio-economic status and cultural background of the population.
Today, unfortunately, this diversity represents a weakness- a source of problems, instead of benefits. It results in social segregation and lack of understanding between groups that belong to different socio-economic structures. There is no real sense of a community in this space due to a high deficiency in programs, spaces and initiatives that cater to all the users and support their involvement and interaction. Existing programs are inadequately distributed as most of the space is dedicated to a parking instead of public spaces, parks and attractive socially engaging programs. The space lacks elements that would give it identity and make it attractive and memorable. As an area situated in a context prone to inappropriate social behavior and crime, it lacks in safety and crime regulations.
It is our job to tackle this difficulty task and transform the weaknesses of this place into its strengths. Using a combination of interventions of urbanistic, artistic and psycho-social nature, we have an objective to create the needed changes and make this community stronger. Diversity should never be an obstacle, but something that is celebrated.
Team 9:
Danica Pavicevic, Daniela Pérez, Lotta Petersen, Natalia Romero, Ksenija Martic
