Two squares in Milan invaded by parked cars get a complete makeover into pedestrian-priority spaces thanks to tactical urban design.
The City of Milan, with the help of GDCI and Bloomberg Associates, designed the Piazze Aperte program using interim strategies to transform spaces once dominated by cars into pedestrian plazas. These first two Piazze are located in neighborhoods outside the city center, and for the first time in years the administration is prioritizing the transformation of these areas. This is part of a larger plan by the municipality of Milan to reclaim peripheral neighborhoods of the city for pedestrians.
The first space to be transformed was Piazza Dergano, originally the main public space in the independent village of Dergano, now part of Lombardy’s capital city. The piazza’s inauguration on World Car Free Day in September 2018 was the first transformation of this kind in the city.
The transformation in Dergano was followed a week after by Piazza Angilberto II, in the south of the city, as part of Milano Green Week.
The opening events of the piazzas gathered hundreds of residents curious to see the transformations.
Early survey results in Piazza Dergano show that 86% of people interviewed prefer the pedestrian plaza, 72% use more of the space, and an overwhelming 84% would like the redesigned space to become permanent.
Based on these encouraging results, the City of Milan is considering ways to expand this experiment to other parts of the city, and is continuing to work with the community to make these spaces permanent.
GDCI marks this World Children's Day with the release of two new booklets, “How to Engage Kids in Street Design” and “How to Evaluate Street Transformations Near Schools.”
In 2023, ten cities across four continents started designing their streets for kids. Collectively, the cohort reclaimed over 40,000 SqM of public space that prioritizes children and caregivers, engaged over 4,000 children in the process, and trained 140 practitioners.
Learn how street transformations designed for children can be scaled up and made permanent.
