AN ACTION-RESEARCH LAB IN/WITH SAN SIRO NEIGHBORHOOD IN MILAN
Ws and Live Lab curated by Francesca Cognetti, Politecnico di Milano
www.mappingsansiro.polimi.it
San Siro neighbourhood is one of the biggest, most restive and fragile public housing district in Milan. It is composed of about 6,000 apartments and hosts 10,000 inhabitants (40% immigrants -doubling Milano average-, a 20% elderly -mostly living alone- and people with psychological disabilities).
MAPPING SAN SIRO is a live lab for knowledge-sharing between academia and neighbourhood, enhancing teaching activities through civic engagement. It is a multiple-sources observatory on social and spatial dynamics where the community can access support to design and information.
The laboratory continues the research activity started in January 2013 by Mapping San Siro action-research workshop, promoted by Beatrice De Carli and Francesca Cognetti (Politecnico di Milano).
From its very beginning, the workshop questioned the current and consolidated forms of mapping representation, tackling at the same time some crucial issues such as the right to housing. From this experience a heterogeneous group of about 20 people (composed by students, researchers, professors and professionals) decided to conduct further researches in San Siro public neighbourhood, aiming to produce shared and critical knowledge and reflecting on how their competences could support inhabitants and local partners. Since 2014, the group established its operational headquarters Spazio Trentametriquadri in the neighbourhood, strengthening relationships with the population and local actors –in 2019 they moved to spazio OFF Campus San Siro.
The action-research activities are focused on three main issues: housing and living conditions, collective spaces at ground floor (the topic I worked on), inactive and vacant commercial and social spaces.
The team collected data, drawings, stories, and interviews with the aim to interpret actual neighborhood dynamics. The purpose of this operation was to create a multiple sources observatory on processes taking place in San Siro, referring to the laboratory three main topics. At the same time the laboratory has been engaged in participating in projects and activities co-designed with local actors (formal or not) and inhabitants.
