The Park in the Social Housing Complex of Egaleo is an open green area in a high-density, low-income district, around 1 km away from the city center. It is surrounded by blocks of the housing complex and a reference point of a network of smaller green areas in-between other housing blocks. These green areas are the meeting place of a multicultural neighbourhood of people from Pakistan, Syria, Greece and 2nd generation migrants from Albania. In particular, the park is the center of the social life of the area. On the ground floor of the blocks surrounding the park there are several community uses: a cultural association of traditional Cretan music, a cultural association of traditional apparel and a leisure center for the elderly. Consequently, the public space of the park is used all day and night by dwellers of all ages, members of the cultural associations and students of the nearby primary school, being also the place of organizing cultural events. Nevertheless, the area has not been appropriately maintained or re-designed in the last decades, resulting in insufficient urban equipment to cover users’ needs.
B. Turin Living Lab
Among the many social innovation processes in Turin for revitalising social economies in private and public spaces, some university-led initiatives show complementarities with the Egaleo case, that are relevant for studying the different components (physical, digital, social) of CUE. The Library of Things in District 4 (in the middle between center and periphery, dynamic in terms of recent multicultural migration fluxes and civil society initiatives – especially with micro circular economies in the neighborhood “Borgo Campidoglio”) is a circuit for exchanging, lending and reusing objects that triggers circular economy and social cohesion practices in the neighborhood. The Collective Urban Garden in District 8 is collectively maintained by UNITO researchers and students, based upon circularity, sustainability and inclusiveness principles (e.g. participatory design process, communitarian sharing of products). Both the initiatives are runned by communities that are strongly motivated to implement CUEs. They already have started with the experimentation of blockchain-based digital tools, while their experience with upcycling of urban materials and spaces is still initial.
