In the framework of the “Zeta lab” project, promoted by the City of Turin and funded by the Piedmont Region, FULL delivers seven workshops in a training module called “Immaginare il futuro (Imagining the future)”. The aim is to promote the acquisition and deepening of knowledge on issues related to the practice of good and sustainable administration of the common good and of the ways and strategies, including innovative ones, to decline public service policies and its action, improving their nature and quality. The training is characterised by laboratory and experiential practice and is held both in the classroom and ‘in the field’, at places that are the subject of urban experimentation or sites of state-of-the-art monitoring and management platforms.
A second training module entitled ‘Protecting the Future’, organised by PoliTO per il Sociale, will illustrate theories and practices on the themes of participation and co-design.
The addressees of the initiative are young administrators, under 35 or newly appointed, and young people under 29, in order to approach active citizenship paths by reducing the gap between politics and institutions, addressing topics that aim to increase passion for the common good, public commitment, value ethics and aimed at deepening topical issues.
At the end of the cycle, FULL issues a report to summarise the themes and methods of the initiative, a charter of intentions with the motions expressed by the course participants to be submitted to the administration, and the four-episode podcast ‘Zeta’.
Course program
March 21, 2025 – Visions for a fairer future
• At OGR
• Loris Servillo, Mauro Fontana, Erica Mangione, Manuela Ronci – Polytechnic University of Turin/FULL
Presentation of the course program and objectives.
Lecture on the challenges of planning and managing contemporary cities and the importance of thinking about the city of the future in the context of the “just city,” in line with SDG 11 of the UN Agenda: “Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.”
March 28, 2025 – Regeneration of urban spaces & community spaces
• Presso Scuola primaria “G. Parini” – Corso Giulio Cesare 26
• Cristiana Rossignolo – Politecnico di Torino, Monica Postiglione e Anna Pratt – esperte della materia
Spazi di comunità come hub ibridi sociali-culturali.
• At the “G. Parini” Primary School – Corso Giulio Cesare 26
• Cristiana Rossignolo – Turin Polytechnic, Monica Postiglione and Anna Pratt – experts in the field
Community spaces as hybrid social-cultural hubs.
The presentation will explore the role of urban regeneration of common goods in Italy, analyzing approaches, policies, and tools available to cities and citizens. We will start from the experience of community spaces as cultural hubs, highlighting their impact on urban dynamics and social and institutional innovations. Within this framework, we will present the results of the SPAZI DI COMUNITÀ (COMMUNITY SPACES) research project, carried out in 2024 by NUVAP (Nucleo di Valutazione e Analisi per la Programmazione, Evaluation and Analysis Unit for Planning) at the Department for Territorial Cohesion of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, as part of the SI.VALUTA project. The research analyzed these practices at the national level, with a focus on significant experiences in the Turin area.
April 11, 2025 – Space justice and social justice in the transition towards fairer roads.
• At the Mollino Room of the Valentino Castle
• Gabriele D’Adda and Elisa Vitale – Polytechnic University of Turin/FULL
Reflections, starting from the “Just Streets” project, on spatial justice and social justice in the context of the transition to active and sustainable mobility and the creation of fairer streets. In order to make the transition from car-dominated streets to public spaces characterized by active mobility and a variety of uses, it is essential not only to take into account but also to prioritize the needs and visions of social groups that are often underrepresented in urban planning. A “critical walk” is planned in the pedestrianized area of San Salvario.
May 9, 2025 – Green/blue infrastructure and the environmental transition
• At OGR
• Manuela Ronci and Tymon Wolender – Polytechnic University of Turin/FULL
Strategic planning in river environments
The first part of the meeting will take the form of a lecture and will consist of a theoretical introduction, an overview of the evolution of the main planning approaches, and an in-depth analysis of international case studies, characterized by different focuses and scales of intervention.
The second part of the afternoon will be dedicated to workshop activities. Starting from a reflection on key issues in the transformation of urban river areas, related to the content of the lecture and applicable to the context of Turin, the workshop will aim to identify areas with regenerative potential and to develop macro-objectives/strategies/actions that could potentially be applied in the river areas of the city of Turin.
May 23, 2025 – Digital infrastructure
• At OGR and the nearby Energy Center
• Maria Ferrara – Polytechnic University of Turin/FULL/EST@EnergyCenter team
Digital Twin and climate city contract
The meeting aims to outline the potential offered by digital twins on an urban scale to support the design, implementation, and monitoring of sustainability policies for cities. In this regard, the European context will be analyzed, and in particular the response of pilot cities to the EU Mission “Climate Neutral and Smart Cities,” including the City of Turin. The meeting will conclude at the Decision Theater of the Energy Center of the Polytechnic University of Turin, with a demonstration of the current capabilities of the digital platform under development to support the drafting and monitoring of the Climate City Contract of the City of Turin, outlining its potential for further development and replicability in other urban contexts.
June 6, 2025 – Intangible culture – data and citizen science
• At Officine Creative (Cecchi Point)
• Sofia Fellini and Tommaso Listo, Polytechnic University of Turin/FULL
Data and citizen science
The meeting will be structured as follows: 1) a theoretical lesson on citizen science as a practice of knowledge construction and exchange between the public and institutions; 2) a visit to La Biblioteca dell’Aria, a citizen science project based at Officine Creative; 3) a workshop activity, in which participants will be asked to work in small groups and propose a possible citizen science project on issues relevant to their local areas, to be discussed collectively.
June 13, 2025 – Young people and public engagement
• At OGR
• Loris Servillo, Mauro Fontana, Erica Mangione, Manuela Ronci – Politecnico di Torino/FULL
Final lesson in which participants are guided through a review of the course content, with the aim of presenting their images of the city of the future through two in-person activities:
• Drafting a letter of intent to be presented to the City of Turin
• The creation of an informative podcast together with a radio communication expert
PROTECTING THE FUTURE – curated by PoliTO for Social Issues
June 19, 2025 – Theories and practices on participation and co-design
• At Castello del Valentino or online
June 26, 2025 – Practical workshop on participation and co-design
• At Valentino Castle
