How do young people inhabit a territory and how would they like to inhabit it concerning their aspirations and life prospects and about the transformations of the economy and the world of work?
“Abitare fluido” is a project that aims to bring out, from a qualitative-quantitative point of view, the imaginary and expectations that young people in two specific cities, Milan and Turin, have regarding the housing dimension.
Both capitals make it possible to analyse and investigate preferences, orientations, and trends among young people on the dynamics of living, given that, albeit with different incidences, they are faced with a series of phenomena that are exacerbating the polarisation between social classes, affecting above all the most vulnerable groups, including the young.
This research imagines a city without barriers that puts sociality and a sense of community at the centre, exploring the critical issues related to housing precariousness caused by weak and poorly redistributive housing policies, and proposing strategies and trends of multi-locality, co-housing, and cooperation for a more inclusive, stable and sustainable living for young people in Italian metropolises.
In this project the young people are the privileged interlocutor to pursue the objective of the work: development of guidelines through which the proposals of the young people come to the attention of the political decision-makers, concerning the necessary public policy interventions on housing.
The extended living envisaged by the Abitare Fluido model envisages the possibility of flexible living in a system composed of several dwellings, with a main dwelling in a peri-urban or non-urban area connected to a shared dwelling in the context of a hub for temporary living and working in the city. A model that responds to the needs of an increasingly complex and diverse society, governed by housing tensions linked to re-urbanisation and the financialisation of the housing market that fuel territorial inequalities.
The data collected from the research workshops and the survey administered in the main Italian cities highlighted the change in young people’s housing needs from a predominance of permanent residents to an increasing presence of temporary residents. The ideal home for many young people is no longer a static entity, but a flexible project that adapts to life’s different phases and needs. In Italy, youth mobility has increased, with most young people preferring to rent rather than own a home, also due to economic and job insecurity. This leads many young people to live in temporary or shared housing solutions, especially in peripheral areas where costs are lower but services are less accessible.
The research therefore aims to highlight the need to enhance the action potential of young people as natural actors in urban transformations by promoting cooperative and solidarity-based participation in the shaping of housing life.
The research also produced a publication edited by Sivia Cafora and published by the Fondazione Feltrinelli. See also here and here.
Abitare Fluido is a project promoted and supported by Fondazione Cariplo, Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo, Fondazione Sviluppo e Crescita CRT, Fondazione Housing Sociale, Confindustria Assoimmobiliare, Future Urban Legacy Lab – Politecnico di Torino, Fondazione dell’Ordine degli Architetti Milano, Spazio Aperto Servizi Cooperativa Sociale ONLUS and in collaboration with Ordine Architetti Torino, Ordine Architetti Milano, Fondazione Impact Housing, Torino Urban Lab.
