Florence learns to live with adolescents. Schools as living lab for the city in transition
FIABA aims to create a better school environment and a new more sustainable mindset. FIABA develops interactive workshops with students of two high schools in Florence to educate on, co-design and experiment the city of transition. To do this, FIABA focuses on open spaces connected to schools: courtyards and gardens, entrance areas and public spaces within a 15-minute walk. FIABA aims to design an open space system centred on schools as the “public core” of the city.
Local
Italy
Florence (Tuscany).
Mainly urban
It refers to a physical transformation of the built environment (hard investment)
No
No
Yes
As a representative of an organization, in partnership with other organisations
Name of the organisation(s): Department of Architecture of the University od Florence (DIDA). Type of organisation: University or another research institution First name of representative: Maria Rita Last name of representative: Gisotti Gender: Female Nationality: Italy Function: Professor Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Via Micheli 2 Town: Florence Postal code: 50121 Country: Italy Direct Tel:+39 333 360 4121 E-mail:mariarita.gisotti@unifi.it Website:https://www.unifi.it/p-doc2-2019-0-G-3f2b342e35282e-0.html
Name of the organisation(s): ITT Marco Polo Type of organisation: High School First name of representative: Ludovico Last name of representative: Arte Gender: Male Nationality: Italy Function: Principal of the High School Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Via di San Bartolo a Cintoia 19/a Town: Florence Postal code: 50142 Country: Italy Direct Tel:+39 055 650 5142 E-mail:presidenza@ittmarcopolo.edu.it Website:https://www.ittmarcopolo.edu.it/
Name of the organisation(s): Liceo Guido Castelnuovo Type of organisation: High School First name of representative: Alessandro Last name of representative: Bussotti Gender: Male Nationality: Italy Function: Principal of the High School Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Via Alfonso La Marmora, 20 Town: Florence Postal code: 50121 Country: Italy Direct Tel:+39 055 500 1651 E-mail:dirigente@liceocastelnuovo.edu.it Website:https://www.liceocastelnuovo.edu.it/
Name of the organisation(s): Fondazione CR Firenze Type of organisation: Non-profit organisation First name of representative: Chiara Last name of representative: Mannoni Gender: Female Nationality: Italy Function: Education Sector Manager Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Via Maurizio Bufalini 6 Town: Florence Postal code: 50122 Country: Italy Direct Tel:+39 055 538 4001 E-mail:chiara.mannoni@fondazionecrfirenze.it Website:https://fondazionecrfirenze.it/chi-siamo/staff/chiara-mannoni/
Name of the organisation(s): Città Metropolitana of Florence Type of organisation: Public authority (European/national/regional/local) First name of representative: Gianni Paolo Last name of representative: Cianchi Gender: Male Nationality: Italy Function: Sector "Direzione Edilizia" Manager Address (country of permanent residence for individuals or address of the organisation)<br/>Street and number: Via Cavour 1 Town: Florence Postal code: 50121 Country: Italy Direct Tel:+39 055 276 0476 E-mail:gp.cianchi@cittametropolitana.fi.it Website:https://www.cittametropolitana.fi.it/
Social media handle and associated hashtag(s): fiaba_firenzeimpara (Instagram)
The FIABA project (“Firenze impara ad abitare con gli adolescenti”/“Florence learns to live with adolescents”) started in March 2022, is funded by Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio of Florence for 12 months and is developed by a group of scholars from the Department of Architecture (DIDA) of the University of Florence (official partner of the NEB), in cooperation with two high schools (Marco Polo and Castelnuovo) and the Città Metropolitana of Florence. FIABA aims to create a better school environment and foster a new more sustainable mindset, starting with young people.
FIABA develops a methodology to strengthen the role of schools as living labs for the city in transition, through interactive workshops with students to 1) educate on the city of transition, 2) co-design the city of transition 3) experiment with the city of transition through spatial transformations.
To reach these goals FIABA focuses on three types of spaces:
- school open spaces, like courtyards and gardens.
- open spaces immediately surrounding schools, like entrance areas.
- open spaces within a 15-minute walk of schools.
All these spaces can play a strategic role in many issues: improving the thermal performance of both school complexes and neighbourhoods by reducing the overheating phenomena; learning about climate change and climate adaptation design; changing adolescent behaviours related to sustainable mobility; adopting a more active lifestyle; developing awareness of transition’s challenges; strengthening the sense of citizenship of adolescents; improving the quality of neighbourhood public space and the sense of belonging to the city.
FIABA considers the school as a privileged context for both the education of sustainability and transition and for the regeneration of public spaces.
At today FIABA has completed the participatory and co-design process with Marco Polo High School, while the one with Castelnuovo High School is still ongoing.
School gardens and courtyards
Open spaces
Public space
Transition education
Participatory process
To answer this question, we refer to the New European Bauhaus Compass Values and Working Principles: from the point of view of Sustainability, FIABA responds particularly to Ambition III (“to regenerate”), aimed at enhancing biodiversity, expansion of natural landscapes and realizing a behavioural change. The following are FIABA’s key objectives in terms of sustainability and how they will be met:
- to provide more space for nature in school gardens: we proposed interventions like de-paving areas of courtyards, planting new vegetation, creating green walls on the most degraded parts of façades, regenerating multifunctional hedges around school areas.
- to contribute to the fight against the effect of global warming: we proposed installing shade structures in gardens, study areas for outdoor education (especially useful in warm weather) and drinking fountains.
- to contribute to the reduction of emissions by promoting sustainable mobility: we proposed to make school entrance areas more welcoming and functional for pedestrians and equipped for bicycles. We also proposed installing a cover on the sports field, so students do not have to be bussed to an indoor gym. We explored the district looking for bike lanes and public transport.
During the co-design process with students, which produced the chosen physical transformations, we discussed biodiversity in the city, climate change and sustainable mobility.
FIABA can be exemplary because it deals with both the material and immaterial aspects of the changes. It foresees new physical settings and supports a paradigm shift, from the logic of repairing failures produced by people, to a preventive one. It is a work of education on citizenship, sustainability and resilience, which offers the opportunity to also reach the families of students involved, promoting a new awareness of the major issues related to transition.
To answer this question, we refer to the New European Bauhaus Compass Values and Working Principles: from the point of view of Aesthetics, FIABA responds particularly to Ambition II (“to connect”), aimed at reinforcing the connection between communities and places, and to Ambition III (“to integrate”) aimed at enabling the creation of new cultural and social values. The following are FIABA’s key objectives in terms of aesthetics and quality of experience for place and how they will be met:
- contribute to the redevelopment of urban public space by considering schools as the physical and symbolic centre of the city: we proposed interventions aimed at the rehabilitation of school gardens and entrance areas and at a better recognisability of school buildings from the street.
- conceive an “adolescent garden”: we proposed a landscape design that employs spontaneous and wild vegetation (a sort of “third landscape” by Gilles Clement) and, through this approach, can reflect the age of its main users. Moreover, this idea responds very well to the fact that the public authority responsible for green maintenance provides no more than two interventions per year at the school.
- foster the construction of a new educational model “from knowledge to belonging”, enabling a new sense of attachment to places and their care: we proposed the development of walking seminars to make a SWOT analysis of the neighbourhood and we applied the methodology of the “Laboratorio del Cammino”.
FIABA can be exemplary because it proposes an idea of “beautiful” that is strictly related to the understanding of context and sense of belonging. In this way it integrates new aesthetic and social values, fostering the development of collective experiences. Thanks to this perspective, schools can be a fulcrum for the construction of a city of transition that is both more beautiful (where beauty is intended to be contextual) and sustainable.
To answer this question, we refer to the New European Bauhaus Compass Values and Working Principles: from the point of view of Inclusion, FIABA responds to all three Ambition (“to include”, “to consolidate”, “to transform”), aimed at grant accessibility and fostering shared social values. The following are FIABA’s key objectives in terms of Inclusion and how they will be met:
- include adolescents in the core of public life (after a long pandemic period in which they were isolated) and support their leading role in co-design of their daily life environment: we proposed a participatory process which has strongly increased student awareness of their needs related to the school garden, entrance, neighbourhood and urban life, and which has promoted student involvement in co-design process;
- making the school a meeting place with young people from other cultures or countries: we proposed to create in the school garden a sort of “city gate” for young travellers that come from abroad. This gate would be a physical correspondent of the blog https://www.florenceteen.it/ (created by students of Marco Polo) and will work as an info-point on city life, completely managed by students.
- open school gardens to the city: we proposed to study tools (based on the “contrat d’école” model) to keep schools open during after-hours, so they could take on the role of Living Lab (or Territorial Hub).
FIABA can be exemplary because it has tested a participatory process for the co-design of school open spaces and understanding of the neighbourhood for an age group (adolescents) often excluded from this type of experience, which is actually very common for younger children. FIABA’s idea of inclusion is intended as togetherness: between adolescents and the city and between Florentine adolescents and young people from abroad. Thanks to this perspective the school can be a fulcrum for construction of a city of transition that fosters spatial and social justice.
Citizens could greatly benefit from the implementation of FIABA actions dedicated to open spaces within or around school areas. Regenerating and improving the quality of these spaces will benefit liveability for both the school and entire neighbourhood. Just think about the advantages (in terms of the fight against the effects of global warming on urban blocks) that come from de-paving areas of school courtyards, planting new vegetation, creating small vegetable gradens and installing shade structures. All these interventions can improve the thermal performance of both the school and the neighbourhood.
Another benefit for the neighbourhood community could be the use of these regenerated school courtyards and gardens during after school hours. This would mean more public spaces for the citizenship. FIABA aims to experiment with tools like the “contract d’école” or the “community education pacts” to open schools to citizens. In this way, schools could be living labs in which to learn about the ecological transition, foster co-design processes related to urban public space, discuss neighbourhood life, meet and socialise.
Finally, redevelopment of areas immediately surrounding schools (through the adoption of solutions such as increased bike paths, creation of new pedestrian areas, provision of urban furniture, etc.) could improve the neighbourhood public space and support sustainable mobility.
All these interventions are called for in the most recent urban policies of Florence, as seen in the following documents: the “Firenze Prossima” participatory process, “Rinasce Firenze” strategic document for post-pandemic urban recovery, Green Plan and Metropolitan Strategic Plan. Therefore, FIABA may be a major testing ground for some of these policies.
FIABA is a local project led by the DIDA of the University of Florence and inspired by the New European Bauhaus. Stakeholders of the initiative are engaged as follows:
- the Department of Architecture (DIDA) of the University of Florence (official partner of the NEB) is the project leader of FIABA. A group of scholars and teachers conceived the project, built the partnership and coordinates all actions. A group of ten students from the Department of Architecture supported the implementation of the participatory process with school students, playing the role of tutors in cooperation with the DIDA teachers.
- Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio of Florence (FCR, a bank foundation) funded FIABA for 12 months, allowing for recruitment of a researcher from DIDA who managed the participatory process and designed the technical project resulting from co-design workshops.
- Città Metropolitana of Florence (the local authority for high school management and maintenance) cooperated with the DIDA group in selecting the schools to be involved in FIABA, based on a deep knowledge of their needs and specific situations. Two schools were selected: Marco Polo and Castelnuovo High Schools in Florence.
- Marco Polo and Castelnuovo high schools are involved in FIABA by hosting the participatory process with students dedicated to the co-design and exploration of open spaces within and around the school areas. Participation in these workshops allowed students to obtain training credits for soft skills and career management.
FIABA involved several knowledge fields, starting with urban designers from DIDA who are the project leaders. In fact, FIABA is based on the idea of promoting the important role played by open spaces within and around schools for the construction of a new way of living in the city, open to ecological and just transition. Urban designers have significant expertise in the design of open spaces and development of the participatory process. They built the partnership and invited into the working group other experts from DIDA who then had a role in the participatory workshops, namely:
- architects with skills in technology and especially in control of the thermal performance of buildings.
- designers who specialised in furniture and equipment (for sports and outdoor education) for the redevelopment of school open spaces.
The added value of this process is a cross-scale approach that goes from the neighbourhood scale to the school garden/courtyard scale.
The DIDA working group has continuously interacted (through regular meetings) with experts in other fields from Città Metropolitana of Florence: two architects and one agronomist, respectively in charge of maintenance for Marco Polo and Castelnuovo High School and of maintenance of school greenery.
This was another important added value of FIABA that allowed for testing of the inter-institutional design method, between the University and a local authority.
Finally, other fields of knowledge were involved, represented by high school teachers who are experts in art, art history, technology and literature. The interaction between the DIDA working group and these teachers took place during both the participatory process workshops and preparatory phase, in which we planned together what topics to deal with and how. This interaction was crucial to make the DIDA working group able to offer content and learning methods appropriate for high school students.
FIABA brings some innovative features in the field of similar initiatives for the following reasons:
- FIABA is aimed at high school students, an age group often excluded from this type of experience which is actually very common for younger children. We think that it is crucial to give voice to adolescents (also facing the conflict that may arise within this participatory process) to build a more inclusive and long-lasting ecological transition.
- FIABA brings together different generations of young people: adolescents from high school and students from the Department of Architecture, who played the role of tutors. This matching was successful because it made it easier for high school students to express their needs related to open spaces.
- FIABA allows high school students to obtain credits for soft skills and career management, giving importance and public recognition to their commitment in a participatory process dedicated to the co-design of new spaces for ecological transition.
- FIABA works on open spaces to explain transition through an experimental approach, stimulating students with questions like “how our perception of heat changes if we move from a completely paved part of the courtyard to a natural one?”.
- FIABA applies a cross-scale approach that goes from the neighbourhood scale to the school garden/courtyard scale, and a multidisciplinary approach that intersects several skills and fields of knowledge.
- FIABA fosters in adolescents the idea that the transition is a challenge related not only to physical transformation but also to behavioural changes in the way they move and live in the city.
- FIABA proposes a model in which schools are living labs for the transition, namely contexts in which both physical and socio-cultural innovations happen.
FIABA features that can be replicated or transferred in other contexts are the following:
- FIABA can be replicated as a programme for soft skills and career management, that are mandatory for all high school students in Italy and relevant in general in contemporary education in Europe. In fact, FIABA’s participatory process gave students involved the opportunity to obtain this kind of credits and to reach, at the same time, very relevant goals: FIABA has deeply and thoroughly involved students and has been met by them with great enthusiasm.
- FIABA can be replicated as a methodology for co-design in high schools that strongly increases student awareness of their needs related to the school garden, entrance, and neighbourhood; promotes student involvement in the co-design of the garden and entrance area; increases their comprehension of the neighbourhood public space, of its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats; provides a real project for the physical transformation of these areas, that the school could implement.
- FIABA can be replicated as a methodology to design the physical regeneration of school open spaces following an incremental approach. This means that foreseen interventions are organised in relatively separate and autonomous sectors of the project (or “work packages”), so that they can be implemented independently from each other, depending on the availability of financial resources and other factors.
- FIABA can be replicated in Schools of Architecture as a model of co-design that involves students and gives them the opportunity to measure themselves in a real context.
- FIABA can be replicated by other local authorities that are responsible for high school management and maintenance as a model of inter-institutional design and cooperation.
- FIABA can be replicated as a methodology to create new public spaces and living labs for the citizenship in order to develop awareness about ecological transition.
The FIABA work programme included the following steps:
- Collection of international good practices regarding similar experiences.
- Interaction with stakeholders to select the two schools and co-design of the participatory process.
- Participatory process with the two high schools.
- Design of a technical project based on the results of the participatory process.
- Presentation and discussion of the proposal with the school community.
The participatory process followed an “hourglass approach”: at first the whole school community was involved (through online surveys); then workshops were held with a small group of students (19 for Marco Polo High School and 26 for Castelnuovo High School); finally, the project proposal was discussed with the whole school community.
FIABA has dealt with school open spaces (courtyards and gardens), open spaces immediately surrounding schools (entrance areas), open spaces within a 15-minute walk of the school. For each scale of work, both the technical analysis and the analysis developed with participatory methodologies were held. The latter took place both in classrooms and on walking seminars and urban explorations based on the “Laboratorio del Cammino” methodology (https://www.laboratoriodelcammino.com/). Workshops led to (1) a shared proposal for the reorganisation of gardens, courtyards and school entrances and (2) a mapping of the neighbourhood public space.
High school students played an active role (assisted by the DIDA working group and students from the DIDA as tutors) and were invited to produce both traditional outputs (for example maps, drawings, etc.) and digital outputs (especially self-made videos explaining their vision).
FIABA social media profile Instagram (fiaba_firenzeimpara) has been an important tool for dissemination of the work carried out in the workshops to the entire school community and for the recognition of student commitment (recognised also by credits for soft skills and career management).
Global challenges address by FIABA come from major international policies, particularly Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and European Green Deal (EGD).
All learning activities and physical interventions proposed at the local scale by FIABA are aimed to respond to the following SDGs:
- SDG 11 “Sustainable Cities and Communities” (providing access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable mobility; enhancing participatory, integrated and sustainable city planning, design and management; providing universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible green and public spaces).
- SDG 13 “Climate Action” (integrate climate change measures into strategies and design and improve education and awareness on climate change mitigation and adaptation).
Regarding the EGD, we selected the following areas of action that cooperates to the main goal “Achievement of climate neutrality”:
- “Sustainable transport”. At the local scale we propose an increase of the use of public transport, shared mobility and bicycles and a reduction of individual transport modes, especially fossil-fueled ones.
- “Preserving Europe’s natural capital”. At the local scale we promote the greening of school areas and reinforce the awareness about interconnections between climate action and urban greening interventions.
- “A zero-pollution Europe”. At the local scale we encourage the use of sustainable transport and support the awareness about the interconnections between a healthier environment, less traffic, more open public spaces, nature-based solutions and young people and citizenship well-being.
- “Promoting the Green Deal in the neighbourhood”. At the local scale we propose interventions through Nature based solutions, sustainable mobility, equipment for a healthier city.
- “Leave no one behind (Just Transition)”. At the local scale we promote the inclusion of adolescents in a participatory process of co-design, while they are an age group often excluded from similar experiences.
At present (01/02/2023), FIABA has developed the preliminary project for the gardens, courtyards and entrance areas of the two schools. The preliminary project for Marco Polo High School was recently presented to the school community during a public meeting, in order to receive comments and conclude the participatory process. The project has been greatly appreciated by the entire school community and the Principal strongly hopes that FIABA could be funded for another year, to manage the implementation phase of the physical project and further pursue the participatory process with students (see letter of support by Prof. Ludovico Arte).
The preliminary project for Castelnuovo High School will soon be presented to the school community during a three-day public forum managed by students, and will also receive comments and conclude the participatory process.
After theses consultations, starting from mid-February, the preliminary projects for the two schools will be presented and discussed with Città Metropolitana of Florence (the local authority for high schools), with the participation of the two Principals. Later (until the project deadline of mid-March) we will prepare the final project.
In this framework, it is essential to have funding for the next year to pursue the management of the FIABA process. This role has been held by a young architect and researcher recruited by the DIDA for 12 months. The NEB Prize could allow us to renew her contract and define the detailed project (included the definition of some aspects that need to be still specified with students) and start to define a work plan to reach the implementation of foreseen interventions. Regarding these latter, the renewal of the contract is essential in order to manage ordinary funding from Città Metropolitana or to look for extraordinary funding (coming from Recovery Plan or other programmes). The pursue of FIABA for a second year of work will allow us to accomplish all the envisaged goals.
FIABA contributes to developing initiatives in all four Competence Areas defined in the "European competence framework on sustainability": "Embodying sustainability values", "Embracing complexity in sustainability", "Envisioning sustainable futures", "Acting for sustainability". In fact, FIABA develops, with the two High Schools involved, learning initiatives about:
- climate change and climate adaptation design;
- the rise of new behaviors related to sustainable mobility;
- the adoption of a more active lifestyle;
- awareness-rising of transition’s challenges, fostering in adolescents the idea that the transition is related both to physical transformation as well as to behavioral changes;
- the strengthening of the sense of citizenship of adolescents.
FIABA adopts an experimental approach in developing these learning initiatives: in fact school open spaces are our testing ground to explain the transition, stimulating students with questions like “how our perception of heat changes if we move from a completely paved part of the courtyard to a natural one?”.
FIABA develops also non-formal education, reaching the families of students involved and promoting a new awareness of the major issues related to transition.
