Pilots in progress – Ferrara, Italy

Date: 13.09.2024
Key aims of the intervention include 4 main actions + related side actions planned:

1. Reducing lack of pedestrian amenities for children and elderly, by introducing a safe, equipped pedestrian area, and shaded seating in an area currently dominated by asphalt. This area could be used as “Starting/meeting point of the school Pedibus service” and at the same time as a “Relax area” for residents and particularly the elderly who use the market on established days.
2. Painting – using tactical urbanism methodology – the Pedibus-to-school route – from the above mentioned “new student’s meeting point” to the Mosti primary school.
3. Reclaiming public space for community use by creating “temporary pedestrian safe zones”, in front of the “old P. Lana school building”, now “under refurbishment” in order to host a new “family social services center” of the municipality of Ferrara;
(Furthermore, the Ferrara urban-rural group is working in order to provide, within the new “family social services center”, a specific info-point for tactical urbanism & sustainable mobility)
4. Finally painting – using tactical urbanism methodology – some specific pedestrian routes in order to guarantee safe walking journeys for residents (specifically elderly people) to the main supermarket and neighbourhood shops.
Related side actions/activities:
1. Fostering community engagement by involving residents in the redesign process, organizing public workshops, and increasing participation in planning and decision-making.
2. Raising awareness of sustainable urban practices through tactical urbanism, which demonstrates how small, temporary changes can have a big impact on the livability of a space.
3. Reducing car dependency by promoting sustainable mobility options such as walking, cycling, and public transportation.
By creating these temporary modifications, the pilot aims to gather feedback from the local community, assess the feasibility of these changes, and develop a blueprint for more permanent improvements in the future.