CampUS: How the Co-design approach can support the social innovation in urban context

This paper describes how the co-design approach can facilitate the development of new community gardens in an urban context by using the “campUS” research project of the Politecnico di Milano. This is the second stage of a complex and structured path that started four years ago with the creation of Coltivando—the convivial garden at the Politecnico di Milano—founded by a group of professors, researchers and graduates of the Department of Design. Its main objective is to connect two spatial and social realities that co-exist but have no meaningful communication with each other—the university campus, and its surrounding neighborhood. After more than three years, the garden is a thriving hub of community activities. So, how can the success of this project be replicated in another green space of Milan? This question is at the core of one of the initiatives planned by the “campUS” research project, financed by the Polisocial Award, a prize for social innovation research projects at the Politecnico di Milano.