Empowering urban wellbeing and biodiversity through design-driven citymaking

This paper presents a practice-based account of the roles that design can play in the realization of a biodiversity-driven approach to citymaking, specifically as part of urban regeneration. The authors first retrace the evolving relationship between design and citymaking in light of contemporary urban regeneration challenges, to identify the potential roles design can play in these contexts. Urban biodiversity is then explored as a factor relevant to urban well-being, ecosystem services, and proactive citizenship, clustering the types of actions that can support a biodiversity-sensitive urban regeneration. Following these premises, a portfolio of initiatives centered on urban biodiversity within a large-scale urban regeneration project in Milan (Italy) is presented to exemplify how design-led interventions can favor the urban natural environment. From these insights, the authors reflect on how designers can work with urban biodiversity to drive sustainable practices while re-establishing people’s relationship with nature and empowering communities' participation in urban transformation.