Off Campus San Siro. Ricerca ‘a bassa soglia’ nei margini della città

The article reflects on the challenges of conducting co-research in fragile and marginalized contexts, where many potential interlocutors are usually excluded from knowledge production processes and are not recognized as legitimate bearers of knowledge. The case of Off Campus San Siro, a pioneering initiative in Italy of academic public engagement within a marginalized working-class neighborhood, offers an insightful perspective on how universities can become more accessible by experimenting with “low-threshold research” as a tool for encounters and knowledge exchange with vulnerable subjects who are typically excluded from participation. By exploring the link between urban deprivation and visibility, the article examines the role of research in creating spaces for self-representation among culturally marginalized social groups through relational, non-substitutive, and empowering modes of inquiry.