Reimagining the Urban Prison: a New Paradigm of Relationships and Social Reintegration Notes from San Vittore, Milan.

The relationship between prisons and cities has long been characterized by spatial and symbolic distancing. While detention facilities were once integrated into the urban fabric, they have been progressively relocated to peripheral and marginal areas over time, reinforcing their isolation from society. This article explores the historical trajectory of prison architecture, from the Enlightenment-era transformation of punitive spaces into places of rehabilitation to the modern-day reintegration challenges. Focusing on San Vittore Prison in Milan, a historic institution embedded within the city, the contribution investigates whether a prison should be considered an urban anomaly to be removed or a potential resource for both inmates and the surrounding community. The ReverseLab project, developed by Laboratorio Carcere- Politecnico di Milano, takes an innovative approach to rethinking the relationship between detention and the city. Through artistic interventions, it seeks to reopen dialogue between the prison and society, challenging the notion that incarceration must mean exclusion. Instead of dismantling historical prisons, ReverseLab suggests revitalising them through community engagement, transforming them into hybrid spaces of culture, creativity, and rehabilitation. The case study of ReverseLab at San Vittore Prison tested the potential of interdisciplinary research, artistic production, and participatory processes in reshaping the prison’s role within Milan. Through an experimental transformation of a disused prison space into an ‘art gallery’, the project exemplifies how integrating the voices of inmates, prison staff, and the public can challenge traditional paradigms of incarceration. In doing so, it envisions a model where prisons are not merely invisible institutions at the city’s margins but active spaces of social reintegration, education, and cultural production.