Community engagement and co-design processes for sustainable urban regeneration. The Utopize Horizon Europe project

This paper illustrates the objectives, methodological framework and expected results of the European Project Utopize – Urban Transformation through Open Participation and Inclusivity for citiZen Empowerment, funded under the Horizon Europe programme. The project promotes new models of collaborative, participatory and regenerative urban governance, geared towards the sustainable transformation of public spaces, in line with the principles of the New European Bauhaus. Through a transdisciplinary and phased approach, Utopize integrates nature-based solutions, digital technologies and co-design practices, with the aim of strengthening the active role of local communities in decision-making processes. The paper focuses on the pilot case study of the Ponte Lambro neighbourhood in Milan (Italy), on of the pilot projects of Utopize, a peripheral urban area characterised by environmental and social challenges, but at the same time endowed with untapped potential. Utopize aims to generate concrete impacts in terms of social inclusion, quality of public space and resilience, developing a replicable model of participatory urban regeneration in European contexts.