Design for Public Spaces
Placemaking and urban regeneration
Rome
ENG
Master of Arts in Design - Specialization in Design for Public Spaces
Language
English
Start date
October 2027
Frequency
Full time
Fruition
On campus
Duration
2 Years
Credits
120 CFA / ECTS
Course Coordination
Eliana Saracino
How can collaborative place-making and city regeneration actions reinvent public space through stronger connections between people and the places where they live?
Urban ecosystem design is closely linked to the stories of a place and its identity, as a way to build inclusive and sustainable collective environments across a variety of communities.
The Master of Arts explores how collective spaces can be designed in a way that is inclusive, sustainable, and respectful of local cultural identities. This approach fits into the vision of DesignXCommons, where design is regarded to integrate the commons and regenerate the planet.
Designing public space can take on many different forms. That may include, for example, set-ups for temporary events, designing spaces and defining strategies or tactics of reactivation, using an interdisciplinary approach. As part of this, all the tools involved in urban planning, architecture, interior and product design are complemented by research into anthropological, sociological and economic patterns that in turn have an impact on identity-building processes in city spaces. The course covers innovative approaches to place-making, tactical urbanism and inclusive governance models through collaborative efforts in terms of co-designing with the different communities involved. The aim is indeed to better understand the real needs of the people, while carrying out top-down and bottom-up shared processes of widespread regeneration of collective spaces, from brief setting to operation. Experimenting with different projects - in the city of Rome as backdrop - provides a deeper understanding of cultural heritage, while having the opportunity to work with a variety of local players - from municipalities, associations, businesses and small-scale producers to cultural institutions and schools. This means having a real impact on preservation and socio-environmental regeneration.
Career roles that can be pursued with the programme in Design for Public Spaces. Place-making and city regeneration will learn how to work as part of interdisciplinary project teams and deal with the challenging task of transforming collective spaces found within public administrations, real estate companies, public foundations and institutions, municipal and multi-utility companies, NGOs (citizens' groups, cooperatives, and social enterprises), architectural, engineering, and urban design firms, as well as cross-disciplinary design and communication agencies. Continuing in Ph.D. trajectories at Italian and foreign universities will also be an option.
Faculty
Course Coordinator
Eliana Saracino
Architect
Daniela Patti
Luca Bazzoli
Social entrepreneur
Nasrin Mohiti Asli
Valentina Vinotti
Gianfranco Bombaci
Architect
Alessandra Glorialanza
Architect
Maria Luisa Palumbo
Architect
Sara D'Agati
Place Marketing and City Branding
Stefano Luceri
Andrea Lamberti Zanardi
Michela Pasquali
Landscape Architect and Activist
Patrizia Di Monte
Architect
Luigi Cuppone
Eco Designer
Ruedi Baur
Designer
Giuseppe Colella
Luca Galofaro
Architect
Emiliano Paoletti
Cultural Manager
Alberto Iacovoni
Architect
Roberto Pantaleoni
Architect
Maura Romano
Head of Creative Local Development
Federica Pesce
Cultural Project Manager
Jordan De Maio
University Lecturer, Researcher
Course partner
What people say
"Public spaces belong to everyone. To work in this field, you need a great deal of empathy; you need to be able to understand others, understand territory and understand the people."
For students on the Master of Arts in Design for Public Spaces, public space is a living organism, not merely a backdrop. Through their testimonials, design becomes an act of care and social responsibility. They learn active community listening and empathetic design, transforming streets and squares into safe, open spaces. The aim is to foster spontaneous social interaction and break down individual barriers, seeing urban regeneration as a metamorphosis based on profound collaboration with citizens.
Design for Public Spaces IED Students
Gravalosdimonte
“Public space reflects the kind of society we aspire to be. It gives citizens a genuine chance to influence where the city is going, shaping not just today in a contemporary way, but also tomorrow through a truly participatory approach.”
Patrizia Di Monte | Ignacio Grávalos - Gravalosdimonte Architects
Villaggio Olimpico
“The Olympic Village is a successful example of urban transformation, where public space becomes a social and environmental infrastructure, capable of regenerating a degraded area and still offering valuable insights into urban quality of life, social integration, and sustainability.”
Eliana Saracino, Alessandra Glorialanza - TSPOON Environment Architecture
Testaccio
“Once a working-class district, now a central and increasingly gentrified area, Testaccio still retains the character and soul of its past. Through its public spaces, the neighborhood tells a story of how cities adapt and transform in response to the everyday lives of their communities.”
Eliana Saracino TSPOON Environment Architecture
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