New regeneration and care interventions in the north of Milan

There are new ways to transform the city, with simple tools and collective actions. They are not imposed and sporadic projects, but actions extended over time, continuous and born of dialogue between citizens, institutions, private entities and architects (or creative people in general). This is the approach taken by Fondazione Cariplo with Lacittàintorno, a programme that involves the inhabitants of fragile urban contexts in the reactivation and redefinition of unused or degraded spaces, to improve the quality of life and create "new geographies" in the city. Realized in close collaboration with the Municipality of Milan and its "Piazze Aperte" programme, the "Tunnel Boulevard" collaboration pact is the latest project, in chronological order, to be created thanks to the support of Fondazione Cariplo.

The process of regeneration and care wants to enhance the entire cycle-pedestrian route of Via Pontano, a street that connects Via Padova and Viale Monza. Existing actions such as the Piazza Aperta project in Via Venini-Nolo and the TrentaMi project in Via Rovereto-Via Giacosa-Parco Trotter will be networked. This is a demonstration that an incremental strategy, made up of many small projects, can radically change the face of an entire urban area. Via Pontano is a recognised centre for urban art in Milan. Since the 1990s, the supporting walls of the railway viaduct have been used as a support for the expression of the aerosol artists who live in the neighbourhood and all over Milan, creating endless layers of paint. The first redevelopment project in the area will be the Via Padova tunnel: the damaged walls will be cleaned, repaired and painted, thanks to the contribution of sponsors and technical partners (MAPEI spa and YUME srl, under the technical direction of MM spa). A new lighting system will be installed to increase day and night visibility of the tunnel's pedestrian walkways (thanks to A2A's support). FinecoBank, on the other hand, will promote a number of artistic interventions. Various social activities will be held in the spaces adjacent to the tunnel over the next few months: open-air performances and other performing arts, temporary urban art installations, recreational events linked to the culture of well-being and care of the green spaces, as well as collective moments of cleaning and collection of abandoned waste in the areas surrounding Via Pontano.