Sustainable Co-Design with Older People: The Case of a Public Restorative Garden in Milan (Italy)

Natalia Fumagalli, Elisabetta Fermani, Giulio Senes, Marco Boffi, Linda Pola and Paolo Inghilleri
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Natalia Fumagalli: Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Milan, 20133 Milan, Italy
Elisabetta Fermani: Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Milan, 20133 Milan, Italy
Giulio Senes: Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Milan, 20133 Milan, Italy
Marco Boffi: Department of Cultural and Environmental Heritage, University of Milan, 20122 Milan, Italy
Linda Pola: Department of Cultural and Environmental Heritage, University of Milan, 20122 Milan, Italy
Paolo Inghilleri: Department of Cultural and Environmental Heritage, University of Milan, 20122 Milan, Italy

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 8, 1-21

Abstract: The demographic aging and the evolution of lifestyles require new strategies to promote the well-being and active aging of elderly. Active aging depends on many factors: some of these are related to objective data such as physical environment, others are personal elements; it is important to improve environmental physical factors to encourage personal attitudes to the green spaces in use. To design a small sustainable restorative green space in Milan, Italy, restorative garden design criteria are summarized in the first section of the paper and both social and environmental sustainability are considered. The methodology section describes the co-design process and how it was applied to include different older user groups in the design of the area. In the results section authors apply a taxonomy based on the four properties of restorative settings according to the Attention Restoration Theory by Kaplan (compatibility, being away, extent, fascination): this provides a unified system to classify users’ expectations and to describe the final project. The proposed co-design process combines social and environmental sustainability, as it provides designers an insight about the user’s experience in nature. Such information can be fruitfully integrated with professional competences about comfort aspects and environmental protection in order to improve the whole design project.

Keywords: urban green spaces; community garden; biophilia; landscape design; urban regeneration; attention restoration; focus group; elder; co-design (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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