IAAC’s Master in City & Technology thesis students took part in the long-term programme for Green Skills for Cities, a project co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union. Along with business students from the Vienna University of Economics and Business and botany and technology students from the University of Genoa, they learnt about the different disciplines and worked collaboratively across these to develop innovative nature-based strategies towards a climate adaptive future for the city of Genoa.
Green Skills for Cities is a project that establishes a transdisciplinary education platform which enables the development of skills in the field of nature-based solutions, targeted at working in the public sector.
In order to do this, and ensure that the students gain the necessary diversity in expertise, each partner institution provided learning resources around the topics of data driven design, botany, technology and economics. The understanding of these diverse disciplines enabled the students to develop holistic proposals for climate adaptive cities.
The students traveled to Genoa, to apply their learnings in 3 different sites identified by the Municipality of Genoa and that face several challenges, in particular in relation to Urban Heat Island and risk associated with flooding and drought. During this trip, the students interviewed representatives of the technical office of the Municipality of Genoa, visited the sites while conducting interviews with locals, and took part in team building activities to consolidate their collaboration across disciplines.
With the knowledge gained from the different disciplines, the students developed 5 different approaches to the 3 sites, with specific strategies towards the mitigation and climate adaptation of the urban areas, as well as their potential replicability in other parts of the city of Genoa afflicted by these same challenges.
The projects included:
Greenwave, a visionary initiative focused on sustainable design and circular co-production of ecological services. The innovative masterplan is divided into four phases, inviting active citizen participation in the rewilding process.
Parco de mä, a proposal that suggests an inspiring vision for Via Casaregis, reimagining it with reduced vehicular traffic and embracing nature-based solutions for tactical and participatory urbanism.
Greenova: a project that proposed an innovative approach to transforming Via Casaregis into a flexible, multifunctional space by integrating nature-based solutions and collaborating with local stakeholders.
GoPesto, an innovative solution that tackles parking in Genoa by implementing a 10-year plan to reclaim parking spaces for the community and nature.
Herbaceous Heroes that proposed a solution that aims to reignite a sense of community for all ages at Punta Vagno. Through the implementation of nature-based solutions and flexible spaces, they seek to create an environment that fosters connectivity and inclusivity.
The projects were then pitched to a jury which included experts on Genoa, landscape and design with living systems, and members of the municipality. The jury evaluated the proposals and provided interesting comments regarding the proposals.
The municipality has since taken an interest to further delve into the possibilities of engaging with some of the strategies developed, accessing the reports made to see what strategies they could implement.
Beyond the possibility of shaping the future of Genoa, new cross-border friendships were made, consolidating future professional networks that will no doubt continue to promote and apply green skills for cities!
