01 | Parco Nord

Commented Walk in Parco Nord Group_1 Chuquin Alarcรณn Paloma Elwaleed Abdelaziz Ali Sara Papachristou Sotirios Tenรณrio de Araujo Isadora Parco Nord has been one of the most characteristic green spaces in Milan. It lies in the north part of the city and has been realized by the collaboration of many municipalities such as Milan, Cinisello Balsamo, Sesto San Giovanni and others. Its main characteristic, the artificial lake Lago di Niguarda was realized at 2015 and nowadays the park is surrounded by many qualitative spaces offering a large quantity of activities to its everyday users.

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the wanderer’s hill express-o station

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growth boxes four-legged playgorund

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and silence

the path of maturity

returning to innocence

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driving in the fast lane

dark side of the moon

duck and swan kingdom

1.The Wanderer’s Hill

40 people/hour

07:00

23:00

Our commented walk’s starting point was this area which can be characterized as the “wanderer’s hill”. 3 different entrances, including the pedestrian bridge, are combined in a single path on the top of an artificial hill. It is the park’s main entrance and is used vastly by the visitors. Furthermore, due to its altitude difference it can offer the opportunity of observing a big amount of the park including the lake and its surrounding space.

Lucia, 62 years old, retired I live close to Parco Nord I come here on foot or by bike I come 3 or 4 times a week I grew up in Parma but i live here since 1980 I prefer running in the park or staying at the cafe if i have company I like this park I prefer taking this road cause you see all the park from this point

2.Express-o- station

50 people/hour

07:00

23:00

The Wanderer’s Hill leads to one of the meeting points of Parco Nord, the park’s Cafe. It is a place used by different kind of populations, from elder people to families with little children, who join this area to enjoy a coffee or a gelato away from the dense urban reality.

It is mostly used during the sunny days, as it offers only outdoor tables, and especially during the midday and afternoon hours. It also provides a connection with the park’s artificial lake with small steps that sink gradually to the water and become a small-scaled playground for little people. Finally the Cafe area becomes the meeting point for the people arriving at Parco Nord but also the starting point of their walk at the park.

Mario, 44 years old, architect I live close to Parco Nord I come here on foot I come almost every day I always lived in Milan I meet always friends at this cafe and on weekends I come for jogging I like this park

Ettore, 46 years old, architect I live in close to San Siro Stadio I come here by car I come almost every week I live in Milan for the past 10 years I only come here to have a coffee with Mario I like this park, it is relaxing me

3.Outdoor offices

12 persons/hour

07:00

23:00

Outdoor offices can characterize the area of the outdoor tables located at the beginning of the lake. They are actually sitting points for people who want to work on their laptops, have their meal, read their newspaper or even for those who want to decompress from the everyday pressure. A lot of times groups of people use this space as a meeting point or as an outdoor living room by listening to music and playing games.

Alessio, 34 years old I am living close to Parco Nord I always come here on foot I visit park almost 2 times per week I live in Milan for 15 years I like hanging close to the lake I would like the park to have more trees I like a lot this park

4.Growth Boxes

4 people/hour

07:00

23:00

At this part of the park are located some community gardens. People of all ages and mostly residents from the surrounding areas, cultivate their own plantations in these small rectangular spaces. This specific area provides a different perspective of the way in which green spaces inside the urban environment can be activated and become profitable for its users.

Enrico, 86 years old, retired

I am living close to Parco Nord I come here with my bicycle I visit park almost every day I live in Milan for 59 years I like the small lake and the small cultivation areas I love this park I cultivate my parcel of this small cultivation area to feed me and my wife

6.Fishing Sunlight and Silence

5.Four-legged Playground

8 people/hour

1 person/hour

07:00

07:00

23:00

“Four-legged playground” is describing an extended green space which is located next to a main path of Parco Nord. It is a space of low grass, enclosed by thick tree lines. Because of its visual seperation from the lake due to the existence of trees, it is mostly used by dog owners who find the opportunity to leave their pets unleashed to run around, turning finally this field to an informal playground.

Camille, 38years old, retail shop-worker I live close to Parco Nord I always come here on foot with my dogs I visit park always during the weekends and some days inside the week I was born in Milan I always come at this place to let my dogs run freely I would like the park to have more lights I like a lot this park, it calms me down

23:00

In this long linear green area people usually sunbathe during the warm hours at sunny days. The population it gathers is usually young and are attracted by the view of the lake in front of them and the silence of this part of Parco Nord.

Gaia, 19 years old I am living close to Parco Nord I come here by car (because of her dog) I don’t come often to this park, only in some of the good days I was born in Milan I don’t have a preferred area in this park I like this park

Luca, 19-20 years old I live in Milan but far away from this park I come here by car (because of his dog) I don’t come often to this park I was born in Milan I don’t have a preferred area in this park I like this park

7.Tartaruga Fields

8.The Path of Maturity

1 person/day

07:00

70 people/hour

23:00

“Tartaruga fields” used to be a big area of short grass crossed by a thin artificial line of water. Nowadays it is an area of different and tall greenery and is used by noone anymore.

Luckily enough, a person we met discovered a different use of this park’s part and its greenery as they appear to be ideal as food for his turtles.

Fabrizio, 51 years old I live close to this park I come here on foot with my dog I come to this park everyday I was born in Milan I don’t have a preferred area besides the lake I like this park I gather food (leaves) for my turtles

07:00

23:00

It is a long linear pedestrian path with neat characteristics in all its extent. It is highlighted by the existence of very characteristic trees on both of its sides. People usually use it as a passage as it doesn’t provide many opportunities besides shadow. However, its clear linearity, the peculiarity of the plantation and the silence around this area gives the feeling of a “mature”, preexisting path with a big amount of wisdom hidden in its natural elements.

Gabriella, 58 years old, teacher I live close to Parco Nord I come here on foot I come very often I was always living in Milan I prefer walking in the park and sometimes sitting at the bar I like this park I planted one of the first trees during the construction of the park

Massimo, 52 years old I live in Rome, i am just a visitor It is my first time in this park I like this park because it’s big and calm

9.Returning to Innocence

10.Driving in the Fast Lane

8 people/hour

40 people/hour

07:00

23:00

07:00

23:00

This path of the park is a lane which is divided in a narrow and rough pedestrian path and wider and smoother main passage which is mostly used by runners or people who are jogging.

Its linearity but mostly its position next to the artificial lake makes it very tempting for running or walking.

During our visits at this area we noticed that all the pedestrians were using the narrow pedestrian path than the other one, leaving space for the runners. We also identified some parents, or elder people using the wider but smoother part of this path cause they were having a walk with their childs/grandchild in its trolley.

This area is beoming after middays a huge playground for little people. Elder and younger people arrive at this part of the park all the time and sometimes the elder ones participate in the activities taking place. Some of the families also take a short lunch in the grass or even stay there for sunbathing during the sunny and warm days.

Eduardo, 76 years old, retired I live cose to Parco Nord I come here on foot or by car when I have to carry my grandson’s toys I come here every day because of my grandson I was born in Milan I stay at the park for one hour or more I usually hang around this area I like this park

Alessia, 21 years old, babysitter I live close to Naviglio river I come here on foot or by car I come very often I was born in Milan I spend time on the grass and the tables in it (in that area) I like this park

Franceso, 69 years old, retired I live in Magenta, between Milan and Novara I come here always by car I usually come here twice a week I come here only with my grandson to play with the other kids I like this park The hours i spend here are more or less like Eduardo’s (1 hour or more) but it depends on the day

Federica, 69 years old, retired We live close to Parco Nord I come here on foot with my grandchild and my husband I usually come with walks with my grandchild and some days for a coffee at the cafe I was born in Milan I prefer to walk near the lake or in the shady parts of the park I like this park

Luigi, 72 years old, retired I live in Milan but far away from this park I come here on foot with my wife and sometimes with my grandchild I sometimes come alone for walking but usually we take our grandson for walks here I was born in Bari but moved in Milan in 1970 I don’t have a preferred area in this park I like this park

11.The Dark Side of the Moon

12.Duck and Swan Kingdom

These two parts of Parco Nord are the only places which weren’t characterized by the interviews of the park’s users neither by the activities taking place in them. It is a combination of the feeling that we sensed out of the users around these areas and the incidents we accidentally identified during our commented walks. These spaces are characterized first and foremost by the absolute presence of the water’s element and secondly by the total lack of human activity inside them. However they become integral part of the rest of the park’s activities around them and remain the main landmark of Parco Nord.

The “Dark Side of the Moon” is a small part of the artificial lake seperated from the main one through a pedestrian path. This side of the lake doesn’t have any kind of animals neither it is offered for any kind of activities. Its main characteristic is its stagnant dirty water which is obvious through its green colour. People prefer not to walk next to it and that makes it probably the only space in Parco Nordwhich is characterized by its unattractiveness.

The second water element we crossed during our commented walk was the main part of Parco Nord’s artificial lake. It is an area which concentrates the park’s serenity on its calm water surface. People don’t use it besides taking advantage of its presence and relaxing around it which leaves it tottaly to its natural users, the ducks and the swans. Furthermore the fact that this part of the lake is its “inhabitants’” kingdom, refers to a specific incident when a boy and its dog tried to approach the lake but the swan next to them drove them back away.

Commented Walk in Parco Nord Conclusions Throughout our reasearch and mostly the walks we had on Parco Nord there can be drawn some important conclusions. Even if this large green area was supposed to have more commercial spaces (which were never realized basically due to the political/economical situations of that time), it contains a big variety of spaces for different activities. A huge amount of people of all ages use these parts of the park at almost every hour of the day, exploiting to the utmost the benefits of the pretty contemporary and well-designed park.

However, if some issues that we identified could be solved, they would turn the park into a much more vital and integral part of Milan’s urban reality.

- A big issue highlighted by some interviews was the lack of visibity to the north part of the lake, due to the existence of a tall green “fence”.

- Another important issue that we identified is the lack of seperation between running space and a smooth pedestrian path which could solve the problem between the people who prefer running and those who prefer enjoying their walks.

- The total absence of signs or that of the park’s map creates a big issue for the visitor’s orientation and sometimes makes a lot of areas less explored because of that.

- Another significant abscence is that of the trash cans in the bigger part of the explored area, making the park vulnerable to the users’ wastes.

- Last issue we could highlight, is the insufficiency of lights which justifies the reason behind the low usage of the park at the winter time or during the evenings.