Supporting Researches & interview
Group 12 Guido Amendolaggine Anastasia Dell’Oro Margherita Polo Chenhao Yang
Politecnico di Milano Final Synthesis Studio PS1 A.Y. 2019/2020 The Responsible city
Supporting researches & interview
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This booklet contains a series of elements that we referred to in order to refine and better describe our concept. The following pages illustrate supporting cases that we gathered through individual researches or suggestions that the participants of the different sessions gave us during the meetings and that we have subsequently deepened. In the end we reported the interview with the president of ENPA (Italian National Animal Protection Agency) who was busy when we organized the co-design session with experts, but he made himself available to discuss with us some issues via telephone.
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CONTENTS
1 Further researches Human oriented
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Animal oriented
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Environment oriented
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2 Interview Interview with ENPA president
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1. Further researches
Supporting researches & interview
MAGGIE’S CENTRES United Kingdom
+ It’s a good example of a patient’s private initiative to create a neutral safe space “outside the hospital system” to offer non-medical psychological support to people suffering from bad diseases.
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Supporting researches & interview
WHY Every year, over 300,000 people are diagnosed with cancer in the UK, facing tough questions, exhausting treatment, and difficult emotions. These challenges affect not only those with cancer but their family and friends, too. There’s a need for a space where cancer patients can strengthen physical and emotional wellbeing.
WHAT Maggie’s centers are a network of drop-in centers across the United Kingdom and Hong Kong. These provide a caring environment giving support, information, and practical advice to people with cancer and their family and friends, following the ideas about cancer care originally laid out by Maggie Keswick Jencks.
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Human oriented
HOW The cancer care programs have been divided into 3 main categories: practical support, emotional support, and social support. Cancer patients can choose from any of the free courses, groups, meetings, and activities that have been organized by Maggie’s center, including art, exercise, stress management, cross-generational support, etc.
WHO The proposer of the network was Maggie Keswick Jencks, who died in 1995 due to cancer. In her last period of life, she joined an advanced chemotherapy trial and lived for another 18 months. During that time, she and her husband Charles Jencks worked closely with her medical team, which included oncology nurse, Laura Lee, now Maggie’s Chief Executive, to develop a new approach to cancer care. In November 1996, the first Maggie’s Centre opened in Edinburgh and what Maggie had planned became real.
References https://www.maggiescentres.org/ 9
Supporting researches & interview
CITIZEN SCIENCE Worldwide
+ It’s a good example of how small individual actions of people related to science can help to develop it, and make nature something daily and playful.
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Supporting researches & interview
WHY Engage normal people with science could be unexpectedly useful, it can help to speed up innovation by sharing insights. It can work across all fields of study, among peers who support these initiatives, by working to design and implement projects, manage and use data, and evaluate and research individual initiatives or the practice itself.
WHAT Citizen science consists in the involvement of the public in scientific research – whether communitydriven research or global investigations. The Citizen Science Association unites expertise from educators, scientists, data managers, and others professionals to power citizens science.
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Human oriented
HOW Every year a lot of organizations and institutions support the Citizen Science Association through memberships and foundings. They offer educational webinars to train citizens to better contribute to the platform with their actions like monitoring species in their neighborhood just taking pictures.
WHO The Citizen Science Association work supports the idea-sharing of more than 4000 individuals from over 80 countries, who can shape the development of the Association by voting on key decisions about direction, priorities, and leadership.
References https://www.citizenscience.org/ https://scistarter.org/citizen-science https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-07106-5 13
Supporting researches & interview
KENTISH TOWN CITY FARM London (UK)
+ It’s a good example of nature placed in an urban context, used to educate and connect citizens with nature, through a variety of services and activities.
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Supporting researches & interview
WHY It is an interesting reality near a big city and it gives children the chance to come into contact with animals and environments that in a context such as London would be difficult to find. This space becomes a meeting opportunity for families that want to rediscover the contact with nature.
WHAT A city farm situated on a four-acre site, alongside two railway lines in the inner London Borough of Camden, well connected to the city center. There are animal pasture areas, community gardens, a wildlife pond, and a riding arena.
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Human oriented
HOW The aim of the project is to invite people to become familiar with animals and nature. To achieve that the farm offers an extensive educational program to schools, therapeutic riding to people with special needs, work experience opportunities for young people and farm-related activities for local children and families. The gardens provide opportunities for the neighborhood and therapeutic horticultural projects and for children to learn about wildlife and growing food.
WHO Kentish Town City Farm as a community charity supported by the London Borough of Camden and the City of London Corporation’s charity City Bridge Trust. Volunteers who support staff in the day-to-day running of the farm and organize fundraising events. Young people between 8 -16 years through Young Farmer Club.
References http://ktcityfarm.org.uk/about-us/ 17
Supporting researches & interview
BEE CITY Canada
+ A good initiative to make people aware of the importance of bees for our life and the environment maintenance, by creating a big community to take care of this species.
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Supporting researches & interview
WHY Pollinators diversity and native plants are key elements in habitat restoration, due to reverse the effects of climate change and regreen urban areas.
WHAT Bee City is a program that recognizes communities and organizations that are taking steps or are committed to future initiatives to help pollinators. They aim to create, maintain and improve pollinators’ habitat, and educate the community about pollinators’ importance.
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Animal oriented
HOW The institution gives advice to people that want to be part of the program in order to make them able to provide the best environment to pollinators, from designing the space to choosing the best type of plants and flowers to satisfy the animal needs. There are many sponsors that support the program, but it also receives people´s voluntary donations.
WHO A city, town or school that is engaged in such activities can apply for free to become a Bee City or Bee School. Businesses and other organizations can apply for a Bee City designation through the Bee City Business program, by paying an annual fee.
References https://beecitycanada.org/ 21
Supporting researches & interview
BAT BOX Italy
+ An interesting case of a collaboration between a supermarket, its customers and a public museum, to support the research about bats, making the community aware of the importance of these animals.
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Supporting researches & interview
WHY Involving people in the activity of protecting bats and the natural evolution of the species from the lack of safe natural shelters is very useful for the environment and human beings because they play an important role in combating insects, pollinating many valuable plants, dispersing seeds.
WHAT Small wooden houses for bats in the dimensions 67x37x6 cm, called Bat Box, entirely made of odorless birch wood and without harmful dyes, designed to be used as a shelter for bats and distributed in more than 300 points of sale with informative booklets and comic stories.
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Animal oriented
HOW The wooden houses were distributed and sold, previously designed with scientific rigor by the University of Florence and the Museum of Natural Sciences of Florence to offer a refuge for bats that have a hard life finding in urban environments the conditions to reproduce.
WHO It was a project of 2007 in collaboration between the Museum of Natural History, the University of Florence and the supermarket Unicoop Firenze.
References https://www.e-coop.it/pipistrelli1 https://www.cooponline.it/Coop/Outdoor-e-Tempo-Libero/Giardino-e-terrazzo/Casettee-serre/Rifugio-per-pipistrelli-Bat-Box-pid673458001 https://www.e-coop.it/r/categoriespage-ambiente/-/articlelistr/r_byartid/1282040/batbox? title=Che+cos%27%3F+la+BAT+BOX%3F
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Supporting researches & interview
ADOPT A BAT Washington D.C. (USA)
+ Nice initiative to promote an intergenerational action to protect bats, involving kids in the process of acceptance and awareness while representing the animals in a cute way.
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Supporting researches & interview
WHY It’s crucial to educate citizens about the importance of bats for human beings, breaking all the stigmas and myths related to them. Bats consume vast amounts of insects, pollinate many valuable plants, disperse seeds after eating fruits, and even bat droppings are valuable as a rich natural fertilizer.
WHAT The program has an interesting and multidimensional approach, utilizing science to drive conservation action, focusing on local capacity building and education it ensures the sustainability of its work around the globe. They invest in policy and legislative frameworks to institutionalize bat conservation practices and awareness and develop effective marketing campaigns to expand membership and support.
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Animal oriented
HOW Between other subscriptions and financial programs, they offer a special membership in which people can become Bat Buds, “adopting” a bat in a symbolic way and receiving a bat peluche after subscribing to this program as an incentive. This has a double side goal, firstly financial and secondly educational, transforming the bad reputation of them in something nice and friendly, especially for kids.
WHO Bat Conservation International (BCI) is an international organization focused on the conservation of bats and their ecosystems on a global scale, preventing further extinctions, identifying and protecting the world’s significant bat areas and ensuring lasting survival of the world’s 1300+ species of bats.
References http://www.batcon.org/ https://www.batcon.org/index.php/membership-support/support/types-ofgiving/adopt-a-bat 29
Supporting researches & interview
SOS RONDONI Italy
+ Example of the action of a non-profit nature protection organization restoring migrating animals shelters affected by different building interventions. The aim is to mitigate human impact on the urban ecosystem.
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Supporting researches & interview
WHY Common swift is a highly gregarious species that typically nest, roost, migrate, and hunt for food in groups throughout the year. Since their natural nesting sites in old trees and rock cliffs were rapidly disappearing, they had to switch their habitat and nest in buildings. However, the more and more intensified construction of buildings is often carried out with no regard to these species and results in the destruction of their nesting and roosting sites. It’s therefore crucial to provide solutions for these species that are also functional.
WHAT A project that helps people to understand where do the common swifts nest and breed, sensitize the citizens in order to push construction sites on historic buildings to be compatible with the conservation of swift colonies.
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Animal oriented
HOW Encourage citizens to report the swift nest in order to protect them. Encourage historic building curators to reduce the holes on the facades in order to prevent pigeons to occupy swift colonies. Promote the placement of nest boxes for swifts on the construction field, in order to increase the sites suitable for the species.
WHO Progetto Natura Onlus
References https://www.ilgiorno.it/milano/cronaca/rondoni-1.3184724 https://www.progettonaturaonlus.org/c_progetti_type/sos-rondoni/
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Supporting researches & interview
LURIE GARDEN, MILLENIUM GARDEN Chicago, Illinois (USA)
+ It represents a good model of enhanced urban biodiversity, integrating a big green spot in the middle of a large scale city, not only aesthetic green but also a functional one. It also includes cultural and social activities to attract people.
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Supporting researches & interview
WHY Climate change, pesticides, habitat loss are threatening bees’ populations worldwide which effect is dramatic for human beings. Planting flower patches and empowering urban gardens and green spaces can help to restore these essential pollinators.
WHAT An urban model of responsible horticulture, intended as a park in the context of a big city as Chicago, that combines playgrounds, gathering and leisure areas with green spots and flower patches, creating a shared environment between human beings, animals, insects and plants within a big city. There is a constant care of each element of the park and its dwellers, every single species living there is typified and protected. Different activities are organized with citizens to engage them with nature, like workshops to create bird feeders for winter, wellbeing activities, yoga lessons, educational and cultural activities. 36
Environment oriented
HOW The park receives economic support from industries but also from community members, with programs of donations and memberships, creating a close bond with citizens. A vibrant volunteering action, over 70 free public education programs per year and a communications campaign aimed to increase the awareness of the garden’s wildlife, design, history, and maintenance practices are significant for the park. Lurie Garden’s plants, animals, and insects are managed using a combination of traditional gardening knowledge and forward-thinking ecological concepts, using management practices rooted in natural areas ecology, specifically the strategy of adaptive co-management.
WHO The Millennium Park Foundation with the support of many industries, private volunteer citizens, garden clubs.
References https://e360.yale.edu/features/urban-refuge-how-cities-can-help-rebuild-declining-beepopulations https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/dca/supp_info/millennium_park_-luriegarden.html https://www.luriegarden.org/plant-life/ 37
Supporting researches & interview
CERTIFIED WILDLIFE HABITATS Merrifield, Virginia (USA)
+ It is a good example of how the sum of individuals Ě initiatives of building home small green habitats can create a big corridor of biodiversity, attracting and maintaining wildlife.
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Supporting researches & interview
WHY Private residential properties are significantly important for green restoring, it represents around one-third of the urban landscape. These green spots can create corridors of habitats for migratory species, even for local pollinators and could also have positive effects on human daily wellbeing.
WHAT Create a wildlife habitat garden to attract birds, butterflies, pollinators and other neighborhood wildlife, considering different environment variables with a sustainable mindset. Species like native plants that provide food eaten by a variety of wildlife, water, shelter from bad weather or predators, all resources to reproduce, protect and nourish animals are considered.
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Environment oriented
HOW Subscribing and paying a fee to support the National Wildlife Federation’s programs, and becoming a member of the National Wildlife Federation’s Garden for Wildlife community after certifying the green home spot.
WHO The National Wildlife Federation
References https://www.nwf.org/certify
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Supporting researches & interview
HABITAT BANK Finland
+ Good initiative to make people compensate for the biodiversity loss they generate every day by buying offsets from landowners who restore and/ or protect sites. It makes people conscious of how their actions degrade the environment.
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Supporting researches & interview
WHY Biodiversity is a public good and has to be conserved with public funds and regulation, instead of being degraded by economic activities and actors, which should start paying the responsibility of generating a loss.
WHAT Actors degrading biodiversity compensate for the loss they generate by buying offsets from landowners who restore and/or protect sites.
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Environment oriented
HOW Generating a system that connects companies, landowners and local people, benefiting the entire society. Companies degrading biodiversity have the possibility to compensate for their fault and gain responsible reputation benefits, land-owners have a new income opportunity and local people can get new areas for recreation.
WHO Habitat Bank works in collaboration with business, administration and NGO’s to develop and test the mechanism, gathering experts of natural science, social science, economics and law.
References https://habitatbank.innoforest.eu/
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2. Interview
Supporting researches & interview
ERMANNO GIUDICI President of the ENPA (Italian National Animal Protection Agency) provincial section of Milan and the chief of the Zoophile Guards working at the headquarters.
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Interview with ENPA president
AIMS OF THE INTERVIEW + Get a professional point of view regarding the care and maintenance of domestic animals in a protected space.
+ Understand how to manage multiple animals in a shared space and specify which are the essential professionals needed to maintain the balance of the general structure maintenance.
+ Comprehend how to intervene to protect biodiversity in an urban context both in the public and private sector.
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Supporting researches & interview
INTERVIEW INSIGHTS + it is complicated to manage a structure with a frequent turnover of different domestic animals, both from an organizational and a hygienic point of view, the limits of the idea should be better understood.
+ A number of professionals are needed, such as educators and vets willing to manage the structure or to constantly collaborate with it.
+ Not all the green areas are naturalized, the ‘perceived green’ is clearly different from the ‘actual green’, that is the one able to accept and become the habitat for animal species. To create this condition we must temporarily move away from the concept of aesthetics.
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Interview with ENPA president
+ it is necessary to create a ‘skeleton of hospitality’ to maintain biodiversity, pure water, not in fountains or artificial canals, is the main source of attraction for species that can nest in the surroundings.
+ It is essential to involve residents and users in context-related initiatives such as workshops, guided tours or conferences. It is fundamental to maintain the balance between public enjoyment and naturalization.
+ We need to create protected areas, even small ones, (10x10m) forbidden to humans, distributed around green corridors. Other cheap and interesting interventions can be hives placed on the rooftops to be protected or some small houses for insects; To attract species it is also necessary to add a wet area.
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THE RESPONSIBLE CITY
Master of Product Service System Design PSSD Final Studio Academic Year 2019/2020 Prof.sa Anna Meroni Prof.sa Stefana Broadbent Prof.sa Daniela Selloni Prof.sa Elena Perondi Tutors: Martina Rossi, Luca Molinari, Matteo Mariani
Group 12 Guido Amendolaggine Anastasia Dell’Oro Margherita Polo Chenhao Yang