Designing Welcoming and Resilient Cities – How Sustainable, Inclusive, and Smart Street Furniture Transforms Forward-Looking Urban Communities
Contemporary design demands moving beyond the old concept of urban furniture as a mere decorative or residual element. Today, managing complex challenges – from heat islands to active mobility, through to the accessibility of historic centers – requires furniture solutions understood as true strategic infrastructures, capable of guiding behavior and triggering the social and ecological regeneration of communities.
To support professionals and administrations in this transition, DIMCAR has published the technical whitepaper: "Designing welcoming and resilient cities – How sustainable, inclusive, and smart urban furniture transforms forward-looking urban communities".
Operational tools for professionals and technical departments:
The document serves as an update and planning support tool for:
Architects, Urban Planners, and Designers active in urban regeneration.
Directors, Municipal Engineers, and officials from Urban Planning and Public Works Departments.
Mayors and Public Administrators committed to local governance.
Design and strategic core issues addressed in the document:
Analysis of structural criticalities: Solutions to overcome the limitations of car-centric models and resolve the false conflict between accessibility and preservation in heritage-protected historic centers.
Adaptability and reversibility criteria: Guidelines for integrating modular, flexible, and reconfigurable elements, designed to respond to changes in space usage over time.
Regulatory compliance and public finance: Focus on tools to facilitate access to European funding (NRRP, ERDF, Horizon Europe) through the adoption of furniture compliant with Minimum Environmental Criteria (CAM).
European Case Studies: Impact data analysis of virtuous models, such as the use of specific furniture integrated with active mobility in Copenhagen or pedestrian reconfiguration via flexible modules in Barcelona.
Urban quality indicators: Introduction to the City Life Design philosophy, with a methodological focus that adopts children's needs and material durability as core metrics for the quality of public space.