This article is part of our Local Challenges series for Placemaking Week Europe 2025 in Reggio Emilia, where we explore five urban questions shaping the city’s future.
How do we turn multiculturalism into shared urban life?
Further, the Via Roma and Parco Santa Maria build an important corridor of the city’s most diverse Streets, alive with different communities, associations, and rhythms. The area includes emerging civic hubs (Labart, via Roma Zero), a strong multicultural presence, and ongoing municipal processes aimed at animating and integrating this part of the historic centre. This local challenge becomes a platform to test how placemaking can operate as both a method of listening and a tool for structural inclusion — culturally, socially, and economically. The goal is to celebrate cultural richness while creating spaces and programs that connect people across differences. Mapping, co-programming, and placemaking become tools for building a sense of shared ownership in this socially complex context.
Next in the series: Rethinking Piazza della Vittoria with a climate-focused approach.
