THREE PROJECTS
ONE VISION
NARRATES Sapienza
Redesigning Neglected Spaces and Routes with Sapienza as a Driver.
The goal of this research proposal is to regenerate abandoned, unused, underutilized, and degraded public spaces in Rome for their sustainable recovery. This will be achieved through an infrastructural network for non-motorized and collective transportation modes, originating from, or arriving at the Sapienza premises. This network positions Sapienza, represented in
this proposal by the Department of Civil Building and Environmental Engineering (DICEA), as a catalyst for revitalization, as it "narrates" urban stories of sustainable places, functions, and behaviors by connecting its premises to main hubs in the city.
To this end, three routes or ¿narratives¿ of urban relevance originating at DICEA and connecting to central places of interest for the university community are planned and designed using a transdisciplinary approach. These "narratives" stitch together functions and reweave the university-city relationship, telling new stories of urban sustainability. They are multiscale, according to the covered distance: local, proximity, and metropolitan, and can be replicated for any type of origins and destinations involving Sapienza.
The multistep methodology relies on six thematic lines:
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Architectural and Urban regeneration,
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Sustainable mobility,
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Urban heat stress and urban health,
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Empowering urban resilience,
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Cultural Heritage preservation, and
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Development of rapid alert systems for extreme hydrological events based on artificial intelligence techniques.
These lines implement innovative tools and techniques, ranging from advanced mobility simulations to nature-based solutions.
Through these approaches, the ¿narratives¿ are planned, designed, and beautified to mitigate problems such as climate change, counteract urban issues like safety and security, connect educational, social, and cultural resources, generate livable places by enhancing healthy mobility behaviors and functions, and recover degraded areas of environmental relevance.
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The Coordinator is Prof. Luca Persia. There are 6 lines of research:
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Architectural and urban regeneration, coordinated by MARICHELA SEPE
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Sustainable mobility, coordinated by MARIA VITTORIA CORAZZA
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Urban heat stress and Urban health, coordinated by MICHELE MORGANTI
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Empowering urban resilience, coordinated by Marco FERRERO
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Cultural Heritage preservation, coordinated by Marina PUGNALETTO
​Development of rapid alert systems for extreme hydrological events based on artificial intelligence techniques, coordinated by Francesco CIOFFI
TASTE Sapienza
TrAnsforming public Spaces to foster healThy Eating at Sapienza
University campuses increasingly function as complex urban systems where buildings, mobility networks and green areas shape community well-being. Recent research shows that the careful design of campus public spaces enhances learning, social interaction, and resilience. Within this framework, food environment design highlights how spatial choices influence everyday practices of purchasing, preparing, and consuming food. Interventions in micro-environments such as open-air public spaces, canteens, cafés, vending areas, and courtyards can non-coercively encourage healthier, more sustainable
behaviors. International experiences demonstrate that food can be conceived as urban infrastructure, integrating procurement, education, waste reduction, and spatial strategies. Yet, despite Italy’s strong cultural traditions around food and initiatives such as the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact, systemic models of campus food governance remain underdeveloped.
The T.A.S.T.E. Sapienza project addresses this gap by positioning Sapienza University as an emblematic case study, drawing on its network of campuses across Rome and Lazio. Building on the outcomes of the previous LOVE Sapienza project, T.A.S.T.E. explores how food systems can act as strategic levers for campus livability and resilience. The research pursues three main objectives: (i) analyzing international best practices to identify transferable governance tools; (ii) applying the Healthy Place Design method to evaluate spatial, perceptual, and cultural dimensions of food-related environments at Sapienza’s Città Universitaria and Via Eudossiana campuses; and (iii) developing replicable guidelines for designing university spaces that promote healthy, inclusive, and sustainable food choices.Expected outcomes include co-design strategies, educational gardens, participatory canteens, convivial spaces, and waste prevention practices, positioning the university as a laboratory for innovative food governance and public space design
LOVE Sapienza
Livable, enjOyable and attractiVE spaces for the community
The relationship between health and urban design are complex because of the multiple elements which play different roles in the city system.
As several studies on public spaces report, places influence the opportunities available to people, happiness, the sense of belonging and are important for cultural and social activities.
In particular, a university campus or, more generally, the sites of a university, mimic the functions of a city in a smaller dimension and, like this one, need large open public spaces. University open public spaces are important places for student training but also as places of socialization between students, teachers, technical-administrative staff, and within the community which in different ways is part of the university life: family members, maintenance workers, cleaning staff, custodians, etc.
The well-being of a community is given by the livability, joy, healthiness, accessibility, inclusiveness of the
places it frequents and therefore, public spaces, especially open ones, if properly designed, can increase the quality of life of students, teachers, and the community of a university as a whole and, as many studies show, they can create the conditions for more profitable student learning.
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The university spaces of Sapienza, in particular, are located in various prestigious sites in Rome and Lazio.
The open publicspaces of these sites can be enhanced by inserting suitable paths and equipments for physical activity, breaks, socialization, organization of events, repairing from uncomfortable weather conditions to further improve the wellbeing of its community and become more attractive.
Starting from these premises, the research aims to:
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analyze international best practices of public spaces in universities and campuses;
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analyze university sites of Sapienza with the Healthy Place Design method;
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propose guidelines for theenhancement and/or design of the open public spaces of the Sapienza sites with attention to urban livability and health.
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