SmartUp attended last month’s Placemaking Week Europe in Reggio Emilia, Italy, our colleague Milosh Sokolikj joined Giulia Sicignano, Arezoo Mohebpour, Tim Taylor, and Alice Lunardon to run and contribute to three dynamic workshops, all focused on building more inclusive, connected, and imaginative public spaces.
🎲 Play-Station!
Co-led with Giulia Sicignano, Arezoo Mohebpour, Tim Taylor, and Alice Lunardon, this interactive workshop reimagined railway stations — like Reggio Emilia’s own — as vibrant public spaces that go beyond transit. Participants explored how mobility nodes can become accessible, joyful, and sustainable social hubs. Through playful provocations and hands-on design, the session generated ideas that could inform the city’s future development.
🌍 Growing a Community Placemaking Movement in SE Europe
In this session, we shared our vision for expanding a collaborative placemaking movement across South-East Europe, as part of the Thriving Communities initiative. Participants helped map the pathways needed to scale this work, with a special focus on mobilizing resources, partnerships, and mid-sized cities.
💡 Equitable Community Imagining through Placemaking
This workshop explored how placemaking can nurture the civic imagination needed for deep community transformation. We examined how to bridge the gap between current placemaking practices, and the more inclusive, imaginative approaches required to build truly thriving futures.
Thanks Korimako, StipoItalia, Bable Smart Cities, Giulia Sicignano, Arezoo Mohebpour and Alice Lunardon for all the prep efforts and a great time!
These workshops were part of a broader momentum at Placemaking Week Europe, where practitioners came together to share methods for creating more inclusive, connected, and human-centered public spaces. The event highlighted the power of imagination and collaboration in shaping the future of mobility and community life.
We’re excited to carry these insights forward and see the impact they have.
