1. HEI: Politecnico di Milano – Polidesign (Master in Social and
Collaborative Housing, Master in Strategic Design) POLIMIDESIS Lab – Polisocial
Main Partners: Milano City Council Housing and Welfare;
Fondazione Housing Sociale
Funder: Polisocial
Place: Milano, Lombardy, Italy
Housing, Neighbourhoods, Social Services, Social Enterprise
Micro Social Habitats
Rethinking under-sized apartments
more on: http://www.polidesign.net/it/housing

2. The context:
Under-sized apartaments: smaller than 28 square meters, spread
out in public housing buildings, which, according to a recent law,
cannot be assigned and used as permanent houses.
Today they are abandoned and often squatted. What to do with
them? How to use them considering, for instance, the many “new
users” in temporary difficulty in need for some help, but not for a
full social assistance? Today we can estimate a mis-expenditure of
4.800.000 euros in Milano for supporting single parents with kids
in temporary need. In 2012 Politecnico was requested by the
Municipality to help exploring solution for this topic.

3. 393 spread across Milano, of which
217 in the neighbourhood of Quarto Oggiaro.

4. services
spaces
The Project Response.
Designing housing related services and solutions for the
“new users” (single moms with kids) in temporary
difficulty, so as to help them re-gaining autonomy, self
esteem, an active role in the society and new job
opportunities.
A multidisciplinary group of master students was involved
for 3 weeks in the project, under the guidance of a team
of experts. Co-design sessions with stakeholders were
organized.
6 service ideas were delivered and discussed with the
public administration.

5. Actor profile:
Municipality of Milano, Housing Council, Social Welfare Council.
Objectives: Finding solutions for currently un-used spaces.
Finding housing related solutions to help and host single moms
with kids in temporary difficulty.
Helping single moms to overcome difficulties and find a new job.
Better using the public budget for social services.
Assets: Under sized apartments are own by the Municipality.
Extensive experience in social services.
Expectations: The Municipality expected to get ideas about how to
orient the policy and therefore the creation of public calls for
projects.

6. Actor profile:
Fondazione Housing Sociale.
Objectives: Benchmarking themselves as a strategic partner for
the P.A. for innovative social housing policies.
Exploring and experimenting activities and rules for the emerging
function of the “social manager”.
Assets: Extensive experience in social housing, service design
and innovative pubic-private partnerships.
Expectations: The Fondazione wanted to contribute in designing
the solutions and reflecting on the replicability of the outcomes.

7. Actor profile:
Polimi DESIS Lab and Master in Social and Collaborative
Housing.
Objectives: Benchmarking themselves as a strategic partner for
the P.A. for innovative social housing ideas and related training.
Gaining experience in the field and exposing students to real
problems.
Assets: Extensive experience in training for social housing design,
service design and design for social innovation.
Expectations: To contribute in designing the solutions and
reflecting on the replicability of the outcomes.

8. CONTEXT
SCENARIO
Meeting the Municipality.
Visitng the neighbourhood.
Meeting the social services
operators.
Meeting the local inhabitants.
IDEAS
SERVICES
PROTOTYPING
Co-designing with the social
services operators and the existing
inhabitants
Co-designing with
Fondazione Housing Sociale
The project was developed in 3 weeks, with an intensive schedule.
On field visits and meeting were organised. The final presentation
was organised in the Triennale Design Museum in Milano with a wide
presence of public and private stakeholders.

9. Tools:
Personas, Users journeys, Daytime schedule simulations were used
to interact with the target communities, in particular for the case of the
foreign communities.

10. Tools:
Personas, Users journeys, Daytime schedule simulations were used
to interact with the target communities, in particular for the case of the
foreign communities.

11. Tools:
Personas, Users journeys, Daytime schedule simulations were used
to interact with the target communities, in particular for the case of the
foreign communities.

12. Tools:
System maps, Service offering maps and concept draft were used to
interact with the social services operators.

13. Role of Design
Design, and service design in particular, helped to define the service
and social priorities that would have informed the re-design of the
existing spaces and the whole ecosystem around them. It also
contributed to connect the new solutions to the need of the
neighbourhood and the possibility of creating new job opportunities.

14. Everyday
life
mgnt
Training
and
job
orienta4on
free4me,
social
life,
integra4on
Project output and impact:
6 solutions for new services connecting temporary housing,
people empowerment and skill building. Considered as a starting
point for further experimentations, a first pubic call for proposals
has been issued inspired by them.Overall positive reaction from
the Municipality which adopted some of the concept for
subsequent initiatives.

15. Everyday
life
mgnt
Training
and
job
orienta4on
free4me,
social
life,
integra4on
Project output and impact:
The 6 solutions were conceived around thee issues:
Everyday-life management; Freetime, social life,
integration; Training and job orientation.
The budget limits intrinsically connected to the public
housing system can be largely overcome when
considering a wider perspective of mis-expenditures
and social consequences.

16. Everyday
life
mgnt
Training
and
job
orienta4on
free4me,
social
life,
integra4on
Project output and impact:
Specific attention was put to the cultural integration of
foreign persons and to the creation of a positive
exchange with the neighbourhood.

17. Successes and Shortcomings/Barriers and Enablers
Positive:
The introduction of a service perspective as a prerequisite for
rethinking the use of spaces in public housing.
The involvement of the inhabitants.
Critical:
The need of changing rules and laws to have more flexible and
effective use of the public buildings.
The alignment of vision and actions of the various public services
operators involved in the daily assistance of the people and
management of the building.

18. Thanks
anna.meroni@polimi.it