Places that foster relationships, community and territorial attractiveness.
A people-centred urban and territorial strategy contrasts with models of quantitative expansion, focusing instead on valuing the resources already present in a place. In this approach, the goal is not mainly to build new structures, but to reactivate and redesign what already exists—public spaces, buildings, services and social relationships—through small and large changes aimed at inclusion and sustainability.
By Luciano Malfer, Research and Family Development Manager, Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK)
In a context marked by growing demographic scarcity, this perspective becomes increasingly important. Cities and territories are now competing to attract and keep people and families. Infrastructure and places therefore become platforms that generate community and attractiveness, putting people at the centre of development: the logic behind the People Strategy.
In this perspective, the aerial view of Centuripe, in Sicily (Italy), with its characteristic star-shaped form, has a strong symbolic value. The settlement, built around people, reflects an urban model where space does not divide but connects, creating shared identity and social attractiveness. The town appears almost like a living organism, where streets and urban spaces spread out like connections between people. This reminds us that the shape of a city – and more generally of a territory – can encourage relationships, a sense of belonging and community cohesion. A satellite view that clearly shows this special urban form is available here: https://www.google.com/maps/@37.6239,14.7419,2000m/data=!3m1!1e3
Coherently with this vision, the “placemaking approach” becomes relevant. It considers urban space not only as a physical infrastructure, but also as a place that generates social relationships, identity, and community life. Placemakers are the actors who make this process possible: public administrators, urban planners, architects, civic organizations, social innovators, and local communities. Through often incremental and participatory interventions, they help transform existing spaces into lively places that are recognized and valued by the community. As highlighted by Elena Granata in the book “Placemaker. Gli inventori dei luoghi che abiteremo” (2021), the quality of places increasingly depends on their ability to activate relationships, create a sense of belonging, and support the everyday life of people.
This attention to the relationship between people and space also appears in the transformation of contemporary urban spaces, where sustainable mobility, accessibility, and the quality of pathways help create urban environments that are more inclusive and pleasant to live in.
The contemporary city – and more generally the territory – is going through a profound change of paradigm: from the principle of quantitative growth to the qualitative enhancement of what already exists. Within this new perspective, a people-centred approach to spatial design is emerging, understood as a spatial practice that promotes inclusion, relationships, and care.
Rather than relying on large urban transformations, this approach is often expressed through light, widespread, and gradual interventions. These actions improve the quality of urban spaces, services, and territories by enhancing existing resources and introducing simple design solutions that pay attention to the different needs of people.
As Jan Gehl observes in “Cities for People” (2010), a city centered on people gives value even to small spaces that can generate social life. In these places, beauty is not determined only by architectural form, but also by the quality of the human experience that these spaces make possible. People-centred design does not simply add new elements; instead, it regenerates existing spaces, transforming them into tools for social cohesion and shared well-being. In this perspective, communication in public space also plays an important role. It is often expressed through small signs, symbols, or gestures that convey messages of relationship and belonging.
The image of a heart painted on a rock along a mountain path – simple but immediate – recalls this dimension: space is not only crossed, but also interpreted and shared through signs that speak to people. Even these small elements help to build a relational landscape, where the territory becomes a place of meeting, care, and mutual recognition.
In this perspective, this approach can be interpreted as a design approach that places the relationship between people and space at the center, promoting forms of inclusion, participation, and shared care of places. It is based on the idea that public and private space is not only a material good, but also a relational good, whose quality depends on the interactions it can generate and on the social capital it helps to build.
This vision is also connected to the intuition of Fyodor M. Dostoevsky, who wrote that “beauty will save the world” (The Idiot, 1869). Here beauty is understood not only as an aesthetic dimension, but also as dignity, justice, and the quality of human relationships.
A symbolic example of this perspective is offered by the urban underpass shown in the following figure. The lines of the space, which intersect and converge, visually evoke the connections between the places of the city and the people who move through it, suggesting how architecture can become a device for relationships and not simply an infrastructure for passage. A significant example is the underpass of Via Canestrini in Trento, which was renewed through a public art intervention by the artist Esther Stocker. This project transformed a place of simple transit into a more recognizable and relational urban space. See: https://www.rainews.it/tgr/trento/articoli/2026/01/a-trento-il-sottopasso-canestrini-riaperto-come-opera-darte-pubblica-48177b17-b64f-4f3f-991e-0218e482992f.html).
At the opposite extreme is hostile architecture, also known as defensive design, which is increasingly criticized for using design elements intended to discourage the presence of people considered undesirable. As James Petty (2016) observes, the case of the anti-homeless spikes installed in London shows how these devices, although often justified in the name of security or urban order, can lead to a relational impoverishment of urban space, reinforcing marginalization and social fragmentation. For further information on this phenomenon, see: https://www.britannica.com/topic/hostile-architecture.
An emblematic example is the Camden Bench, introduced in 2012 in London by the London Borough of Camden and designed by Factory Furniture. The bench, with its inclined surfaces and rounded edges, was designed to prevent sleeping, the use by skateboarders, and prolonged stays. As reported by The Guardian (Bramley, 2014), it has been described as “the pinnacle of hostile architecture”, a symbol of a city that controls rather than welcomes. The case has generated a wide international debate about defensive design and its social effects in public space. For a description of the project and the debate that followed, see also the entry Camden Bench, available online: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camden_bench.
In contrast to this perspective, urban and territorial People Strategy promotes spaces oriented toward inclusion and relationships. It is an approach that translates the central role of people into principles of accessibility, care, and coexistence, encouraging social relationships, shared well-being, and a sense of community.
An interesting example can be found in the urban tradition of the Kathmandu Valley, where “Sata” are common: simple open structures built along paths and near temples to offer shelter to travelers and to support collective life. In Bhaktapur, a historic UNESCO World Heritage city, these small pavilions accompany public spaces and become spontaneous places for rest, meeting, and social interaction.
When urban space is designed and experienced in a relational way, the city becomes a generator of community: not all spaces create community, but only those that encourage meeting, relationships, and participation. Even simple but essential infrastructures help build a welcoming and people-friendly city.
Small interventions in public space – such as a book-crossing point with a bench overlooking the landscape – can transform a place of passage into a space for rest, meeting, and sharing. It is through these small and widespread gestures that urban and territorial space becomes a relational infrastructure.
The quality of places thus becomes a strategic resource for territorial development. It is the community, through social capital and bonds of trust, that makes a territory more attractive, more cohesive, and more capable of building its future. People-friendly places are not simply well designed spaces: they are places that put people at the center, encourage relationships, and build community. And it is precisely from these places – often small, everyday, and widespread – that a new attractiveness of territories can emerge, based on quality of life, care, and the strength of relationships.