Service design and urban communities The role of design in the

Service design and urban communities
The role of design in the diffusion of creative communities services
and sustainable life styles
Teresa Franqueira
Abstract
This paper presents the role of urban local communities in the creation of sustainable
lifestyles, and the role of design as a strategic element to enhance, promote and replicate
that creation.
These communities are radicated in specific places in the urban territory, henceforth called
creative places, which are a new type of urban spaces where groups of people
collaboratively promote and manage a mix of creative initiatives in the fields of art and
culture, economy and production, social services and urban regeneration.
The contents of this paper are part of an on-going research of the Research Unit “Design
and Innovation for Sustainability” , at the Politecnico di Milano.

Introduction
A desirable change
The world is in a continuous and fastpaced change, whether we consider environmental,
technological or economic transformations, or, even more significantly, whether we look at the
social ones. Most appear as positive, however some bring about some problems.
Great urban concentrations bring about cultural, social and relational diversity, which, in turn
demand transformations in the territory they exist. The lack of policies adjusted to those
transformations and the need to adapt and develop systems able to structure the social and
relational fabric of cities have given birth to a phenomenon of collaborative communities in
which individuals collaborate between them, thus promoting an active citizenship, in contrast
with a certain passivity widespread in contemporary society.
These communities reveal themselves through different activities, but for the purpose of the
research it will be focussing in the ones which are the the manifestation of two key research
and policy domains: creative industries (Gibbons, 1994; Florida 2002 and 2004; Caves, 2000)
and creative communities (Manzini and Jegou, 2003; EMUDE, 2006; Meroni, 2007).
In parallel, there is discussion about old ex-industrial areas and their potential for sustainable
urban development. In fact, in the late 20th century the majority of European cities have seen
many symbolic landmarks of industrial, merchant and military activity being abandoned and
fell into disuse. The passage from a period of industrial prosperity (active production) to
another that disfigured entire areas and made many of their inhabitants jobless has
transformed the surrounding area also in abandoned places. But, this reality also opened
unforeseen perspectives as some of these abandoned places were re-occupied, were
converted to new uses and gradually began a new life.
The many dimensions of these places and their spirit of independence with regard to the
market and politics, have brought into being a new generation of cultural venues.
These new cultural venues upgrade the urban environment of entire neighbourhoods. They
encourage people to get involved in civic initiatives and to get together to back common
causes, they provide emotional and intellectual outlets in creation, and in doing so they help
people to form a better relationship with their environment and their lives.
In the framework of this debate, the ongoing research intends to explore Creative Places’
economic, cultural and social role within contemporary cities, investigating how they actually
manage to reconcile economic and cultural development with the regeneration of citizenship
and identity. More particularly, to explore the potential of Creative Places in order to propose a
strategic plan and design tools that support urban regeneration processes and allow Creative
Places to integrate their physical, social, cultural and environmental dimensions.
State of the art
...city
Cities incubate new businesses, connect people, ideas, money and markets and house most
universities. In our increasingly diverse society they are the crucibles for connecting cultures
and generating opportunity.
In recent years creativity has been introduced in economic and urban policies as a key
resource to compete in the global knowledge economy. Many creative city strategies have
focused on providing the spaces - physical and social environments – to stimulate the
production of creative contents and communities, the start up of value added economic
activities and the regeneration of degraded urban areas [Creative London, 2005]. On closer
examination most of these city strategies have been actually concerned with strengthening
the arts and cultural fabric and/or fostering the creative industries (Landry, 2005) which have
the potential for wealth and job creation through the generation and exploitation of intellectual
property (advertising, architecture, art, crafts, design, designer fashion, television, radio, film
and video, interactive leisure software, music, the performing arts, publishing and software
creation).
CEOs for Cities 1 has defined the areas in most urgent need of fresh thinking in cities as: 1.
The Talented City (Developing, maximizing, attracting and retaining talent); 2. The Innovative
City (Fostering innovation and entrepreneurship); 3. The Connected City (Fostering
connections that link people with ideas to talent, capital and markets; cities to regions; and
1 CEOs for Cities is a bipartisan, nonprofit a lliance of US mayors, corporate executives, university
presidents and nonprofit le aders, that works with local and national policy-makers to advance the
economic competitiveness of cities.

egions to the global economy); and 4. The Distinctive City (Capitalizing on local differences
to build local economic opportunity). These dimensions make cities more competitives, but
these strategies have a strong economical dimension.
Regarding the social and sustainable dimension of cities it is possible to add the
Collaborative City, that is, a city with kernels of creativity, which are constituted by : social
services, artistic and economic activities. This collaborative city is a place where people
interact and enact creating a symbiosis of activities that promote sustainable lifestyles, an
active citizenship, social inclusion, cultural diversity and new economic models.
It is a city where hierarchies are transversal instead of vertical, i.e, where local authorities
(urban leaders) create opportunities for mass participation, bottom-up creativity and
collaborative services.
Creative….
As referred in the abstract, creative places are a new type of urban spaces where groups of
people collaboratively promote and manage a mix of creative initiatives in the fields of art and
culture, economy and production, social services and urban regeneration.
These creative initiatives are elements of “creative industries” and “creative communities”,
whose concepts are presented next.
Creative industries
Creativity forms the core activity of a growing part of today’s global economy — the so-called
"creative industries" — generating wealth through the creation and exploitation of intellectual
property or through the supply of creative services. Creativity, and in particular the so called
“creative class” (Florida 2002 and 2004; Florida and Tinagli, 2004), are considered as a driver
for the economic growth, being considered a strategic asset for improving competitiveness in
the knowledge based economy.
These considerations on the role of creativity in economic development are important but they
are too narrowly focused. First, urban regeneration has to be driven by democracy and citizen
participation. This is as much a matter of everyday practice, as it is a matter of formal politics.
Second, the fast changing knowledge societies of the 21st Century are characterised by a
new kind of creativity that connects different fields of action. That is, an extended creativity
has widened its domain, stretching from artistic to economic, social and environmental
initiatives. By paying attention to what is often taken for granted, as well as to the newly
emerging diverse creative practices of participation, this research explores the concept of
extended creativity, connecting economic issues with social, cultural and environmental ones.
Creative communities
From previous European research (EMUDE, in particular) it emerged that there exists a
dynamic new form of creativity: a diffused creativity put co-operatively into action by “nonspecialised”
people, which takes shape as a significant expression of contemporary society.
The EMUDE research has referred to these enterprising people with the concept of creative
communities. That is: groups of innovative citizens organising themselves to solve a problem
or to open new possibilities, and doing so as a positive step in the social learning process
towards social and environmental sustainability (EMUDE, 2006; Meroni, 2007).
Creative communities are very diverse in their nature and in the way they operate. But they
have a highly meaningful common denominator: they are always the expression of radical
innovations of local systems, i.e. discontinuities with regard to a given context, in the sense
that they challenge traditional ways of doing things and introduce new, very different (and
often intrinsically more sustainable) ones: e.g. organising advanced systems of sharing space
and equipment in places where individual use normally prevails; recovering the quality of
healthy biological foods in areas where it is considered normal to ingest other types of
produce; developing systems of participative services in localities where these services are
usually provided with the assumption of absolute passivity on the part of users, etc.

a
Cases
To clarify what these places are, how they work, and what they produce, a case study is
presented.
From the pre-analysis with a matrix 2 , the UfaFabrik case is one of the most “complete”.
This matrix was devised to help visualise some cases, which after a prior analysis have
proven to be the most pertinent ones. These cases' analysis is focussed, mainly, in
collaborative and social services being developed in those places. Complementarily, also the
cultural, environmental, economic and technological dimensions are analysed.
Figure 1 presents the UfaFabric matrix interpretation, in which the social, environmental and
cultural dimsensions are clearly identifiable.
UfaFabrik. Berlin. Germany
Figure 1 . UfaFabrik matrix
Figure 2 . UfaFabrik
Font: www.ufafabrik.de/
The ufaFabrik is a one-of-a-kind European experiment in community. What began in the 70's
as a "squat" of the old Berlin Universal Studios led o the transformation of the buildings and
extensive grounds into a local artistic, social service and ecological centre. Many lower
income families living nearby were initially skeptical of the artists’ intentions. But over time,
this redevelopment process used the arts to engage, include and ultimately revitalise the
entire community.
In 1979, West Berlin was one of the priciest cities in Europe and affordable housing was not
readly available. Consequently, some individuals, resorted to squatting – the practice of
occupying and living in abandoned buildings. One building taken over in this way was the
former Universal Studios film studio in Berlin. The studio, famous for many productions
throughout the 30’s and 40’s, was abandoned after the Second World. In 1979 a group of
young artists moved into the dilapidated facility, shortly before the planned demolition of the
buildings. This action was referred to as the "Big Post Robbery" as Universal Studios had sold
the buildings to the local post office.
The grounds of the former UFA Film studios in Tempelhof are „peacefully re-activated“ on the
9th of June. A large banner was placed at the entrance reading “Welcome” to invite all of
those interested to take part and to interpret the plans of the activists for themselves: a place,
where the wide range of social spheres can be brought together in a co-operative project. 45
people decided to live together in a resident community, shared their income and took the
2
In the fir st stage of research, the methodology used is based in case studies analysis.
Initially, these cases will be pre-selected based in a matrix. With the mapping, classifica tion
and analysis of relevant cases, concerning their social, cultural, technological, environmental
and economical dimensions it is intended to select 3 or 5 cases to be analysed in depth.

chance to build their own sustainable village in the metropolis Berlin. New ideas have been
implemented at the ufaFabrik over the past 25 years, involving ecology and sustainable
development, the testing of concepts for producing culture and approaches to social
development and neighbourhood work.
Today the activities of the 30 residents and over 150 co-workers continue to be informed by
the vision of shaping a meaningful integration of living and working with culture, creativity and
community. Currently the dimensions of programmes and activity at UfaFabrik include:
_An International Culture Centre that offers free space for performances.
_The Neighbourhood and Self-Help Centre, providing assistance with social, health and
family matters. Services include family care services, a day-care centre, ecology programmes
for local school groups and a Medical Centre.
_The Children’s Circus School committed to the development of talented young performers.
_The grounds of the ufaFabrik remain a green oasis within the metropolis, and are home to a
great variety of Ecology Projects combining food production and alternative energy systems.
_A Children’s Farm,
_A private school
_In-house Organic Bakery , Natural Foods Store and Confectionery.
_The Café Olé.
Grote Pyr. Den Haag. Netherlands
Figure 3 . Grote Pyr matrix
Figure 4 . Grote Pyr
Font: www.grotepyr.nl/
Grtote Pyr is a type of cohousing that stands in an 1900 school that was abandoned for
years.
The Grote Pyr is the "offspring" from the Blauwe Aanslag, a former tax office squatted in
1980, which was (forcefully) evicted in October 2003. The City of Den Haag offered what is
now the Grote Pyr for sale to the former inhabitants of the Blauwe. Since 2002, the
inhabitants and user-groups have been busy with the renovation of this monumental school

uilding from 1907 into an ecological freespace.
The majority of the classrooms and the enormous attic are being modified into living and
working spaces.
In this place, people cook and eat together in the old school kitchen and each dwelling is a
classroom and the tenants of this special condominium do not share an address, they share
small and large pieces of life.
They meet together once a month to discuss practical problems, to divide tasks and to
monitor the works in the roof and the management of the garden, among others.
There are different activities in Grote Pyr, from cultural ones, to economic ones, like a studio
of a blacksmith, another one that constructs bicycles, a society of biologic catering, a bar, a
museum where children can play with materials and science, exhibitions, events and lessons
and a restaurant open to the public.
Grote Pyr represents, for the city, a place of social sustainability and a link between the centre
and other zones.
How to facilitate the implementation of creative places /creative communities in the urban
territory by means of service design?
Design role
One of the ways to achieve a sustainable future may be by promoting the services developed
by these communities, and reproducing them.
This should be the designer’s sphere of action, and the opportunities for Design to intervene
are located at three levels: promotion and diffusion; enhancement; and facilitation of the
reproduction process.
Promotion and diffusion
At this level, Design can work as a communication tool, promoting the cases attractively and
facilitating communication between the different knots of the network, i.e., raising the profile of
these innovation forms and the services they provide.
Enhancement
Design can work as a mediator between the diverse actors (government entities,
communities, and society at large) and as an enhancer of processes, being also responsible
for designing possible scenarios that bridge creative people’s visions and the visions of
government entities that could help fulfill their ideas with material support.
In this context, Design is the interface not between the object and the user, but between the
service and its users/promoters.
Reproduction
This is the level that represents the biggest challenge, as it entails the design of tools
necessary to make social innovations reproducible. According to Ezio Manzini, this process
consists in the conception of an enabling solution, that is, “a system that provides cognitive,
technical and organisational instruments so as to enable individuals and/or communities to
achieve a result, using their skills and abilities to the best advantage and, at the same time, to
regenerate the quality of living contexts, in which they happen to live.” (2004)
A Practical Work to be done….
As said before, in the first stage of the research, the methodology used is based in case
studies analysis whose aim is to create an interpretative model that will lead to the second
stage: an experimental work in Milan. The Milan district is proposing a pilot project “Habitat e
Cultura” for the creation of a multifunctional centre in the old milk factory of Locate. This
centre will host a library, a cultural hall and, at the same time, the headquarters of 20
associations from Locate di Triulzi. Departing from this specific project “Habitat e Cultura”,
and drawing on international best practices identified through a combination of desk and field
research, the research will identify and develop optimal strategies for building the necessary
infrastructure in which sustainable collaborative services can flourish.

This pratical work will be the creation of an enabling platform 3 to endow urban leaders with
the appropriate technological, organizational, economic and legal systems.
In the same way, it is intended to create an enabling solution 4 (specific element) to endow
these communities with design tools to allow them to set up theire “creative place”.
3
An enabling platform is a set of material and immaterial elements that, implemented in a
given context, enhances its potential to be a fertile ground for creative, bottom-up initiatives.
(Manzini, Collina, Evans, 2004)
4
The specific elements of a solution are the components that make up a solution dedicated to
a specific user group. On the contrary, the platform of a solution is constituted by the
components that are common to all the possible specific solutions.

Conclusions
The vision of a possible city is based in the idea of a Collaborative City.
In a closer look to this city, we discover its severals hubs, in particular places made of and by
people, which work as creativity incubators, laboratories of new cultural experiences, centres
of social and solidary dynamism where new economic models are being forged.
Places where people lead sustainable lifestyles, and from where they are able to show to the
remainder of society how traditional ways of life can be changed.
Amongst the possible approaches to sustainable development, we give a special focus to the
design of services oriented towards new social models, in order to develop and strengthen
cultural identities and sustainable lifestyles. In this sense, the innovation driven by design
operates within an integrated system, with multidisciplinary teams that can help to build new
social scenarios. These scenarios presuppose new attitudes towards the unsustainable
patterns we adopted, implying new business strategies and new ways of promoting quality of
life and well being.
This scenario offers design a different approach and a new opportunity to develop and
enhance a sustainable future.
Design is about culture and creativity, is about problem solving, and these “projects” are
solving problems arisen from everyday activities that people have to carry out in this complex
society.
In these framework design should act as an interface between two levels (top-down and
bottom-up initiatives), for top-down initiatives are strategic whilst bottom-up ones are more
tactical or operative. Design has the capacity of being both strategic and tactical, this means
that design can potentiate people’s and government’s visions, creating scenarios according to
those same visions, benefiting city life in meaningful ways.

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Teresa Cláudia Magalhães Franqueira Baptista, MSc
Assistant Professor – Universidade de Aveiro. Portugal
PhD Student – Politecnico di Milano. Itália
teresa.franqueira@ua.pt
teresa.franqueira@polimi.it
Politecnico di Milano
Indaco Department
Research Unit DIS – Design and Innovation for Sustainability
Via Durando 38 A
20158 Milano