What has happened with ToNite since its end
Almost one year after the end of project activities, the public spaces regenerated by the ToNite project are regularly used by the residents, serving as opportunities for everyday engagement including cultural activities and social interactions. The pedestrian area of Viale Mai, which connects the Dora riverside to the city centre, is now a gathering point for local youth who use the furniture installed by ToNite (such as ping-pong tables, benches, and a social table) or attend the rich after-dark cultural programs organized by the neighbouring cultural hub Off Topic in collaboration with other active neighbourhood associations.
The transformation of this previously abandoned plot of land bordering the University Campus Luigi Einaudi into a pedestrian street also led to the activation of new partnerships with organizations not previously involved in the ToNite activities. Among these, the regeneration of Corso Farini, led by the association Torino Stratosferica, aligns with the actions carried out in the neighbouring Viale Mai, fostering the experimental reuse of other public spaces for cultural events and social gathering during evening and night-time hours.
Officially open to the public on 12th November 2023 with an inauguration ceremony, Giardino Pellegrino is another major hotspot of the urban regeneration process fostered by ToNite. The revival of this public garden, that is the only green public space available in the Aurora neighbourhood but abandoned for several years, involved not only the installation of new furniture and a playground for kids but also to the organization of cultural events and social activities for local families. This action, carried out in collaboration with the community foundation Porta Palazzo, ensures the right to public spaces for different types of users, and supports the collaborative management of the services and public spaces on a daily basis through a Pact of Collaboration between the local authority and the community foundation, composed by local residents, associations and informal groups.
Most of the projects funded by the ToNite’s call for proposal directed to local associations for organizing cultural activities and services after dark continue their activities even after the project’s end, evolving their set of activities to meet the emerging needs of different categories of residents.
YallAurora, a Muslim youth association that turned a tailor’s shop into a space to promote youth activities, now runs an after-school club and organizes a summer programme of sports and cultural activities for local youth.
Il Salotto di Miranda replaced a boules court with a greenhouse in the central alley of a tree-lined boulevard of Aurora; the space is now a social gathering spot hosting community and cultural activities, while its lighting system improve residents’ perception of safety at night.
The non-profit organization Educadora continues its outreach education projects in the Aurora area, keeping the doors of the Neighbourhood House Cecchi Point open after dark for a series of sports activities and ateliers for local youth.
Giardini sulla Dora is now a permanent point of reference on the Dora riverside, with a community concierge keeping a green space adjacent to a primary school open during evening hours, offering cultural activities such as open-air theatre and dance classes, planned and organized in collaboration with the local community.
The Urban Data Platform, developed within the framework of ToNite to monitor the perception of urban safety and liveability by integrating datasets from different urban dimensions (demography, services, safety and security, public spaces, mobility, etc.) is now fully integrated into the city servers and used for various purposes. Among these, the collaboration between the local police and the city department for educational services led to an experimental use of the platform to monitor school dropouts, while the department for EU projects uses the platform to monitor the impact of public resources allocated to different initiatives carried out by third-sector organizations (social projects, cultural activities, etc.) to improve funding schemes’ efficiency and foster connections among them.
The plan for long-term sustainability
The actions carried out by the ToNite project along the Dora riverside served as the starting point for an integrated programme of interventions covering various elements crucial for improving residents’ quality of life in the medium and long-term.
Turin is working not only on transforming public spaces and buildings, with major infrastructural projects such as the development of a new housing complex or the creation of new cycling paths along the riverside, but also on activating new proximity services and nature-based solutions. The resources from ToNite were combined with those from other major investments programs (REACT EU 2020-23, National Plan for Quality Housing-PINQUA 2022-26 and Integrated Urban Plans-PIU 2022-26, all funded by the Next Generation EU for a total investment of 30 million euros) to enhance the creation of connections between urban regeneration actions and social innovation and civic engagement projects.
The projects funded within this integrated strategy will be completed by 2026 and will have a tangible impact on enhancing the long-term sustainability of what ToNite initiated, improving local community cohesion and the quality of public spaces in the neighbourhoods along the Dora River.
The intervention logic tested with the ToNite project also lays at the basis of the new public funding programme ImpatTo, launched by the City of Turin with resources from the National Operational Programme for Metropolitan Cities PON Metro PLUS 2021-2027 at the end of May 2024. Open until 4th October 2024, the call for proposals will grant financial contributions to associations and third sector organizations that cooperate to create new community spaces and services. While this grant scheme is not limited to evening and nocturnal activities and also funds projects in other peripheral areas of the city, many associations that participated in the ToNite call for proposal have shown interest in participating in the public call to consolidate or extend projects and activities that had a positive impact on facilitating the access of different groups of residents to public services as well to social and cultural activities. Turin aims to foster the creation of new community spaces that envisage the activation of proximity services located in physical spaces (e.g. kiosks, ground floors, etc.) whose activities take place primarily on public space and are able to effectively intercept the social, cultural and educational needs of residents, with the ultimate goal to improve urban security and liveability.
The activation of Pacts of collaboration with several NGOs and associations active in the projects funded by ToNite (such as Giardino Pellegrino, YallAurora, Salotto di Miranda and Giardini sulla Dora mentioned above) is another element contributing to the long-term sustainability of activities carried out within the framework of ToNite. The regulatory tool for the collaborative management of public spaces, tested with the previous UIA project Co-City, facilitated the establishment of three-year pacts between the local authority and associations conducting evening and nocturnal activities, revitalizing public spaces and encouraging residents to actively participate in improving the Aurora and Vanchiglia neighbourhoods along the Dora River.