Can tactical urbanism and open squares, like Milan's vibrant NoLo pop-ups, quickly turn car-choked streets into lively, equitable public spaces to solve today's urban issues? The COVID-19 pandemic exposed and intensified underlying spatial inequalities in metropolitan areas. Cities have become defined by fragmented, neglected public spaces, uneven access to services, and urban layouts shaped primarily by private vehicles. Traditional top-down planning struggles to respond to these realities. Consequently, cities worldwide are exploring new frameworks to reclaim streets, redistribute accessibility, and enhance daily urban life. Within this milieu, concepts like the 15-Minute City, Tactical Urbanism, and Open Squares have emerged as practical strategies reshaping neighborhoods in cities such as Milan, to turn visions into reality.
The 15-Minute City, conceptualized by Carlos Moreno, prioritizes time and space as key factors for urban livability. According to Moreno (2016),15-min city can challenge traditional zoning and car-centric urban planning by reorganizing cities into networks of neighborhoods where essential daily activities,including education, commerce, healthcare, leisure, green spaces, and workplaces,are accessible within a 15-minute walk or bike ride. Beyond spatial restructuring, it promotes cleaner air, reduced car dependence, and equitable access to urban resources. In this sense, The 15-Minute City represents an innovative reinterpretation of the longstanding tradition of neighborhood-based urban planning, emphasizing sustainability, accessibility, and community well-being.
Tactical Urbanism, meanwhile, offers practical tools for realizing this model. Lyon and Garcia (2015) define tactical urbanism as a set of temporary, low-cost, small-scale interventions — such as painted streets, pedestrian plazas, pop-up furniture, modified intersections, and experimental public spaces — designed to activate underused areas and test ideas before long-term investment as seen in Figures 2, 3, 4, and 5. These interventions allow cities to experiment and refine solutions before investing in permanent changes. Bonfantini and Marchigiani (2022) highlight that Milan employs this approach to bring public spaces to neighborhoods. In line with this, the city launched the "Open Squares in Every Neighborhood" initiative in 2019, which illustrates how community engagement and tactical urbanism can effectively transform urban public spaces.
However, to what extent can the 15-Minute City model be integrated into neighborhood planning within contemporary urban contexts such as Milan? The NoLo district stands as one of the most compelling examples of this transition Located just north of Piazzale Loreto, NoLo was historically a semi-central working-class area often perceived as unsafe and socially fragmented. However, over the last decade, it has transformed into one of the city's most socially dynamic neighborhoods, largely due to tactical interventions .A turning point came in 2016 with the establishment of the NoLo Social District Facebook group, reserved exclusively for residents. This platform enabled collaborative pro jects, street events, and neighborhood festivals, reinforcing a shared identity among "Nolers" (SMC Magazine, No.14, 2021).
Several Open Square interventions (Dergano Square,Angilberto Square) further accelerated this transformation in Figures 7, 8, 9 and 10. One of the most symbolic actions was the creation of Piazza Arcobalena in front of Cerisola Primary School. A formerly traffic-dominated intersection was converted into a safe pedestrian plaza featuring benches, planters, ping-pong tables, and playful ground graphics. Parents reported increased safety and social interaction at school entrances, child ren gained a new space to play, and streets became calmer and more accessible (Bonfantini & Marchigiani, 2022). This tactical intervention demonstrates how small urban interventions can reclaim streets for people, fostering slow mobility and social vitality .Alongside these physical changes, new civic spaces such as Hug Milano,a hybrid coworking space, community center, café, and mobility hub—emerged, further strengthening social connections (SMC Magazine, No. 14, 2021). Today, Tactical Urbanism has become a defining element of NoLo's identity. The neighborhood is no longer on the periphery of Milan's urban imagination; it exemplifies the potential of compact urban regeneration, where streets are public assets and squares serve as catalysts for social and environmental wellbeing.
However, this transformation raises a critical question: If tactical urbanism successfully reclaims public space, what hidden consequences emerge beneath the surface?
The NoLo case demonstrates several advantages aligned with the 15-Minute City vision:- enhanced pedestrian safety and livability
- increased community participation and local identity
- activated public space and cultural interaction
- improved soft mobility and reduced car dependence
- fast, low-risk spatial transformation
Yet, this success also produced new challenges—particularly gentrification. With growing demand from young newcomers, real estate prices rose sharply (SMC Magazine, No. 14, 2021). The danger is that Tactical Urbanism becomes a branding strategy for urban desirability, rather than an equitable planning tool. It indicates that the popularity of NoLo risks attracting speculative real-estate interests and displacing vulnerable groups. Moreover, the use of the squares during night time often disturbs the residents living in the surrounding areaa,as illustrated in Figure 11. This increasing tension between visitors and inhabitants leads to conflicts over noise, privacy, and the right to use public space, revealing another dimension of how urban revitalization may unintentionally generate new forms of discomfort and resistance among local communities. If Tactical Urbanism can successfully reclaim public space, what hidden consequences emerge beneath the surface? The central planning question therefore becomes not only how to improve public space, but how to maintain social equity as neighborhoods transform.
- Bonfantini, B., & Marchigiani, E. (2022). Urban Transition and the Return of Neighbourhood Planning. Questioning the Proximity Syndrome and the 15-Minute City. Sustainability, 14(5468).
- Lecci, M., & Oberti, I. (2021). Neighbourhoods in the Centre: The NoLo Case in the Milan Context. SMC Magazine, No. 14.
- Maramotti, M. (2020). [FARSI SPAZIO] Strategia progettuale per un quartiere di prossimità. Master's Thesis, Politecnico di Milano, Scuola del Design.
- Lydon, M., & Garcia, A. (2015). Tactical urbanism: Short-term action for long-term change. Island Press.
- Urbact. (2019). Citywide tactical urbanism programme: Open squares in every neighbourhood. Retrieved from https://urbact.eu/good-practices/citywide-tactical-urbanism-programme.