Workshop: The City Says No

is a live URB.ABLE City Lab at Utopian Hours that explores how accessible, inclusive and safe public spaces really are when experienced from different perspectives.

Starting from a short introduction to the URB.ABLE project and Stratosferica’s local context, participants go into the streets of Turin – focusing on Aurora and/or Barriera – to observe, map and discuss how public space supports or blocks movement, comfort, participation and belonging.

Working in small groups with persona cards, visual mapping tools and a simple digital survey/app, participants identify barriers, good practices and opportunities for improvement. The workshop looks beyond ramps and physical access only: it also considers sensory comfort, wayfinding, safety, perception, social inclusion and the possibility for young people and people with disabilities to take part in urban life.

The session ends with a collective remix moment where observations are translated into practical ideas and policy-oriented recommendations for Turin, cultural events and local city-makers.

The output will be a visual map, collected data and a short written report that can be shared with Utopian Hours, Stratosferica and relevant local stakeholders.

The workshop asks:

Who can really move through, understand, enjoy and shape the city?

Instead of giving a traditional presentation, URB.ABLE invites Utopian Hours participants to test its methods in the neighbourhood around the festival. Participants explore urban space through the lens of accessibility, inclusion and safety, while also reflecting on how perception and participation shape the everyday life of a neighbourhood.

This connects strongly to Aurora and Barriera: two multicultural, dynamic neighbourhoods that are often framed through problems or negative perception, but also contain strong urban life, local diversity and opportunities for better storytelling, public-space quality and inclusive city-making.

Participants will:

• discover the URB.ABLE approach to accessible placemaking and youth participation;
• understand accessibility as more than physical access;
• explore public space through different user perspectives;
• observe and map barriers, strengths and opportunities in Aurora / Barriera;
• reflect on inclusion, safety, perception and participation in public space;
• propose practical improvements and policy-oriented recommendations;
• contribute to a visible output that Stratosferica and URB.ABLE can further use.

Participants will gain a better understanding of:

• accessibility as physical, sensory, cognitive, social and organisational;
• how public space can enable or block independence, dignity, safety and participation;
• how neighbourhood perception and storytelling influence the way places are used and valued;
• how different users experience the same route in different ways;
• how small barriers can create a chain of exclusion;
• how observations can be translated into public-space recommendations.

Participants will practise how to:

• observe public space critically and respectfully;
• use persona cards to understand different access needs;
• identify barriers and positive practices;
• collect field observations through mapping, notes, images or a digital tool;
• work in small groups with clear roles;
• turn findings into quick fixes, design ideas and policy asks;
• communicate recommendations in a clear and visual way.

Participants will be encouraged to develop:

• empathy for different ways of experiencing the city;
• awareness of their own assumptions and access privileges;
• curiosity towards neighbourhoods that are often negatively perceived;
• a constructive attitude: not only criticising, but also identifying what works;
• confidence that citizens and young people can contribute to urban change;
• a broader view of accessibility as a condition for belonging and participation.