Using data to transform pedestrian plazas in Milan

Pedestrian plazas are growing in number around the world, and our colleagues from Bloomberg Associates, the non-profit consulting arm of Bloomberg Philanthropies, are working with the City of Milan in developing their plans for transforming underutilized street space into vibrant social plazas for the benefit of residents and local businesses. By using data to assess which areas of the city could benefit from reduced traffic, the Bloomberg team was able to translate insight into real action that will improve life in the city.

This group worked closely with Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala’s neighborhoods team to develop the city’s new plaza program. To prepare for the inauguration of the city’s third pedestrian plaza at Piazza Porta Genova, Bloomberg employees in Milan and Lugano volunteered alongside local community members to help paint and transform the Piazza into a vibrant pedestrian zone.

“Piazza Genova is an area I know well. There is a lot of traffic and it is not very clean so I was very curious to see how we could contribute to making it better,” said Paola Buscemi, on the Portfolio Quality Assurance team in Lugano.

14 employees from the Lugano and Milan offices joined volunteers from companies including CBRE to help paint the streets in bright vibrant colors differentiating the pedestrian plaza area from the local streets and sidewalks. The volunteers used some of the same “tactical urbanism” techniques tested last year in Dergano and Angilberto Piazzas in Milan.

“We painted the pavements with zebra-like stripes of different colors and dimensions following the path indicated by the project plan. We were so excited and active that we managed to finish early. Lots of people asked what we were doing, and stopped to watch us paint. With just a little effort, the square was so much better,” Paola explained.

“I am really proud to help and excited to see that Bloomberg is involved in helping our city. It means that our job makes us a part of the community. The experience and knowledge that the Bloomberg Associates team brings to Milan and Italy can really make a difference and we need it,” Paola added.

The pedestrian plaza at Porta Genova was inaugurated by members of Mayor Sala’s administration, along with Janette Sadik-Khan, who heads the Bloomberg Associates transportation discipline. The expansion of pedestrian plazas and improvement of public spaces is part of the City of Milan’s 2030 objectives of promoting the use of sustainable forms of mobility and improving quality of life through urban regeneration of Milan’s neighborhoods.

“This project is bringing a new level of design excellence to Porta Genova, just in time for Design Week in one of the design capitals of the world,” said Janette Sadik-Khan, principal with Bloomberg Associates. “The same design principles and process that succeeded in New York are now inspiring the next generation of public space in Milan.”

Great streets don’t build themselves. Cities have to lead by design. Already one of the world’s design capitals, Milan takes a colorful new approach to its streets in time for Design Week, grazie a Mayor @BeppeSala and his team. pic.twitter.com/7avF06bVQE

— Janette Sadik-Khan (@JSadikKhan) April 6, 2019

Bloomberg Associates will continue to work with Milan and other cities around the world to improve and design pedestrian spaces that create mobility options and opportunities for community engagement.  As part of Bloomberg Philanthropies, our corporate philanthropy program provides opportunities for Bloomberg employees around the world to strengthen local communities and engage deeper with colleagues, clients and partners around the issues that affect the areas where we live and work.