School squares

The entrance of every school is a place of high potential: in this book Paolo Pileri, Cristina Renzoni and Paola Savoldi call it “school square” and explore its fundamental role for the whole city. It’s in the space in front of the school that, experiencing the first moments of autonomy, we elaborate representations and memories of the environment that surrounds us; here the younger generations directly experience how their rights and needs are considered by our society. That is why we should urgently focus on the issue of school squares, observing and reinventing these often neglected spaces: this books invites us to imagine possible solutions to critical situations, in real contexts – here analysed through the tools of drawing and photography – and takes inspiration from a number of international examples.
Transforming the areas in front of schools from impersonal spaces to beautiful, educational and inclusive places means starting a process of urban regeneration precisely from school squares: key places for the public realm and learning spaces for all.

With texts by Federica Bianchi, Anna Evangelisti, Silvia Lanteri.