Turin selects 19 projects under the ToNite Call for creating new services for a safer night along the Dora river

The selected proposals range from the recovery and reuse of abandoned structures and public spaces, such as schoolyards and unused buildings, to the functional redevelopment and re-appropriation of some public spaces just limitedly valued or frequented by the residents. Other proposal approved are about the activation of cultural, socio-educational, or social-health facilities. A common feature is the active involvement of residents who live or are planning to settle in the area.

The solutions selected will receive a total of 1 million euros in grants. The requested strategic action will serve to accelerate the transformation of the Aurora and Vanchiglia/Campus Einaudi areas, the areas targeted by the ToNite project.

A total of 59 NGOs and local organizations will be involved in the implementation of the projects selected: among these, third sector organizations, micro, small and medium enterprises, public schools and university.

The call for proposals, one of the main actions of ToNite, was launched on 15 December 2020, then officially opened on 1 February 2021 until 19 April 2021, after a slight extension due to the continuation of the Covid-19 emergency.

During the time window for the submission of proposals, numerous meetings were organized in the area to present the call in its details and support the presentation of the proposals. In the framework of the project activities,  a public desk to answer administrative questions and issues was opened while a strong promotion of the call was ensured through the digital and social media channels of the project: the communication channels were also used to promote inspirational experiences from all over Europe, in order to inspire potential participants with visions and projects replicable in Turin.

The future of urban regeneration passes through the active participation of the people who live in the neighbourhoods concerned by innovative actions making public spaces and structures better during the day and the night. The use of public space during the evening and night hours is an important issue in the life of cities. Restrictions cause by Covid-19 have increased, in Turin as in other European cities, the debate on night policies and to make night time a space/time dimension safer for all.

This topic was at the core of a communication action carried out from March to May 2021 with a series of video interviews carried out I the framework of the ToNite project and published by the Turin's leading national newspaper, La Stampa.  The interviews with artists, writers, athletes and other local celebrities focused on the theme of a safer nightlife and how to imagine Turin's nightlife in the coming years. The interviews contributed to promote a stronger debate at urban level on the topics of ToNite, and to foster a collaborative reflection among NGOs and stakeholders involved in the activities on the ground.

The launch of the winning projects took place on July 28 with a public event at the sunset, with an itinerant light performance that crossed Turin's Lungo Dora with a focus on the areas at the core of the project. The performance was meant to represent in an artistic way hoe the UIA project will bring light to Aurora and Vanchiglia. The starting point is the understanding of the perception of insecurity to intervene on the social, economic, and physical space-related causes, through shared planning. A call for ideas and messages from the residents was launched in the areas of the project, and the texts were part of the installation as well as promoted on the social media channels of the project.

On the night of July 28, bridges of light were created with a luminous design, which connected the Carpanini, Livorno, and Washington bridges, the Dora Park, the Italo Calvino Library, the Luigi Einaudi Campus, and Borgo Dora, which are the most symbolic places of the areas focused by the ToNite project.