Reimagining Public Assets: Cultural Practices as Strategies of Space, Care, and Design

Abstract

This paper examines the role of cultural practices, when integrated into participatory design methodologies and bolstered by institutional collaboration, in reconceptualizing public spaces as commons. It posits that cultural practices, rather than serving merely as symbolic enhancements, function as infrastructural forces that facilitate civic engagement, activate underutilized urban resources, and promote ecosystemic relationships. By engaging with recent theoretical advancements in design and political theory, this study positions care as both a civic and spatial practice and design as a medium for co-production. The Italian context is particularly conducive to this exploration, notably through innovative public-civic partnerships that enable the temporary repurposing of public heritage assets. Through a reflection on the Museum of the Cities of the World in Palermo, developed within the national research-action project OSMOSI, this paper explores how hybrid cultural spaces can reframe the public sphere as a shared infrastructure for civic engagement and cultural imagination.