Urban Fragility and Climate Crisis: CRAFT
Tackling contemporary territorial transformations with innovative tools and collaborative approaches: this is the mission of CRAFT - Competence Centre on Anti-Fragile Territories, the new centre established by the Department of Architecture and Urban Studies (DAStU) of the Politecnico di Milano, recently inaugurated at the Leonardo Campus.
CRAFT is both a physical space and a project platform dedicated to research, education, and design focused on territorial resilience, inspired by the concept of anti-fragility.
Funded by the Italian Ministry of University and Research under the “Departments of Excellence 2023–2027” programme, CRAFT was created to address the challenges posed by urban fragility, environmental crises, and social inequalities by fostering innovative and collaborative approaches among universities, public institutions, and local stakeholders.
CRAFT is an operational and open space where design, research, and public policy converge to provide concrete responses to the new conditions of fragility affecting urban and non-urban territories alike.
Massimo Bricocoli, Director of DAStU
CRAFT operates through four main lines of action:
- Open Forum, which promotes public events and debates;
- Antifragility Lab, which develops pilot projects and tools for public administrations;
- School of Excellence, offering training programmes for students, professionals, and civil servants;
- Research Hub, which coordinates national and international networks for the co-production of knowledge.
More than 20 pilot projects are already underway, addressing key issues such as climate adaptation, mobility, welfare, housing access, and the development of marginal areas.
CRAFT aims to foster continuous exchange between universities and cities, particularly by co-developing methodologies and design approaches with public administrations to enhance the capacity of territories to adapt and transform positively in the face of crises, uncertainty, and shocks.
Valeria Fedeli, Scientific Coordinator of CRAFT