Storiepossibili (possible stories): Measuring social networks and designing scenarios to address new urban questions

Abstract

Storiepossibili was developed in a research frame with the aim of identifying a “new urban question”; that is to say, the emergence of new issues and problems of the contemporary urban; among them, social cohesion and sustainable development appear to be at risk and the focus of renewed attention. In such a framework, how can design help decision-makers and innovators to understand such unprecedented questions and react to support the potentiality of the new social settings? Storiepossibili is a “research within research” that answers this issue, developed by the Design Department of Politecnico di Milano. The Design discipline has often been used as a key lever in the transformation of urban places to respond to the rising needs of contemporary society. Our cities see the growing demand for places where people can cultivate a sense of wellbeing, share their daily life and get closer to other inhabitants. Storiepossibili is an open repository of positive social innovation practices, both in the micro and macro scale: stories of people, organizations and enterprises which trust in the chance of change as something possible, even viral.

Keywords: design for social innovation, Social Network Analysis, scenario building, social trends, decision making.