The Faro Convention emphasizes the link between cultural heritage and place-related identity, highlighting their role in fostering environmental and community belonging. Urban renewal projects centered around contemporary and street art have gained popularity worldwide but often exhibit unclear impacts on local populations. Few studies have explored this topic using a psychological and longitudinal approach. Addressing this research gap, our study analyzed changes in place attachment and neighborhood image five years after implementing a street-art-based renewal project in a Milan suburb. Moreover, the project’s impact on the neighborhood’s historical “personality” as perceived by residents and citizens (n = 296) was examined. A survey was designed and administered to compare trends in these variables between 2017 (project start) and 2022, applying content analysis and analysis of variance techniques. Results showed that street art inspired by local history and culture had a positive effect on residents’ place attachment and local image, without disrupting community traditions. However, no significant impacts were found among non-residents. These findings highlight the significance of urban renewal policies that prioritize a district’s social and cultural history. Such policies not only safeguard the citizens’ well-being and foster place attachment, but could also revitalize the local imagery, promoting innovation and creativity.

Simulations of urban transformations are an effective tool for engaging citizens and enhancing their understanding of urban design outcomes. Citizens’ involvement can positively contribute to foster resilience for mitigating the impact of climate change. Successful integration of Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) into the urban fabric enables both the mitigation of climate hazards and positive reactions of citizens. This paper presents two case studies in a southern district of Milan (Italy), investigating the emotional reaction of citizens to existing urban greenery and designed NBS. During the events, the participants explored in Virtual Reality (VR) (n = 48) and Augmented Reality (AR) (n = 63) (i) the district in its current condition and (ii) the design project of a future transformation including NBS. The environmental exploration and the data collection took place through the exp-EIA© method, integrated into the mobile app City Sense. The correlations between the color features of the viewed landscape and the emotional reaction of participants showed that weighted saturation of green and lime colors reduced the unpleasantness both in VR and AR, while the lime pixel area (%) reduced the unpleasantness only in VR. No effects were observed on the Arousal and Sleepiness factors. The effects show high reliability between VR and AR for some of the variables. Implications of the method and the benefits for urban simulation and participatory processes are discussed.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Italian version of the Dispositional Flow Scale-2 (DFS-2), for use with Italian adults, young adults and adolescents. In accordance with the guidelines for test adaptation, the scale has been translated with the method of back translation. The understanding of the item has been checked according to the latest standards on the culturally sensitive translation. The scale thus produced was administered to 843 individuals (of which 60.69% female), between the ages of 15 and 74. The sample is balanced between workers and students. The main activities defined by the subjects allow the sample to be divided into three categories: students, workers, athletes (professionals and semi-professionals). The confirmatory factor analysis, conducted using the Maximum Likelihood Estimator (MLM), showed acceptable fit indexes. Reliability and validity have been verified, and structural invariance has been verified on 6 categories of Flow experience and for 3 subsamples with different with different fields of action. Correlational analysis shows significant high values between the nine dimensions. Our data confirmed the validity and reliability of the Italian DFS-2 in measuring Flow experiences. The scale is reliable for use with Italian adults, young adults and adolescents. The Italian version of the scale is suitable for the evaluation of the subjective tendency to experience Flow trait characteristic in different contest, as sport, study and work.

Urban settings affect the experience of people in places and the measurement of such urban experiences is the focus of this article. The ‘experiential Environmental Impact Assessment—exp-EIA©’ method and its application to the Città Studi area in Milan are presented. The method couples urban studies with environmental psychology and ICT for educational purposes with a sample of architecture students divided in two groups (N = 18). Experiential data are collected via a dedicated app installed on the participants’ mobile devices, and an automatic data processing and analysis produces spatialized results creating maps of the overall urban experience. In particular, the emotional reaction of participants through a ten-minute walking path is assessed. A group activity focused on the link between urban features and subjective evaluation of places by participants is combined with the results obtained via the application of the circumplex model of affect. Results show that the path is characterized by two main emotional experiences, passing from a pleasant to an unpleasant experience within the short walk in both groups, offering some insights on the urban design of the area. The results are part of the teaching process to increase students’ awareness about experiential design, yet the process is conceived also as a tool for professionals.