Located in the south-eastern part of the city of Latina, Piazza Ilaria Alpi is one of the place identified by the UPPER UIA project in Latina as a demonstration site for the planting of new plant species to counteract the increase in temperature, linked to the heat island effect. Tesserae was responsible for the co-design activitiies of the project.
Starting from an urban gardening project, the experience of Prinzessinnengarten extended to a wide range of innovative practices, political stances and networking activities fostering a DIY integrated approach. Since 2020, the gardens occupy two distinct areas, both organized on principles of self-sufficiency, food-independence and social inclusivity: the original site located in Moritzplatz (Berlin-Kreuztberg) and the recent acquisition of San Jacobi cemetery (Berlin-Neukölln). The Prinzessinnengarten project promotes gardening as a practice of community building and social emancipation from urban neo-liberal dynamics, while also offering its visitors and members a wide range of cultural and educational activities aimed at sharing different forms of knowledge and skills and at raising consciousness on current ecological issues and social challenges.
Maré (or Complexo da Maré), in the northern periphery of Rio de Janeiro, is a complex of several favelas with 130.000 inhabitants stacked on 10 sq.km. The Museu da Maré was created by popular initiative to reclaim and de-stigmatise the identity of the neighbourhood. Tesserae researchers had the chance to visit the place and get in contact with the promoters thanks to the CoCreation project.