Beyond walls: the peri-carceral space as a catalyst for urban, social and ecological regeneration

Prisons are often relegated to the periphery of urban landscapes, rein-forcing spatial and social segregation. This paper explores the potential of peri-carceral spaces as catalysts for urban, social, and ecological regeneration, using the project Dal Giardino degli Incontri agli Incontri nel Giardino as a case study. Developed between 2020 and 2022 by the University of Florence’s Department of Architecture and the Giovanni Michelucci Foundation, this initiative aims to transform the peri-prison space surrounding the Mario Gozzini and Sollicciano prisons into an Agro-Social Park—a public meeting ground that bridges the prison and the city. Building upon the legacy of Giovanni Michelucci, who envisioned prisons as in-tegrated urban elements rather than isolated fortresses, the project rethinks peri-carceral thresholds as active interfaces that can foster permeability, social reinte-gration, and ecological regeneration. By adopting a participatory co-design ap-proach, the initiative engaged detained persons, prison staff, local communities, and institutions to shape a masterplan that addresses three key challenges: - Enhancing the social function of prisons, improving rehabilitation opportunities through interaction with the surrounding city. - Mitigating urban fragmentation, reintegrating peri-carceral spaces into the broader metropolitan system through nature-based solutions (NBS) and sustain-able urban mobility strategies. - Advancing ecological transition, leveraging green infrastructure to enhance en-vironmental quality while providing vocational training in agroecology and ur-ban agriculture for incarcerated individuals. This paper argues that reimagining peri-carceral spaces through an ecological and social lens can convert marginal, fragmented areas into inclusive and productive urban landscapes. The project demonstrates that, rather than reinforcing exclu-sion, prisons and their surrounding spaces can serve as laboratories for a more just, resilient, and sustainable urban future.