Tiny street gets a Milanese-style facelift

Via Celio went from anonymity to an inspirational model for urban design

Everyone knows that Milan is one of the fashion capitals of the world and probably no one knows about or pays particular attention to its numerous small one-way residential streets. That might change a bit after today as the official website of Milan decided to showcase how town planners have refashioned one of these streets – via Celio, located in Quartier Harar in the western part of the city.

The renovation of the tiny street was motivated by the demolition of a school complex on via Paravia 5 and the construction of a nursing home and an adjoining day centre in its stead. The leading principles for the reorganization were to provide more greenery, more safety and overall better quality of living.

Road redevelopment - a necessary component in changing urban landscapes

In its previous life, via Celso looked like any other small side street, occupied by haphazardly parked cars creating a bit of chaos to traffic flow and adding its part to creating a sense of irritation to residents and visitors to that part of the Italian city.

“Via Celio has changed its face. From an anonymous passageway, it has become a road that focuses on pedestrian use and greenery. Moreover, the construction of the RSA will also be an important service for the neighbourhood,” stated Pierfrancesco Maran, the councillor for Urban Planning and Greenery.

The restyling has visible and invisible parts. The visible sections are the construction of new pavements, new lighting and the delineation of 57 herringbone-type parking spots on both sides of the road.

The greenery, however, does not just line up the curbsides but also extends in between the parking stalls. Between every three of these, there is a small flower garden bed and overall, 18 trees and 4 shrubs have been planted in these spaces.

What remains hidden for the eye is the drainage system for surface waters, composed of pipes and the so-called inspection chambers.