Designing Environments stands for unveiling the relationships between people and their surroundings through design actions that define complex environments, contexts of participation and social engagement. This publication considers the social, economic and aesthetic developments as key elements for the life quality enhancement of the communities in Chinese cities and beyond. It also provides interesting insights into the huge potentialities of design when it is conceived as a process that reflects the complexities of the public life in urban settings. Starting from the adoption of Siping Community and Chifeng Road in Yangpu District, Shanghai, as a test beds for design experimentations, the book develops a compelling narrative of nowadays multifaceted and multidisciplinary design approaches that brings the reader across a series of powerful concepts, ideas, and strategies that have the merit of not being ‘the solution’, but rather projective images that envision innovative relationships between the people and the places they inhabit. For these reasons, this work offers a meaningful portrayal for the construction of collaborations among citizens, students, designers, and scholars who, through their everyday practice and research, aim at implementing and achieving more sustainable urban environments.

Tiziano Cattaneo, PhD, Architect, is Professor at the College of Design and Innovation, Tongji University. In Italy, he teaches Architectural Design at the Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Pavia. He has been working between Italy and China in research, education and practice for more than ten years.

Eugenio Mangi, PhD, Registered Architect, is Assistant Professor at the Department of Architecture and Built Environment, University of Nottingham Ningbo China. He has developed a deep understanding of the contemporary Chinese urban context thanks to his extensive experience in the design industry and academia in this country.