Famola Strana
FAMOLA STRANA is a social design project that comes to life in the Tor Bella Monaca neighborhood, aiming to connect and amplify the voices of residents who aspire to an alternative vision for the community.
Client
Community
Year
2021
Type
Social Design
CONTEXT
I grew up in Tor Bella Monaca, a neighborhood located on the south-eastern outskirts of the capital, characterized by affordable and popular housing, which currently has 36,000 inhabitants.
The absence of a vision, a program, a policy for Tor Bella Monaca, has given rise to an alarming situation:
High school dropout rates
High number of minors subjected to legal measures
High number of young people assisted by the substance abuse service
High rates of youth unemployment
The data reported are certainly not encouraging, but relying exclusively on them risks offering an incomplete picture, since the individual and collective stories that those numbers do not represent are not considered.
Tor Bella Monaca is not an easy neighborhood, let's be clear, but despite this awareness, it seems that the only possible narrative is that of the place that catalyzes illegality. A superficial and generalized narrative, which implicitly affects all residents.
CONCEPT
FAMOLA STRANA is a social design project that, combining the tools of design fiction and visual communication, aims to create new visions of Tor Bella Monaca through community participation.
The project seeks to intrigue citizens, opposing the distorted narrative presented by various information channels.
DESIGN PROCESS
How can new narratives of Tor Bella Monaca be crafted through design?
The process is structured in three phases:
Data collection
Data processing
Data restitution
The data restitution phase links back to data collection phase, creating a cyclical process that allows for intervention and improvements at each step.
Visual system: Famola Strana aims to stimulate the imagination of the neighborhood residents. For this purpose, the design of the visual system is based on image alteration.
Through programming in Processing, I created short animations that portray some characteristic elements of the neighborhood in a way never seen before.
During this phase I chose to use Instagram as a propaganda tool for the project, I later made several AR filters through the use of Spark AR Studio software.
Survey: "Imagine your Tor Bella Monaca of the future, tell me about her" The survey was conducted on VideoAsk. Unlike others, this tool offers various possibilities for interaction with users, who, for example, can answer a question through; video, audio, or text.
Tools: Postcards, posters, and the Instagram page were the tools for data collection. Through these, I engaged with residents, introducing the project and ways to participate.
Both tools feature two QR codes. Scanning the first enables the Instagram filter, while the second links to the VideoAsk survey. Content publication on the Instagram page @famolastrana.tbm encouraged community involvement and stimulated new connections.
Collected stories were graphically processed, printed, displayed on neighborhood walls and posted on the Instagram page.
RESULTS
Following the poster displays, local entities expressed interest in the project. Particularly, the Tor Più Bella association, led by Andrea Colafranceschi, provided an opportunity to promote the project during the R-Estate a Tor Bella event. Collaboration with various associations materialized through an exhibition inside the Polo Ex Fienile, a space promoting social inclusion projects since 2017, aiming to strengthen the Tor Bella Monaca community.
The obtained results showcase how, through design practices, approaches, and tools, it is possible to construct new critical knowledge, fostering community participation. In this context, the designer plays the role of a process facilitator, not merely utilizing technologies but attributing them with significance.