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“How might Bergamo remain welcoming to visitors while preserving everyday life for the people who call it home?”

With this open-ended brief, our team began a human-centered design journey, interviewing Città Alta residents to understand life right at the heart of the tourism hub. 

With this open-ended brief, our team set off for user interviews with Città Alta locals to understand what makes them “feel home” in their city. We also wanted to hear about their lived experience of seeing their neighbourhoods becoming an increasingly popular tourist destination. 

We learned that while locals view tourism as a positive, fast tourism is eroding Città Alta’s social fabric and is contributing to making their previously village-like neighbourhood feel anonymous—locals are moving away, short-term holiday rentals are multiplying, while local shops and businesses cater to tourists at the expense of residents. We also heard residents’ frustration facing some tourists’ lack of consideration for the spaces they’re visiting, and some locals lamented the fact that overcrowded streets keep children from playing outside. Speaking with visitors, we learned that many took advantage of cheap flights between their local airports and Bergamo airport and as a result most only stayed for a day or a single night as part of a longer trip.

Keeping these insights in mind, we framed our core problem space: “How might we create public spaces in Città Alta where children can play freely, residents can connect, and visitors can experience the authentic rhythm of local life at a slower, more respectful pace?”

This led us to three complementary concepts:

• The Tavolata Program: A community gathering at one of Città Alta’s piazzas where locals get together to share meals, talk, and reconnect. It brings the whole neighborhood together in a simple, shared moment—strengthening community bonds and reclaiming public spaces as places they feel home. 
• Welcome to My Living Room: A campaign inviting tourists to respect the city like someone's living room. The campaign includes posters placed in prime tourists spots, and leaflets available in short-term holiday rentals, restaurants, and shops
• The City is My Backyard: A programme of play days where public spaces such as piazzas become dedicated to children’s play time. Local children and tourists’ children alike can play. The initiative aims at encouraging children, locals, as well as visitors to view the streets of the city as a place for residents’ daily activities – including playing– to unfold.

Ultimately, all three solutions are designed to strengthen the local community, foster meaningful interactions between locals and visitors as well as among, and encourage respectful tourism. 

Throughout the process, our team learned just how much synthesis matters—grouping interview snippets into clear themes helped us see the bigger picture, spot hidden gaps, and craft compelling stories. From speaking with locals in both Città Alta and other parts of Bergamo, we were surprised by how strongly Città Alta residents identified as “being from Città Alta” as opposed to being “from Bergamo” more generally.