BERGAMO 2.035, Smarter Citizens & Glitchy Food

«BERGAMO 2.035, smarter citizens & glitchy food. The food local system through an analysis by the University of Bergamo and Harvard Graduate School of Design» – The research is focused on the development of local food, adopting the metaphor of «glitches» as applied to urban environments, or those anomalies and possible defects that may arise in an urban fabric that, if properly recognized, can dynamically trigger the creative processes and generate strong discontinuities and positive changings compared to a context apparently stable but irremediably static. The project has therefore analysed the possible impacts on the territory of Bergamo, reuse / regeneration of derelict buildings, the creation of a market for products that find difficulties in the large retail channel, to the «awakening» of a new awareness about the value of local food and culinary traditions of the territory by leveraging on technologies of augmented food experiences. The research has been developed as part of the international interdisciplinary project «Bergamo 2.035» launched about three years ago that see the collaboration among the University of Bergamo and Harvard Graduate School of Design, with the support of Fondazione Italcementi. The ambition of the research project is to propose Bergamo as an «international case study» to develop strategies, models and solutions with the aim of creating a «prototype of intelligent reality» that can become a reference for other urban contexts. The «Smarter Citizens» project aims to expand the current concept of «Smart Cities», defining a context in which the technologies and innovative solutions are developed together with new social models of inclusiveness, where citizens become active actors of change for the improvement of the urban environment.