Conference Program

Many theories identify a physical space like a fundamental element in early child development, but also in the years that follow. Recalling the role of space as a third "teacher" proposed by Malaguzzi, this contribution attempts to consider, albeit in a limited way, some projects that involving a deep transformation in the city and in schools (Carr, Lynch, 1968).

In this regard, research clarifies how the physical learning environment represents an important segment that can facilitate a sense of competence, create opportunities for exploring, learning and play (Barbiero et al., 2021; Unicef, 2021). Indeed, references inform about the necessity of nature exposure for health development of young people and enormous risks derived by nature-deficit disorder (Louv, 2005; Kuo, 2015). Regular access to green spaces has mental health benefits for children (Kaplan et Kaplan, 1989, 1995; McCormick, 2017) and promote the development of soft skills, improve cooperative and environmentally sustainable behaviors (Zelenski, 2015; Goldy, 2020).

Several initiatives have been launched over the last decade to make green spaces accessible to children, students, and, more generally, the entire resident community in highly impervious areas. In this vein, schools have long been viewed as potential catalysts for urban and environmental regeneration (Renzoni, Savoldi, 2026). Thanks to their widespread distribution, they can now be mobilized to respond to multiple needs and address some of the crises. Without questioning the merits of these interventions in terms of actual multi-species design, demonstrate the necessity of focusing on the relationship between education and space, between education and living.

Donna Haraway (2025) tell us of urgency to create «a terrestrial revolutionary subject», so in this direction we link democracy to research of beauty and justice and we can image school like a big agorà: on the skin of square flourish a complex relationships between humans and other living species in a new idea of a community hub. In this way, the sense of community including more-than-human, where every single critters have rights to exist.

Schools can represent for this a crucial element in an urban setting: opening its gates, to host collective activities in the afternoon or on a weekend, creating a new dialogue which blurs the boundaries between inside and outside.

The “skin of school”, seen from this perspective, can represent a fertile ground for experimenting with the establishment of new types of complex relationships, as is already happening innovatively within the Les Cours Oasis in Paris and Colegio Reggio in Madrid (Delaunay et al., 2022; Chiesi, Ciaravella, 2024).

This contribution, starting from some case studies (Paris and Madrid), want to reflect on the attempts of these projects of combining education, environmental learning and multispeciesism through urban programs or isolated good experiences.