ELDERLY WELLBEING IN GENOA - A proposal for a walking experience in the tortuous city / BENESSERE DEGLI ANZIANI A GENOVA - Una proposta di esperienza di cammino nella città tortuosa

The plural practices of contemporary society increasingly require attention to co-design in urban planning, valorising cultural, social, and aesthetic diversity. In the context of active aging, elderly people emerge not as mere passive users of urban spaces, but as agents who shape their mobility environments through daily behaviors and emotional connections. However, conventional urban planning and technological solutions show a critical deficit: the inability to integrate subjective experiences, such as the affective dimensions of space, privileging standardised efficiency parameters. Simultaneously, existing walkability studies interpret the individual-environment relationship as static mapping, neglecting the intrinsic fluidity of user mobility, particularly elderly users. This study proposes to adopt a theoretical framework of plural practices to critically investigate elderly people’s spatial experience through a multidimensional redefinition of walkability, articulated in accessibility, attractiveness, and safety, integrating time as a critical factor. To begin the research, the XXX neighborhood area in XXX has been identified as a case study of particular interest - a neighborhood characterised by rough topography, marked elevation differences, and irregular paths that amplify mobility challenges for elderly people. Indeed, the restricted and defined dimension of the area, together with its peculiar characteristics, makes it an ideal embryonic case study for investigating the described approaches. The research is based on quantitative analyses, using Location-Based-Service (LBS) data to trace citizen paths and Digital Twin city models to evaluate spatial indicators, integrating them with artificial intelligence algorithms aimed at identifying mobility patterns (such as route variations and stopping times) and the combination of dynamic weights of various components. This data is integrated with participatory qualitative research through focus groups dedicated to deconstructing emotional and cultural perceptions of urban space, acting as a critical filter to validate indicator weights. The proposed hybrid approach, based on active co-design by elderly people, contests the reductionism of quantitative metrics dominant in walkability, positioning agency and lived experiences as the core of design. Results highlight how integrating objective data with qualitative elements can generate inclusive urban environments, mitigating risks of technological marginalization and promoting socially responsive innovations. The study contributes to the smart city debate by challenging top down planning paradigms, demonstrating that inclusivity arises from design processes rooted in the plurality of human experiences.