The Use of Public Spaces of Aurora and Vanchiglia Neighborhoods of Turin among International University Students

This study aims to explore the ways international university students perceive and use public spaces in the Aurora and Vanchiglia neighborhoods of Turin. Turin, as a former industrial city, has started its transformation through 3 strategic plans from the 90s to 2015 towards a knowledge-based city as one of the main aspects of introducing a new identity of the city. In accordance with this, Politecnico di Torino (PoliTo) and the University of Turin (Unito) have been identified as two major actors in revitalizing urban development. These institutions have started to promote the new image of the city in relation to social interactions, student housing, economy, services, and international enrollments. During the past twenty years, the international students enrolled in PoliTo and UniTo (currently around 10000) have increased and, moreover, the city of Turin plays a significant role in attracting students due to its rich history, cultural heritage, and amenities. International university students engage with the local community and participate in various cultural events in the city. These processes have contributed in reshaping the city and its public spaces and, especially in the most recent period, the neighborhoods of Aurora and Vanchiglia were particularly affected. The attention devoted to these areas by the study relies on the fact that the establishment of Campus Luigi Einaudi (CLE) in 2012, which courses welcome around 8000 students, on the border between Aurora and Vanchiglia, made the area particularly relevant for students in terms of housing and everyday life. To better understand how international university students perceive and use public spaces, an overall observation of the two neighborhoods’ public spaces was performed; then, 25 qualitative semi-structured interviews with international university students who are living or studying or both studying and living in these neighborhoods were performed. Following this analysis, the thesis highlights the movement patterns by students in public spaces and discuss their perceptions in terms of accessibility to public transportation and facilities as well as the perception of safety, greenery, beauty, multi-functionality. Finally, this study strived to identify important features of student-friendly public spaces in these two neighborhoods as one crucial aspect in the way of Turin's transformation into a student-friendly city.