Parma's Dazeglio 104: Empty Shop Transforms into Eco Lab

In Parma's Oltretorrente district, a vacant storefront has been reborn as Dazeglio 104, a community laboratory running from October 2023 to summer 2024. The space hosts ecology-focused activities open to all, emphasizing recycling and environmental respect. Cristina Mazza, deputy director and project manager, stated the goal is to raise public awareness about reuse and waste reduction, targeting citizens, children, and public institutions. The initiative is backed by Ascom Parma and Confcommercio as part of the broader Cities project, which treats cities as 'laboratories for change' to support proximity economies and improve urban life. Vittorio Dall'Aglio, president of Ascom Parma, highlighted that each lit window reduces the number of closed shops, and the project aims to demonstrate that collaboration can revive empty stores. Paolo Testa of Confcommercio Nazionale's Urban Planning and Urban Regeneration Sector noted that Parma is one of 12 pilot cities nationally testing solutions including public space redesign, mobility planning, big data for urban programming, and silver economy valorization, empowering service sector entrepreneurs to shape future cities.