1,460 Days of Love and Hate: An Ethnographic Account of a Layered Job

Abstract

Building on four years of ethnographic fieldwork carried out in the office of the Mapping San Siro action-research group (Department of Architecture and Urban Studies, Polytechnic University of Milan) in one of the main social housing neighbourhoods of Milan, in this contribution I will investigate the role and meaning of the Urban Living Labs (ULL) from an ‘internal’ perspective. An ongoing process of building relationships and caring for a space has allowed me to develop a reflection on multifaceted dimensions of daily life in the neighbourhood. Moreover, through anthropological literature, I will critically analyse the frustrations often experienced by researchers involved in fieldwork and planning. These frustrations highlight issues that go beyond the neighbourhood, showing the territorial dimension of the space. I will then highlight some ethical implications as clues that offer a more grounded understanding of daily life, rather than solving those implications with ready-made answers.