Living and Walking in Campuses: The Case of the University of Catania

This chapter presents the case of the University of Catania (Italy) and of its campus. Though it was designed as a pedestrian campus, its location far away from the city centre and the lack of transit accessibility until a few years ago have encouraged a high rate of car travels and a consequent high pressure on campus governance to build parking lots in the last decades. Parking spaces are overcrowded during peak hours, and the continuous search for available spaces degrades the liveability of the campus. In this respect, this chapter presents the first results of a living lab approach where the university community, in particular students, was directly involved in co-creating solutions to improve the liveability of the campus and foster sustainable mobility. The analysis performed can be useful in facilitating the implementation of an effective multistep mobility management plan with various strategies aimed at freeing campuses from private vehicles.