Site Visit: Milan's Urban Transformation at Scalo Porta Romana for the Olympics and Beyond

We visited a former railway yard in Milan that is being transformed into a major new car-free neighbourhood, Scalo Porta Romana. The first phase of the project, the Milano-Cortina 2026 Olympic Village, will host 1,400 athletes during the Games and later convert into 1,700 student apartments, with 30% offered at subsidised rent.

The project is a powerful demonstration of how underused urban land can be regenerated to deliver long-term public value.

When complete, the district will include:

• Over 1,000 new homes, including social and subsidised housing
• 95,000 m² of public parks, plazas, and pedestrian streets
• Climate-smart buildings, cultural spaces, and new mobility links, all part of a low-emissions, car-free district

Could South African cities apply a similar approach to sites like Belcon or Culemborg?

The masterplan was selected through an international competition and is being led by a team including Outcomist, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, PLP Architecture, Carlo Ratti Associati, and SOM, working alongside developers COIMA and public land agency FS Sistemi Urbani.