PS-U-GO presented at the 25th International Conference on Computational Science and Its Applications

Computational science has become a central pillar of contemporary research as well as industrial and commercial activities, playing a key role in advancing innovative information and communication technologies. Within this framework, the 25th International Conference on Computational Science and Its Applications (ICCSA 2025), held in Istanbul (Türkiye) from 30 June to 3 July 2025, hosted by Galatasaray University, provided an international platform to discuss emerging challenges, complex problems and advanced solutions shaping the future of computational science.

Among the themes discussed were sustainable urban development, smart cities, geographic information systems, decision support systems, and the use of data for understanding complex socio-ecological systems. Within this interdisciplinary context, the PS-U-GO project was presented through the paper PS-U-GO’s Urban Living Lab: An Educational Space for Urban Commons in Naples (Italy), authored by Stefano Cuntò, Lorenzo Lodato, Federica Morra, Stefania Ragozino and Maria Cerreta.

The contribution introduced the methodological framework and the first results of the PS-U-GO Urban Living Lab Naples, focusing in particular on its initial implementation phase titled “Towards a free and accessible sea”, an experimental educational and participatory space aimed at addressing the issue of access to the sea in Naples.

The Naples Urban Living Lab represented one of four Living Labs developed within the project, alongside those in Cottbus, Palermo and Nicosia. These laboratories functioned as collaborative environments where researchers, students, civic organisations, public institutions and local communities worked together to address pressing urban challenges through participatory governance approaches.

The case of Naples built on ongoing action-research activities carried out by CNR IRISS in collaboration with the urban commons community Lido Pola – Bene Comune in the Bagnoli neighbourhood. The initiative engaged actors from the so-called quintuple helix – academia, civil society, public institutions, private actors and the natural environment – fostering collective learning processes and experimentation in urban governance.

Through participatory workshops, stakeholder mapping, collaborative laboratories and action-research activities, the Urban Living Lab Naples aimed to contribute to the re-appropriation, democratisation and collective management of coastal spaces, promoting the recognition of the sea and its liminal areas as urban commons. The first phase of the project led to the co-creation of a shared manifesto outlining the values, objectives and governance principles guiding the laboratory.

The paper is available in open access here.