The book explores the implications for the design discipline, particularly in participatory design research and practices, in identifying dialogues on the relationship between Spatial Design and Service Design through a theoretical analysis of specific areas of the design research. This is the first step towards an approach defined as S+S - Service Design + Spatial Design: the book is a foundational act in this direction. The topic has been studied from a design research perspective to expand and contribute to a new gateway into Service Design, that of Spatial Design.

Beyond its political and social dimension, how does design act in its phenomenological dimension through tangible and intangible artefacts capable of intercepting, orienting, modifying, and determining the behaviour and relationships of individuals and communities? How does design – that (co)designs artefacts and visions that operate as services influencing these behaviours – interact with spaces? This research explores the relationship between spaces and services in their action in the social and political dimensions.

Annalinda De Rosa

Annalinda De Rosa, PhD in Design, is a researcher at the Department of Design of Politecnico di Milano and adjunct professor at the MSc Innovation and Technology Management of Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan. Her research concerns the relationship between spatial and service design, specifically focusing on design-driven models for incubating innovative processes for the cultural and creative sectors to improve social cohesion through participatory design in urban and rural areas. She is a member of the Polimi DESIS Lab within the international DESIS Network (Design for Social Innovation and Sustainability). She collaborated on the research projects “Human Cities, Challenging the city scale” (2014-18) and “Human Cities / Smoties, Creative works with small and remote places” (2020-24), funded by the EU Creative Europe program; “DoCS4Design, Doctoral Courses System 4 Design” (2020-23, Erasmus+ project); and “campUS, Incubation and settings for social practices” (2014-16, Polisocial Award).