From Making to Meaning: Hybrid Economies and the Role of Design in Urban Contexts

This chapter explores the emergence of hybrid economies in contemporary urban contexts, with a focus on the Milanese experience. It investigates how design contributes to reshaping local economies through inclusive innovation, network creation, and civic engagement. Drawing on a qualitative study based on mapping, interviews, and workshops, the chapter highlights how hybrid enterprises, especially in urban peripheries, merge manufacturing, education, and cultural practices into multifunctional platforms. Design plays a pivotal role not only as a discipline and output but also as a strategy for fostering relational proximity, social cohesion, and territorial regeneration. By examining hybridity across dimensions such as offer, goals, team composition, and user engagement, this contribution frames design as an infrastructure for navigating complexity and enabling new urban imaginaries.