Infrastructure as a Driver of Urban Regeneration and Spatial Justice: Transition Experiments along the TEB2 Bergamo-Villa d’Almè Line

This paper explores the role of new public transport infrastructure as a catalyst for urban regeneration, with a focus on the TEB2 tramline between Bergamo and Villa d’Almè. The study adopts a research-by-design approach within an academic framework, involving interdisciplinary, student-led project work that investigates how infrastructural investments reshape spatial and social dynamics, enhance proximity, and support territorial cohesion. The tramway is examined not merely as a mode of transportation, but as a socio-technical system capable of fostering new urban identities, reducing inequalities, and revitalizing marginal areas. The research highlights the importance of inclusive governance, multi-scalar planning, and environmental integration. Through site-specific experimental projects and a comparative analysis of similar European cases, the study demonstrates how participatory, design-based approaches can inform more sustainable urban strategies. The findings suggest that well-integrated transport systems can serve as catalysts for broad socio-spatial transformations, contributing to the development of more accessible, inclusive, and resilient urban environments.