I think a Metropolitan Trail is also a path that not only offers new practical possibilities, or shortcuts to go from one point to another, but a new vision of the city. Cities are transformed as you walk through them. Afterward, you have the impression of living in another city, a city you didn’t know before.

And that’s not just when you’re going places you’ve never been before; it’s especially the case when you discover connections you weren’t aware of, when you find new means of arriving at familiar places.
Like yesterday, when we connected enclaves no doubt familiar to Milan locals, but in their cars coming from the highway. And walking from enclave to enclave, passing through tunnels, I’m sure Milan residents never come this way. For them, that would be akin to experiencing a new city, since the path would be different.

Often architects tell me, “What you’re doing is amazing. We’d love to do the same, but we don’t have the time. We aren’t paid to do two weeks of fieldwork to study the terrain when we’re hired for a project.” And I always tell them that studying the terrain will save them time. One day in the field will save three days of office work. Because it generates ideas, and you know right away if something is suitable or not. If you start your reflections prior to going into the field, you’ll lose time because your proposals won’t be adapted to the terrain. A lot of time can be saved if you engage in serious fieldwork.