The Placemaking for Climate Mitigation workshops in Thessaloniki brought a critical urban reality to the forefront: the city currently offers less than 2 square metres of green space per inhabitant, a figure dramatically below the 8–10 square metres recommended by the World Health Organization. Today, only 4% of Thessaloniki’s total surface area consists of green or open spaces. This imbalance significantly intensifies the urban heat island effect, reduces thermal comfort, and limits opportunities for social interaction in public space.

During the workshops, architect Maria Sintzoglou presented thermal imaging data that made this challenge visible and tangible. On a typical summer day with 33°C temperatures and 60% humidity, asphalt surfaces were shown to reach up to 50°C, while shaded areas remained considerably cooler. These findings highlighted how surface materials, vegetation, and design choices directly affect everyday comfort and public health. Climate adaptation, the workshops stressed, is not an abstract policy goal but a matter of daily lived experience in the city.

Rather than relying solely on technocratic, top-down solutions, the project advocates for a more human approach to climate mitigation that places people and communities at the centre of urban transformation. In this framework, local residents are not passive users of space but active contributors and knowledge holders. The community itself is recognised as the primary “expert” in identifying needs, priorities, and opportunities for change.

One of the most promising strategies discussed was the transformation of schoolyards into neighbourhood parks. Schools are already evenly distributed across urban districts, making them ideal candidates for a network of local green hubs. By redesigning schoolyards with water-permeable surfaces, increased planting for shade, access to drinking water, and spaces for rest and play, these areas can serve both students and the wider community beyond school hours. In a dense city like Thessaloniki, schoolyards represent an underused but highly strategic climate resource.

International and local examples reinforced this potential. The OASIS Schoolyards programme in Paris and a nature-based schoolyard project in Lykovrysi, Attica demonstrate how covering just 20–30% of a schoolyard with natural materials can substantially reduce surface temperatures and improve microclimates. These interventions effectively create natural “air-conditioning” systems for the city, while also supporting biodiversity and social interaction.

Complementing this design-led perspective, Vivian Doumpa introduced the “lighter, quicker, cheaper” philosophy of placemaking. This approach promotes small-scale, reversible interventions that allow cities to test ideas before committing to permanent infrastructure. The workshops highlighted that successful placemaking requires a balance between three interconnected elements: Software (community activation and participation), Hardware (physical design and materials), and Orgware (institutional frameworks, policies, and governance support).

Examples such as Milan’s Piazze Aperte, which reclaimed space from cars for people through tactical urbanism, and Asphalt Art in Kaisariani, which improved pedestrian safety through creative street design, illustrated how gradual changes can lead to systemic transformation. These cases showed that climate resilience does not always begin with large-scale projects, but often with modest, people-driven interventions.

Placemaking is about transforming a “space” into a “place”, from a neutral physical setting into a meaningful social environment. Involving residents in design, activation, and long-term stewardship is a significant way for cities to build climate resilience rooted in trust, social cohesion, and shared ownership. When communities are empowered to organise their own “happy accidents” and unexpected initiatives, the urban fabric becomes more adaptable, hospitable, and resilient in the face of climate challenges.