The right to an amiable space. Re-designing prison family-visit spaces through the Reggio Approach

The chapter describes the research diStanze in gioco, a research-intervention project on the relationship between incarcerated parents and their children. By drawing on educational philosophy which characterizes the Reggio Emilia Approach, the project redesigned the spaces dedicated to children visiting their relatives in the penal institutions of Reggio Emilia. Multidisciplinary reflection has led to a paradigm shift, creating a meeting space dedicated to the whole family, in which play becomes a way to create and strengthen the relationship between detained parent and children, upholding children’s right to a relational space. The redesign of visitation spaces dedicated to children could be replicated and implemented in other correctional institutions both in national and international contexts.