The paper discusses the current practices in the regeneration of public spaces starting from research that compares case studies from Milan (I) and Copenhagen (DK) developed by the authors, trying to exceed the rhetoric of the 15-min city, that nowadays is mainstream. The aim of the paper is identifying potential approaches for designers and planners, when they intervene on daily, public spaces that have lost their meaning and identities. Testing existing proposals, the study explores a set of issues that affect the physical, social, economic condition of places and that should be took in account in the process of reactivation. Discussing the results, the study proposes a set of tools and recommendations that can support the work of the urban designers and could foster the social and physical impacts of their work. The conclusions open a perspective on the role of this type of intervention in the construction of the future city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]