Città metropolitana e Rigenerazione urbana.
Agire sulla città fisica, economica e sociale
di Carla Maione
Perché la costruzione della città metropolitana non si riduca alla creazione di un soggetto sovracomunale a carattere burocratico, senza alcuna incidenza effettiva sullo sviluppo del territorio e sulla qualità urbana, ma al contrario metta in moto un progetto virtuoso per costruire una vera “nuova città” in grado di porsi come polo direzionale nel cuore del Mediterraneo, occorre porsi concretamente the objective of urban regeneration - that the policies of urban development and territorial aimed at improving the quality of life through better urban public space - and act on the territory after having investigated the social aspect, that is putting at the forefront of our the central act of each individual, and then combining the fields of social action with those PLANNING.
must therefore be a reflection on the actors and to involve planning and programming tools as appropriate, without neglecting ex ante what will be the most convenient practices, in given situations, to fully implementing the objectives of the programming and planning. By adopting certain practices - how to define (re-define, re-think, plan and re-design) the best strategies and tools - , rather than other, more suitable to other companies rather than those in which we operate, it should be analyzed the implementation processes through the study and evaluation of significant cases, acquiring the manner most innovative tools oriented to the development of a polycentric metropolitan city like that of Reggio Calabria.
If one aims, in particular, to act in a metropolitan city through urban regeneration, necessary, by a consolidated methodology, the examination of case studies to prepare themselves significant, and if possible to monitor them, examining similarities and differences in definition and implementation of this particular type of urban policies, with respect to the range of choices among those applying in metropolitan contexts. While remaining firmly anchored to the specificities of local contexts, it is possible to different experiences, established and tested in Italy and abroad, to compare the characteristics of different instruments for urban regeneration, to assess differences and / or convergence.
Turning his eyes to a not too distant past, in the last thirty years, numerous local and national governments recognized the importance of the connection between culture and economy trying to develop policies to strengthen these ties and increase the benefits they . Many European cities have therefore undertaken the development of urban policies in an attempt to promote themselves as creative cities, and districts in planning and cultural and commercial districts. The aim is to stimulate local economic development by supporting and promoting small local cultural industries.
So, we are witnessing the development of infrastructure and services for cultural production and planning of cultural districts that are trying to find the city with their traditional role as places of social life, of 'accessibility to services, activities, culture, combating environmental degradation and social reduced or even canceled these opportunities.
Recall that since the seventies, and especially in European and international contexts, urban policies, trade and culture began to assume greater importance in urban strategies, based on less rigid planning tools, but on participation, social equity, and more generally democratization of the urban space as a mirror / container for the revival of "public life" urban.
Since the turn of the eighties you say approaches that enhance the potential contribution of cultural policy in regeneration, urban economic and physical, and the second half of the nineties this convergence between culture and economy, urban policies, it is more accentuated, and the study and discussion on the relationship between city and territory, culture, creativity and economic development has intensified with the statement of the theories of "creative city" and "class creative ", and" cultural districts ".
This process has been encouraged by national policies of decentralization of powers, the need to adapt to economic and social changes caused by economic restructuring of the seventies and early eighties, the subsequent cuts in public spending, both locally and nationally. Today, the attempt to encourage sponsorship from the private sector, to monitor more effectively the local cultural resources and to improve administration, management and marketing of cultural products and services.
During a study trip in Europe, investigating the theme of the relationship metropolisation / regeneration, particularly in the case of the city of Copenhagen, referring to the 70s and 90s, to the early years of the new millennium, I wondered what could be the PROVISIONS a key urban policy at Community level, adaptable to our context, I was able to verify the feasibility of a range of assumptions regarding possible means of urban regeneration, finding adequate answers on how to be planned and designed, and should be revitalized as a whole urban / metropolitan.
Reflecting on today, and a possible future, un processo di rigenerazione urbana, può attivare benefici materiali per l’economia e per l’intera società, un miglioramento della qualità della vita e dello spazio pubblico urbano – direttamente o indirettamente –, attraverso la creazione di un fertile sostrato sociale e culturale, capace di generare e rigenerare il milieu creativo urbano.
In Italia, e nel Mezzogiorno in particolare, attorno al tema della qualità urbana e dello sviluppo sostenibile sono stati individuati alcuni obiettivi globali che pongono alcune urgenze. La riorganizzazione dei territori metropolitani del Mezzogiorno, ad esempio, viene individuata come un’urgenza ineludibile which is reflected in the particularly critical conditions of cultural, socio-economic and infrastructure of metropolitan areas in the south of the country overall urban structure.
Another emergency identified above for urban systems in the South is the need to create and strengthen networks of medium and medium-sized cities and to connect them with the more established urban systems. In this case should encourage political network of the most dynamic, through the enhancement of functional relationships from the recognition of vocations and local identities up to the strengthening of social responsibilities through the use of the opportunities offered by the cultural dimension of development capable of producing scenarios of culture-based empowerment. And the process of building underground Reggina, which must point to a polarization around the urban centers as a major regional centers, must take this into account.
Let me conclude with some considerations regarding the implementation of urban regeneration policies in a context such as that of the metropolitan area of \u200b\u200bReggio Calabria and its neighboring municipalities (cities not only because orbiting satellites / orbit at Reggio ' inside the new metropolitan area, but to consider, while respecting the identity and history, part of it): complex issue, because the complex is the object toward which actions are directed, and this is a great time to find unity within our culture that integrates policy choices, social and urban planning.
But what are the cultural conditions and assumptions to be taken?
policies of urban regeneration can have a dual role in determining the transformation of the metropolitan city: one part being an instrument of intervention can guarantee the outcome of the action, following a set of decisions, on the other hand, instrument knowledge, referring to the convertibility of a place.
Within a metropolitan area and / or metropolitan area (Reggio included), a plurality of nodes and poles waiting to be recognized and interpreted: every element, every single step of this entire mosaic requires a different intervention method of transformation that only a suitable design of polycentric together can provide.
is indispensable today, not only to consider the specificity of places, the permanence of settlement structures, respect the different quality of fabrics urbanized and non-enhancing cultures local, but reinterpret the procedures for training and development of different parts of the country, extolling the potential infrastructure with nodes and networks and intentional aesthetic, tradition, culture, identity and respecting the needs of the community.
Considering, for example, the actions implemented to address the issues of great social unrest, present in some parts of town, we understand that the rehabilitation of buildings and the surrounding environment is only the starting point: important element is the participation of the inhabitants, both in the planning phase in the implementation of the interventions. Only through the active involvement and participation of citizens is in fact possible to implement real change, through natural regeneration, even that of their experiences of exclusion and hardship, provided that, starting from their perceptions, usually negative and defeatist, it provides recognition of their knowledge, skills and knowledge.
Reiterating within large areas, and metropolitan area is among them, the centrality of the territory, read the tracks to reinterpret the features, forms sedimented over time, not to underestimate other dimensions of economic activities, social, functional and policies but rather recognize the severe constraints (choices) that policies aimed primarily at the physical territoriality has exercised and still exercises on the same social and economic relations, while on the contrary, the intervention should not only "physical", but an intense action of "social promotion ", identifying spaces and networks are signs of change, in ways of living and use the land.