Learning objectives
In the period from 1950 to the present, more than ever before in the entire history of mankind, world cities have grown so fast and so far that one could say that urbanisation and the development of cities represent both the cause and the effect of the complex social and territorial changes affecting areas all over the globe. <br />
The most recent urban developments have complicated the problems involved in governing cities. Public authorities are faced with new requirements for intervention, regarding highly complex themes such as supporting local development, social development and integration, the refurbishment of deteriorated urban districts, and housing policy. Public players have to work with the private sector in order to face the global challenge, using the tools offered by new urban policy to make cities competitive. <br />
Urban policy is not, however, an area of abstract thought. It comprises a series of “programmes for action” determined by specific conditions, namely the interaction between closely-defined players (technicians, politicians, stakeholders etc.); in summary, it consists of contexts and situations in which the territorial dimension has a powerful influence. Actions have to develop from the local context and from its correct interpretation. <br />
The future of cities depends on their history, which cannot be ignored without provoking inevitable fractures. <br />
Prerequisites
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Course unit content
The course provides an approach to the theoretical outlooks and the models of public intervention in the construction of urban policy, with particular regard to the structure and transformation of contemporary cities. It will consider the most significant political and management factors and mechanisms involved in the identification of problems, the definition of objectives and the selection of types of intervention, and likewise the processes of interaction between players, generating effects of composition, integration or conflict, thus establishing conditions ensuring the efficacy of the policies adopted. <br />
More specifically, the following themes will be discussed: <br />
- New conceptual categories for urban settlement dynamics. <br />
- From the crisis of cities to their relaunch. Culture and events in the process of urban transformation. <br />
- From the compact city to the post-metropolitan regional urbanised territory. <br />
- Historical dynamics of urban planning. <br />
- From territorial construction policy (1950s and 1960s) to policy for the competitive renewal of local areas (beginning in the 1990s). <br />
- New policy and strategy for urban development and sustainability <br />
- Practical examples and case histories, both national and international. <br />
- Players in contemporary territorial organisation. <br />
- Critical reflections: outlooks, contradictory factors, comments. <br />
Full programme
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Bibliography
Indovina F., Governare la città con l’urbanistica, Maggioli Editore, Rimini, 2005. <br />
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Additional course material, mandatory for accompanying and completing the programme leading up to the exam, will be available at the Photocopying Service at the Faculty of Economics. <br />
Teaching methods
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Assessment methods and criteria
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Other information
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