Learning objectives
The course aims to provide theoretical and practical tools for the analysis and design of urban and territorial transformations. The Laboratory has the ambition to be a first reflection on the character of the development plan as the appropriate instrument to ensure the renewal and regeneration of the contemporary city. Two research questions guide the activities of the Laboratory: the investigation of the role of the project in its pragmatic and interpretative dimension and in the transformation of contemporary space; the identification and the testing of the potential for disciplinary advancement offered by the reflection on modern city. If the countryside, suburbs, downtown, seem no longer sufficient to establish categories and shared images useful for description and design of the contemporary territory, it is important to focus on the edge of consolidated city and its sprawl in countryside.
The Laboratory intends to give priority to the construction of plausible scenarios for the urban and territorial transformation, particularly in the selection of the most appropriate settlement morphology, the compatibility of land use, the role of public and private actors in the implementation of transformations. Equal attention is paid to the necessary requirements for environmental, social and economic development plan, with the aim of ensuring the efficiency of regeneration policy development and the feasibility of administration and management.
Prerequisites
- - -
Course unit content
The course covers the following general topics, each of which consists of a group of lessons:
theories of planning and urban design:
a) the contributions of interdisciplinary specialized subjects: geography, economics, sociology, ecology, history;
b) the organization of town and countryside: the settlement system, the infrastructural system, the socio-economic system, the environmental system, the urban morphology;
c) the criteria of planning and urban design;
planning and urban design techniques:
a) functional specialization and spatial articulation of urban areas;
b)urban units;
c) planning parameters and indices;
d) standards of urban quality and ecological and environmental equipment;
e) components of the development plan.
Full programme
The topics are developed in the Laboratory by: introductory lectures and study, any tutorials concerning the content of lessons, any monographs exercises on topics of particular relevance; seminars related to the discussion of specific bibliographic contributions; seminars with experts from university or the professions; review of applications for students and group discussion of the results.
The workshop covers the following topics, each of which consists of a group of lessons:
1. theories of planning and urban design:
a) the contributions of interdisciplinary specialized subjects: geography, economics, sociology, ecology, history;
b) the organization of the city and the territory: the settlement system, the infrastructural system, the socio-economic and the environmental system, the morphology of city and countryside;
c) the criteria of planning and urban design;
2. techniques of planning and urban design:
a) functional specialization and spatial organization of the territorial areas;
b) zooning;
c) planning parameters and indices;
d) standards of urban quality and ecological and environmental equipment;
e) components of the urban project.
The application that students face in the Laboratory of this academic year concerns the urban edge in the medium-sized cities. Students must propose plausible scenarios for countryside near urban fringes, in an attempt to address and resolve the issues posed by urban sprawl in the rural neighborhood and the need of regeneration of settlement in the outskirts of contemporary fabrics. The scope of this analytical and planning work is the territory of Parma. For them, having highlighted the critical factors and elements of chance that are able to affect the quality of urban and regional planning, design solutions are proposed for the future city attentive to instances of reuse, treatment and development of the urban present sttlement.
Bibliography
Colarossi, Paolo e Latini, Antonio Pietro, La progettazione urbana, Il sole 24 ore, Milano, 2007-2008 (voll. 1 e 2).
Gabellini P., Tecniche urbanistiche, Carocci, Roma, 2001.
More detailed text will be provided by the teachers during the course.
Teaching methods
The course is intended to ensure student learning of advanced knowledge about the main methods of urban planning and the acquisition of technical knowledge to set the urban design and planning. Topics covered in the Laboratory have been developed through:
introductory lessons and study;
any tutorials concerning the content of lessons;
any monographic tutorials on project themes of particular importance;
seminars related to the discussion of specific bibliography;
seminars with visiting professors from academia or the professions;
coordinating and reviewing design applications for students and group discussion of the results.
Assessment methods and criteria
Learning is verified by an interview on the content of the lessons of the Laboratory. In this interview we will also discuss the applications undertaken by students. This debate is an opportunity to meet on the subject of the development plan addressed in the Laboratory. Moments of mid-term review in preparation for the drafting of the final project will be provided.
Other information
- - -
