Transhumance routes as tourist destinations: a concrete opportunity for inner areas or a romantic suggestion?

Game changer? Planning for just and sustainable urban regions, Paris, 8-12th July 2024The ancient practice of transhumance has generated on a large part of the Mediterranean territories a heritage of an intangible type (linked to the historical, cultural and socioanthropological value), and of a material type, consisting of the infrastructures used for centuries to move herds, characterised by intrinsic landscape and environmental qualities. In recent years, a renewed attention is emerging towards transhumance and the routes used for this purpose. In various European contexts a growing number of initiatives linked to the promotion of transhumance and to the enhancement of its routes are being implemented, both thanks to the bottom-up contribution of local associations and to top-down policies and projects. The research collects the ongoing experiences related to transhumance from the Italian, French and Spanish context, with the purpose of providing a contribution to answering the following questions: can transhumance be converted into a tourist experience with positive effects on the territory? How can the ancient transhumance routes be reconverted into infrastructures for slow tourism, enhancing the identity culture linked to it? Keywords: transhumance, slow tourism, experiential tourism, inner areaspublished versio

Repurposing abandoned transport infrastructure towards social inclusion: The case of Baana, Helsinki

Game changer? Planning for just and sustainable urban regions, Paris, 8-12th July 2024With globally increasing challenges for the role of public spaces and their contribution to inclusion and justice within urban settings, this article examines the repurposing of transport infrastructure to provide dedicated walking and cycling public spaces, specifically the case of Baana in Helsinki, Finland, a former freight railway conduit. Building on the concepts of mobility design and walking as a social experience, the article examines Baana’s role both as a non-motorised transit space, and one supporting fluid encounters among diverse users. The impact of Baana’s design is examined – in terms of utility, attractiveness, and symbolism – on pedestrians’ activities, experiences, and perceptions. Initial findings reveal Baana’s barriers and potentials and serve to develop further research on addressing differential pedestrian experiences, to inform future mobility design processes. Keywords: Baana, fluid encounters, Helsinki, inclusion, mobility designpublished versio

How Urban Morphology Affects Wind-Heat Environment: An Example in Beijing from Ancient Cities to Modern Cities

Game changer? Planning for just and sustainable urban regions, Paris, 8-12th July 2024The urban wind-heat environment is a critical component affecting residents' health. This research investigates the impact of urban morphology on the heat and wind environment, focusing on three distinct residential blocks in Beijing's Nanluoguxiang Historic District. The three neighborhoods represent ancient, modern, and a mix of historical and modern urban forms. The ENVI-met was utilized to simulate wind speeds and temperatures for ancient times (1880) and modern times (2023). The results reveal that traditional urban forms with compact buildings and courtyards create more moderate wind and heat conditions. Modern urban forms with high-rise buildings and open spaces result in higher wind speeds and temperatures. The findings highlight the importance of preserving traditional urban layouts for comfortable microclimates. Keywords: Urban microclimate, Urban design, Historic district, Numerical simulation, Chinapublished versio

Nature is (not) democratic Notes for a community-based approach to natural resources

Game changer? Planning for just and sustainable urban regions, Paris, 8-12th July 2024The paper demonstrates how different understanding of what nature is and what socio-natural assemblages it forms can lead to strikingly contrasting environmental strategies and planning approaches, and argues for a reframing of nature and natural resources governance in the context of planning practices if a truly earthcaring model is to be achieved. Considerations and reflections developed on the current mainstream environmental policies and their understanding of nature, as well as on alternative framings of nature and politics of nature, aim at outlining a frame of reference for the co-management of nature in the perspective of the urban bioregion approach, by defining the conceptual basis and identifying research and practice gaps. Keywords: natural resources, politics, local communities, urban bioregionpublished versio

GeoSpatial Virtual Reality & Planning AR Laboratory for education in spatial planning

Game changer? Planning for just and sustainable urban regions, Paris, 8-12th July 2024This paper presents outcomes from a pioneering educational project funded by Warsaw University of Technology during the 2022/2023 academic year. The project aimed to establish a mobile Virtual Reality (VR) Laboratory supporting teaching in geoinformation, spatial planning, urban planning, and architecture. Leveraging the expertise of the Faculty of Geodesy and Cartography and the Faculty of Architecture, the laboratory promoted an interdisciplinary approach to geospatial analysis and planning. The project comprised six tasks, including organizing the laboratory, conducting pilot implementations, and developing interdisciplinary workshop scenarios. Five pilot implementations utilized VR technology in various aspects of the spatial planning process, receiving positive feedback from students and partners. The project facilitated student engagement, exchange of teaching practices, and expansion of academic offerings. Keywords: augmented reality, co-creation, collaborative design, geospatial technologiespublished versio

Inhabiting the rural space. Reflections on the housing emergency of seasonal workers in agriculture

Game changer? Planning for just and sustainable urban regions, Paris, 8-12th July 2024The intensification of migratory movements towards the European context from the global South is a clear sign of the unstoppable prospect of international mobility, legal and illegal, of populations as a result of changed geopolitical conditions, environmental crises and disasters, poverty and economic uncertainty (Blasco, et al., 2023). These dynamics produce reverberations in terms of demographic transition, imbalance in local economies towards parallel and opaque labour circuits, and spatial transformations in the territories where refugees reside and transit. The contribution intends to focus on the informal settlement of Borgo Mezzanone, where about 4,000 migrants reside on a temporary and permanent basis, engaged in the activity of harvesting agricultural products according to the cyclical nature of the agri-food chain. The contribution is the result of the action-research work carried out by the ArCoD Department of the Polytechnic of Bari for the technical-scientific support of the Apulian Municiities beneficiaries of Measure 5C2 investment 2.2 Integrated Urban Plans for the overcoming of illegal settlements to combat the exploitation of workers in agriculture. Keywords: informality, migration, housing policypublished versio

Being a Child on a Car Free Island: Exploring Independent Mobility and Children's Perception in Büyükada-Istanbul

Game changer? Planning for just and sustainable urban regions, Paris, 8-12th July 2024This study aims to discover the mobility of children in a car-free area to understand the effects of freedom of mobility on perception of space. Buyukada Island in Istanbul defines a unique alternative due to its car-free living environment and offers a significant potential in terms of creating a child-friendly environment and freedom of movement. Within this scope, "mind mapping" methodology used for exploring children's spatial perceptions and freedom of mobility through drawings and written expressions of 20 students of 10-years old, living and studying at Büyükada. This paper discusses the findings of a field study regarding active and independent mobility patterns and explores children's perception of space in a car-free settlement which can be promising for developing policies for a child-friendly urban future. Keywords: child friendly cities, child perception, independent mobility, mind mappingpublished versio

Evaluation and Spatial Governance Strategies for Old Residential Areas' Renewal and reconstruction in Urban Downtown Districts: A Case Study of 70 old residential areas in Changzhou, China

Game changer? Planning for just and sustainable urban regions, Paris, 8-12th July 2024As vital components of urban renewal efforts in old city districts, old residential areas play a crucial role in rejuvenating regional vitality, enhancing residents' well-being, and fostering sustainable economic and social development in cities. Taking the example of the transformation of old residential areas in the Zhonglou District of Changzhou City over the past three years, a comprehensive assessment is conducted.By integrating the theory of a full life cycle, a holistic evaluation system for the renovation of aging residential communities is established to assess the project comprehensively. This evaluation system focuses on three dimensions: space, services, and culture, in order to evaluate overall resident satisfaction across all elements.Finally, long-term governance strategies are proposed from four dimensions: government governance, social operations, engineering projects, and economic funding. Keywords: Old residential area, Renewal evaluation, Spatial governancepublished versio

Enhancing suburban life with Victor Gruen

Game changer? Planning for just and sustainable urban regions, Paris, 8-12th July 2024The essay deals with the theme of the prejudices that prevent us from designing vibrant suburban spaces and argues that we should rediscover Victor Gruen’s lesson in doing so. The first part analyzes the consequences determined by the advent of the car and the urban explosion on public spaces. The second section of the essay develops a critical reflection on the way we look at suburban collective spaces and proposes a change of perspective. The concluding section of the essay contains some specific proposals, of a planning and normative kind, to improve the quality of collective suburban spaces. Keywords: urban explosion; public places; collective spaces; non-places; Victor Gruenpublished versio

Exploring User Preferences and Place Attachment in Urban (Public) Spaces: A Case Study of Kadıköy Historical City Centre, Istanbul, Türkiye Ulubaş

Game changer? Planning for just and sustainable urban regions, Paris, 8-12th July 2024This study aims to explore the preferences of different user groups for urban (public) spaces and their selective behaviours within them. The study centres on the Kadıköy Historical City Centre (KHCC) in Istanbul, Türkiye. A public online survey was conducted with 473 participants representing residents, workers, and visitors. Survey data were analysed using mixed methods techniques, including descriptive statistics, discourse analysis, and mapping. It was found that there were notable differences in terms of urban space preferences among locals and visitors, and that the place attachment different user groups developed with the space were diversified and differentiated. The study underscores the need for inclusive urban spaces that cater to the needs and demands of all user groups, given the transformation of KHCC. Keywords: urban (public) space; user preferences; place attachment Exploringpublished versio