RECUPERO E GESTIONE DEI BENI COMUNI: PROCESSI DI RIUSO DEI SISTEMI INSEDIATIVI

Oggetto della ricerca sono i sistemi insediativi vulnerabili in stato di obsolescenza avanzata e di abbandono. Recenti esperienze di recupero dello spazio fisico e, in particolare, dei luoghi considerati come “scarti/sprechi della città”, hanno riportato alla luce il ruolo attivo delle comunità. Il riuso di questi luoghi è legata al loro riconoscimento come “beni comuni”, intendendo con questo concetto non solo una nuova modalità di gestione ma anche tutto il portato di valori identitari in cui una comunità si riconosce e che le consentono di definirsi tale. Il carattere emergente di queste pratiche ha forti implicazioni di natura sociale e culturale che si traducono in azioni fisiche sull’ambiente costruito: azioni di “cura” basate sulla collaborazione e sulla condivisione, attraverso cui le comunità, in forma autorganizzata, progettano, attrezzano, gestiscono parti diverse del contesto urbano re-immettendole nel “ciclo di vita” della città. Il riconoscimento di tali beni urbani come «beni comuni» richiede un approccio ibrido capace di fortificare il processo di empowerment sociale e renderlo duraturo attraverso le azioni sull’ambiente costruito. Nei sistemi insediativi con vocazione produttiva le azioni sull’ambiente costruito devono confrontarsi con i valori della cultura materiale ancora fortemente presenti. Considerato il valore storico-culturale di tali tessuti, la ricerca ha l’obiettivo di definire il processo progettuale finalizzato al recupero ed al superamento della concezione di scarto, promuovendo un’azione mirata alla conservazione e alla valorizzazione di tali testimonianze. Il principio posto alla base dell’approccio è quello della circular economy, secondo cui gli scarti di un processo diventano materia prima per un altro innescando circoli virtuosi. In tale ottica gli spazi degradati e abbandonati non sono più da considerare come scarti urbani ma come occasione di sperimentazione e potenzialità per lo sviluppo dei sistemi insediativi. La sperimentazione è condotta sul caso studio di Ercolano, comune vesuviano esempio di Paesaggio Produttivo Urbano, caratterizzato da un patrimonio culturale di notevole importanza per la presenza degli scavi archeologici, ma al contempo soggetto alle pressioni di un’economia fortemente in crisi e di un crescente degrado fisico e sociale. La metodologia consiste nella caratterizzazione del sistema insediativo attraverso la scomposizione nelle sue dimensioni e nell’ analisi dei livelli prestazionali offerti. Il contributo fa particolare riferimento all’individuazione degli sprechi/scarti di quattro sub-sistemi (fisico, sociale, economico/produttivo, culturale) da ripensare come input per la creazione di un “paesaggio circolare”. L’analisi delle necessità delle comunità, la conoscenza della dinamiche del cambiamento, il riconoscimento di valori locali ed universali del paesaggio, l’identificazione delle risorse per mantenere e recuperare l’ambiente costruito, il confronto con esperienze di sviluppo simili sono gli elementi che sostanziano una metodologia “ibrida” per il progetto di riuso del Paesaggio Produttivo Urbano. Il risultato della sperimentazione è l’elaborazione di una strategia di recupero per la città di Ercolano sulla base del principio dell’economia circolare. In quest’ottica sistemica e rigenerativa è possibile ripensare agli sprechi/scarti presenti sul territorio (a livello fisico, economico/produttivo, sociale, culturale) come input per la creazione di nuovi circoli virtuosi. Tale approccio non solo consente di ridurre gli sprechi/scarti ma permette anche di rigenerare il potenziale di risorse che, messe a sistema, possono produrre nuove esternalità positive. In questa prospettiva la creazione di nuove sinergie per il recupero del sistema fisico diventa dunque un’occasione per ricomporre la capacità di preservare specifiche identità costruendo nuovi valori, mettendo in relazione la qualità dell’ambiente costruito con la produttività e l’innovatività delle comunità locali

Towards operationalizing UNESCO Recommendations on “Historic Urban Landscape”: a position paper

<p>This position paper critically analyses the process to implement the UNESCO Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape (2011), exploring evaluation tools, innovative business / management models and financing tools for the conservation and regeneration of Historic Urban Landscape (HUL), to make it operational in the perspective of a circular economy model of sustainable development for city / territory system regeneration. Through evaluation tools, it is possible to pass from general principles to operational practices; to produce empirical evidence of the economic, social and environmental benefits of HUL integrated conservation and regeneration. The challenge of generating a symbiosis between conservation and transformation issues requires adequate evaluation methods, business, management and financing tools, engaging civil society and local stakeholders, capturing both HUL tangible and intangible values to turn the historic urban landscape into a driver of sustainable growth. The analysis carried out in this paper shows that through the suggested tools it is possible to make operational the UNESCO Recommendations, transforming conflicts into opportunities, producing economic attractiveness and strengthen social awareness and cohesion.</p

Human-Centred Indicators (HCI) to Regenerate Vulnerable Cultural Heritage and Landscape towards a Circular City: From the Bronx (NY) to Ercolano (IT)

Many cities globally are incorporating the circular economy model into their development strategies to start transitioning as “circular cities” towards the implementation of human-centred development. In many of them, one of the major challenges is represented by the large presence of cultural heritage being in a state of degradation, abandonment and underutilization, which determines waste conditions not only at physical/spatial level but also at economic level (the presence of subsistence economies) and at a social and cultural level (marginalization phenomena and high rates of unemployment). The perspective of circular economy allows rethinking these waste conditions as an opportunity to reactivate virtuous circuits capable of promoting sustainable development focused on human needs. In this perspective, the paper aims to demonstrate both the importance of participatory approaches in guiding circular and human-centred regeneration processes and of identifying evaluation tools capable of integrating the human and ecological dimension with the economic one. With this aim, a circular methodology is proposed and experimented with in Ercolano (Italy) and in the Bronx (New York), in which the adoption of a participatory approach was central in all phases of regeneration processes, from the identification and analysis of vulnerabilities and waste conditions to the definition of a strategy capable of transforming these limitations into opportunities. A first result is the elaboration of a framework of “Human-Centred Indicators” to monitor and support the adoption of the circular economy strategy toward implementing the “human-centred city”

Strategie per il riuso adattivo del Monastero di Sant’Agostino a Vicopelago

The theme of the reuse of disused religious cultural heritage has been the focus of attention in the national and international debate for years. The vastness and importance of this heritage, a connotation element of the landscape and of the life of the communities born around it, highlights with extreme urgency the open question on its future and therefore on the identification of strategies consistent with the complex of values of which it is bearer. The different approaches adopted in cases of reuse already carried out showed the strengths and weaknesses of the implemented processes and drew attention to the need to identify shared guiding criteria for the development of an exportable but also adaptable methodology to different contexts. The summer school “New scenarios for disused monastic heritages. Lucca cases between monastic memories and Puccini's legacy” represented an opportunity for fruitful interdisciplinary debate to deepen the theme of the reuse of religious cultural heritage from both a theoretical-cognitive and practical-operational perspective. Starting from the study of some good practices, the experimentation on the case study of the former Monastery of Sant’Agostino in Vicopelago (Lucca) led to the development of various project proposals that were presented to local stakeholders, as the first outcome of the studies conducted and as the first step in the structure conversion process.Il tema del riuso del patrimonio culturale religioso dismesso è da anni al centro dell’attenzione nel dibattito nazionale ed internazionale. La vastità e l’importanza di tale patrimonio, elemento connotante del paesaggio e della vita delle comunità nate attorno ad esso, evidenzia con estrema urgenza la questione aperta sul suo futuro e quindi sull’individuazione di strategie coerenti con il complesso di valori di cui è portatore. Il diverso approccio adottato in casi di riuso già realizzati ha mostrato punti di forza e fragilità dei processi implementati e ha richiamato l’attenzione sulla necessità di individuare dei criteri-guida condivisi per l’elaborazione di una metodologia esportabile ma anche adattabile ai diversi contesti. La summer school “Nuovi scenari per patrimoni monastici dismessi. Casi lucchesi tra memorie monastiche ed eredità pucciniana” ha rappresentato un’occasione di proficuo dibattito interdisciplinare per approfondire il tema del riuso del patrimonio culturale religioso da una prospettiva sia teorico-conoscitiva che pratico-operativa. Partendo dallo studio di alcune buone pratiche, la sperimentazione sul caso studio dell’ex Monastero di Sant’Agostino a Vicopelago (Lucca) ha portato all’elaborazione di diverse proposte progettuali che sono state presentate agli stakeholder locali, come primo esito degli studi condotti e come primo step del processo di riconversione della struttura

Human Circular Tourism as the Tourism of Tomorrow: The Role of Travellers in Achieving a More Sustainable and Circular Tourism

Nowadays, the challenge of sustainability is increasingly played out in cities, which represent the favoured field of action to implement strategies and actions for supporting the transition towards a more human and ecological development paradigm. The problems caused by the current economic model (linear model) are even more stressed today due to the effects produced by the COVID-19 pandemic. The tourism sector (one of the world’s major economic sectors and, thus, one of the main players in the development dynamics) is one of the economic sectors that has been the most negatively impacted by the pandemic. In this study, Human Circular Tourism (HCT) is proposed as a strategy to move towards a more sustainable future and, thus, reduce the negative impacts produced by the tourism sector. In particular, the objective of this paper is to understand the awareness of travellers (one of the categories of actors involved in the tourism experience) regarding sustainable and circular tourism in order to support local governments in the elaboration and implementation of strategies and actions towards more sustainable and circular tourism. To this end, a survey was conducted. In particular, a questionnaire was developed and submitted to a sample of tourists from all over the world to understand their behaviours and perceptions in their tourist experiences. From a critical analysis of the results, it emerges that there is a growing awareness of issues related to the concept of sustainability, especially in relation to the major issues of climate change and people’s health. This perception has certainly been influenced by the health emergency from COVID-19, but the sample of interviewees reveals that much still needs to be invested in increasing their awareness of the complexity of the factors involved in more sustainable, circular, and human-centred tourism. Therefore, starting from this, possible future prospects for the tourism sector from the circular economy perspective are here identified

How Hybrid Organizations Adopt Circular Economy Models to Foster Sustainable Development

Relying on the hybrid organization literature and the circular economy literature, our study aims at theorizing how hybrid organizations adopt circular economy business models to contribute to sustainable development. Through six in-depth interviews with social entrepreneurs located in different regions of Italy and operating in different industries, we theorize that four aspects are unique to hybrid organizing that adopt a circular economy business model. We find that hybrid organizations foster sustainable development thanks to their ability to develop and maintain relationships with the surrounding organizational realities. Additionally, we find that hybrid organizations contribute to sustainable development thanks to their motivation to guard and watch over the natural environment and human beings. In addition, we find that hybrid organizations foster sustainability by educating, spreading knowledge, and ennobling the human spirit. We therefore present a conceptual model that shows how hybrid organizations that adopt circular economy models contribute to sustainable development. In sum, our findings expand on previous literature, add new knowledge, and integrate fields of research that usually develop in silos

Towards the Human Circular Tourism: Recommendations, Actions, and Multidimensional Indicators for the Tourist Category

As underlined by OECD and United Nations, as cities are growing in size, they will face challenges in becoming climate neutral, reducing their environmental footprint, and meeting the growing needs of their populations. In cities, the main challenges of sustainable development are concentrated. So, there is a need to identify a new development model in order to make cities more sustainable. This necessity concerns all sectors, including the tourism one, which represents the third largest socio-economic activity in Europe. The tourism sector puts pressure on the city, increasing waste generation, noise and air pollution, and congestion in infrastructure and public areas. In addition, it is organized according to the linear economy model. This linearity is particularly visible in cities as people here tend to choose comfort over sustainability. In this framework, new approaches, strategies, and tools are required in order to make the tourism sector more sustainable, thus reducing its negative impacts on cities. In this perspective, the Human Circular Tourism (HCT) model is proposed. The aim of this study is to provide an operational framework consisting of recommendations, actions, and indicators to effectively operationalize the Human Circular Tourism model and to support public authorities (and other tourism stakeholders) in the identification of efficient policies in the tourism sector