Urbanistica N. 122 September-December 2003
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Urbanistica n. 122 September-December 2003 Distribution by www.planum.net Angela Barbanente Urbanistica: differences between languages, focuses and cultures Problems, policies, and research Policies and plans for medium sized cities in South Italy Giovanni Soda Urban policies in Cosenza Roberto Gerundo Salerno: a daring approach to town planning Paolo La Greca Programmes and policies of urban regeneration in Catania metropolitan area Antonio Pietro Latini The plan of Catania between the fox and the hedgehog Enrico Fontanari, Daniele Rallo Policies of conservation and revitalization of historic centres. The case of Ortigia (Siracusa) Carla Tedesco Europeanisation and urban policy initiatives in the Italian Mezzogiorno Projects and implementation Augusto Cagnardi A fascinating adventure Augusto Cagnardi The new "italian city" for 80,000 inhabitants at Pujiang Huang Xiang Ming One City, Nine Towns. Search for ideal suburbia in China Profiles and practices Ilene Steingut Ground Zero: costruction, recostruction, participation Teresa Cannarozzo Sicily: the interpretation of the territory in the Bourbon land registry of the first half of the XIX century Methods and tools Stefano Stanghellini Equalization in the new master plan for Catania Andrea Di Giovanni Reviews Received books Urban policies in Cosenza development and centre of island in the centre of a History of urban planning Giovanni Soda* intellectual and human region depressed both and paradigms resources for the whole socially and economically. Cosenza has an unusual U 122/03 area thanks to the location Indeed the area's economic urban structure, which is The fact that Calabria has of the largest university in and productive base is still reminiscent, if the analogy few towns is strange the region. For all these weak, unemployment is is not too farfetched, of the considering its origins as reasons, Cosenza appears high and social deprivation Colonial town in French the centre of the Magna to have the greatest and marginalisation is on north Africa. In these Grecia urban civilisation. potential for growth of high the increase. From an urban places, the ville nouvelle, The recurring image of tech and tertiary industries planning perspective, the with its straight wide Calabria is that of scattered in the region. To sum up, urban core of Cosenza- boulevards flanked by cafés settlements with little Cosenza is an urban Rende gives the impression and shops, is the modern binding infrastructure. That system (1) whose of being incomplete and antithesis of the medieval image hides a number of concentrated population like there is an evident lack of city with its maze of winding dynamic changes and does other metropolitan areas is services and green spaces lanes of tall houses and not take into account of the made up of a fluctuating in the part of Cosenza built crumbling palaces. A visitor polarisation and diffusion of mixture of residents, in the period of rapid to Cosenza cannot help settlements along the commuters, consumers and expansion in the 1970s. being struck by the almost principal arteries, among businessmen (2); it acts as Furthermore, from the urban metaphysical contrast which the valley of the river a service point for local and social point of view, as between the nineteenth Crati is the one which, in productive subsystems and well as from the perspective century design (viale recent years, has not only a focus for a network of of environmental harmony, Trieste, corso Umberto and shown the liveliest and most relations with the there is a stark contrast adjacent streets, parts of the dynamic growth but also surrounding area. Cosenza between areas of great Carmine and Lungo offer the best prospects for is open to the outside world quality and potential, and Busento quarters), which development. At the head of and possesses a good crisis areas. Moreover as a seem to have been the valley, in a site inhabited number of attractions result of the high demand designed by a surrealist since earliest times, lies (university, research for building in certain areas artist, and the old town, Cosenza, an inland centres, commercial (and neglect in others) parts which begins on the other Calabrian town. Cosenza system, culture and of the territorial system side of the bridge over the offers an excellent contrast services). It is important to (historic centre, river Busento, almost suspended to the stereotypes. It is, in mention also the strong ecosystems, rural, hillside on the semicircle of hills fact, an evolving town, a tradition of urban planning and plain landscapes) have that divide the long flat Crati node of a complex, in Rende, the recent suffered damage. valley from the buttresses of polycentric and dynamic relaunching of the image of What is striking, however, is the Sila mountains. The urban system. Cosenza, the balanced the widespread processes Busento and Crati rivers are The Cosenza urban area nature of its urban of dynamic change over the frontier, the symbolic, contains 120,000 environment, the absence recent years (spanning out physical and functional inhabitants (Cosenza, of largescale phenomena of from the urban core to the divide between the two Rende, Castrolibero), but abusivismo, the cultural and system of satellite completely different parts of that number can be doubled historic treasures housed in communes). In this sense, the town. This separation with a wider interpretation the old part of Cosenza to understand the Cosenza has, in fact, quite a recent (Cosenza, Rende, (Cosenza Vecchia), and the urban area means we have history. In the nineteenth Castrolibero and other potential for development to consider the context in century, the urban area was hinterland districts often connected with Cosenza's which significant restricted to the hills and it physically attached to each historic traditions as well as morphogenetic urban was only at the beginning of other or the three main those of Rende and other processes are at work. This the twentieth century, when areas). It constitutes the minor centres. All these is not all. In recent urban the population rose to over most evolved urban system factors place Cosenza in an and regional policy 20,000 that the city began in the region. This urban excellent position to developments financed to cross the rivers and concentration, clustered compete or cooperate with through public and move northwards around the two major other urban areas in community funding, there a transforming the countryside centres, Cosenza and southern Italy. Finally, if a process has emerged, below into an urban milieu, Rende, has now fused into comparison is made though not without until it at last converged a single urban core between Cosenza and other difficulties and with Rende to create the stretching from the historic urban centres in the region, contradictions, of conurbation of today. This centre of Cosenza at one it is clear that Cosenza is a cooperation between linear conurbation settled end, to the University of better place to live as it is different institutions that along the sides of natural Calabria in Rende at the better organised, has strong could form the basis of local (the Crati river and its other. Over the last 20 artistic and historical roots intercommunal networks tributaries) and manmade years, it has undergone and offers a variety of social that could become the features (the railway, the considerable change both activities and cultural community governance of Calabrian State Highway, from the physical and social diversity. the future. via Popilia which was the point of view. Cosenza and Of course, it would be ancient Roman road to Rende together have overstating the case to say Sicily). Between 1887 and become the motor of that Cosenza is an idyllic 1972, this expansion was Urbanistica 2 www.planum.net governed by 5 planning acts the planning regulations in control of the politicians and coincidence that urban as regards Cosenza, and, 1972 were able to propose the construction lobby planning headed his as regards Rende, by the an alternative. This vision (administrators, election manifesto and the 1971 PRG (town plan), has many implications and bureaucrats, mediators, first priority was the which confirmed the north- anticipates a number of designers and approval of the modification south direction of questions that are still businessmen). The of the PRG. Attention was settlement. Without entering relevant today but pays little experience of Cosenza, focused on physical and into too much detail on the attention to the real however, was not marked social regeneration of the above mentioned planning possibilities of the situation by series cases of old town and the realisation instruments introduced by and is quite incapable of abusivismo. The limitations of a new north-south Cosenza (3), it should be tackling the problems imposed physical or transport system as a pointed out that the created by expansion along geographical features and means of reuniting the polarisation between the old the valley. Foremost among the absence of catalysts urban area. Other priorities town on the hill and the new these problems are the such as ports, largescale concerned integrating the one across the rivers, isolation of working class industrial or commercial university with the city, already latent in the 1939 areas with a high centres, spared the city, to a realising the Città dei plan, became accentuated percentage of public great extent, from the Ragazzi project and the after the war as a result of a housing such as San Vito,