Ricerc@Sapienza

This paper discusses the literature that has influenced the concept of metropolitan area and the methods of its spatial identification. This analysis aims to reconstruct the concept in its first stage, to show its strong links with a specific period of capitalism and with a particular approach to planning and development.

The interscalar approach to the project is a dimension and an operative parameter through which it’s
possible to know the territory and its relations with urban systems in order to understand its principles,
nature, organization and role played in different contexts: however, it’s very often understood as a
mere technical tool that allows you to show details and relationships between the parties and to identify
adequate strategies for action and planning of interventions. The following contribution aims to bring

This essay proposes a reflection on one possible way of intervening in the historical city and on an artefact to which the historical documentary value of monumentum or primary element is recognised. Specifically, the historical city object of interest is the city of Venice, whose structure has been investigated using consolidated urban analysis tools – Straßenbau and Schwarzplan – and the most recent spatial analysis tool – Rotblauplan – in order to understand its urban form, and therefore its space, and then reflect on its possible transformation by virtue of design action.

The current study investigates the relationship that connects the commercial
enterprises to the cities and their territory. The cities (not only Rome, but also
municipalities and colonies) tended to operate controls on the entrepreneurial activity
carried out in the urban territory, both through specific regulation and through the
administration of the necessary tools for carrying out these activities. This trend had its
roots in the republican period, but found their highest and articulate expressions in the

Abstract: Reputation is a socially mediated form of knowledge. In social psychology it has been studied with reference to different social actors (individuals, brands, cities, etc). However, the social-psychological conceptualization of city reputation lacks a consensual definition. This research aims to operationally define city reputation, via the construction and validation of the City Reputation Indicators (CRIs).

A Roma si moltiplicano le esperienze di autorganizzazione, non soltanto legate alle occupazioni a scopo abitativo. D’altra parte, non solo a Roma, ma anche nel resto d’Italia e all’estero, emergono diffusamente nelle città pratiche e processi di autorganizzazione. Le forme di autorganizzazione rivelano sicuramente grandi potenzialità. In primo luogo esprimono un protagonismo sociale che comporta l’attivazione di importanti capacità sociali di organizzazione. In secondo luogo, permettono di costruire tessuto sociale e valori simbolici. Svolgono inoltre un servizio “per” e “sui” territori.

Le periferie erano tradizionalmente considerate un luogo geograficamente lontano dal centro e quindi tendenzialmente di minor qualità e valore (proporzionalmente all’allontanarsi dal centro). Anzi venivano generalmente considerate luoghi di degrado che, in molti casi, veniva associato non solo agli aspetti fisici e alla carenza di servizi, ma anche alle situazioni sociali e persino caratterizzante le persone. Questa interpretazione era agganciata ad un’organizzazione urbana che è stata superata. Il centro non è più uno, ma sono tanti, e al loro interno ci sono molte situazioni di degrado.

The theme of the smart city polarizes the interest of many disciplinary and research fields, also thanks to the numerous economic resources allocated for those projects, due to worrying increase of the urban population that has brought with it scarcity of energy resources, high social conflict, crisis of political representativeness and ethical drift (Fistola, 2011, p.74). The city is an intelligent and chameleonic system, able to adapt to all kinds of changes, from economic to political, to social ones.

Lima got a yellow skin, as the etymology of its name seems to suggest (1). The Peruvian capital shows an authentic obsession for this colour: the facades of the monuments and that of the main public buildings (such as the colonial-style Town Hall), the benches, the lighting poles, the buses, the curbs... Everything started from a strategy by Luis Castañeda Lossio, the (controversial) mayor of Lima for three terms (2003- 2018), who promoted a large urban redevelopment project based on the use of yellow as a highly distinctive means of communication (and propaganda).

Many cities are shaped by the forces that limit their borders. These spatial elements are determined socially and acquired
culturally, being reified using rigid walls. Nowadays, cities are progressively losing their immunity to changing their static
form. This perspective implies the need to rethink our approach to how we draw borders, raise barriers and model our
space. We need to rethink our “freedom of architectural boundaries” (Koolhaas Rem 1995).