Ricerc@Sapienza

The recent news highlights that one of the most evident manifestations of climate changes on the
territory is represented by coastal flooding as a result of the combined effect of sea level rise and the
increasingly frequent and violent rainfall.
Cases such as the massive flood that hit Manhattan, following Hurricane Sandy in 2014, require a
deep reflection on how to guide the sustainable development of coastal areas in urban areas, while
at the same time managing to guarantee a quality public space.

The recent news highlights that one of the most evident manifestations of climate changes on the
territory is represented by coastal flooding as a result of the combined effect of sea level rise and the
increasingly frequent and violent rainfall.
Cases such as the massive flood that hit Manhattan, following Hurricane Sandy in 2014, require a
deep reflection on how to guide the sustainable development of coastal areas in urban areas, while
at the same time managing to guarantee a quality public space.

The construction of public city, intended as the set of public components related to public spaces, green areas, equipment, mobility, social residences, invents the structural objective to be placed at the base of any planning strategy, as well as regeneration of the city. Hence the need for new cognitive and design strategies, as well as a rethinking of the reference models, typical of the traditional urban society, starting from an integrated, intercalary approach that recovers significant relationships between theory, practice, physical dimensions, economic and social change.

The contribution it addresses the question of the role of artistic practices in the processes through which public space is constructed, an issue that has come to the fore as a result of the crisis of urban planning set in motion when art, moving away from the concept of monumental manifestations brought forth for celebratory purposes, began acting as a driving force behind initiatives, projecting new languages, new forms of communication and interaction between the work of art, the public and the context.

The relationship between the practice of art and public spaces arose from the cultural transformation, with the attendant changes in cultural disciplines, brought about by the crisis in modernist urban planning, as a result of which art, having distanced itself from the concept of monumental creations meant merely for celebratory purposes, became a driving force in initiatives, engendering new idioms, as well as new forms of communication and interaction between works of art, the general public and the context.

The relationship between the practice of art and public spaces arose from the cultural transformation, with the attendant changes in cultural disciplines, brought about by the crisis in modernist urban planning, as a result of which art, having distanced itself from the concept of monumental creations meant merely for celebratory purposes, became a driving force in initiatives, engendering new idioms, as well as new forms of communication and interaction between works of art, the general public and the context.

The book - Activating Public Space - deals with the regeneration of the public
realm from different points of view, with the main purpose of optimizing its
social, functional, technological and energetic requirements.
Under this premise, the text aims at identifying intervention strategies that, in
addition to satisfying the basic needs for fruitive, aesthetic and safety qualities,
address the environmental compatibility for an outdoor comfort upgrade.
For this purpose, the authors‘ group analyses different scales ranging from the

On-going privatisation of urban areas due to ownership and control by real estate developers and private investors coupled with shrinkage of the public operations and maintenance budget highlights major conflicts in the urban landscape economy.

Via Giulia è una delle strade più importanti del centro storico di Roma. Voltuta da Papa Giulio II e disegnata da Bramante nel 1508 ma mai portata a termine del tutto, questa strada racconta di mercati fiorenti, di Papi Re, di carceri antiche e di drammatiche demolizioni del Ventinnio. Dal secondo dopoguerra ad oggi, il grande vuoto urbano della "Moretta", lungo la via, è stato al centro di dibattiti e negli ultimi anni di un concorso, che ancora non vede una compiuta realizzazione.

Soil is one of the fundamental components for life on Earth, but today, as a consequence of humans’ unsustainable actions, soil is polluted, distressed and spoiled. In contemporary practice design, we recognize the importance of the soil quality to structure new discourses in landscape practice. The central role in this process is undoubtedly played by the value a healthy soil has for the community and for the environment.