The proposed research intends to study processes of urban transformation in Italian cities within the framework of the concept of "affective space". Such notion, that is increasingly acquiring importance in the fields of human geography, environmental psychology, anthropology etc., provides interesting cues for the understanding of the relationship between subjects and the space they inhabit. So far, it has however had limited application in the specific context of the existing city.
The central research questions will be: what is the impact of deep changes in existing urban fabrics on their inhabitants¿ affective sphere? What is the influence that the affective sphere exerts back on changes unfolding in the city? An increased awareness of this matter is in the research group' view central for the understanding of the nature of contemporary urban space, thereby taking up a fundamental role for any forecasting of transformative actions.
The research will be articulated in phases related to the theoretical investigation of affective spaces, and on three distinct design exercises connected with case studies from contemporary Italian cities: the regeneration of deindustrialized areas in Turin, the unfinished public buildings in Giarre, Sicily, and the spontaneous/grassroots uses along the riverbanks of Rome's Tiber. The case studies have been selected due to the strong impact of these situations on the local residents' perception, and to the critical situations in terms of wide-ranging modification of an extant context that they all display, albeit in different ways.
The expected results will consist in an in-depth investigation of urban transformation processes, under the lens of an innovative field of research that transversally cuts across human and natural science. As a tool to better understand the nature of urban space, it can provide novel insight for established planning and design methods, as well as categories for the creation of new cognitive city maps.
