Practices and forms of open space at territorial scale: A comparison between two cities crossed by minerals rivers

Abstract

[EN] A scientific reading of the transformations of Matera starting from the urban re-activation in a social and spatial perspective in its neighbourhoods. The redevelopment of urban voids starts by the metaphor of the ecological network in an urban scale to update the connection system of open spaces in the light of new practices and flows for an innovative idea of urban resilience. The key role is re-see the neighbourhood: (i) on a local scale, focusing on the practices and customs, in the centre like in the industrial areas, starting processes of recovery and reuse but also of innovation (that result from the opportunity to be the European Capital of Culture 2019); (ii) on a urban scale with the transition space and threshold, identifying those natural and mineral signs representing a transition of porosity. The value of the "suburbs" enters as re-starting for rebirth of the city projects counting on the creativity of practices into the open spaces. The reformist project of Matera as original "laboratory" of architectural and urban experiments changes. Neighbourhoods were born from the same idea of “vicinato” (neighbour) but adapted to a new social identity, able to work on embryos of community, in the same way in Valencia in which natural elements (Turia) lead to rediscover the sense of belonging and making community. In both cases, urban policies are oriented towards innovative and spontaneous processes able to change the urban approach to a multi-purpose city although representative of culture and identity.