Giovanni Maciocco, University of Sassari, Italy (Invited Speaker) on "Urban potential of external territories"

1. Cagliari 11th May 2012
Giovanni Maciocco
University of Sassari UNISS
The Urban Potential of Territories

2. REFERENCES
Afshar F. (1998), “Balancing global city with global village”, Habitat International, Elsevier, n.22.
Arendt H. (1958), The Human Condition, Chicago University Press, Chicago.
Augé M. (1992), Non-lieux. Introduction à une anthropologie de la surmodernité, Seuil, Paris.
Augé M. (2000), Fictions fin de siècle, Fayard, Paris.
Bauman Z. (2005), Fiducia e paura nella città, Bruno Mondadori, Milano.
Castells M. (1996), The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture, vol 1: The Rise of the Network Society, Blackwell, Oxford.
Castells M. (1997), The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture, vol 2: The Power of Identity, Blackwell, Oxford.
Castells M. (1998), The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture, vol 3: End of Millennium, Blackwell, Oxford.
Foucault M. (2001), Spazi altri, Mimesis, Milano.
Ibelings H. (2006), “Small town Europe”, A10, n. 11, september/october , 2006
Jacobs J. (1961), The Death and Life of Great American Cities, Random House, New York.
Maciocco G., Sanna G., Serreli S. (2011) (Eds), The Urban Potential of External Territories, FrancoAngeli, Milan.
Ostrom E. (1986), “An Agenda for the Study of Institutions”, Public Choice, University Press, Chicago.
Ostrom E. (1990), Governing the Commons: the Evolution for Institutions for Collective Action, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Ostrom E., Gardner R., Walker J. (1994), Rules, Games and Common-Pool Resources, University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor.
Sorkin M. (1992), Variations on a Theme Park: The New American City and the End of Public Space, Hill and Wang, New York.
Spanedda F. (2011), “Beyond the Bigness”, Maciocco G., Sanna G., Serreli S. (Eds), The Urban Potential of External Territories, FrancoAngeli, Milan.
Virilio P. (2004), Ville Panique. Ailleurs commende ici, Editions Galilée, Paris.

3. It is the city itself that equips itself with the instruments
necessary for its representation (De Azua 2003)
Representation of Paris is a montage of pictures (Nadar 1898)fi
Representation of city

4. !
FelixNadar,Photographiedelaplacedel’Etoile,1898

5. Planning methods and techniques cannot insist on their neutral
autonomy
Territory is a multiple act of interpretation (Steiner 1994)fi
Planning methods and techniques: sphere of responsibility

6. Does it not risk depicting a simulacrum of a city?
The risk is that technology might become the language
of a simulacrum of the city
But if language is the world, it is itself a simulacrum of knowledge
It is the city that can save technology, language from this trend
fi
The city can save technology

7. What model of a city?
Can we imagine that other models of urban life might exist
different of the dense metropolis?
Re-imagining new forms of urbanity
Externity

8. Politicians and political institutions have failed, by im-
posing standard models “from above”
Success experiences in the field of sustainability can be
found in local contexts (Ostrom 1986,1990,1994)
Environmental sustainability and local declension

9. The dense city has become a universal model for
planning and settlement
The metropolis is conceived as a homogeneous spatial
project context, the only feasible and, hence, the
inevitable perspective of urban.
Hegemony of the high-density city

12. Vast territories in Europe and in the rest of the world
disprove the interpretation of the dense city as the only
existing urban form (Ibelings 2006, Afshar 1998).
Europe and most parts of the world outside of the
European realm, are characterized by a fragile
settlement, dominated by a landscape morphology.
The space in between these islands of settlement is
neither empty, nor a reserve for the expansion of the
city.
An alternative: the low-density city

14. The development of small settlements that exist in these
territories is becoming increasingly detached from the
agricultural economy and more and more attached
to other economies. This increases the structural
interdependency with the city: alternative forms of
residence, cultural economy, tourism, leisure activities,
alternative forms of energy, etc.
These territories make – hence – up an integrating part
of urban life, in the sense that they represent lifestyles
that are alternative and complementary to those of
the metropolis, but their spatial organisation is different
in a qualitative sense (Maciocco, Sanna, Serreli 2011).
Urban potential of the territory

16. These suggestions may even be considered legitimate
if supported by quantitative data (Spanedda 2011)
UN World Urbanisation predictions: The 2005 Revisions
51% of the world population live in rural areas
25,9% of these 51% live in developed/industrialized
countries
Cities with less that 500 000 inhabitants are, and remain
the residential area for the lion part of the urban
population in the world
25% of the world population lives in small and medium
size villages (with less than 500.000 inhabitants)
9% of the world population lives in so-called mega-cities
The UN forecasts an important population-increase
mainly in contexts with less that 500 000 inhabitants
A quantitative legitimisation: the prospects of urbanisation

17. Low-density territories develop in the form of systems
of relations, that connect human settlements with the
landscape, in which settled areas, agricultural land
and natural areas create intermediate spaces
The singular urban situations of low-density contexts
contrasts strongly with the continuous and pervasive
fabric of the dense city
The low-density city with its capacity to enter in dialogue
with the landscape to which it belongs contrasts
strongly with the isolated character of urban objects in
the metropolis
The territorial future of the city

19. The low-density city with its capacity to enter in dialogue
with the landscape to which it belongs contrasts
strongly with the isolated character of urban objects in
the metropolis

20. If the close relation to the landscape is a fundamental
characteristic of low-density contexts, interesting
perspectives are opened for the city-project regarding
therelationbetweenthelandscapeandcontemporary
public space
A qualitative legitimisation : a new concept of public space

21. Driving forces behind a crisis of the myth of public space
in industrial and pre-industrial society
(Jacobs 1961 , Arendt 1958)
De-materialisation of the public sphere driven by the
media (Castells 1996,1997,1998)
Privatisation and theme-parking in cities driven by
consumerism (Sorkin1992, Augé 2000)
Militarisation and segregation characterising the
“panic-city” (Virilio 2004, Bauman 2005)
The crises of the myth of public space

23. The end of the era of representation: public space is no
longer a space of representation of civil, military and
religious power (Foucault 2001). The modern idea of
democracy and individualism takes form.
Public space is not an urban fact that necessarily has
to refer to debatable spatial forms (the square, the
street, etc.) but rather a cultural reality in the process
of transformation, connected to history.
Public space as historic place

26. In the European city it is rather the landscape than
the agorà making up the privileged space for public
deliberation.
The landscape is a new, contemporary public space,
because it associates the collective ideal (in that it is
generally being considered as a common good) with
the individual good (since it is a resource for each
individual).
Public space as landscape

29. New perspectives are available for city-projects: the
re-focusing on the new public space – that is, the
landscape-environment – and, hence, on the most
significant elements constituting it
The relationship with this new centre, urban qualities
are enhanced through the capacity of dialogue with
the landscape- environment, which is also related to
the complexity of environmental processes that take
place in the territory
Re-focusing on the city as a landscape-environment

34. The city modifies its form by emphasizing the importance
of the anchorage to the land
The city lends its symbolic potential, connected to a
new spatial organisation focusing on the environment,
to a new urban life oriented towards sustainability
A new legend

35. PROJECTS THAT REVEAL THE ENVIRONMENTAL FOCI OF THE CITY

36. The park-route in the central-eastern part of Sardinia

37. A park-route as an means for
exploring and connecting various
environmental objects dominating
the territory

39. Santa Caterina di Pittinurri

40. A degraded touristic
village without relation
with its surrounding
context
A coastal terminal of
Montiferru oriented
towards the sea
The preparation of services
that re-qualifies the
village, poses emphasis
on certain elements of
the environmental system.
This also contributes to
attributing significance to
other places in the same
territory

44. The coastal-area of Bosa

46. Rocky coast-strip adjacent
to the tourist-village of Bosa
Marina

47. An extension of the relation
between the sea and the city,
through a system of services on the
rocks
The discovery of an environmental
energy, which is almost oceanic
Not a contemplative gaze, rather a
gaze that seizes the sea as a form of
affection, an attachment.

49. The lagoons of Cabras

50. An extension of the relation
between the sea and the city,
through a system of services on the
rocks
The discovery of an environmental
energy, which is almost oceanic
Not a contemplative gaze, rather a
gaze that seizes the sea as a form of
affection, an attachment
The project consists in creating a
series of wetlands that generate
ecological equilibrium in the area,
altered by the unrestrained infusion
of urban refluents.
At the same time, the project
creates a system of public services
that are introduced close to the
wetlands, favouring new urban
centralities interconnected with the
lagoon-area.

57. An area of drained land in Arborea

61. An area of marshes transformed
by drainage in the 1930’s exposed
to intense zootechnical activities,
leading to a severe environmental
crisis in the lagoon and coastal-area.

62. a.
Planned interventions include a
system of wetlands that suits well
into the geometrical character of
the area. Actions will contribute to
reducing pollution in the coastal-
area, and to re-establish ecological
equilibrium.
At the same time, the project
includes the re-orientation towards
complementary activities and
alternative (tourism-activities, leisure,
alternative agriculture, etc.) the
settlement adjacent to the mirrors
of water that have been created
artificially. The fishing village of
Marceddi will become the service-
centre of the new area

63. The system of dunes of Pistis

64. A system of coastal dunes of
particular environmental importance
situated close to degraded tourist-
settlement

66. The project emphasises the dunes
through interventions defining the
border between the settled area
and the system of dunes.
At the same time, a system of
services will be developed through
the project, that will facilitate
the use of the coastal-zone and
a re-qualification of the urban
qualities of settlement in the
area by emphasizing the general
environmental system.

71. The valley of the Solanas river

72. One of the valleys below the
massive rocky area of the “Sette
Fratelli” shaping the coastal system
of the southern part of Sardinia

74. The valley close to the sea
is characterised by touristic
settlement – an urban sprawl,
such as the village of Solanas.
The project, defines the border of
the settlement, blocks the sprawl
and reconnects the valley to the
beach through the introduction
of a series of public services (bars,
small restaurants, facilities for sports
and leisure, etc.)

77. The new cemetery of Sassari

78. An area of particular
environmental relevance outside
of the city, degraded by an
abandoned tipping site

79. The project re-qualifies
the tipping site, which will
become a part of the
cemetery, situated in one
of the most important
valleys of the city from an
environmental point of
view.
The project focuses,
hence, on orienting the
city towards discovering
and inserting itself into its
environmental matrix

82. Il The urban and
environmental
system of Alghero,
Fertilia and the Calich lagoon

83. Alghero, a medium-sized city, a
small city founded in the 1930’s,
Fertilia separated by the natural
area consisting of a long beach
and its system of dunes and the
lagoon of Calich.

85. Interventions include making
Calich the environmental centre
of an urban settlement that
stretches from Alghero to Fertilia,
re-organizing – through a system
of public spaces – the two urban
settlements situated in the lagoon.

90. The seafront of Palau

91. A small touristic city with a
harbour – a context from which
the city appears to be detached.
Historical research reveals that
the coastline was different
before, and that the present line
is the border of an artificial bank.
Thus, we can conclude that the
geomorphology is variable to
some extent.

94. The project develops around
the idea of variability. A system
of urban services, consisting of
equipped boats is developed:
this spatial organisation connects
the city to the sea. These solutions
permit for the coastal zone to vary
so as to enable the realisation
of two possible scenarios: in one
scenario the boats remain on
the shore, in the other – in case
the coastal-line would move
backwards like in the past.

96. The botanical garden of Sassari

100. An area on the border of the
“compact city”

101. The nature takes on the form of
city, and the city takes on the
form of nature through a system
of “islands of land” with plants,
the city of stone becomes a
city of soil. Through a process of
bewildering, the city displays the
natural environment, and – in a
certain sense – its entire context.

107. The botanical garden of Caprera

108. One of the islands
of an archipelago
of considerable
importance from an
environmental point
of view. An Italian/
French natural park
that encompasses
the “Bocche di
Bonifacio”, which
is the strait that
separates Sardinia
from Corsica.

110. The botanical park will be realised
to host the typical vegetation
of the archipelago. One of the
interventions in the project will be
the placement of two ombrari
(sun-shields) crossing each other
orthogonally in the garden,
forming the axes of a roman
castrum: an urban trace found in
the nature, creating the sensation
of bewildering and reveals to the
visitors’ eyes the peculiarities of the
vegetation that otherwise would
blend in with and disappear in the
surrounding context.

113. The Paleobotanical Park of Anglona

114. A territory in the central/northern
part of Sardinia involving four
municipalities and covering a
petrified forest, consisting of
fossilised wood and trees is one of
the region’s most significant paleo-
environmental resources.
An agrarian landscape studded
with historical-cultural heritage,
immersed in a territory defined by
hills and rivers that constitute
the significant elements of the
environmental system.
Interventions include four long
ombrari (sun shields) which mainly
serve for exposing and facilitating
access to fossil finds, but first and
foremost, they indicate some of
the fundamental characters in
the landscape by opening up in
certain directions.

121. The project encourages, hence,
inhabitants of the four municipalities
as well as other visitors to discover
some of the naturalistic and
territorial qualities that make up the
central resources for representing
the territory in which individuals
recognise themselves. This gives
rise to an enhanced urban life and
strengthened relations between the
four municipalities through touristic
and cultural activities.

123. The archaeological museum of Olbia

125. The city of Olbia is situated inside
of the gulf, characterised by a big
harbour of national importance,
but with a weak relation to the sea.
This relation cannot be understood
merely by analysing geographical
location of Olbia. The city of Olbia
is situated at the inner peak of the
external gulf, while the external
coastline is studded with touristic
facilities.

126. The museum-project includes the
establishment of a building at the
bottom of the internal gulf, which
facilitates the contact between the
city and the sea. This relation is not
established by the establishment of
the building in the adjacent urban
context. The substantial scale of the
building itself suggests, as a matter of
fact, an extended system of relations
that emphasizes the urban potential
of the entire territory.

133. REFERENCES
Afshar F. (1998), “Balancing global city with global village”, Habitat International, Elsevier, n.22.
Arendt H. (1958), The Human Condition, Chicago University Press, Chicago.
Augé M. (1992), Non-lieux. Introduction à une anthropologie de la surmodernité, Seuil, Paris.
Augé M. (2000), Fictions fin de siècle, Fayard, Paris.
Bauman Z. (2005), Fiducia e paura nella città, Bruno Mondadori, Milano.
Castells M. (1996), The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture, vol 1: The Rise of the Network Society, Blackwell, Oxford.
Castells M. (1997), The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture, vol 2: The Power of Identity, Blackwell, Oxford.
Castells M. (1998), The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture, vol 3: End of Millennium, Blackwell, Oxford.
Foucault M. (2001), Spazi altri, Mimesis, Milano.
Ibelings H. (2006), “Small town Europe”, A10, n. 11, september/october , 2006
Jacobs J. (1961), The Death and Life of Great American Cities, Random House, New York.
Maciocco G., Sanna G., Serreli S. (2011) (Eds), The Urban Potential of External Territories, FrancoAngeli, Milan.
Ostrom E. (1986), “An Agenda for the Study of Institutions”, Public Choice, University Press, Chicago.
Ostrom E. (1990), Governing the Commons: the Evolution for Institutions for Collective Action, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Ostrom E., Gardner R., Walker J. (1994), Rules, Games and Common-Pool Resources, University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor.
Sorkin M. (1992), Variations on a Theme Park: The New American City and the End of Public Space, Hill and Wang, New York.
Spanedda F. (2011), “Beyond the Bigness”, Maciocco G., Sanna G., Serreli S. (Eds), The Urban Potential of External Territories, FrancoAngeli, Milan.
Virilio P. (2004), Ville Panique. Ailleurs commende ici, Editions Galilée, Paris.