San Lorenzo neighborhood in Rome was once known for its graffiti art and as a "hotbed" of creativity. However, recent research finds this portrayal of the neighborhood's identity to be incomplete. Interviews with long-time resident Grazia Masi reveal that gentrification has changed the character of San Lorenzo. Where artists once lived among ordinary people, wealthy "fashionable" individuals now claim to be artists. Grazia finds the neighborhood dirtier and less caring, and plans to leave for the sake of her child. Ethnographic research into people's experiences can provide an important human-centric layer of understanding for urban design.

1. ROMAN NEIGHBORHOODS:
THE SAN LORENZO DERIVÉ
JOEL RICH
ROSS PAPA
MATT DOLNIK
GEORGINA CHAPLIN
IAT392

2. GRUPPO CINQUE’S RESEARCH
SAN LORENZO’S QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS
Last year, CINQUE identified the San Lorenzo neighbourhood’s physical
patterns and illustrated the flow of people’s movements and their
spatial usage. They developed a way of understanding the people’s
lifestyles and how it is part of the identity of San Lorenzo.
From their research, we recognize San Lorenzo as “‘hotbed’ of Rome”
where their “Graffiti art is world class.”
This year, we entered San Lorenzo and were able to relate to their
findings. However, after engaging with the neighbourhood ourselves, we
believe that it is an incomplete portrait of San Lorenzo’s identity.

3. ARGUMENT
It is incomplete because it can potentially take away
the human from the situation, which is one of the
concerns of the situationists from the 1950s when
GRUPPO SEI’s REFLECTION they looked at architecture and urbanism they were
afraid that cities were losing their humanity. So we
used their tactics and developed their “drifts” in
hoping to create a new method to see a social situa-
tion, city, neighbourhood, country, more holistically .
SCIENTIFIC IDENTITY
ARTFULNESS
SCIENTIFIC ARTFULNESS

4. VIEW OF THE SITUATIONIST
“The Situationists set out to devise ‘situations’, or experimental practices aimed at raising
awareness vis-à-vis the general conditions that prevail in a place or society.” Guy Debord

5. PSYCHOGEOGRAPHY
Psychogeography is the study of
overlapping and layered experiences and
memories that make up a key part of
understanding a neighborhood’s identity.
It looks at how we understand the space
between “person” and “place”.

6. PLASTIC
According to the Situationists, People and their envi-
ronments (built or not) are plastic; bendable but with
clear boundaries and definitions. When put over
heat, they melt, mix and become each other. The
person and their environment take on aspects of
each other or become a new entity altogether.
Example: San Lorenzo took on the personality,
revolutionary spirit and humor of its residences
through the graffiti. But, in doing so it also became
something of an art gallery.

7. Thus, what is it to be CONTEXTUAL?
- Physical geography
- Architecture (patterns)
- Urban planning
- Industries
- People’s needs

8. Thus, what is it to be CONTEXTUAL?
- Physical geography
- Architecture (patterns)
- Urban planning
- Industries
- People’s needs
- Personalities
- Narratives
- Identities

9. THESIS
Can drift/physcogeography be a viable research method
that can lead to a more human-centric, experience
driven, socially sustainable approach to urban design?

10. DERIVE/DRIFT
Drift is way of moving through a space propelled
by moments of interest thus creating a natural
flow through an urban environment.

11. COGNITIVE MAPS
Our experiences with the different ambiences of the city.
Our drifts in a SITUATIONISTS’ MINDSET/LENS?
Compile findings compare with perceptions

16. RAPID
ETHNOGRAPHY
Being in a space for as long as possible to understand the
demographic more clearly.

17. INTERVIEWS
FLAVIO RISCIATELLI
Fondazione Pastifici Cerere, San Lorenzo
NICOLAS PENNESTRI
Pastifici Cerere, San Lorenzo
Photographer + Film-maker
GRAZIA MASCI
Pastifici Cerere, San Lorenzo
Scuola Romana di Fotografia

18. INTERVIEWS
FLAVIO RISCIATELLI
Fondazione Pastifici Cerere, San Lorenzo
“The old artists live here now
NICOLASthey can afford it...
because PENNESTRI
Pastifici are stars now”
they Cerere,Film-maker
San Lorenzo
Photographer +
GRAZIA MASCI
Pastifici Cerere, San Lorenzo
Scuola Romana di Fotografia

19. INTERVIEWS
FLAVIO RISCIATELLI
Fondazione Pastifici Cerere, San Lorenzo
“The old artists live here now
NICOLASthey can afford it...
because PENNESTRI
Pastifici are stars now”
they Cerere,Film-maker
San Lorenzo
Photographer +
“It’s too expensive now...
GRAZIA MASCI
PastificiLorenzo goes to a
San Cerere, San Lorenzo
new area now”
Scuola Romana di Fotografia

20. INTERVIEWS
FLAVIO RISCIATELLI
Fondazione Pastifici Cerere, San Lorenzo
NICOLAS PENNESTRI
Pastifici Cerere, San Lorenzo
Photographer + Film-maker
GRAZIA MASCI here...you can go to
“It’s good to live
the bar and just talk about your
Pastifici Cerere, San Lorenzo
Scuola Romana di Fotografia
projects and collaborate...”

21. INTERVIEW GRAZIA MASCI
Pastifici, San Lorenzo
Scuola Romana di Fotografia
> born + raised, works + lives in San Lorenzo

22. THE NEIGHBORHOOD TODAY
GRAZIA MASCI
For me now, it [S.Lorenzo] does not feel good
anymore. It hasn’t gotten better. There’s graffiti but
it’s degrading—messy, and dirty. I don’t see the
beautiful things.
The Trastevere neighborhood is better because it is
Old Rome. There are people and administration who
take care of the place but in S.Lorenzo it is just left
abandoned, nobody cares, everything falls apart.

23. THE PEOPLE TODAY
GRAZIA MASCI
Slowly, some people like me will want to go away. The people that remain stay here
are not necessarily the best people.
University: many students are keeping the area alive, however, some students are
not so good because they don’t think –they want everything now with their freedom.
They are not knowledged and not thinking about the future.
Most of the students that come here in S.Lorenzo aren’t coming from Rome. They
are coming outside because they have the money. These kinds of students are not
helping. They just do what they want and leave things there—they don’t care.

24. THE PEOPLE + ARTISTRY
GRAZIA MASCI
It’s [San Lorenzo] just fashion now. I don’t think They like to stay with the simple people and
that a place does anything for the artist. An artist feel like an artist.
is an artist wherever.
don’t need to work, they just play to be an
It was most creative here in Pasitifico and only artist. But an artist a real artist is a person
here because S.Lorenzo 10 years ago, was a looking something in life to say, to express.
neighbourhood with simple people, no Something inside to put out. This is an artist
rich/intellectuals, just poor people. Pastificio was the rest are just aesthetics, something
a place that was abandoned and then the artists nice—this is not an artist.
came here because of the low-costs with the
large spaces allowing artists to work. This is why
they came. There was nothing but walls. No light
The place is just like a dress. I don’t think the
place is the most stimulant. In the past 5 years,
the Pasitfici has changed because that’s when
real artists with not so much money came here
with real fire (passion).
In the past. there were real artists where in the
atmosphere/the area, you feel the people and
creativity but now not anymore. It’s all business
now. I don’t feel this sensation anymore within the
factory and with the artists and creativity.
Slowly, the place became a fashionable place
where “artists” with money coming in are not
artists but rich people who want to be artists,
that’s different.

25. GRAZIA’S SAN LORENZO
GRAZIA MASCI
Where I stay now (within Pastifici), there are too many pubs, bars and young people with no
heads; not nice. I would go near the cemetery because it is quiet and clean.
I will probably go away from S.Lorenzo I don’t like it especially for my child. It’s nice
because it is the centre of Rome.
I would like to live here because I work here but I cannot because the price is too much for
what is S. Lorenzo is giving me.
I don’t really go anywhere now. For my child, I’m not sure where to go—the park is dirty
and there are many bad people that are violent. If I do want to go somewhere else, I’ll take
the scooter and go elsewhere.

26. Ethnographic research may not be considered into urban design but refining this is
important in rediscovering another layer of contextuality adding a human narrative
on top of the aesthetic coherence and scientific observations of a neighborhood.

27. REFLECTION
There needs to be a give and take between
people and their environment. If there isn’t,
communities won’t be able to sustain them-
selves. This can be a foundational concept
for the idea as well as some first steps in de-
signing with Social Sustainability in mind.

28. CONCLUSION
San Lorenzo has become a party/art gallery. An artistic
party but it is too ‘hip,’ too much about being cool ...It’s
not about needing to give something but going to get
something. You want it because it’s fashionable because
it’s fun but is it really that ‘crunchy’?

29. REFERENCES
Novakov, A. (2003). EDUCATIVE ACTIONS: The Application of Situationist International Urban Terminology and Practices
to the Teaching of Contemporary Art
Debord, G. (1958). Theory of the Derive
Pederson, C et al. (2006). Taming the Situationist Beast
McDouough, T. (1996). The Derive and Situationist Paris