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The aim of the essay is to analyse the ways in which institutions use an artistic practice such as Street Art for the self-description of their culture, as in the case of the Taranto Regeneration Urban Street. In a socio-political context characterised in recent years by strong conflicts due to the effects of pollutants from one of Europe's largest steelworks, the Municipality of Taranto promotes a vast Street Art operation involving dozens of facades. The documentary describing the project is a useful text for understanding if and how institutions promote memories, define oblivion and narcotize conflicts.

Nel diciassettesimo secolo il Simkeşhane era il palazzo della Zecca ottomana costruito sul Forum Tauri (il Foro di Teodosio), il più grande forum di Costantinopoli nel quarto secolo a.C. Le vicende relative all’edificio e al suo contesto urbano sono caratterizzate da conflitti tra diversi attori e istituzioni. Negli anni Trenta del ventesimo secolo, il governo repubblicano aveva invitato Henri Prost (1874-1959) per il progetto di un nuovo piano regolatore urbano per Istanbul. Tra gli obiettivi di piano vi era la valorizzazione dell’Arco di Trionfo del Foro, situato nel cortile del Simkeşhane che Prost prevedeva di demolire. Il progetto di dismissione per favorire la città bizantina a scapito di quella ottomana fu definito dal Comitato per la Conservazione dei Monumenti Storici (Eski Eserleri Koruma Encümeni). Negli anni Cinquanta, il potere del governo repubblicano però passò in mano all’opposizione per un decennio, dunque si abbandonò l’obiettivo di secolarizzazione della società turca. Il nuovo governo, con il supporto degli Stati Uniti nella seconda metà degli anni Cinquanta, lanciò un nuovo ambizioso progetto urbano per Istanbul che prevedeva la distruzione di interi quartieri storici. Il Simkeşhane fu pertanto totalmente demolito per la creazione della grande arteria stradale del corso Ordu (Ordu Caddesi), pur restando una delle azioni più controverse del programma filostatunitense.

When the dominion of the sacred is read against the light, what are the morphological and urban implications of spaces, architecture and religious presences that must give way to logics and policies that dominate them? As an interesting key study, we can analyse the demolition of the cathedral in Mondovì, a flourishing cultural centre in Piedmont, when it was decided to transform the magnificent temple into a military structure in 1573. The overall architectural and urban dimension of the building was totally transformed. The civil and religious architecture, that was consolidated in the post-Tridentine period, underwent disruptive transformations when the city was the seat of Bishop Michele Ghislieri (later Pius V). Mondovì was characterised by exceptional intellectual vivacity, if compared to other Piedmontese centers, with the university, an avant-garde typography, the Jesuit college. At a time when the choices and priorities regarding the urban vocation were renewed, new real estate and demographic dynamics were defined, linked to the resilience of religious orders and new social groups. This paper deals with the analysis and comparison between different documentary and iconographic sources, which are not a homogeneous corpus but allow the study of the religious presence in the city and the verification of urban policies. The essay also tries to focus on dynamics not yet explored and by direct comparison with other cities, in particular with Savona and its transformations after the loss of autonomy in 1528.

According to the United Nations (UN), about 70% of the world’s population projected to live in urban areas by 2050. Therefore, cities are experiencing an enormous urban transition the world has ever seen, accounting for 80% of global carbon dioxide emissions, consuming over two-thirds of the world’s energy, and producing 1.3 billion tons of waste per year. Leaders, governments, architects, urban designers, developers, planners and business leaders need to make decisions and find solutions for how billions of urbanites will live in the future. Therefore, future cities will require new design principles to face their urban challenges and problems such as pollution, poverty, poor environment, land use management, green-house gas emissions and socio-economic and environmental risks. In this context, the case study area of this paper will be El Raval district, which is in a medieval quarter of Barcelona. This area considered as one of the oldest and a significant part of the city that contains many heritage buildings and unique traditional urban context going back to hundreds of years. The district has an influx of immigrants, which has transformed its label from an industrial neighbourhood into a residential one and low rents that have attracted many people of low income, making it a vibrant and multicultural community. Therefore, the main aim of this paper is to address the implementation of innovative solutions, advanced technologies, ICT and IoT that might enhance people participation in the urban design processes and respond to urban futures challenges. The result of this research will lead to creating a platform to resolve the conflicting values of architectural heritage and smart cities principles, sourcing new sustainable technologies and the integration of the smart infrastructure systems.DOI: https://doi.org/10.20365/disegnarecon.23.2019.14

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The rescue of the issue of patrimony in its cultural confinement has been conducted according to patterns of European cities. These pattern sare difficult to apply in other situations; therefore it is important to confront them with the various society transformation processes and its substrate material. The transformation of Guadalajara’s Downtown in the mid-twentieth century represent the virtual elimination of urban heritage of the city, which is a very different example of radical reshaping functional and social space- This is induced by the new regime of accumulation deployed at that time which allows consideration on the meaning of another context, alternatives and opportunities to introduce the heritage dimension in the evolution of the city.

Urban areas in China have dramatically changed since its opening to a market economy in 1978. In Beijing, the transformation of the old city reflects modifications in society, politics and economy. The old urban pattern, that has a unique architectural and social heritage, has been demolished at the expense of business centers, shopping malls and luxury housing. This article proposes to monitor these changes using satellite images. The results allow us to date, quantify and spatialize morphological changes. Results are compared with bibliographic references and highlight urban development policies such as housing reform in 1991 and preparation for the 2008 Olympic Games. It is estimated that over half of the old urban pattern was demolished, and it is showed that Chinese authorities have difficulties to preserve its heritage while meeting the needs of urban modernity.

This paper describes and analyzes socio-spatial inequalities in the cities of Besançon, Mulhouse, and Strasbourg and their evolutions, both from the categorization of spaces and from the urban heritage. The idea is not only to better understand how inequalities develop in cities, but also to measure and track the dynamics of these inequalities between 1990 and 2007, which reveal specific socio-spatial structures and evolutionary factors. Each of the three study areas has its own specific characteristics (from a geohistorical, cultural, socio-economic and political point of view) and its own evolutionary trends (towards varying degrees of socio-spatial mix). More exactly, the mobilization of spaces took place mainly around the historical center especially in Besançon and Strasbourg, but also within the most attractive zones initially favoured by the bourgeoisie. As for the recent general evolutionary trend, it is towards the improvement of the socio-economic conditions of Besançon, to the pauperization of Mulhouse and finally both to the gentrification and the degradation of Strasbourg.

Aim of the paper is a reflection on the concept of Historical Town and on the issues in its surveying. The background is analyzed to state the more significant topics and to trace an operational line of study. The point of view is the historical-critical methodology for architectural analysis. The urban heritage is seen as a work of art made by the sylloge of architectures and urban spaces, defined by the modification and stratifications processes occurred during centuries. In particular the values of the urban heritage roots on a “relational” system; it can be studied with historical synchronic and diachronic interpretations and values’ judgments, useful to make evident the current characteristics, i.e. what we have to preserve.

The proposal of a sustainable mobility project for the use of assets requires evaluations regarding the balances that regulate the territory and its functions that necessarily involve the introduction of the concept of quality. The efficiency of public transport and collective services, the well-kept historical center, the suburbs integrated and connected with the entire city, a strong morphological and cultural identity of the settlement, are, on the whole, the results that a careful project of the territory should be able to achieve. This contribution intends to deal with the issue of public mobility and accessibility in a view of territorial development linked to the use of the urban area asset of Reggio Calabria.

Copyright of Storia Urbana is the property of FrancoAngeli srl and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Storia Urbana is the property of FrancoAngeli srl and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Storia Urbana is the property of FrancoAngeli srl and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The Management Plan for the Old City of Salamanca, assigned by the Castilla y León Government, is the result of the current UNESCO directives oriented to introduce new management tools fitted for any case. However practically does not exist experience. In this context the plan guides its main scope, the efficiency in the “outstanding universal value” protection and revalorization for justifying the Salamanca inclusion in the World List, with an innovative development of the “historical urban landscape” concept. This is focused from three perspectives: the territory, the inner city landscape and the intangible landscape. This paper explains the elements of the proposal –now involved in its approval process-, the Management Plan and the plan for the Urban Conservation Area included in it. But, over all, this paper shows an open model for understanding the urban heritage components, model which is in the basis of the improvement principles applied.

The aim of this study was to characterize of Historic Centers from establishing linkages between demographic and housing dynamics, assuming that these dynamics are the result, or more or less direct referrals, the territorial context that welcomes urban that contain them. We adopt, therefore, as a field of analysis, a specific area of the city, one who has purchased its characterization as a historic, considering that the behavior of the field, can be derived very specific consequences will affect the dynamics of the city as a whole. To do this, we will take as a reference to Castilian territory, selecting for study, those containing urban historical areas declared as Cultural Interest.

Since the Vienna Memorandum, and after six years of expert meetings and debates, it is programmed that UNESCO’s General Conference adopts at its 36th session, in autumn 2011, a Recommendation which proposes a new approximation to urban historic ensembles conservation. The historic urban landscape means to adapt conservation of urban heritage according to the requirements of the sustainability, and advance towards an integrated consideration of different heritage kinds and its accounts. But at same time it generates serious problems of interpretation and application. The term “landscape” is in fashion, and it allows to embrace numerous aspects with one word; there are so many that the term becomes imprecise, difficult to apply, and easy to distort. On the other hand, historic urban landscape is proposed as an answer to ‘new’ problems of urban ensembles conservation; but in its proposal is lacking the critic reflection in regards to the social issue (how to revitalize, without gentrifying, the historic urban ensemble) that, established decades ago, is far from being solved.

This text is a contribution to a reassessment of the role of the historical centre of Covilhã, a town seeking affirmation and whose recent expansion is remarkable. We do this by analyzing the material collected in interviews with local people, on individual and collective behalf, who have their representations strongly shaped by the wool-factory industries and by a traditional town planning which is typical of the upland morphology. The intertwining of the factory with the residential fabric has reached such a density that Covilhã was classified as “factory town” in contrast to a diffuse industrialization that has shaped many other regions of the country. This social and urban scenery is viewed in the context of an open reading of the concept of heritage towards its extension to areas deemed of heritage value, being now old-fashioned or about to be destroyed, and that are the hallmarks of the historical specificity of the urbanization of Covilhã.

The article identifies the Italian Districts around the world to be conceived as an Urban Heritage, linked to cultural identities that are recently recognizable through the culture of the ethnic food. Among the districts, it focuses on the Little Italy of New York as a case study for the introductory methodology of more research developments. This essay, is a part of a larger project for the identification of all “Little Italies” and Italian Districts around the world to create a data base by a joint Research Project of the two Universities Sapienza of Rome and Politecnico di Torino. The “food & heritage” coupling arises from the awareness that food and cultural identity are the backbone of any region, according with the inclusion of gastronomic landscapes of the UNESCO sites. The essay highlights some important stages leading to the creation of the Little Italy’s most famous in the world and its urban image, through literary sources, guides, and iconography in order to consider how and why the district has become an urban heritage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the various cultural and technical inputs provided by the Politecnico di Torino and by the broader scientific community of Piedmont to defining a method of historical investigation into cultural heritage on an urban and regional scale. This method aimed at connecting the interpretation of cultural heritage with urban and landscape planning. Since the 1970s, the idea of a ‘project of knowledge’ – a notion explored and implemented by Vera Comoli in her researches – has promoted a fertile debate between urban historians, conservation officers, planners and administrators, constituting a truly interdisciplinary field rooted in civil society and local policies. The social practice of ‘heritage building’, therefore, is realised by an action of cultural and academic identification, and by daily conservation activities connected with territorial and landscape management at different levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking the problematic status of “urban heritage land” in Mali as its starting point, this text considers the possibility of a new patrimonial gaze. This approach centers new principles of heritage in a material perspective rooted in a specific place and culture. The Malian case asks us to consider numerous remarkable urban heritage sites that would not survive except as permanent construction sites. That is, the longevity of fragile architectural structures would not be possible without constant repairs. The role of the construction site invites us to consider urban heritage as a phenomenon that is dependent on intangible cultural production. A consideration of the immaterial side of urban heritage allows us to observe the changes that are inherent in the perpetual reestablishment of cultures. This understanding of heritage allows us to track an ontological reversal anchored in the specificity of a localized culture. What are the ontological foundations of Malian urban heritage in earth? Moreover, does this “new heritage” open the doors to the Other of contemporary architecture? And do these new considerations of urban heritage engender a new gaze on contemporary African cities, and in particular, the process of informal urbanization?

Energy consumption in buildings is responsible for more than 40% of France greenhouse gas emissions. Thus, the “thermal rehabilitation” of housing buildings, i.e. works to improve their energetic performance, appears as a great challenge for sustainable urban development. However, it faces the difficulty of conciliating heritage protection and the adaptation of old buildings. Through the Paris case study, this article explores how energy issues shed a new light on the debate on heritage and sustainable development. After a quick presentation of the specificity of old buildings with regard to energy consumption, this text examines the context of the thermal rehabilitation of the Parisian heritage, the policies put into action by the Municipality of Paris, and their limits. Although the debate is still largely dominated by the question of the visual impact on the urban landscape of thermal rehabilitation solutions, the absence of a clearly defined discourse makes it difficult to achieve the particularly ambitious objectives set by the Municipality of the French capital.

This paper investigates the pre-modern urban development of Medina during the Ottoman reign within the framework of the Ottoman administration of the Arab provinces. Specifically, the spatial organization of Medina is investigated based on multiple visual, cadastral and historical sources. Although Medina was remote from the center of political power, it maintained an articulated significance for the Ottoman state structure, as much as the major provincial cities. This is evident in the continuous Ottoman role in staging its own image in Medina by introducing typical Ottoman hallmarks of urbanization. However, the spiritual significance of Medina, in turn, molded the applied methods of spatial organization, which had to be attuned to the religious sanctions and sensitive loci of worship. By the end of the Ottoman presence in Arabia, the resulting urban character and texture of the city reflected a fusion of spatial innovations with deep-rooted tradition, which shaped a lasting historical image of Medina.