Urban Planning and Mobility Critical Issues in Post-Earthquake Configuration: L’Aquila City Case Study

This paper reviews the critical issues of the current urban planning, mobility and accessibility in the post-earthquake (2009) settlement configuration of L’Aquila urban area (Italy), the medieval centre of which has a unique architectural and artistic heritage. The purpose of the study is to analyse the L’Aquila urban planning experiences in order to trace the relationship between the mobility and the spatial structure of the city. The current scenario is considered both as the result of the historical evolution of the settlement and as a dynamic system in which a mix of natural forces, decisional choices and technical expertise have operated. The result of the research is a preliminary proposal for the implementation of the public transportation system that is obtained by integrating a re-designed existing railway line with a sustainable concepts of mobility based on a “dense grid” network.