COLLAGE CITY. RIGENERAZIONE URBANA PER LA CITTA' DI TARANTO

Abstract

The paper returns, in a critical key, the results of the design experimentation developed by the Politecnico di Milano working group that has tackled the theme of the architectural and urban regeneration of the areas of Tamburi, Salinella and Paolo VI in Taranto, a broader reflection on the techniques, strategies and methodologies applied according to the new objectives defined by the United Nations Urban Agenda for the development of urban policies on the theme of social inclusion, economic and environmental sustainability. The three areas represent singular case studies peculiar to the design culture in our country of public housing and their settlement models and mark the different historical thresholds of the philosophy of living in Italy in the last century. The areas of design reflection that are considered actual "urban enclaves" today are relegated to the neighbourhoods that are marginalized from social life even though they express a significant role of potential centrality for their identity and for the strategic position they are able to assume in the overall configuration of the city of Taranto for the future development of its regeneration. The individual design solutions for the three different neighbourhoods proposed by the working group have taken the opportunity for a broader rethinking of the entire urban ecosystem of the city of Taranto. These solutions are coherent not only with the functional program linked to the Social Housing theme and requested by the Public Administration but also to the issues related to the reading of the urban context, the social conditions of the public housing neighbourhoods involved and to the economic and environmental factors. The background of the listed issues was the regeneration of the open space, particularly of some significant abandoned urban voids in the city that are strategic for the project objectives due to their location within the morphological fabric of the town.