Speakers
Description
In recent decades, an increasing number of cities worldwide have incorporated tactical urbanism into their urban planning strategies challenging traditional governance schemes and well-established planning approaches.
Some local administrations have developed structured tactical urban planning programs, defining criteria and priorities for implementing tactical experiments through a comprehensive, citywide approach. Otherwise, others have implemented individual transformations isolated one from another. The different interpretations of tactical urbanism vary according to the needs and objectives: it can be employed as a demonstration tool by the citizens, as a response to an urgent need, or as a test bed for structural transformations that the administration may implement.
This contribution explores the experience of Genoa, an Italian city currently experimenting with tactical urbanism through a first pilot test. This initiative is intended as the starting point for developing an urban-scale strategy aimed at scaling similar interventions across different neighbourhoods citywide.
The pilot project involved the municipal administration in collaboration with the Departments of Urban Planning and Design of Politecnico di Milano as scientific consultants to support the whole decision-making process: from the selection of the suitable areas, thanks to a qualitative-quantitative study conducted by the university, to the design and implementation of the interventions through a participatory process involving residents and local stakeholders.
The combination of interdisciplinary expertise was is crucial in addressing the project’s various phases. This collaboration facilitated inputs such as accessibility analysis, interviews, design, participation. The process required a continuous trade-off between the findings of qualitative-quantitative research, the aspirations of the population, and the technical, economic and administrative feasibility of the proposed interventions as assessed by the municipal administration.
The incremental nature of the process provided a learning-by-doing opportunity for the actors involved in its implementation, particularly the municipal administration, which for the first time is facing a dynamic, uncertain planning process charaterised by an innovative modus operandi: a more rapid, shared and participatory planning process, both in the identification of the areas on which to intervene and in the definition of the entities of the transformations. Adjustments, and thus changes, were necessary during the project, both in terms of the tools and methods utilized and the process.
This paper will present the experience conducted, discussing its process, adjustments and implications for the project. Some limitations and strengths will emerge: a flexible timeline that underwent continuous adjustments due to political changes, the involvement and turnover of different referents within the municipality; a slow, but constant dialogue between various levels of the administration (municipality and town hall); a continuous interaction between different expertise within the administration (involvement of several directorates) and the university .
In the context of an administrative apparatus confronted with an experimental scenario, these elements, far from being of minor significance, have facilitated the conceptualisation of suitable recalibrations and adjustments to the adopted approach. These reflections are fundamental in enabling the administration to adopt a working method applicable in other contexts and to develop an urban strategy.
| Keywords | tactical urbanism; decision-making process; local participatory governance; actors; institutions; |
|---|---|
| Best Congress Paper Award | Yes |
