Speaker
Description
The paper proposal focuses on the peculiar case of Taranto’s Old Town which today finds itself in extremely precarious conditions in terms of both spatial and social infrastructures.
The city of Taranto (Apulia, Southern Italy) is paying the consequences of a massive process of industrialization (Italian Institute for Industrial Re-construction). Its territory is undergoing one of the deepest environmental crises of Southern Europe as it is affected by severe pollution, environmental degradation and a growing public health crisis. In 2022, Taranto’s territory was included in the UN’s world list of “sacrifice zones”.
Throughout the 20th century - as a consequence of the industrial turn - the Old Town underwent an impressive diaspora: a large number of new social housing complexes were built in the outskirts of the city and, through an intervention of so-called “sanitation”, most of the inhabitants were forced to move. It gradually became a stigmatised place as it was perceived as dangerous and unsafe. The number of inhabitants decreased from 25 thousand (19th century), to less than 3 thousands.
One of the most drastic effects of the depopulation is the collapse of abandoned buildings. At the beginning of the 21st century, almost 80% of the buildings in the Old Town were no longer able to accommodate life. Entire areas are now enclosed and inaccessible and, due to the physical ruination and persistent lack of care, local communities are fragmented and fragile.
The paper could unfold in two parts:
- Part 1 aims to provide a cognitive framework of the situation including, first, an analysis of the context and processes that have led to a condition of structural crisis, and second, regeneration policies implemented by local and regional administrations.
- Part 2 takes into consideration specific cases of civic activation that, through cultural production programmes, pursue an agenda aimed at promoting a process of collective emancipation by building a renewed imagery of the city as a laboratory for urgent urban topics.
| Keywords | Precariousness; Post-disaster recovery; Possible futures |
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