Speaker
Description
Community-driven urban regeneration has long been a significant topic in urban policies and planning, sparking debates on the potential of bottom-up approaches, the risks of top-down interventions, and the role of spaces and funding. Scholars agree that this phenomenon lacks a unified theory and requires empirical observation to understand its dynamics, rooted in trial-and-error practices and tailored techniques within the broader urban regeneration discourse.
A consensus among European scholars is that public actors must guide and ensure collective ownership of outcomes in community-driven urban regeneration. This approach guarantees that the benefits reach all citizens, including those unable—or excluded from—participating, but still affected by the results. This need for public leadership gains new relevance with the availability of unprecedented funding through programs like Next Generation EU and its National Recovery and Resilience Plans (NRRPs). These resources present a unique opportunity to implement ideas long discussed by scholars.
In Italy, the PNRR (Piano Nazionale di Ripresa e Resilienza) operates with the largest funding allocation in Europe, enabling cities—both municipalities and metropolitan cities— to orchestrate and directly implement urban regeneration projects. Under time constraints and the perception of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, many PNRR projects are targeting areas where slow, community-driven regeneration processes have long been underway. The injection of significant financial resources is, in many cases, addressing the challenges and limitations that community-led initiatives have faced in past decades. For instance, the Metropolitan Cities of Bologna and Florence are leveraging PUI (Programmi Urbani Integrati) funding to support regeneration projects in areas with established histories of community-driven actions, though each case presents unique characteristics.
The Former Cartiera Burgo in Bologna exemplifies an intervention centered on the large- scale requalification of a former industrial building. Here, the project designers opted to “inhabit” the construction site gradually, integrating local social entrepreneurs to properly territorialize the influx of financial resources. This approach is particularly significant for a small village that had never experienced such substantial investments.
Tenuta Mondeggi in Florence is another funded initiative where urban regeneration intersects with a longstanding community appropriation process of a former agricultural estate. This overlap highlights the potential for tensions and conflicts when large-scale public investments converge with grassroots initiatives.
Exploring the two cases of Bologna and Florence the contribution will critically illustrate if and how public funding under the PNRR has the potential to act as a catalyst for sustainable urban regeneration, particularly when it intersects with pre-existing community-driven processes. A critical element in this dynamic is the role of social entrepreneurs, who act as mediators and drivers of innovation in urban regeneration, their potential in mobilize local knowledge, resources, and networks, social entrepreneurs ensure that investments are not only efficiently utilized but also deeply rooted in the social and cultural fabric of the area.
Finally, the study highlights the evolving role of metropolitan cities as strategic actors, no longer merely coordinators but designers of interventions. It concludes with recommendations for optimizing community-led processes during periods of significant but temporary resource availability and reflects on how these lessons can inform sustainable development practices.
