Methods and Techniques in urban planning and projects

Research focus

The Peer review has evaluated this group as Good

The group refers to two Laboratories, one concerning “Methods and techniques in urban planning and projects” (MTPU) and the other “Urban project and natural resource”. Both share the interest for halfway level between townplaning, urban design, landscape, solid planimetry and architecture signs. Moreover they agree with the necessity to innovate the Italian planning tradition, from the point of view of its instruments and processes. In fact, in the last years, the country faced a deep change in the institutional frame, consisting in a strong decentralisation of powers and functions to the local authorities. Though several Regions introduced a planning local reform (among which Regione Lombardia in 2005), a national planning reform is still under discussion in Parliament, focussing on two topics: - the transformation of PRG into two plans: a long term Structure Plan, not legally binding, and an Implementation Plan in force for five years - the introduction of the transfer of development rights, which is not still included in the national law. The research activity of the two Laboratories is concerned with studying and applying different approaches in governing the transition from the traditional plan to the reform lines. Moreover, it tries to evaluate and experiment new devices in practice, developing specific consultancy with several institutional bodies in order to assess guide lines in action and methods of approaching the new processes of transformation in urban centres. A relevant part of the researches deal with the relationship between the planning process at different scales, from the urban to the local area, in order to face the paramount problems of renovation and re-use of urban fabrics, the betterment of its surroundings and the enhancement of its performances. Another line of research tries to experiment a friendly and clear communication through graphic representation of database and gis map and photo-retouch applications for the urban and landscaped setting with particular interest for relationship between rendering and traditional drawing. Specific research topics cover a wide range of activities. Project for public spaces and urban facilities supply The case studies of Master and Sectorial Plans for the cities of Cantù, Voghera, Como, Calusco d’Adda (Bg), Desenzano del Garda (Bs) have been a great opportunity to exercise in urban planning and to improve the innovation in the technical approach. A particular attention is applied to the existing parts of city and to the historical centres, which happen to be the richest and the weakest poles of our northern territory, especially from the point of view of commercial richness and vitality – a line of research studies the best method for renewing and improving the commercial network in Pavia. A sectorial plan is under discussion to form a network of pubblic upper school in Milan, related with pubblic transport, pedestrian areas and cycle paths. 17 9 The metropolitan area of Milan This case study has been treated from different points of view: - the metropolitan asset and the opportunities of regeneration promoted by the Regione Lombardia and Provincia di Milano; - the strategies e politics for developping green system and parks with a specific interest in the water network, as an instrument for urban projects in a metropolitan area; - the resources of the Milan territory, such as the industry legacy of the brown fields and its transformation process in the last twenty years; - Milan strengths and weaknesses in transportation, land uses and public facilities; - the railway belt in the urban landscape: the challenge is how it is possible to transform this barrier in new opportunities for the town and especially in the suburbs of Milan; - the construction of a data base system of integrated information on Milan; - a proposal for a Structure Plan, with urban projects for different parts of the city, introducing normative tools to exploit the positive aspects and to reduce the negative items. Architectural Signs The interests, between practice and theory, are about the relationships between drawing-technique and design, the symbolic effects of the architectural work, landscape project and urban townplanning on the whole society, and the analysis and the representation of the connecting signs to the contemporary culture. These signs would have to join the values of the customers, the topographical and cultural context, and the multi-faceted memory of the old architecture. In order to obtain these objectives we use the “drawing instruments” and the “design techniques” of the contemporary architecture. The mission of the research is to find a linguistical correspondence between architecture on the one hand, and customer/context/morphology/technology/tipology on the other hand.

Departments

Dipartimento di Architettura e Pianificazione (DIAP)

Professors

Full Professors
Valeria Erba
Associate Professor
Antonello Boatti
Assistant Professors
Alessandro Bianchi
Annapaola Canevari
Antonio Galanti
Laura Pogliani