Over the last few years, the central role of culture in urban regeneration and the sustainability of social innovation policies has finally been recognised, thanks to the ongoing efforts of public institutions, third sector organisations, local communities and the research community. Culture, therefore, is not merely a solution for the regeneration of spaces and areas, but the sole lever capable of triggering lasting processes of inclusion, cohesion and sustainable development.
This publication offers a response to the methodological question. Indeed, thanks to the analyses and contributions of experts and scholars, it reviews programmes and projects from various editions of the Laboratory of Contemporary Creativity and other similar public initiatives, and demonstrates admirably that understanding, evaluating and giving back, when accompanied by constant listening and an in-depth understanding of places, are the only possible actions for building and consolidating conscious pathways towards the regeneration of places’ fragility and marginality, and for effectively guiding the search for a renewed and sustainable social balance.