Spatial Planning; Spatial Policy; Macroregions; Governance; Cohesion; Glocalization
DONATO DI LUDOVICO FEDERICO D’ASCANIO
3 LOCAL TFS. THE INNER AREAS OF MEDIAN ITALY
The TFS + Macroregion model, both nationally and locally, was subjected to a first experimental test in the
“Territory Project ‘Joint 2’ Abruzzo” (RegAbr, 2015) study already referred. In particular, the study, oriented towards the construction of a localized partnership in the so-called “Median Italy” (central Italy), had the objective of building common development projects with particular attention to the most in crisis inner areas (Act, 2013). In this case, it has been positively tested the opportunity to build a Macroregion (ant its partnership), the Median Macroregion (Fig. 3 on the left) (Di Ludovico & Properzi, 2015), and the opportunity to prepare territorial/spatial development projects based on TFs at national level – NTFs and local (Di Ludovico & Properzi, 2015; Di Ludovico et al., 2015).
Even these frames of national and local level, as for the European ones, were characterized through the synthetic indicators of the physical and socio-economic components, clearly showing the division between northern Italy, with strong industrial connotation, and southern Italy, with a naturalistic-environmental and agricultural connotation. These indicators were used as a design tool to define strategies to increase the performance of TFs and their components.
The identification of NTFs within the Median Macroregion has highlighted frames often incomplete, in particular in the south, derived from infrastructural deficits that isolated and marginalized the more decentralized and weak territories that were consequently left out from the development processes that have been concentrated around the big cities, from the metropolitan ones to the global ones (Taylor, 2004) and in the more accessible and competitive territories. In the vertices of NTFs there are often historical settlements and middle-level cities (Properzi, 2016) or metropolitan, which are then the urban poles in which the services of higher and rare level are concentrated. The connective branches of NTFs were sometimes affected by a post-industrial development for linear diffusion, with an essentially productive characterization (industrial areas) and commercial. Within the quadrangles of NTFs there are often agricultural activities, scattered settlements, historical villages, and also naturalistic areas and landscapes of great value.
In Fig. 4, on the right is a project process based on the development of local NTFs "Pescara-Teramo-L'Aquila-Avezzano-Sulmona" and its components as described above. It is a quadrangle that embraces an
area that goes from the Adriatic coast to the Gran Sasso mountain, affecting one of the weakest and in crisis inner areas of the Median Macroregion.
The strategic project connected to this local NTFs, including those of the strategic framework of the aforesaid Macroregion, is spread over 3 axes:
the Territorial Frames: completeness, strengthening, connection (with Europe and the internal of TFS);
settlement development, local identity, research and innovation (with a focus on the earthquake area 2009 and 2016);
enhancement of natural, cultural, landscape and tourism resources.
These three project axes are first of all based on the development and completion of the NTFs that characterize them. Then, on the implementation of the city networks, of which some poles are at the vertices of NTFs, but most are within the frame. These networks, whose components are tangible and intangible, connect the internal territories of TFS with the same TFS and therefore the “local” territories with the “global” ones and thus compete with all the regions involved (Di Ludovico et al., 2014), thus exceeding the unbalanced European polycentrism in favour of a “Horizontal (non-hierarchical) networks” model (Boix, 2003). We refer, in the first instance to the concept of integrated network elaborated by Roberto Camagni (Camagni, 2017), in which different logics overlap on the territory, both because of a temporal succession and because they refer to different aspects or to different types of activities, giving rise to a complex scheme of superimposed spatial structures. These are the “complementary networks”, formed of specialised and complementary centres, the “Synergy Networks”, formed by cooperating centres, and “innovation networks”, consisting of centres cooperating on specific projects in order to reach a sufficient critical Mass (Camagni, 2017). The research identified these networks only at the preliminary level, leaving their in-depth study to future developments.
Fig. 3 On the left the TFs of the Median Macroregion (left) and the Strategic Project of the TFs "Pescara-Teramo-L'Aquila-Avezzan- Sulmona" / Axis 1 (right) (Source: Benedetta Di Giacobbe)
4 CONCLUSION
The research set out in this article represents the evolution of the Italian Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport – MIT and of the Abruzzo Region (It) study named “Territory Project ‘Joint 2’ Abruzzo” (RegAbr, 2015), which concerns the construction of a partnership located in the so-called Median Italy (Central Italy) oriented to the construction of joint development projects with particular attention to the most in-crisis inner areas (Act, 2013). This study investigated the potential of national macroregion (on the model of European ones), identifying the Median Macroregion as a reference for spatial/territorial development projects and laid
the foundations for the design of the model of TFs applied in the research in a cross-scalar logic, from Europe to the local level.
The research has highlighted some limits and issues, which required to be in some depth. The absence of any European reference framework for spatial policies; the lack of data verified at national and European level (transport, landscape, cultural heritage, etc.); the vagueness of the polycentric model and its inability to adapt to the different scales; the lack of experience on new levels of governance.
The main objective of the research is to cultivate a new season of spatial planning geared towards the integration of territories through a cross-scalar approach, and to the activation of new sustainable development processes, with particular reference to economically disadvantaged inner areas in a context of macroregional governance.
The next research steps intervene on some of the criticalities described and apply first of all the deepening of the transport themes connected to TFs, then the deepening of the "Horizontal (non-hierarchical) networks" in relation to the mesh of TFs and internal territories to the same, and the role of so-called Digital Frames – DFs, a theme still unexplored.
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AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Donato Di Ludovico is a Ph.D., researcher of Urban and territorial planning and design, Urban design professor at the University of L'Aquila (Engineering). He carries out research activities within the new forms of Spatial and Strategic planning, Urban planning and design (safety and security), knowledge and assessment systems (SEA). With regard to the Spatial planning, his research is focused on new models and new policies. He is currently secretary of INU Abruzzo-Molise section (National Institute of Urban Planning); director of Urban Laboratory for the Reconstruction of L’Aquila (LAURAq-INU/ANCSA); scientific responsible of AnTeA Laboratory (Territorial and Environmental Analysis) at the University of Aquila.
Federico D’Ascanio is a Ph.d., Research fellow in Technical and Urban Planning, Contract Teaching assistance to the Urban planning course at the University of L'Aquila (Engineering). The themes of his research address the problems of new urban strategies, also with reference to the changed needs of territorial governance. Is involved in the reconstruction of the Abruzzo capital hit by the 2009 earthquake, facing urban projects of resilient public spaces. He is currently a member of the governing board of INU Abruzzo and Molise section and member of the Urban Laboratory for the Reconstruction of L’Aquila (LAURAq-INU/ANCSA).
How to cite item in APA format:
In A. Leone & C. Gargiulo (Eds.), Environmental and territorial modelling for planning and design.
(pp. 52 - 55). Naples: FedOAPress. ISBN: 978-88-6887-048-5, doi: 10.6093/978-88-6887-048-5