28381 - Urban Planning and Development

Learning outcomes

The student is expected to understand the urban transformation which took place in Europe in the 19th century and a further understanding of the new rapport between the city and the surrounding territory and their conservation. In particular, the student is expected to: - learn theories and methods for reading and planning the historic city and cultural landscape - interpret preserving of the historic city as an asset for cultural and economic development - interpret the historic city and landscape as context and object of interest for cultural institutions.

Course contents

The course will focus on the issues of the conservation and revitalisation of the historic cities in the wider urban context and in a planning perspective. It will concentrate on two major aspects:

• Historic cities as a cultural heritage, whose conservation and revitalisation has become worldwide a relevant issue in planning and development policies, as an asset for cultural tourism, creative industry abd related activites;
• Historic cities and settlements as a setting for many cultural institutions and activities and a factor of attraction and "branding".

The interaction of these two aspects is evident in many cities and regions, characterising the conservation planning policies, carried out by national and local governments and fostered by international agencies in different countries. It implies the use of specific methods of analysis (i.e. inventory techniques for the urban heritage), the establishment of appropriate urban design and planning criteria, the setup of adapted management and implementation tools.

These issues will be explored through an overview of the most diffused methods and tools of conservation planning, and the discussion of some relevant case-studies from Italian and international experiences. The following topics will be discussed through lectures and seminars,

1) Urban heritage and historic city: an urban planning and development issue. Methods of identification and assessment of cultural values of urban heritage

2) Preserving the historic city: planning and regulatory frameworks for Urban Conservation in UK, France and Italy.

Team work: identification of possible case studies

3) Reading and planning the historic city: key urban conservation experiences in Italy: Siena, Assisi, Urbino, Bologna

4) Integrated territorial-urban conservation & planning. Case studies of Ferrara and Venice World Heritage cities.

5) The preservation of the Historic urban fabric and monuments in the experiences of Technical Assistance Programmes of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Jerusalem, Mtskheta (Georgia)

6) Culture as driver for urban regeneration of Inner Areas. The crucial role of the public realm. Case studies of Bilbao, Oslo and Koeln

Team works: review of the available documentation on the selected case studies

7) Urban Heritage, Culture and Sustainable Development. The Recommendation on Historic Urban Landscape: Case study of Cairo.

8) UN New Urban Agenda & UNESCO Report on “Culture Urban Future”. Case Studies in the Global South (Beijing, Rabat, Dubai, Sharjiah, Abu Dhabi)

Team works: Presentation and discussion of initial findings

 

Readings/Bibliography

“Managing Historic Cities”, World Heritage papers n.27, UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Sept. 2010 ***

Francesco Bandarin, Ron Van Oers: “The Historic Urban Landscape”, Wiley-Blackwell, New York-London, 2012

Francesco Bandarin, Ron Van Oers (Editors): “Reconnecting the city”, Wiley-Blackwell, New York-London, 2015

Daniele Pini, Laura Verdelli: “Planning and management of urban and landscape heritage – Planification et gestion du patrimoine urbain et paysager”, Bononia University Press, Bologna 2012.

UNESCO: “Culture Urban Future. Global report on culture for sustainable urban development” 2016 ***

*** Texts provided in pdf files at the beginning of the course.

The slides of the lectures will be provided in the classroom in PPT and pdf format.

Teaching methods

The course will consist of lectures and discussions on the above topics.

During the course, the students will be required to carry out a team work in small groups (3-4 persons), consisting in the analysis of the interaction between a cultural institution (i.e. a museum, a theatre) or event (i.e. a festival) and its urban context in a city or region of their choice. The topics and initial findings of the team works will be discussed in a seminar at the end of the course.

The final version of the team work (a PPT of 15 slides with a short text of approx. 2000 words) has to be submitted by mail one week before the exam and will represent the basic material for the exam itself. 

Assessment methods

The exam will be carried out by the team, with the individual contribution of all the members. It will consist in the discussion of the team-work (see above the Teaching Method) and related theoretical and methodological issues, with reference to the content of the lectures.

Based on a specific agreement, the team work and the exam can be individual.

In any case, the assessment will be based on the participation of each student to the course activities and his/her critical understanding of the issues discussed during the lectures and the team work.

Teaching tools

Lectures, seminars, team work

Office hours

See the website of Daniele Pini