Rigenerazione del paesaggio urbano. Politiche, strumenti e pratiche di intervento sul patrimonio costruito storico. Cagliari come caso applicativo.

Urban conservation and regeneration are important political and disciplinary objectives in almost the whole world not only because historic buildings and cities have been institutionally recognized as cultural heritage by virtue of their prominent values but also because they have been considered as strategic resources for achieving sustainable urban development goals. Anyway, the right approach which should be adopted to ensure an integrated conservation of such rich and diverse cultural heritage is still today a worldwide concern. In this regard, the purpose of my doctoral research has been giving essential guidelines in order to conserve and regenerate the built heritage, according to the “landscape approach” suggested by the UNESCO Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape (2011), which states that: «The historic urban landscape is the urban area understood as the result of a historic layering of cultural and natural values and attributes, extending beyond the notion of “historic centre” or “ensemble” to include the broader urban context and its geographical setting». To develop this topic, the thesis pays attention to current challenges, both nationally and internationally debated. Firstly, over the past two decades, the most important international organizations have suggested updating modern urban conservation paradigms and policies in the 21st century. The main purpose is to define criteria (values) for the selection of objects worthy of protection and to implement new approaches to ensure both their conservation and regeneration. Secondly, the contemporary urban challenges require integrating different policies to make interventions in urban areas more effective. Urban regeneration policies should face social, economic and environmental problems of deprived areas to lead such urban contexts forward a global renaissance. Moreover, in the so-called "Urban Age", the reformation of the Italian planning system and its main tools become prominent to manage urban regeneration process in a positive way. The Local Plan should develop re-use and regeneration strategies as substantial opportunities for sustainable development. Finally, the drastic reduction of public and private investments during the global financial crisis has led to experiment innovative practices for the temporary use of empty spaces and historic buildings, encouraging local people skills and creativity. Considering that these important issues are debated all over Europe, where could be found proposals and partial solutions for the future, the research compares the state of the art concerning the urban conservation and regenerations policies in Italy and England in order to highlight the main differences and, above all, to learn from the good practices emerged in both Countries. Moreover, considering that urban regeneration will be a primary objective of urban planning over the coming decades, the thesis gives great relevance to the Italian long-standing debate on the necessity to update the planning system. A deep analysis of the Strategic Tools for the Public City regeneration produced by several local administrations has been fundamental for developing a personal proposal in the cultural debate concerning the form and contents that the Local Plan should assume. Moving from planning tools to "practices", the present study focuses on the framework of laws, measures, policies and bottom-up initiatives which are emerging in the European and international context to promote the "temporary use" of empty spaces, thus suggesting actions to promote these innovative practices in Italy. Finally, the thesis provides a first application of the final outcomes of the doctoral research to the city of Cagliari. Here, critical situations could be hopefully solved by strategic policies, tools and practices able to sustain the urban regeneration process which the City has been tenaciously promoting and supporting over the past years.