Abstract
This chapter deals with practical examples of complex and uncertain urban planning processes, where participation occurs according to different rationalities and by involving different typologies of actors. In particular, I opted for exploring one emblematic case study regarding an important redevelopment project in Milan: Porta Nuova project and the relevant “Programma Integrato di Intervento” Isola-Lunetta then de Castilla, where stakeholders and community groups were in a conflicting relationship and at the same time collaborative and deliberative spaces for participation have emerged. This field work is in line with the attempt to understand how participatory experiences can actually occur within urban planning policies, going through complex and fragmented even conflicting rationalities and procedures.
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Notes
- 1.
Within sociology and policy studies specifically addressed to participatory development field, “invited spaces” and “claimed spaces” are common expressions used to identify respectively two different typologies of participation: on one hand as institutionalized and top-down democratic spaces, where people are “invited” to participate; as on the other as “invented”, largely informal and reclaimed spaces, where mainly marginalized actors self-organize participation, often against more powerful actors. These two characters well belong to two different manner of conceiving participation, if as according to a consensual model or a conflictual model. As main reference for this kind of policy analysis is suggested to look at Cellamare and Cognetti (2007), Spaces for Change? The policies of Citizens Participation in Democratic Arenas, Zed Books, London.
- 2.
The “Programmi Integrati di Intervento” (PII) were introduced in early 90s by the national planning normative, as evolved planning tools to monitor the rehabilitation of the urban, building and environmental fabrics through direct participation of several private and public operators and different financial resources. In 2000, and through the publication of “the Framework document for urban policies”, the Municipality of Milan defined criteria and rules for urban transformation programs in Milan. The PII was thus been defined as a tool to guide planning operations on wide and complex urban areas, according to which the local municipality, together with private investors, is called to negotiate operations complying with the Framework Document.
- 3.
In 2007, a research group from Polytechnic School of Milan carried out a study work on this phenomenon of progressive housing transformation by comparing four different Italian cities: Turin, Milan, Genoa and Florence. Scholars Drappi, Bolchi and Gaeta specifically focused on Milan.
- 4.
According to the Italian legislation, an “Accordo di Programma” is an official agreement between different territorial bodies and/or other public administrations by which the parties are asked to coordinate their activities to realize major works, complex interventions or to set up intervention programs.
- 5.
The whole document describing the normative implications of the new PII is available on the official web page of the Municipality of Milan at http://www.comune.milano.it.
- 6.
Ligresti is a milanese entrepreneur. Who has been involve in leegal proceedings in the last years and finally indicted for false acconting and market manipulation.
- 7.
This building belonged to the industrial district “Tecnomasio Italiano Brown Boveri” in the early twentieth century. In 1931, it was acquired by “Siemens Isaria” and transferred to Milan Municipality in the 60s. At the beginning of the 80s, the factory, which used to produce telephone sets, was dismantled and the Municipality decided to rent the space to neighborhood associations and crafters. During the 90s, Stecca also became the office of the Italian left party and in the following years it even hosted artists and designers. (Guida 2012).
- 8.
“Consiglio di Zona” (“Territorial Board”) is a neighborhood representative body which task is to support, relate and negotiate local instances concerning local interests with the city central government.
- 9.
The initial group consisted of young citizens, local retailers and business owners; historical activists and environmentalists, political groups adhering to left reformism, representatives from associations working with immigrants and disabled people, artists and craftsmen who were living and working in Isola, young architects and researchers in urban policies field (Cognetti 2007, p. 156).
- 10.
In 2002, Stecca degli Artigiani was almost desolate, even though in the past decades it hosted craftsmen from Isola and other associations. Actually there weren’t more than 5 or 6 people using some rooms at ground level as their storehouse or atelier, and Aporidia, an association dealing with immigrants, was already occupying a room illegally.
- 11.
“La strada rovescia la città”, was the original title.
- 12.
A minimum level of participation is actually guaranteed in the procedures through adoption and approval of the most important tool for town-planning, the Local Master Plan, which reviewing process provides room for consultation with local communities.
- 13.
The winning project was designed by Petra Blaisse, from the “Inside and Outside studio” of Amsterdam.
- 14.
The main idea of the project was to create a ‘multi-faceted’ park, each sector having a different structure, form, final use, pace and development time, depending on the specific urban centers it borders on. The designed park has five ‘faces’ located around a central core, each being different because referring to a different part of the city. Some of them tend to acquire the features of the neighborhood park, where attendance and participation of citizens living in that area are higher; others are characterized by neutral or institutional activities. New urban park in the Garibaldi Repubblica area ‘Giardini di Porta Nuova’, Milan 2004 Client: Municipality of Milan in collaboration with: Studio Giancarlo De Carlo Associati (c), Paolo Pejrone (landscape), Mark Francis (landscape), Elio Tarulli (city planning), Cantieri Isola (participative process), Ic99, Avventura Urbana, ABCittà scrl (participative process), Milanoprogetti SpA (system) e MSC Associati srl (structure). (In A.A.V.V., (2004), La costruzione di un progetto, Alinea ed., Firenze).
- 15.
From their web page is possible to read the statute of the association and a declaration of interests, which states Isola Art Centers spirits, goals and premises: “The choice of working within a local urban struggle, taking a clear stance in favour of the citizens’ movement and the alternatives it fought for, against neo-liberal government policies and corporate real estate speculations, requires the extension of a concept such as ‘site-specificity’ to the new notion of ‘fight-specificity’. A site is determined by the people living and working in it. If those people—as in the Isola neighbourhood—are organised and, mobilizing the conditions arise for a ‘fight-specific’ art”. At http://www.isolartcenter.org/index_eng.php?p=1131987010&i=1131987022.
- 16.
The whole description of the project they were proposing as an alternative to the Isola Master Plan designed by Lugli and revised by Boeri is still available on isolartcenter.org, the group official web page. The project by I Mille, which later evolved in a more composite group known as Forum Isola, was called “PossiblePark” (ParcoPossibile). Their project was thought as a possible answer to what people from Isola’s claimed to make the entire Porta Nuova area more livable. Also available is a comprehensive explanation of what I Mille criticized about the approved Porta Nuova Project, with a specific focus on the disadvantages produced on the economic and social fabric of Isola.
- 17.
To date, three appeals to TAR (the regional administrative court) are still pending. In the last 7 years, inhabitants sued both Municipality and private operator concerning the extension of the built up area, the location of the buildings, the elimination of existing green areas and the provision of infrastructures.
- 18.
In fact, Isola Art Center, still active in the neighborhood, remained out of this third process, while still working on local empowerment and “right to the city”, though the occupation and refurbishment of a residual area, transformed into a new community garden managed by a group of inhabitants: Isola Pepe Verde.
- 19.
Neighborhood committee derived from the previous one, which was formed during the electoral campaign for left party candidate Giuliano Pisapia, present Mayor of Milan.
- 20.
It is important to underline that this expression comes from the English concept of “consensus-building”. The Italian version of the book by Marianella Sclavi and Lawrence Susskind was changed into Confronto Creativo not to create ideological resistance among Italian readers.
- 21.
The attempt was to gather social demand for participation around new community organizations, especially designed for the process, defined as “Cabina di Regia” (Control Room), a task-oriented group of citizens.
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Saporito, E. (2016). A Case of Complexity in Urban Planning: The PII Isola Process in Milan. In: Consensus Building Versus Irreconcilable Conflicts. SpringerBriefs in Applied Sciences and Technology(). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-30829-6_3
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