Il progetto intermedio come luogo dell’empowerment: esempi di nuove pratiche nelle città europee

Abstract

The physical and conceptual result of the great changes which affect our society is a city in ‘stand-by’. Even if the XXI century is considered to be an ‘urban century’, many Western cities are shrinking and lack the resources which are necessary to complete planned masterplans. By postponing the transformation of the city to an indefinite future, the number of vacant spaces is increasing. This situation reduces the city into an amorphous landscape that also reflects the social problems concerning a wide number of citizens. In this uncertain scenario, the temporary project becomes an effective tool to open the urban space toward its use as well as to avoid a further degradation of the landscape. Through interim practices the 'forced breaks', to which the city is constrained, can be transformed into moments of experimentation, becoming an opportunity to reflect on the means and methods of the project itself. This work proposes a reflection on the concept of time based on the idea of real duration introduced by Bergson. 'Activating' usually unused sequences of time, the interim project works as a dynamic means of urban regeneration based on the empowerment of local communities. Finally, the aim of this paper is to summarize the features that make the intermediate project able to trigger a transformation of the city based on a new way to participate, attempting to strengthen the resilient capacity of the people involved. For this purpose several European projects are collected and classified into four dimensional categories, showing the adaptability of the temporary project at all scales and levels of planning.