New Forms of Urban Fragility for the Disordered City: Temporary Uses, the Case of Reggio Emilia
摘要
In line with the new urban planning law of the Emilia Romagna Region (Italy), which has promoted temporary use as an urban regeneration strategy, the Participation Policy Service of the Municipality of Reggio Emilia has, in recent years, initiated processes to reclaim public spaces and disused buildings through civic empowerment and multi-actor partnerships within a polycentric administration and collaborative city framework. This strategy—known as Quartiere Bene Comune—aims to contribute to the transformation of the city, particularly in its local forms, using Temporary Uses. Temporary use has been adopted as a strategic tool to involve the community in a collaborative process that places them at the heart of the transformation, starting from the conditions of a given disused or abandoned urban context. The experience was implemented in five locations across the city of Reggio Emilia (Italy) over a four-year experimental period beginning in 2020. This led to the recognition of the need to adopt a context-based approach that focuses on local specificities within an assemblage-thinking perspective, particularly in fragile contexts and those “left behind” by local policies. Nevertheless, there is a growing need to define methodologies that facilitate and support the replicability and resonance of such participatory processes in the temporary transformation of public spaces. Therefore, this study aims to identify the key elements, actions, and tools necessary to establish a robust methodological framework for the replicability of Temporary Use projects.