A multidisciplinary approach to urban fabrics analysis. The historical centre of Valencia.

Abstract

The themes of reduce, recycle, reuse are at the heart of the challenges that the global society of the XXI century is facing. At the same time, more than two-thirds of the world population lives in cities nominating the latters to play a central role in the near future. For this reason, the search for a methodology for the redevelopment of the historical urban fabrics appears today extremely interesting. Complexity, richness and stratification of the latters make them definitely the most convincing test to set a scientific strategy for the project of urban transformations. But stratification means complexity and complex are the phenomena that characterize the XXI century society. The only convincing way then for the analysis of these phenomena is that of the multi-disciplinarity. The proposed methodology is structured, thus, around a number of disciplines (Urban Morphology, Sustainability, Urban Regulation, Economic Evaluation and Urban Design) on which to set the reading of the urban fabric with special attention to the so called “urban voids” namely all those situations in which the tissue is interrupted due to slumping and demolitions. This aspect is very important because if, on the one hand, it is in these areas where key tissue analysis problems can be seen, on the other hand, it is always from these areas that the main urban, social and economical transformation opportunities can take boot. A Due Diligence of the “urban voids” organised in datasheets/base (for each area) concludes the analysis. The different disciplinary fields work then in a complementary way within a single methodological approach laying the scientific basis for the interventions of urban regeneration within the historic fabric of Valencia. References Gherri, B. (2016) ‘Environmental Analysis Towards Low Carbon Urban Retrofitting For Public Spaces’, Proceedings of HERITAGE 2016 – 5th International Conference on Heritage and Sustainable Development,Vol. 1, p. 499-508. Gherri, B. (2016) ‘Environmental Assessment method for Decarbonised Urban renewal’, NewDist: SBE16 Towards Post-Carbon Cities, vol. 2, p. 114-122. Guarini, M.R. Buccarini C., Battisti F., (2015)‘Valutazione della fattibilità tecnica economica di un intervento di recupero edilizio’, Estimo: temi e questioni contemporanee, (Politecnico di Bari, Bari). Maretto, M. (2015) ‘Polarities, Paths, Fabrics. The role of urban morphology in contemporary Urban Design’, U+D urbanform and design 03/04, 46-65. Maretto, M. (2008) Il Paesaggio delle differenze (ETS Edizioni, Pisa).