Abstract
Disasters like earthquakes affect dramatically the construction of place identity. Urban settlements generate complex social structures that are not just scenarios where the functioning of city takes place. “Interrupted landscapes” cannot be merely reconstructed. Post-earthquake reconstruction lies in between community social identity protection and urban planning approaches to renewal or rebuilding. This paper focuses on the four urban centres of Gibellina, Montevago, Salaparuta and Poggioreale that were reconstructed in a different place after the Belice’s earthquake (Western Sicily), occurred in 1968. After a brief review of the planning events that characterized the post-earthquake reconstruction, this paper analyses the built environment of these four settlements with regard to built up volumes, land uses and inhabitants. The most relevant outcome is an impressive underutilization of the reconstructed dwellings and evident trends of depopulation and ageing. Literature and data analysis suggest some critical consideration about the urban strategies adopted, the choices that managed the reconstruction, and the long-term effects caused by the 1968 event. The case studies presented here discuss the directions for the revitalisation of these area from a town planning perspective, taking into account the present and future challenges for resident communities and local authorities, encountering the risk of progressive abandonment of these settlements.
Highlights
In the night between 13th and 14th January 1968 a 6.4 magnitude earthquake hits an area of about 6,200 km2 in Western Sicily corresponding approximately with the watershed of the Belice river
Poggioreale, Salaparuta and Montevago were almost completely destroyed and were the only towns reconstructed in a different place (INGV, 2019)
Urban planning approaches to risk, initially focused on the paradigms of pre-disaster prevention and postdisaster reconstruction, start to embrace the dimension of the community and urban resilience [Lu and Xu, 2018] only recently, being totally ignored when the earthquake event destroyed the towns of the Belice Valley
Summary
In the night between 13th and 14th January 1968 a 6.4 magnitude earthquake hits an area of about 6,200 km in Western Sicily corresponding approximately with the watershed of the Belice river. Salaparuta, Poggioreale are considered “intermediate rural areas”, while Montevago belongs to the group of rural areas with problems in development process (Source: PSR Sicilia 2014/2020) These municipalities are not included in the 72 pilot areas of the National Strategy for Inner Areas [ENRD, 2018], but share similar challenges such as marginalisation and population decline, job cuts, degradation of building stock and heritage, reduction of public and private services. The analysis of ISTAT data highlights the coincidence between the described shrinking demographic trend and the ageing of inhabitants, so that these areas of the Belice Valley are characterized by an impressive underutilization of residential buildings and by significant changes in the age and social profile of local communities (Table 3) In this perspective, the immigration of foreigners is becoming crucial. The demographic decline would appear even more alarming
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