The Heart of the City: Temporary Experience in Architecture

Abstract

The rapid and profound transformation to which the city is subjected leads to the urgency of restarting a debate on the relationship between habitat and public space in order to provide the community with answers to guide the choices of future urban transformations and redevelopments. This debate - widely investigated during the second half of the 20th century, with an approach aimed at the potential of public space in terms of connection, interaction and exchange with the community - has given rise to new projects open to the unexpected and capable of triggering creative processes, formal or informal, in urban contexts that are often disused. In the last decades, issues related to social inclusion and community participation processes have entered the domain of architectural heritage, changing both the theoretical principles and the operational approaches of architectural design. The concept of a resilient community is a theme of great importance; it overcomes the spatial dichotomy between centre and periphery and shifts the attention to the ability that individuals have to experience - through a social protagonism - the management of common goods, innovative activities and services.