HISTORIC URBAN LANDSCAPES: HOW TO IMPROVE NEOCOSMOPOLITANISM IN HISTORIC CENTRES

Abstract

The increased population density caused by the combination of predatory capitalism and the hyper-rational design of contemporary cities—starting with the rigid zoning of spaces and functions—began in the eighteenth century. Since the 1960s, the idea has spread that the Industrial Revolution was not, per se, a negative event, because the concentration of its effects caused the rise of the Anthropocene (Crutzen, Stoermer 2000). In this context, for the past fifty years, UNESCO and the Council of Europe have declared the social and cultural aspects of landscape and cultural identity preservation to be fundamental rights (Council of Europe 2000), and governments have approved laws and adopted operative rules to protect cultural identities and support local-culture-based policies. In Italy, for example, the heritage, landscape, and cultural identity are protected by Article 9 of the Constitution: as a consequence, that the national government must promote regional and local-culture-based policies. However, cultural identity has not yet become a catalyst for local developments aiming for cultural transition. The paper describes how the historic urban landscape (HUL) approach should go beyond the preservation of the physical environment and could focus on the entire human environment with all of its tangible and intangible qualities. As such, an HUL policy framework would address the challenge of Neo-cosmopolitanism in Palermo. Really, the Neo-cosmopolitan approach helps increase the sustainability of planning and design interventions by taking into account the existing built environment, intangible heritage, cultural diversity, and socio-economic and environmental factors, along with local community values.