Decommissioned micro urban structures

The subject of this research, on the issue of urban regeneration, concerns the phenomenon of the decommissioned micro urban structures, a situation extended on many small European cities that requires the application of specific proceedings.

Specifically, we had chosen the city of Fidenza as our case study because of its emblematic role inside the urban metropolis that grows between Emilia and Romagna, where the spread of the urban activities over an unspecified large area has caused a strong imbalance between the territory and the city. The design process adopted starts from an analysis of the urban structure of Fidenza through a study of historical maps to point out the relations between the architectural settlements and the city’s evolution. The knowledge acquired from this analytical process allows the recognition of micro-decommissioned areas that will be redeveloped through architectural interventions. Moreover, the project strategy proposes the creation of public activities related to agricultural industry, touristic economy and university education, in order to address Fidenza to assume a strategic role inside the agricultural industrial system that strongly characterizes the west side of Emilia, together with the rise of its image as “City of Health” due to the enlargement of Parma’s University as support to the thermal system of Salsomaggiore. The adopted urban strategy identifies two axes according to the analytical process of the city’s evolution: the North/South axis, where the decommissioned areas create an urban system that the project consolidates through an addition of activities related to the Food Valley; the West/East axis, where the project strategy suggests the construction of a “City of Health” due to its infrastructural connection with Salsomaggiore. This thesis tries to demonstrate that the revitalization of small and medium urban centers may take place through small architectural interventions within the consolidated urban structure, avoiding further consumption of land.