Data

General Issues
Planning & Development
Environment
Housing
Specific Topics
Resilience Planning & Design
Housing Planning
Environmental Conservation
Location
14 Via San Giovanni Bosco
Genova
Liguria
16151
Italia
Scope of Influence
City/Town
Links
Sezione web dedicata al Parco del Ponte
Videos
Video presentazione progetto vincitore
Primo workshop del 16/10
Start Date
Ongoing
Yes
Time Limited or Repeated?
A single, defined period of time
Purpose/Goal
Make, influence, or challenge decisions of government and public bodies
Develop the civic capacities of individuals, communities, and/or civil society organizations
Approach
Co-governance
Consultation
Spectrum of Public Participation
Consult
Total Number of Participants
40
Open to All or Limited to Some?
Mixed
Recruitment Method for Limited Subset of Population
Appointment
Targeted Demographics
Appointed Public Servants
Stakeholder Organizations
General Types of Methods
Public meetings
General Types of Tools/Techniques
Plan, map and/or visualise options and proposals
Inform, educate and/or raise awareness
Specific Methods, Tools & Techniques
Focus Group
Legality
Yes
Facilitators
Yes
Facilitator Training
Professional Facilitators
Face-to-Face, Online, or Both
Face-to-Face
Types of Interaction Among Participants
Ask & Answer Questions
Express Opinions/Preferences Only
Listen/Watch as Spectator
Information & Learning Resources
Expert Presentations
Written Briefing Materials
Communication of Insights & Outcomes
New Media
Type of Organizer/Manager
For-Profit Business
Funder
Comune di Genova
Type of Funder
Local Government
Staff
Yes
Volunteers
No
Evidence of Impact
Yes
Types of Change
Changes in people’s knowledge, attitudes, and behavior
Implementers of Change
Stakeholder Organizations
Formal Evaluation
No

CASE

Polcevera Park Urban Planning and Regeneration Project

January 28, 2021 Jaskiran Gakhal, Participedia Team
August 9, 2020 alexmengozzi
August 8, 2020 alexmengozzi
August 7, 2020 alexmengozzi
General Issues
Planning & Development
Environment
Housing
Specific Topics
Resilience Planning & Design
Housing Planning
Environmental Conservation
Location
14 Via San Giovanni Bosco
Genova
Liguria
16151
Italia
Scope of Influence
City/Town
Links
Sezione web dedicata al Parco del Ponte
Videos
Video presentazione progetto vincitore
Primo workshop del 16/10
Start Date
Ongoing
Yes
Time Limited or Repeated?
A single, defined period of time
Purpose/Goal
Make, influence, or challenge decisions of government and public bodies
Develop the civic capacities of individuals, communities, and/or civil society organizations
Approach
Co-governance
Consultation
Spectrum of Public Participation
Consult
Total Number of Participants
40
Open to All or Limited to Some?
Mixed
Recruitment Method for Limited Subset of Population
Appointment
Targeted Demographics
Appointed Public Servants
Stakeholder Organizations
General Types of Methods
Public meetings
General Types of Tools/Techniques
Plan, map and/or visualise options and proposals
Inform, educate and/or raise awareness
Specific Methods, Tools & Techniques
Focus Group
Legality
Yes
Facilitators
Yes
Facilitator Training
Professional Facilitators
Face-to-Face, Online, or Both
Face-to-Face
Types of Interaction Among Participants
Ask & Answer Questions
Express Opinions/Preferences Only
Listen/Watch as Spectator
Information & Learning Resources
Expert Presentations
Written Briefing Materials
Communication of Insights & Outcomes
New Media
Type of Organizer/Manager
For-Profit Business
Funder
Comune di Genova
Type of Funder
Local Government
Staff
Yes
Volunteers
No
Evidence of Impact
Yes
Types of Change
Changes in people’s knowledge, attitudes, and behavior
Implementers of Change
Stakeholder Organizations
Formal Evaluation
No

After the collapse of the Morandi Bridge in Genoa, in addition to the reconstruction of the viaduct and the reclamation of the disaster area, below, a competition was announced for projects of regeneration and sustainable development of the urban area surrounding the viaduct.

Problems and Purpose

This project concerned the urban planning and regeneration project of the area underlying the Polcevera viaduct which collapsed on 14/8/2018. The following suggestions emerged from the report attached to the winning project:

A Red Circle of steel: A ring would pass under the new bridge to represent the memory of blast furnaces, cranes, overhead cranes, and it should run along the places closest to the tragedy of 14 August 2018, thereby embracing them in their context. "Running in the heart of the Polcevera Valley, the circle changes nature, becoming a walkway, an elevated square, an access and exit ramp, a corridor between the buildings, and an underground path. By changing section and height, the Red Circle welds the separated parts together with a cycle / pedestrian path and distributes the renewable energy produced both by the photovoltaic surfaces present on the roofs of the buildings, and by the piezoelectric one produced by the flows that cross the new Bridge and the circle. [translated]"

A collector of energy and movement, the circle converges and concludes in the Tower of the Wind, a tower made up of dozens of wind turbines in the center of the Polcevera Valley. "The Red Circle, crossed by water, iron and asphalt, envelops, flies over and connects a new urban botanical park, the Parco del Polcevera, a new landscape that collects the variety of plants and essences of the Mediterranean. And dedicated to the memory of a collapsed bridge (a memory of an infrastructure / symbol, which united not only the two sides of a valley, but the land and the sea, Italy and France) is the “Genova nel bosco”, the installation with 43 trees as a perennial reminder of the pain and weakness of men - and of the indomitable strength of a city. [translated]"

"The Tower of the Winds and the Red Circle, the Polcevera Park and its vital chromatic and botanical variety, are Genoa's greeting to the passers-by of the future, ... [representing] a Superb City even if it is torn by a poignant Melancholy; beautiful albeit in the harshness of its irreducible contradictions. A city of steel and sea, sculpted by the wind and tragedies, but always capable of raising its head" [translated]. [1]

After this poetic introduction, all of the transformation axes were listed under these categories: architecture, urban planning, landscape, geology, mobility, energy, economic strategies for investors.

Phase 1 (2020-2021), provides for land reclamation activities, the demolition of all compromised buildings, the reuse of rubble, and the creation of new hills. "Temporary pioneering and animation uses will be initiated such as: a flowering event along Polcevera with Istituto Agrario Marsano; lessons and visits to areas with demolition and earthmoving activities, part of the 2021 Science Festival; a hill of debris will be consolidated and equipped for sports related to soft mobility, such as rollers, freestyle bmx bikes. At the start of the project, the Polcevera Park Table was to be set up, dedicated to listening, participation and involvement of inhabitants and interest groups" [translated]. [1.1] Furthermore, the project group conducted a field survey, likely through the partner Tempo Riuso, either before or at the same time as the drafting of the project; the survey was made up of visits and interviews with a complex mosaic of actors who surround the area of the future park under the bridge. [1.2] The preferences of the economic actors and committees of displaced persons, of the area's inhabitants, ProLoco, and relevant associations emerged from these surveys, along with some general requests. The “Relatives Victims Ponte Morandi” Committee is not mentioned, whose Facebook page has been active since November 2018.

Background History and Context

As the town was processing the collapse of the Polcevera viaduct (called Ponte Morandi), architect and senator, Renzo Piano, offered his own idea for the reconstruction of the Morandi bridge, implying it must be restored as soon as possible, "but not quickly [translated]". The architect developed a concrete model for the project and brought it to the meeting in the Region. Forty-three illuminated poles would memorialize the victims of the old bridge collapse. Governor Toti explains: "Piano volunteered, as a competent Genoese, to give the city a project for the reconstruction of the Morandi bridge [translated]" which was then accepted by the Liguria Region and the Municipality of Genoa. [3]

The planned project is different from the one partially announced by Autostrade per l'Italia, of a steel viaduct. Instead, Renzo Piano envisioned a simple and clean line, without any “stay”, that is, of structures that overhang the carriageway, with the weight supported entirely by the pylons; the bridge that he designed had high stems with lights in the shape of sails. Piano says, "it must be a bridge that expresses the memory of a tragedy and its development over time...Genoa needs a revival project, a redemption project for the whole affected area. There is not just a bridge to be rebuilt, but a piece of the city in transformation to be redesigned. The bridge is a theme that touches everyone and all strings: from the technological one to the poetic one [translated]." Piano highlights that the area where the bridge passed has great urban value. Under the bridge, a park with business incubators, residences, start-ups can be envisaged, allowing the calamity to become an opportunity for redemption for Genoa. [3]

Speaking on the issue of reconstruction, Minister of Infrastructure and Transport, Danilo Toninelli, says, "That Autostrade has to rebuild the bridge is obvious in terms of compensation. On the immense moral and civil damages, it is normal that I have to put money. But it is equally normal that it cannot be rebuilt. It would be disrespectful to families and citizens [translated]." For Toninelli, the first work the country needs is an imposing and organic plan of ordinary and extraordinary maintenance. [3]

The mayor of Genoa, Marco Bucci (managerial career), also present at the meeting with Piano in the Region, was appointed commissioner for reconstruction, flanked by the President of the Region of Liguria, Giovanni Toti, both allies in the coalition (center-right). Bucci began his mandate as mayor on 25/6/2017, winning both the first (38%) and the second round (55.24%) of the administrative elections. The Municipality of Genoa has been governed by center-left coalitions since 1993.

In line with the suggestions of Piano, the municipality of Genoa initiated a design competition to start urban and social regeneration of the Polcevera valley space. The competition aimed to enhance the area below the proposed new viaduct through the creation of new public services (public park, sports facilities, public square, cycle and pedestrian walkways, memorial). [4]

Therefore, following the management decision of 30/4/19 of the Municipality, on 3/5/2019 the competition procedure for the Polcevera Park project was launched with the opening of a dedicated site using the national platform of the National Order Council of Architects (concorsiawn.it).

On 27/5/19, a jury composed of 5 architects was appointed and the relevant technical and administrative documents were made available.

The basic cognitive framework, general strategic development lines, objectives and project themes were outlined in the project guidelines.[3] The guidelines note that the project aims to unite the new motorway viaduct with a system of connected green areas which follow the route of the viaduct and connect the two ridges of Val Polcevera to overcome the current fragmentation and marginalization of the territory. The resulting large public space was expected to be equipped with a public park, sports facilities, public square, pedestrian walkways, memorial, etc., and would be built taking into account the availability of private finances for the construction of spaces dedicated to families and sports activities, in order to make the entire quadrant and hopefully the whole valley attractive and functional. [3]

On 2/10/19, the project of the group coordinated by Stefano Boeri Architetti Srl various partners was revealed to be the winner.[5] The project is titled "The Polcevera Park and the Red Circle" (original Italian: "Il Parco del Polcevera e il Cerchio Rosso").

Organizing, Supporting, and Funding Entities

Municipality of Genoa: mayor and reconstruction commissioner, Marco Bucci, oversaw the territory where the project will be carried out. The Municipality issued the tender for the projects and will finance the prizes for the winner (112,000 euros), and the prizes / reimbursements of expenses from 2nd to 6th place (total 130,000 euros). The total budget for the executive design amounts to 400,000 euros. [6]

In the participatory process following the competition, which was called "Tavolo Polcevera 2.0" (Polcevera 2.0 Table), together with the project group, the Municipality activated a dedicated web section, a "Front Office" at the Don Bosco Institute, and provided logistical support and information through the UrbanLab of the Municipality and an email address. The main position of reference, in addition to the mayor, was the city planning councillor, Simonetta Cenci.

Project team:  

Stefano Boeri Architetti - Milan (Capogruppo/ Urban project): Stefano Boeri (Founding Partner) with Sara Gangemi (Project leader), Moataz Faissal Farid (Senior architect), Francesca Pincella (Junior architect), Jacopo Colatarci (Junior architect).

Metrogramma - Milano (Architectural Design): Andrea Boschetti (Founding Partner) with Francesco Betta (Technical Director), Arianna Piva (Project Leader), Andrea G. Bulloni (Architect), Anna Bartolaccio (Architect), Andrea Casazza (Architect), Andrea Rome (Architect).

Inside Outside | Petra Blaisse - Amsterdam (Landscape Project): Petra Blaisse (Founding Partner and lead designer) with Desirée Pierluigi (architect), Camilla Panzeri and with Jana Crepon (Partner and landscape project leader).

Consultants / collaborators on participatory processes: Tempo Riuso Association (Milan): Isabella Inti (president), Giulia Cantaluppi (funding partner), Camilla Ponzano (senior architect). Tempo Riuso is a cultural association, Srl consulting and training company, founded in Milan in 2009 by a group of researchers and professionals trained in architecture and planning, specialized in the temporary reuse of unused structures. The share of the award provided by this partner is not known.

Other consultants / collaborators: MIC | Mobility in Chain (Mobility, traffic, infrastructures): Federico Parolotto (Senior Partner), Giuseppe Andrea Vallelonga (Senior Consultant), Gaia Sgaramella (Consultant), Gloriana Barboza (Consultant), Loris Sciacchitano (Consultant); Studio Laura Gatti (Agronomist and Environmental Requalification): Laura Gatti (Founder), Marco Peterle (Senior agronomist), Luca Leporati (Agronomist), Silvia Isacco (Senior Architect); Transsolar Energietechnik (Environmental comfort and energy resilience): Tommaso Bitossi (Project Manager), Clara Bondi (Junior Engineer), Thomas Auer (Founding Partner) Antonio Secondo Accotto (Geologist); H&A Associati (Economic evaluation of urban transformations): Carlo Pagan (Founder & Partner and President of MESA srl), Alessia Mangialardo (Senior Architect) Studio Luca Vitone (Artist); Renderings The Big Picture, Renovation design Grafica 46xy - Mario Piazza / Lorenzo Mazzali.

The following appear to have been project sponsors: Consiglio Nazionale Ordine degli Architetti, Ordine degli Architetti di Genova, ERG, MSC Foundation, Compagnia di San Paolo, PSA Genova Prà, and Yacht Club Italiano.[7]

Participant Recruitment and Selection

3/5/19 - Municipality of Genoa: Call for tenders for projects, and design guidelines.

For the preparation of the document, the technical office of the Municipality, with organizing architect, Anna Iole Corsi, made use of "preparatory working tables to draft the preliminary document" in which the following subjects took part: Municipality of Genoa, Liguria Region, Soprintendenza archeologica belle arti e paesaggio (Archaeological Superintendence of Fine Arts and Landscape), Segretariato regionale MIBACT, IRE SpA, UNIGE, Ordine degli Architetti, Ordine degli Ingegneri, Confindustria, ANCE, INU. [8] The partiality of the table is highlighted, not only given the absence of third sector actors or counterweights, from workers' unions to environmental organizations, but also of some representatives of the farmers of the area and civic representatives of the territory (municipalities, districts, committees, third sector).

2/10/19 - Stefano Boeri Architetti et alii: The Polcevera Park and the Red Circle

For the preparation of the illustrative report of the project, probably through the partner Tempo Riuso Srl, interviews were carried out and the following subjects were mentioned: UIRnet, Spediporto, Agenzia delle Dogane, Municipality of Genoa EIB (European Investment Bank), Ministero Infrastrutture e dei Trasporti (MIT), SIIT ScpA, BIC (business incubator); exponents of the Municipality of Valpolcevera, displaced committees, Comitato Liberi cittadini di Certosa (en: Free Citizens Committee of Certosa), Soc. Operaia Cattolica di Certosa, Teatro sociale, Dopo Lavoro Ferroviario, the OltreilPonte C'é Committe, ProLoco Valpolcevera, the Rural Development Policies Committee in Valpolcevera" which brought out the strong will of the 250 farms in the valley." [9]

3/10/19 - Press conference at Palazzo Tursi (town hall) for the presentation of the winning project. Participants included the institutional offices, the designers, the sponsors and the media.[10] There were no questions from the media or unscheduled interventions.

8/10/19 - Presentation of the project to the city (at noon, Don Bosco Institute, conference room), involving the designers, the institutional offices. The ritual declarations were shown, of which a video was uploaded to YouTube. The number of those present is not given, but the photos of the room appear to have about 200 people. [7]

From 9 to 31/10/19 (10-17) - Front Office opening (at the Don Bosco Institute in Sampierdarena), where the project tables were displayed and the material concerning the project was shown. Representatives of the Urban Lab Management and the Town Planning Department of the Municipality of Genoa were present. Specific meetings with designers as well as press meetings were to be organized to update the activities of the participation path. [7] What has been declared cannot be verified; no reports or data on the number of visitors are available.

16/10/19 Polcevera 2.0 Table - Workshop “Il Cerchio Rosso. Strategia urbana ed energetica" ("The Red Circle. Urban and energy strategy") (2-5 pm, Front Office).

Online registration was recommended for participation in the workshop. There are no reports on the meeting; a YouTube video is available (duration 2:43) in which the commissioner Cenci and the arch. Boschetti made comments on the project and on how they organized the dialogue with the stakeholders involved (in three tables). The only new information that emerges is that there will "naturally" be a special meeting with the Committee of the relatives of the victims. [8]. From the filming, the presence of about twenty people can be seen. The communication plan of the workshop is not available, but there is a poster on the website as well as the relevant notice.

Two other workshops were planned, but the one on 21/10 was canceled (likely due to weather) and moved to 30/10, after the one already scheduled. An unclear statement hints at a rescheduled meeting for Tuesday, 17 December after the previous plan was cancelled at the request of the FirmBoeri, urged by some important stakeholders unable to participate. Inhabitants, associations, and interest groups were invited. The meeting was expected to involve highlighting proposals and compiling answers to questions and critical issues raised, to map opportunities. Citizens were openly invited to participate, but there do not appear to be available data or reports on this meeting. [7]

Methods and Tools Used

Workshop. The generic term workshop in this case likely referred to focus groups with designers where project presentations were followed by times and spaces (in tables that facilitated face-to-face communication) to discuss critical and alternative aspects. But the details of the methodology are unavailable given the total lack of reports or complete or almost complete video recordings.

What Went On: Process, Interaction, and Participation

August 2018 - May 2019: Design guidelines

The guidelines of the Municipality for the design competition indicated the main strategic lines of the territory, the functional areas, the characteristics of the territory and the building volumes. The stated aim was to create a sustainable settlement in line with the 2030 UN Agenda objectives, to redevelop and optimize the construction of new settlements while using innovative 'green' technologies and optimizing resources and processes in the urban design context. As part of this design, spaces and buildings are meant to be regenerated in a "green" way and paths and services created that improve the quality of work for employees (e.g. sports and rest areas and equipment, cycling and pedestrian paths, cowering spaces, urban connective services, etc.). The buildings were to be low energy and low environmental impact, immersed in a context of green spaces. Sustainability in the construction is expected to be pursued with integrated building and plant interventions that make use of smart grid technology, renewable energy sources, technologies and materials aimed at energy saving and quality of performance, and sustainable mobility systems. The design must make use of naturalistic engineering solutions, aimed at pursuing results for improving the microclimate, air quality and soil resilience. [11]

May 2019 - October 2019: Polcevera Park project and the Red Circle

The preliminary framework, useful for drafting the plan, illustrates the intentions and wishes of the participating actors. It notes that four districts with the highest levels of social hardship in Genoa coexist, and where the unemployment rate is 9%, new projects can enhance the port industry and prompt rural development policies. Different visions from the surveyed interest groups, stakeholders and inhabitants intertwine in the framework. Issues and projects emerged for the Valpolcevera and Quadrante area, divided into three territorial areas: South Park, North Park, and between the two, Quadrante Polcevera Park, object of the Banco di Gara. [12]

The South Park stretches horizontally from the docks of the port to the headquarters of the Technological District. Actors such as UIRnet, Spediporto, Agenzia delle Dogane, and the Municipality of Genoa share the aim of expanding and strengthening the port of Genoa as well as developing new retroport areas in Valpolcevera. Such projects were also supported by the EIB - European Investment Bank and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport (MIT). In particular, UIRnet sets the goal of the digitalization of logistics regarding the port. Spediporto promotes the use of new technological and industrial activities related to the processing of goods, such as packaging, customization, 3D technology, automation technology, information technology, and blockchain. It has been suggested that “the Pope's road” be exploited as a new east-west controlled customs port corridor, with the aim of being able to trace a south-north customs corridor, which from the port looks towards Valpolcevera. SIIT ScpA and IIT realities, such as the BIC business incubator, have already been located along the Polcevera with the aim of creating a District and integrated system between large industry, small and medium-sized enterprises, the University of Genoa, public and research institutions, and financial institutions, with particular attention to the development of industrial research and technology transfer activities. [1.2] [12]

The territorial strip and area of intervention of the middle valley, the competition area, Parco Quadrante Polcevera, is believed to be able to mend the Certosa, Cornigliano and Campi districts with the technological district and offer new spaces and job opportunities. The meetings with the Valpolcevera Municipality, displaced committees, the Free Citizens Committee of Certosa, the Catholic Worker Society of Certosa, the Social Theater, After Work Railway, the OltreilPonte C'é Committee, ProLoco Valpolcevera have highlighted the desired opportunities, including: [12]

  • A sports center of the West integrated with a school building plan
  • A park that can mend Via Fillak and Certosa, with adequate maintenance and management
  • New housing agreements, possibly exemplary for energy efficiency and technological systems, but accessible to a mix of populations
  • Being able to reactivate the former RFI Dopolavoro railway gym as a social meeting point
  • Projects for small gardens and orchards along the Polcevera river. The river could also be the subject of landscape interventions and be part of a schedule of international horticultural events
  • Bike paths and accessibility systems for a re-appropriation of the 12 Forts system, the “theaters on the sea”, already a UNESCO heritage site

The territory and area of intervention of the quadrant is part of a system that extends to the North Park, villas, agricultural and vineyard terraces between Certosa and Ponte Decimo, and continues up to Busalla. The meeting with the Rural Development Policies Committee in Valpolcevera, supported by ProLoco Valpocevera, brought out the strong will of the 250 farms, to protect the territory against abandonment and focus on enhancing gardens and orchards; ensure the safety of the territory against instability, by cleaning the streams, restoring dry stone walls, and containing the strips; and meet the global environmental challenge. Last but not least, the request that the enhancement of the valley can support the development and promotion of local agricultural products came from the DOCG of Coronata. Local actors, stakeholders and interest groups have intended the competition for the Parco del Ponte to be an opportunity and trigger for the Valpolcevera table, a participatory construction site to redesign the Valley. [12]

October 2019: Public presentation of the Polcevera Park and Red Circle project

The project concerns a vast and complex work, which was summarized in the poetic introduction in the Problems and Purpose section above. The following aspects can be further highlighted:

  • a park with longitudinal bands to the valley, the river line, and the railway line, therefore transversal to the motorway viaduct, characterized by similar landscapes, by species (e.g. band of willows, lemons, olive trees, cypresses) and for urban functions (sports, ecological-fluvial, residential, school, productive, services);
  • the red circle is a steel, circular, elevated walkway 6 meters wide on whose circumference there is a wind tower (Savonius type, with several red vertical rotors) and other crossing junctions. It intersects with other buildings, passes under the viaduct but over the trees below the park and also acts as an energy collector, as the seat of the power and service wiring, and as a link for the whole area, accelerating current travel times despite being reserved for pedestrian mobility. A new railway station and an interchange car park are also connected to the red ring;
  • the green factory is a set of prefabricated buildings, with large windows, which is envisaged as a start-up attraction, an innovative and creative environment;
  • there is a memorial square that re-connects the residential area with the rest of the park: conceived by the artist Luca Vitone, it provides for the planting of 43 trees (such as the number of victims and the number of street lamps on the Piano bridge) which refer to 43 historical Genoese figures. On this aspect of the project in particular, the Committee of the relatives of the victims does not seem to have been contacted. The memorial will be located in a building of the AMIU (the multi-utility of public sanitation in Genoa) and will store pieces of the bridge found in the investigation. [13] This idea was shared by the families of the victims, the Municipality of Genoa with its Urban Lab, by the designers of Stefano Boeri's studio and by the other park project participants. [13] The area includes public spaces and spaces reserved for the victims' families. However, no element of this discussion with the committee is given on the site dedicated to participation.

October 2019 - (undefined date): Front Office and Polcevera 2.0 Table.

After the public presentation of the project in the town hall and in the new space called Front Office set up at the Don Bosco Institute in the nearby Sampierdarena district, 3 thematic workshops were scheduled. Only for the first, which took place on the 16/10/19, some feedback is available as well as a video with some statements by the commissioner Cenci and the arch. Boschetti. Boschetti reiterates that "it is not a project made up of a single symbol, but it is a very complex and stratified project, still open and therefore receptive to the maximum" [translated]. On that occasion he also specified that "naturally" there would be a special meeting with the Committee of the relatives of the victims. [14]

Influence, Outcomes, and Effects

It is not possible to establish links between what happened in the interaction with the public and what was outlined (guidelines of the Municipality) and planned (Park and Red Circle) because the results are only partially motivated by the public, and are presented as highly arbitrary. Instead, they are a synthetic result carried out by subjects of power (issuers of the tender and organizers of the project) who have not made transparent any type of discourse or vision of contrast, conflict, or ambivalence; and it is possible that instead of looking for them, making them emerge by comparing them, they have tried to avoid them.

Analysis and Lessons Learned

The transparency of this process is lacking; the reports of the tables relating to the definition of the guidelines and to the drafting of the winning project are lacking, but above all there is a lack of reports on the participatory process: Polcevera 2.0 table. Communication around the meetings is unclear. It seems that an exhibition of the candidate projects for the Parco del Ponte competition was scheduled in December, then canceled due to bad weather, after the winning project had already been presented and its designers had already undertaken and perhaps concluded the participatory process.[7] It was a process that had begun, been interrupted, canceled, postponed and from what appears, never resumed and never concluded.[7] There does not appear to be any program; comparison on the sharing of the path; attempts to include weak subjects; instruments to increase the representativeness of the results. Yet it was a project / process with substantial financial resources, and with important local visibility, coordinated by leading figures of the Italian intelligentsia, supported by the entire institutional chain.

Renzo Piano's intention was clearly for a quick but not hasty viaduct, but he never spoke of a "participatory" process. Along the bridge there were 43 planned lampposts (as per the model, in memory of the victims) but for design and safety reasons then they became 18. For the inauguration of the San Giorgio bridge (this is the new name of the viaduct) on 3 August, while Senator Piano was giving the inaugural speech, there was not even the participation of the relatives of the victims, who declared that they did not want to participate, not recognizing that event as a significant moment for them and their loved ones. [15] Regarding the memorial in the park, on the other hand, it seems that there is a dialogue with the committee and an agreement has been reached. [13]

See Also

References

[1] Stefano Boeri Architetti et al. (n.d.) Technical-illustrative report, p. 2, https://smart.comune.genova.it/sites/default/files/ archive/documenti/0006_01_relazione-tecnico-amministrativa-ed-economica_ring2019.pdf (accessed 7/8/20).

[1.1] Stefano Boeri Architetti et al. (n.d.), p. 4.

[1.2] Stefano Boeri Architetti et al. (n.d.), p. 17.

[2] Cicconi, P., Renzo Piano propone il nuovo ponte di Genova, Metropolitan Magazine, 29/8/18, https://metropolitanmagazine.it/renzo-piano-propone-il-nuovo-ponte-di-genova, (accessed 7/8/20).

[3] Municipality of Genoa, Town Planning Department, Il Parco del Ponte, Preliminary design document. Guidelines, (n.d.), https://concorsiawn.it/uploads/concorsi/ilparcodelponte/documenti/Linee%20Guida.pdf accessed 07/08/20, p. 12-13.

[4] Municipality of Genoa. News, Il parco del ponte. https://concorsiawn.it/ilparcodelponte/home, accessed 07/08/20, p.3.

[5] Municipality of Genoa. News, Il parco del ponte. https://concorsiawn.it/ilparcodelponte/home, accessed 07/08/20, p.1.

[6] Municipality of Genoa, Il Parco del Ponte, Competition rules (n.d.), p. 29-30, https://concorsiawn.it/uploads/concorsi/ilparcodelponte/documenti/DISCIPLINARE%20DI%20CONCORSO_ILPARCODELPONTE.pdf (accessed 7/8/20).

[7] Municipality of Genoa, Parco del Ponte, https://smart.comune.genova.it/sezione/parco-del-ponte, accessed 8/7/20.

[8] Municipality of Genoa, Town Planning Department, p. 33.

[9] Stefano Boeri et. al., (n.d.), p. 18.

[10] Municipality of Genoa. (2019, Oct 8). Presentazione progetto Parco del Ponte - 3 ottobre 2019. YouTube. [video] https://youtu.be/LUmTC-Uw_Po, accessed 7/8/20.

Municipality of Genoa. (2019, Oct 17). Workshop Parco del Ponte. YouTube [video] https://youtu.be/UQVsOFhMbdI, accessed 7/8/20.

[11] Municipality of Genoa, Town Planning Department, p. 17.

[12] Stefano Boeri et. al., (n.d.), pp. 18:20.

[13] Il Secolo XIX, (2020, April 22). Parco del Polcevera, il presidente del comitato delle vittime del Morandi: "Il Memoriale è per noi luogo sacro". https://www.ilsecoloxix.it/genova/2020/ 04/22 / news / parco-del-polcevera-the-president-of-the-committee-of-the-victims-of-morandi-the-memorial-and-for-us-sacred-place-1.38749023 (accessed 7/8/20).

[14] Municipality of Genoa, (2019, Oct 17). Workshop Parco del Ponte, video recording already cited.

[15] Picone, S., (2020, August 3). Ponte di Genova, parlano i parenti delle vittime: “Per noi è un giorno come un altro”, https://www.fanpage.it/attualita/ponte-di -genoa-the-relatives-of-the-victims-speak-for-us-and-one-day-like-another / (accessed 7/8/20).

External Links

  1. Municipality of Genoa, Design Competition “Il parco del ponte ", https://concorsiawn.it/ilparcodelponte/home
  2. Municipality of Genoa, Parco del Ponte, https://smart.comune.genova.it/sezione/parco-del-ponte.

Notes