Civic activation, vulnerable subjects and public space: the case of the park of Rione Traiano in Naples

Abstract

The woman, in every kind of human settlement, culture as well a time, plays a peculiar role in terms of active observation and multitasking actor of the urban form and their organization model.

Studying urban phenomena through the filter of the gender interpretation and fostering a proactive participation of women in the process of urban planning could provide added value in terms of feasibility, effectiveness and efficiency. In this paper it was decided to dealing with this issue in the framework of public spaces through the construction of a case study centered on women-mothers and their contribution for interpreting and being proactive in a participatory process of urban regeneration. The expected result of this interactive process is twofold: developing a generalized methodology of interaction with communities for interpreting, in terms of space organization, the demand they express on the one hand as well as for dealing with specific context, with the involvement of activists and associations to define and share possible trajectories of transformation of public spaces, on the other hand.

To pursue this goal we have chosen to deal with the specificities of a complex environment such as Naples and with a CEP district, the largest in Italy, whose construction was initiated in 1960: Rione Traiano. In this area has started a dialogue, with non-profit organizations operating in the area first and then with women in the community, in order to address the relationship between vulnerable people and public spaces, testing a methodology for interaction and civic activation finalized to collect, prioritize and translate into proposals instances as expressed by these subjects. The disciplinary horizon selected is the integration between established tools of community planning and project strategies typical of urban design.