Vol. 12 No. 23 (2019): Urban acupuncture & art infoscape

Analyzing and designing transformations of urban systems require a constant need to change scale for identifying efficient solutions, and in doing so it is necessary to develop the ability to focus on small points of the city, alternately intervening from above and below. The multiscalar approach aims to preserve the advantages and potential of a detailed design perspective (bottom-up approach), on a neighbourhood scale, with those deriving from the top-down approach, commonly applied by urban planning. For the definition of the nerve centres of the urban organism, reference is made to another recent field of urban planning research: urban acupuncture. It represents a practice at ‘micro-urban planning’ scale, as it is able to act in small, localised areas where local administrations’ representation becomes the fundamental to the success of the transformation. TRIA in this issue aims to debate on the "multiscalar approach and urban acupuncture", therefore the papers present theoretical reflections and interesting descriptions of actual experiences of urban planning and design in small scale interventions, with specific attention on artistic and digital practices regarding urban rehabilitation.