Abstract ID: 3.9597 | Accepted as Talk | Talk/Oral | TBA | TBA

Planning, territorial design and applied research can play an important role in addressing the complex transformations that characterize the Alpine Region and fragile or marginal territories. This implies the search for regeneration mechanisms aimed at sustainability, resilience and antifragility in economic transition, capable of tackling the challenges of climate change while also addressing increasingly severe socio-territorial disparities. The proposed contribution identifies three possible operational principles, which can be articulated through three design actions intended as potential general recommendations.
Three operational principles
One. Be aware that geographical, environmental, and physical-territorial features shape the history and culture of local communities. This interconnection is an essential starting point for building programmatic development scenarios considering the characteristics and values of the places.
Two. Recognize landscapes, settlement environments, and the evolving lifestyles of contemporary Alpine communities, which are radically different from the recent past. Every successful regeneration project represents a relevant, place-based, and context-specific strategy.
Three. Listen to local knowledge by creating appropriate community biographies and maps that represent their needs, expectations, and requirements. Empowering communities, combined with a transitional and incremental approach to the inevitably long regeneration processes, constitutes the essential conditions for building feasible and shared hypotheses of possible futures.
Three design actions
One. Seize the phenomenon of Alpine decommissioning as an opportunity to enhance the unique characteristics of natural and historical-documentary landscapes, build robust ecological networks, and strengthen ecosystem services. This can be achieved by creating new cultural and environmental routes that promote active and conscious engagement with the territory (geographies as relational landscapes).
Two. Foster the growth of a locally oriented sustainable economy by exploring new employment opportunities and supporting skills and enterprises capable of addressing the social changes that an economic transition phase inevitably entails.
Three. Guide regeneration projects in the right direction by addressing and mitigating the effects of climate change and the natural risks inherent to the geological and environmental characteristics of Alpine regions.