Unused public buildings and civic actors. a new way to rethink urban regeneration processes

Abstract

In Italy, civic actors? engagement and bottom-up experiences related to public buildings revitalisation is considered a new potential alternative for urban renovation processes. The changes after the economic crisis brought to question traditional planning methods, especially the one related to public buildings? renovation and re-use. In fact, what emerges is that the economic shortage and the inadequate regulation of public agencies have highlighted difficulties in managing this issue. In this context, a new trend of innovative and hybrid actions starts to raise spontaneously and, at the beginning, from the bottom-up. This array of different practices, pursued by ?civic actors?, have been at the centre of political and social debate. There are two main perspectives to consider this new phenomenon. The first one is considering civic actors? engagement in revitalisation processes as a potential alternative to public buildings privatisation or disposals. The second one, is considering this kind of activities and practices as the only way to solve the problem of abandoned and unused public buildings. Although its novelty, this phenomenon is already presenting some limitations and some conditions that define their outcomes. Through the analysis of different case studies across Italian territory, some first findings and recommendations might be suggested, based on a neo-institutional framework. The paper aims (i) to discuss critically these experiences, their magnitude and some key features and (ii) to organise and frame this new category of stakeholders in relation to urban regeneration processes for unused public buildings.