middle lands in friuli venezia giulia. research by design and towards action

Abstract

In the Italian Region Friuli Venezia Giulia, 71% of the Municipalities count less than 5,000 inhabitants, with a stop in population growth and an increase of aging trends. In the frame of the cohesion policies (National Strategy for Inner Areas – snai), three Project Areas were identified in the mountain sector. However, the presence of middle lands is even more pervasive. This term stands for marginalised contexts, outside those identified by the snai; they are dotted by natural and rural landscapes, small urban centres, and the peripheries of medium cities. Here the number of inhabitants and the functioning of services still hold on, economic crisis and abandonment have not reached their climax. Nonetheless, the risk to slip into more serious conditions of fragility is strong. Since some years, at the University of Trieste, these areas have been the object of Urban Planning Courses. The methodology is that of research by design to support local planning and regional policies. Starting from the characters of marginalised contexts in Friuli Venezia Giulia, this paper presents the outputs of the activities developed in the middle lands along the river Cormor. Through the interaction with the Municipalities involved in the construction of a River Contract, the request to draw the extension of a horse/cycle path offered the opportunity to reflect on how to reconceive economies and services related to slow tourism within a larger planning perspective. Project investigations interpreted Cormor as the spine of a network of ecological services, and new functions were defined for existing collective facilities. The research is in progress, and more contexts will be studied within Friuli Venezia Giulia snai’s areas. In view of the next season of eu cohesion policies, the closing paragraph questions the definition of place-based development strategies for marginalised territories, and the need to go beyond spatial perimeters centred on abstract statistical indicators and accessibility parameters.