Gibellina, salaparuta, poggioreale and montevago: About built environment underutilization and possible urban future

Abstract

Disasters like earthquakes affect dramatically the construction of place identity. Urban settlements generate complex social structures: they are not just scenarios where the functioning of city takes place. ‘Interrupted landscapes’ cannot be merely reconstructed. Post-earthquake reconstruction lies in between community social identity protection and urban planning approaches to renewal or rebuilding. This paper focuses on the four urban centres of Gibellina, Montevago, Salaparuta and Poggioreale that were reconstructed in a different place, after the Belìce earthquake in Western Sicily in 1968. Next to a brief review of planning events that characterized the post-earthquake reconstruction, this paper analyses the built environment in these four settlements with regard to built up volumes, land uses and inhabitants. The most relevant outcome is an impressive underutilization of the reconstructed dwellings and evident trends of depopulation and ageing. Literature and data analysis trigger critical considerations on urban strategies and choices that drove the reconstruction, and long term effects caused by the 1968 event. The case study presented reflects on directions for the revitalisation of these area from a town planning perspective, taking into account the present and future challenges for resident communities and local authorities, facing the risk of progressive abandonment of these settlements.