The role of social networks for new strategies of urban regeneration

Abstract

The renewal of the city could play a crucial role for the economic, social, environmental and cultural development of the whole city. This paper will analyze the role of social networks (precisely Facebook) for the urban regeneration and the case study is Palermo (Sicily, Italy). Sicily and Palermo have a geographical position similar to a hinge between the European and the African continent. The migration flows, always been present, had and have a big impact at different scales (local, national and international). The movements and flows of people and goods, which characterize the life of the port areas help to design the urban context of reference, apparently in an intangible way, but in reality in crucial one. The coexistence of various ethnic groups in Palermo has already generated in the past some spontaneous or planned stratifications, which led specific expressions of settlement. The tested methodology will combines the Chekland's CATWOE with the use of the social network Facebook, by ensuring that stakeholders could have an active role in the definition of urban strategic transformations. Their participation is revealed in the choice of criteria, of future cities characters and of focal points, with the objective to identify some strategies for future sustainable scenarios of development. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.