Spazio pubblico e waterfront. Linee di innovazione per la rigenerazione urbana e territoriale/Public space and waterfronts. Lines of innovation for urban and territorial regeneration

Since the late 90s, urban regeneration fosters the design debate and experimentation towards the integration between physical actions on the building and urban heritage, and environmental, cultural and socio-economic actions, supported by innovative forms of participation and partnerships. In this context, the ongoing regeneration practices along waterfronts underline the important role of public space to face the new ecological and socio-economic challenges: the implementation of climate change resilience and sustainable mobility, as well as the promotion of green economy. In particular, the ongoing plans and projects in Italy, France, Spain, combine interventions for the redevelopment of abandoned spaces and enhancement of historical and landscape components with new forms and functions of public spaces that enable natural cycles regulation, sweet mobility and a shared and partnership-based management of common goods. The paper will face this issue by illustrating international regeneration case studies, deepening the Seine Valley case study, emblematic practice for the promotion of innovative waterfront projects characterized by a multilevel strategic vision of the river system that assumes the public space as a driver of sustainable development and a framework for the localization of eco-friendly and inclusive temporary uses as well as the place of cultural, social and economic exchange for the green economy linked to the water resource and the river identity.