Reinventing urban space. Reuse of public space practices in Mediterranean cities: the case of Genoa

After years of stagnation, in recent decades we have witnessed several actions aimed at the recovery, rehabilitation and overall regeneration of these areas. Mediterranean cities appear as palimpsests of history, of symbols, and different cultures, with an extraordinary ability to encompass, in their areas, lifestyles and different architectures. Looking at their current transformation process, the interplay between globalisation and localism, or between the growing indifference of the production processes to their territorial organisation and the increasing weight that places have in the contemporary urban experience, is particularly evident. The specificity of Mediterranean cities is to be found in the ways in which old and new combine and influence each other. In these contexts, the relationship between old and new within the transformation of territorial identity assumes an absolute centrality, in a time in which the main change, concerning the physical form of the city, is the transition from the expansion to reuse. Reuse is considered as a strategy to give a new life to parts of the already existing city, either through their physical replacement or through the assignment of new functions. It has been conceived as a redefinition of the spatial quality, or of the urban role, or the imposition of new meanings. The urban interventions carried on in some cities have had repercussions, not only on balances and dislocation of spaces but also on the creation of sites and on the shaping of a collective identity. The ability to re-take possession of the urban spaces constitute a valuable resource in the affirmation and social differentiation practices. Based on these considerations, this paper analyses the case of Genoa, a significant example of a Mediterranean town that, for decades, after overcoming the industrial decline’s phase, tries to position itself back on the stage of national and international competitiveness.