LABORATORIO DI PIANIFICAZIONE DEL TERRITORIO E DEL PAESAGGIO A - L

Class activities aim at making students aware of the complexity of land and landscape, of the evolution of
critical thinking related to them, and of the modes of intervention through the practical and conceptual tools
of land use planning in connection with those of strategic planning. Within this general objective, students
are expected in particular to develop the ability to envision regional and landscape transformations starting
from existing spatial relationships.
The studio specifically aims at strengthening not only theoretical knowledge but also design skills and
competencies, encouraging students to use both the conceptual and technical–practical tools of physical–
spatial planning—stemming from the reformist period and the so-called “environmental turn” in planning—
and those of integrated strategic process-based planning. To pursue these objectives, students will be
guided to combine learning the use of GIS (Geographic Information Systems), an essential tool for
acquiring, analyzing, evaluating, and cross-referencing georeferenced data, with regional and landscape
design and co-design skills.
The aim is to enable students, through critical reflection on a practical experience, to acquire not only
technical competencies but also the cognitive-creative and reflective skills and sensibilities required of
professionals (deutero-learning, or learning how to learn) involved in the complex processes of
managing and designing contemporary territories and landscapes.
The pedagogical approach is based on action-learning (learning through action). Building on a mutual
learning agreement with a real territorial community facing significant problems and challenges,
students work through a reciprocal relationship with local actors. This represents a stimulating opportunity to
foster not only professional development, but also ethical dispositions and active citizenship.
The practical work, in which activities carried out in the classroom are continuously shared and critically
reworked with territorial partners, also promotes communication skills, not only of a technical nature but,
above all, the ability to communicate knowledge to a broader audience.

The course will be developed through ex cathedra lectures, meetings with academic and non-academic personalities, seminars, workshops and with laboratory activity carried out in the classroom. In particular, the laboratory sessions are designed to involve a practical exercise, during which students will have the opportunity to once again apply the spatial investigation tools learned in previous years, combining them with fieldwork and study visits for both data collection and interaction with various stakeholders. The exercise aims to identify, within a specific study area, the main problematic aspects and the primary action strategies to address those issues. The class project will be carried out collaboratively by all the students in the class, but with a division of labor that will allow the instructor to identify and evaluate each student's individual contribution to the collective work. This contribution will be made through the completion of weekly assignments, each building on the previous one. During the practical activities, each student will be asked to work either individually or in groups, in class or in the field, and/or to share the results of their work with the rest of the class.

The examination for this course can only be taken after passing the Laboratorio di Progettazione Urbanistica (third year). 

attendance is compulsory in accordance with the University regulations

The workshop is divided into a theoretical section and a practical section. Both sections aim to provide, through a practical approach grounded in critical theoretical reflection, an understanding of the key issues and the main tools (conceptual and regulatory) used to define spatial planning and the paradigms of control, protection and co-production of changes to territories and landscapes.

From the very start of the course, students will be guided in learning the main GIS tools.

Within this framework, the topics of integrated protection of landscape and environmental assets will be explored in relation to emerging issues such as territorial risks, the ecological transition and the climate crisis. Particular attention will be paid to the relationship between planning and programming, with specific reference to areas facing difficulties and recent policies aimed at reducing territorial disparities, such as the SNAI.

The main topics covered are as follows:

Introduction to the course.

Levels of planning.

Thematic cartography.

The territory: definitions and concepts.

Adaptation and mitigation

Ecosystem services

Southern Italy: territories and landscapes

Policies to reduce regional disparities

The National Strategy for Inland Areas

Sustainable development. (From the concept of sustainable development to the territorialist approach)

From community to civil society.

The landscape: definitions and concepts.

Planning the territory and the landscape.

Strategies and projects in the landscape.

The climate change and its effects on the territory.

Essential bibliography

1-Paolo D’Angelo, Filosofia del paesaggio, Quodlibet, Roma, 2010, cap. 15. 

2- Simin Davoudi et alii. (2013) Evolutionary Resilience and Strategies for Climate Adaptation, Planning

Practice & Research, 28:3, 307-322
3-Marco Esposito, Vuoto a perdere, Rubbettino, Soveria Mannelli, 2024
4-Alberto Magnaghi, Il progetto locale, Bollati Boringhieri, Torino, 2000

5- Alberto Magnaghi, Il principio territoriale, Bollati Boringhieri, Torino, 2020
6- Fausto Carmelo Nigrelli (a cura di), Paesaggi scartati, Manifestolibri, Roma, 2020
7- Convenzione europea del Paesaggio, Firenze 2000.
8- Michael Jakob, Il paesaggio, il Mulino, Bologna, 2009

9-Rossano Pazzagli et alii (a cura di), Appaesati. Storie di ordinaria ruralità, Radici ed. Capistrello, 2025
10- Domenico Sorace, Paesaggio e paesaggi della Convenzione europea, in G.F. Cartei (a cura di), Convenzione europea del paesaggio e governo del territorio, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2007
11-Gianfranco Visti, I divari territoriali in Italia, Carocci, Roma, 2024

12-Watson, V. (2014) Co-production and collaboration in planning – The difference. In Planning Theory &Practice, 15:1, 62-76

A further bibliography will be indicated during the course of the workshop

Planning, like all technical disciplines, requires a ‘know-how’ that cannot be learnt in isolation, simply by studying from books and notes. For this reason, not only is attendance at lectures compulsory, but active participation in workshop activities is also mandatory (particularly adherence to deadlines).

At the end of the first semester, two written mid-term assessments will be held. The first, consisting of open-ended questions, will assess students’ understanding of the theoretical topics covered; the second will assess the GIS skills acquired. The marks from these assessments will contribute to the final mark.

Further in-course assessments may be included during both the first and second semesters.

The final examination consists of a written test covering the content addressed during the second half of the course and an oral examination during which students must demonstrate mastery of the theoretical topics covered in lectures, including through a discussion of the course assignments relating to the case study developed.

Students must submit all exercises and assignments produced during the workshop.

The final examination may involve organising an exhibition featuring all the materials produced and presenting the graphic work and general themes covered during the year to an external visiting professor.

Planning levels.

Spatial and sectoral planning

Evolution of the spatial concept

Sustainable development

What are ecosystem services

From the concept of sustainable development to the territorialist approach

Evolution of the landscape concept

Spatial and landscape planning

What are the effects of the climate change on the local area and the landscape?

Local development

Practical tests of GIS use

Questions relating to this specific case study