From the Recognition of the Identity Values to the Definition of Urban Regeneration Strategies. The Case of the Military Landscapes in Cagliari

Abstract

The reuse of former military assets, or those in process of decommissioning, represents a topic of relevant interest for the scientific community, that involves different research fields, from restoration to urban planning. The issue is not limited to the design of a project of reuse and redevelopment for a specific area or building, but requires an integrated planning approach aimed at defining a framework of strategies for the regeneration of urban and territorial contexts, which are the result of socio-economic and settlement processes strongly affected by the historical military presence. In the territorial context of the Region of Sardinia, and in particular in the city of Cagliari, there is a wide range of military assets, which, due to the downsizing of the needs of national defence, is actually underutilized or dismissed. Even after ownership has been transferred to local authorities, former military assets are often in a state of long-term abandonment. Often located in the most strategic contexts with high environmental and landscape value, these areas have been excluded for decades from collective use and fruition, significantly affecting the development of the surrounding settlements. The military presence has in fact produced different outcomes, depending on the extent of military sites and the socio-economic context of reference. Often, they have carried out indirect actions that have led to opposing effects, sometimes positive, such as preserving environmental and natural resources or increasing job opportunities, or negative, such as irreversible landscape transformations or environmental pollution. Within an integrated land-use strategy for a sustainable growth of the community, the definition of new uses requires that public institutions follow a multi-objective decision-making process, which should include the active participation of all public and private actors. The paper focuses on the methods of analysis and representation of military urban landscapes, through a diachronic reconstruction of the settlement development and the recognition of the factors and conditions imposed by the military presence. In particular, we reflect on the need to preserve the identity of military landscapes in the definition of strategies for the regeneration of the settlement and territorial heritage but, at the same time, to offer new uses and facilities for the community, in order to increase the quality of urban life.