The chair Methodology

Methodology

The Chair PracticEUA aims to enhance the role of Regional Design in promoting sustainability, socio-spatial justice, health and well-being of individuals, organizations, and communities for the implementation of the EUA.

It poses on the concept that Regional Design practices concerned with the enhancing of the Green and Just city in complex urban contexts can provide actors with transformative power for the common good in collective environments. Post-pandemic dynamics and climate change are triggering profoundly new social dynamics and are calling for innovative forms of spatial planning and territorial development. They necessitate the participation of civil society at all levels: from collaborative regional planning and design to urban co-design in neighbourhoods characterised by a multitude of complex challenges.

In this direction, Regional Design theories and practices are called to promote participation at both the local and the larger-than-local scale and to enhance future literacy among citizens and stakeholder for the future of their territories.

Stakeholders and citizens involvement is intended to enhance the development of local contexts and their territorial systems (in urban, rural and inland areas), to connect technological and social innovation and direct them towards the strengthening of social cohesion, health and well-being in families, in the workplace, in urban and residential structures, in a true perspective of sustainable human development.

Moreover, the University can play a “civic” role within these processes by proposing learning and research approaches, as well as design methodologies for the whole community, targeted to promote future literacy and to enhance the construction and diffusion of spatial visions, imaginaries and design studios concerning the present and future of our cities and territories.

On this path, following an interactive approach, the PracticEUA Chair will combine frontal and participatory teaching methodologies, the latter including encounters with practitioners, seminars, co-design workshops, in order to provide participants with both formal and non-formal/informal learning (see fig. 1).

In particular, the first step of the Chair activities in each academic year is usually dedicated to defining the case study with local authorities in order to set the activities of the workshops. Situated learning not only provides students with knowledge of a local context (the case study area needs and problems) but lead also the Chair to establish or enhance partnership and networking activities with local authorities, associations and stakeholders. From the side of the “receiving territories”, the availability to collaborate and provide info on the case study areas can enforce or develop new narratives on the area itself. Moreover, during the preparatory meetings with local authorities, an introduction to the Chair’s topic concerning the Urban Agenda for the EU can enhance planning officers and local politicians awareness’ on the LAs’ role in promoting its implementation.