PROPOSAL FOR THE CONSTITUTUION OF A FORUM ON POLICIES AND TOOLS FOR THE RENEWAL AND REVITALIZATION OF HISTORICAL URBAN AREAS.


1. A sustainable future for the city.

Along with globalization, cities are becoming part of a force field which requires new 'energies' from the cities. In particular, metropolitan cities are becoming the new 'arenas' for this global contest.
Winning this contest involves two main strategies; maximizing quality and reducing inefficiency. Quality is that of physical spaces, private areas, infrastructures and natural, human, constructed and social capital. During the past this quality was marginal/decorative but now it has become fundamental in attracting (or not attracting) the localization of activities to stimulate areas of innovation and investment.
The promotion of continuous innovation is a main feature of this new strategy, as in the enterprise outlook: renewal/regeneration of urban 'products' and services, stimulating the advanced research (universities, laboratories) in order to transform the knowledge into local economic development.

2. Naples, sustainable city, international observatory and Forum location.

Naples has been investing more and more in this direction since the beginning of the 1990s.
The following strategic aims must anticipate a more desirable future in all, and will shape Naples in the form of a “sustainable city”: the preservation of historical and urban heritage; the environmental renewal; the preservation of elements which form the natural structure of the territory; and the improvement of the city transport network.
Environmental renewal is combined with that of cultural heritage, thereby providing a close link between the regeneration of the historical centre and that of its cultural landscape.
Naples is attempting to regenerate itself and its natural and building/settlement heritage to become more attractive to foreign investors.
Preservation works have started in the old town centre, which can be considered as catalyst not only for economic development, but also for the improvement of cultural identity and social development. They also have an impact on unemployment – thereby providing a strategy to reduce poverty and social segregation.
This regeneration of the historical districts is a source of new direct, indirect and induced employment in building industry, in new social, cultural, artistic and commercial services, in the shaping of new enterprises and above all in new small enterprises set up by young people which link the relaunch of a hard economy to the soft economy.
Thus, Naples is focusing on culture as a main factor in its development strategy. With this vision, the city has begun to consider its cultural heritage as a resource which can produce wealth, and which is to managed in terms of cost and benefit. Naples has launched a series of actions designed to stimulate processes which improve the city's position in attracting commercial investment, improving the efficiency of private and public services, systemically enhancing existing and potential resources which, when combined and coordinated successfully, produce added value.


3. The Proposal

Naples has always been known as an open city a crossroads for people, goods and culture. This identity is due not only to its strategic geographical position (a large port in the centre of the Mediterranean), but also to its tolerance and curiosity towards 'others'. Today the city spontaneously demonstrates its multi-ethnicity with a large presence of foreign peoples and cultural institutions which focus on the world and non-European cultures. However, as opposed to large European capital cities (Berlin, London and Paris) Naples has only recently begun to systematically face these factors through programmes and institutions. For this reason the city is particularly sensitive and open to innovations in the application of new strategies for social integration.
Naples possesses one of the largest historical centres in the world (almost 2,000 hectares according to urban classification), with a significant quota ( approx 700 hectares) included in UNESCO's heritage list. For the past several years there has been a complex operation in progress. The Sirena Project promotes the requalification of buildings with incentives to the owners for the renovation, restoration or maintenance of buildings.
There are numerous fields of research in the conservation of environmental and architectural heritage and these are promoted, on several levels, by the Sirena Project and other prestigious national and international institutions such as the University of Naples 'Federico II' Department of Architectural and Environmental Heritage Conservation and Benecon.
Naples is therefore the ideal location to found an international observation agency for policies on the regeneration of historical areas, as they are formulated and updated. Naples can host a permanent institution/event which would act as a meeting opportunity for communication and collaboration.
This could provide both critical debate within the scientific community, and an exchange between central and local institutions (such as development agencies and international organizations).


4. The Event

Naples, as an international centre for observation of revitalization policies for historical urban areas, will be able to coordinate, internationally every 2 years (starting in 2006) a Forum dedicated to issues related to the policies and the instruments necessary for this revitalization of historical urban areas. This event would provide an opportunity to learn about the most significant experiments, best practice and to examine methodologies and plans, and to evaluate results.
The event could be divided into two sections: the first, a permanent part of each Forum, would evaluate the situations in the world and in particular practical problems. These would include the social impact of the transformations, availability of financial resources and their uses, the roles and competences of the planners, strategies plans, roles and rights of the citizen, relationships between public and private subjects, the success of incentive systems etc. In this section several experiences which could be considered of importance would be selected.
The second section could be considered theme-based and would choose a central topic or theme every 2 years. The Forum would formulate theses, and proposals to be offered as specific contributions to the institutions, the scientific community and public opinion. Special emphasis would be on social issues and multiethnic components in cities.


5. The Observatory

The acquisition of a collective conscience of the importance of conservation of memory and its material, cultural and urban testimony is a fairly recent phenomenon. However, In Europe and in other parts of the world there have been numerous experiments in regeneration and revitalization of the older historical urban areas.
Previous approaches to the renewal of historical centres were typically based on theoretical models and disciplinary hypotheses. These have been replaced, and in some cases consolidated, by practices that demonstrate the integration between the conservation of sites, the preservation of local social groups, and the economic relaunch of the areas involved.
We can single out, within experiences conducted, several issues which emerge in the field of politics and intervention instruments. These are: social impact, availability of financial resources, relationships between public and private sectors and factors involving funding and taxes, the role of agencies which promote and manage the interventions between public institutions and citizens, and management of buildings.
Today it is possible and necessary to monitor the progress of works and practices adopted in Santiago de Compostela, in Vilnius, in Edinburgh, Havana, Barcelona, Dublin, San Paolo in Brazil, Valencia etc. This helps one understand while acknowledging the unique characteristics of each of the cities in consideration, which, among the experiments, demonstrate considerable results, which problems are emerging, which models and processes could possibly be exportable.
A permanent structure in support of the organization of the Forum, which prepares the event with a series of manifestations during the two-year period will constitute an opportunity for interaction between different institutions and others involved.
The observatory is founded by the Naples City Council, Sirena s.c.p.a., Università degli Studi di Napoli 'Federico II' Department of Architectural and Environmental Heritage Preservation, and by the Prague Institute for Global Urban Development of Prague-Washington-Sydney, and in association with international organizations (UN-Habitat, Unesco, Dubai Award etc). The organization will have a website and computerized database.
This organization must have:
The sponsorship/support of national institutions (Presidency, Government etc)
Contributions from local institutions (Regional, Provincial and local governments)
Financing by organizations, enterprises, foundations (Naples Manufacturers' Association, ACEN -Association of the Building Contractors of the Province of Naples, Chamber of Commerce, bank foundations etc)
This observatory could also function as a main nucleus for Habitat-Campania to promote the realization of plans for 'sustainable development' in regional and provincial governments.

6. Presentation

The proposal is to present this initiative with a conference in the beginning of next February in Naples. This will be both an international opportunity to discuss and evaluate the practices currently in use in the field of revitalization of historical centres, and also a suitable showcase for announcing the forum and for evaluating all the required interest from individuals and institutions that plan to be involved in this initiative.