Alcune considerazioni sull’utilità del camminare nell’insegnamento dell’urbanistica

The chapter aims at introducing the concepts of space, body and movement by exploring some interpretative relations and continuities. Walking emerges as an action capable of giving practical meaning to the three notions, of clarifying their connotation and facilitating the analysis of their relationships. Afterwards, three arguments are presented to support the sense and usefulness of walking in planning education in Italy, by tracing the links and critical issues with respect to the theoretical debate set out in the previous section. The first topic refers to the so-called phenomenological approach and lies in the ability of walking to bring back the body, the senses and the experience of the student/walker in the field of planning education. The second topic concerns the pedagogical possibilities which derive from submitting students to ‘wicked problems’ and complex issues through the direct experience of walking in and listening to places. The third topic looks at walking as a practical way of acting, and it implies a form of planning tied to social mobilization, collective learning and citizenship practices.