Changes from the edges: new vectors for resilience and positive territorial transformation / Cambiamenti dai margini: nuovi vettori per la resilienza e la trasformazione territoriale positiva

For long the question of the peripheries has made into urban theoretical debate. It is now, however, that peri-urban areas, fringe conditions, in-between spaces and other landscapes of the edges have been worryingly aligned with the question of the climate and ecological crises. It is there that the effects of such crises are and will be felt most strongly. Placed at the intersection of urban and landscape planning disciplines, this essay discusses the need to re-consider such landscapes of the edge as potential vectors for positive transformation and territorial integration. It challenges dichotomies such as the compact vs the green city and the city and nature as categorical opposites, instead calling for the exploration of the qualities of the overlaps, the interfaces, the intersections and the hybrid as instruments for re-mapping the way in which limitations can be turned into potentiality, innovation and a new lease of urban-rural life. These are, par excellence, the territories where the realization of Koolhaas’ call for the creation of ‘enabling fields that accommodate processes’ leading to the ‘irrigation of territories with potential’ can be achieved most effectively. Given that the urban-rural mosaic must accommodate both anthropic needs and non-human life, while reducing our impact on the planet, an integrative and systemic approach to planning and delivering new, balanced environments is required. This essay will explore this from the perspective of the in-between landscapes and edge conditions.