Strategie diversificate per contesti complessi e fragili. Abusivismo edilizio e innalzamento del livello del mare nelle marine di Lecce

The paper presents some of the results of a three-year educational path of two studios held at the Politecnico di Milano. The students dealt with the marine (coastal settlements) of Lecce with attention to urban, environmental and landscape issues. In these coastal settlements, the themes of unauthorized construction, second homes, coastal wetlands and sea-level rise are intertwined. The work started with on-site explorations and was accompanied by lectures and seminars held by national and local experts who allowed to enrich the analyses and project proposals in an interdisciplinary key. The study area, placed between the settlements Spiaggiabella and Torre Chianca, is characterized by a strong conflict between illegal second homes and sensitive/dynamic natural elements such as dunes, marshes and mouths. The status of places denounces a high hydrogeological risk that worsens with the intensification of erosive phenomena, saltwater intrusion, raising of the aquifers, and sinking of the thin limestone layer on which the buildings stand. This critical condition is increased by the threats deriving from climate change and sea-level rise scenarios. The design approaches adopted within the studio, and subsequently explored in the context of a master’s thesis, have tried to merge an attitude of adaptation and partial coastal protection to forms of coastal setbacks through the demolition of some buildings and their partial relocation in less hazardous areas. In the concluding part, the paper underlines the need for an incremental, diversified and participatory urban planning project able to build awareness and the ability to anticipate some necessary moves in the absence of public resources to invest in and in situations of severe real estate devaluation. In conclusion, the paper reflects on the methods, techniques, and management of the different design phases that will become increasingly necessary to avoid producing further degraded coastal landscapes.