The chronotope of the contemporary spatial project

In contrast to the rapidity and simultaneous nature of contemporary society, dominated by the so-called ‘dictatorship of urgency’ (Finchelstein, 2011) and the instant consumption of goods, places (and time), more and more anthropologists and sociologists, not to mention architects and designers, are emphasising the importance of designing a renewed urban ‘slowness’. The paradigm of the ‘slow city’ is thus asserting itself as an antithesis to that of the ‘instantaneous city’ that continues to dominate throughout the West. This essay intends to explore this semantic dimension, replete with its additional implications for urban space and housing, and attempts to outline some possible research trajectories already hinted at by some of the most cutting-edge case studies. From this perspective, the preferred testing ground is clearly that of the neighbourhood, which becomes an opportunity to enhance the aspect of proximity on which the challenges of a truly ‘human-scale’ metropolis are played out and which must be considered today not only in physical terms, but also, if not most importantly, in terms of time.