Busto Arsizio: masterplan di rigenerazione urbana per l’ambito della stazione FN. Busto Arsizio: urban regeneration Master plan for the FN railway Station area

The PGT of Busto Arsizio (VA) identifies a large area around the FerrovieNord (FN) railway station, referred to as the “Transformation Area 3 FNM Railway Station” «for the creation of a new urban centrality and an enhancement of the public city», along the Milan Cadorna – Malpensa Airport railway axis, involved in the “FILI” FNM project, an important urban regeneration intervention. The railway line, since 1887, represented the driving force behind the industrial development of the area south of the historic center. In the 1990s, the tracks were buried, and a new station was built to the west of the original one, which was demolished. The track bed was converted into a parking lot, not resolving the discontinuity in the urban fabric caused by the railway. In 2020, a collaboration was initiated between the Municipality of Busto Arsizio and the DAStU Department of the Politecnico di Milano: the research – “Trains and Trees: a green urban stitching on the buried railway bed of Ferrovie Nord” – will result in a master plan for urban and environmental regeneration, serving as guidelines for future professional projects divided into different areas, given the size and articulation of public and private properties. Through an approach that considers open space in the relationship between small and large scale, the proposed theme concerns the creation of an inclusive, intergenerational city that transforms the current gap into a green centrality: an urban linear park over one kilometer long, with cycle-pedestrian paths, areas for sports, play, rest, and socio-cultural buildings. The urban development strategy focused on three poles – the railway station at the center, the former slaughterhouse to the west, and the market square to the east – integrated into a system through a green infrastructure over the buried tracks, with changes in ground level that allow for planting and contribute to soil deimpermeabilization, becoming a defining element of the project. In August 2021, the master plan was approved by the Municipal Council, and the market project was funded through the call promoted by Lombardia Region: Sustainable Urban Development Strategies 2021. The former slaughterhouse project was funded through the national call for Urban Regeneration Projects DPCM 21.01.2021. For both, professional projects are underway based on the drafted guidelines. The central area – including the park and FN railway station – has secured funding through an agreement between the State, Lombardia Region, and FerrovieNord. Currently, feasibility studies and detailed assessments of the master plan are underway and will be submitted as a basis for a tender process for the assignment of design contracts.