Dipartimento Città e Territorio

PALERMO: THE CITY OF OPPORTUNITIES The Industrial Heritage Network Plan by Maurizio Carta

The contemporaneous debate about the role of planning for a more sustainable urban growth, the local and European political reflections about the spatial development perspective and the framework about a more integrated development – not only ecologically sustainable, but also socially and culturally – it shows us that the reflections about the socio-economic development models must be more based on the cultural identity, formed by the history and the memory of the communities.

We (administrators, politicians and planner) assist at an increasing need of knowledge and participation in cities' development: people need a sharper knowledge able to produce a better interpretation and evaluation about spatial, social, economic and cultural perspectives.

This knowledge's need could find its answer in the cultural heritage, considered as the identity's source and as a planning tool. Cultural heritage gives to the people the consciousness of their common history and common future, and its preservation is, therefore, a matter of vital importance.

Heritage conservation must be considered, not as a marginal issue, but as a major objective of town and country planning. Local authorities, with whom most of the important planning decisions rest, have a special responsibility for the protection of the cultural heritage and should assist one another by the exchange of ideas and information able to reach a more effective heritage management.

The significance of the cultural heritage and the arguments for conserving must be are more clearly recognised. It is accepted that historical continuity must be preserved in its spatial and social environment if we are to maintain or create surroundings which enable individuals to find their identity and feel secure despite abrupt social changes. In modern town planning, an attempt is being made to bring back the human dimension, the enclosed spaces, the interactions of functions and the social and cultural diversity that characterised the urban fabric of old towns. But it is also being realised that the conservation of ancient buildings helps to economise on resources and combat waste, one of the major preoccupations of present-day society. It has been shown that historic buildings can be given new functions related to the needs of contemporary life. The rehabilitation of existing buildings (residential, cultural or productive one) helps also to reduce the conflicts between conservation and innovation, between basic needs and cultural needs.

An integrated policy of a cultural heritage-based development must follow some principles, sharing among administrators, planners and users:

The conservation of the architectural heritage would become an integral part of urban planning, instead of being treated as a secondary consideration or one requiring only incidental action. A permanent dialogue between conservationists and those responsible for planning is thus indispensable.

Planners should recognise that not all historical areas are the same and that they should therefore be dealt with according to their individual characteristics. The recognition of the claims of the historical, aesthetic and cultural values of the architectural heritage should lead to the adoption of specific aims and planning rules for old architectural complexes.

Local planning policy must take account of the rehabilitation of the urban architectural heritage and contribute to its "innovation with conservation". In particular it can induce new activities to establish themselves in economically declining parts of cities in order to check depopulation and thereby prevent the deterioration of old buildings. In addition, decisions on the development of peripheral urban areas can be orientated in such a way as to reduce pressure on the older neighbourhoods.

The full development of a permanent policy of conservation and rehabilitation requires a large measure of decentralisation. This means that there must be people responsible for conservation at all levels (central, regional, local and sub-local) at which planning decisions or administrative decisions or financial decisions are taken. The conservation of the architectural heritage, however, should not merely be a matter for experts, but the support of public opinion is essential. The population, on the basis of full, objective and participate knowledge, should take a real part in every step of planning process.

The conservation of the architectural heritage (monumental or industrial) should become a feature of a new long-term approach which pays due attention to criteria of quality and just proportions and which should make it possible henceforth to reject options and aims which are too often governed by short-term considerations.

 

Local authorities must acquire specific and extensive responsibilities in the protection of the urban architectural heritage in co-operation with the institutional authority for conservation. In applying the principles of integrated conservation, they should take account of the continuity of existing social and physical realities in urban communities. The future cannot and should not be built at the expense of the past, but the past should not be conserved at the expense of the future.

To implement such a policy, which respects the man-made environment intelligently, sensitively and with economy, local authorities would:

• use the existing studies, or promote new ones, about the texture of urban areas, notably their structure, their complex functions, and the architectural and spatial characteristics of their built-up and open spaces;
• afford functions to buildings which, whilst respecting their character, correspond to the needs of contemporary life and thus ensure their survival;
• be aware that long-term studies on the development of public services (cultural, educational, administrative, medical) indicate that excessive size impairs their quality and effectiveness;
• devote an appropriate part of their budget to such a policy, because local authority grants and loans made to private individuals and various associations should be aimed at stimulating their involvement and financial commitment;
• promote special non-profit agencies to provide direct links between potential users of buildings and their owners;
• facilitate the formation and efficient functioning of voluntary associations for restoration, rehabilitation and innovation of uses.

Local authorities should improve their techniques of consultation for ascertaining the opinions of interested parties on conservation plans and should take these opinions into account from the earliest stages of planning. The same architectural heritage could give some meeting places in order to enable members of the public to consult together.

As part of this policy, methods such as public meetings, exhibitions, opinion polls, the use of the mass media and all other appropriate methods should become common practice.

The education of young people in environmental issues and their involvement with conservation tasks is one of the most important requirements. Complementary proposals or alternatives put forward by groups or individuals should be considered as an important contribution to planning. Local authorities should therefore establish a continuing exchange of information and ideas through all available channels.

A policy of conservation also means the integration of the cultural heritage into social life. The conservation effort to be made must be measured not only against the cultural value of the buildings but also against their use value. The social problems of integrated conservation can be resolved only by simultaneous reference to both these scales of values.

The rehabilitation of a complex forming part of the architectural heritage (like the disused industrial areas) is not necessarily more costly than new building for containing some urban services. When therefore comparing the cost of the solutions, whose social consequences are quite different, it is important not to overlook the social costs. These concern not only owners and tenants but also the craftsmen, trades people and contractors on the spot who keep the district alive and maintain it.

Financial interventions should aim to strike a balance between restoration grants to owners, combined with the fixing of maximum rents, and housing allowances to tenants to cover, in part or in whole, the difference between the old and new rents.

In order to enable the population to participate in the drawing up of programmes, they must be given the facts necessary to understand the situation, on the one hand through explaining the historic and architectural value of the buildings to be conserved, and on the other hand by being given full details about permanent and temporary re-housing. This participation is all the more important because it is no longer simply a matter of restoring a few privileged buildings but of rehabilitating whole areas, by a balance between conservation and innovation.

 

Because the concept of the architectural heritage has been gradually extended from the individual historic building to urban architectural complexes, and to more recent architecture, far-reaching legislative reform, in conjunction with an increase in administrative resources, is a prerequisite to effective action.

In Italy, this reform is guided by the need to co-ordinate regional and local planning legislation with national legislation on the protection of the architectural heritage.

In order to increase the operational capacity of the authorities, it is necessary to review the structure of the administration to ensure that Superintendence responsible for the cultural heritage are organised at the appropriate levels and that sufficient qualified personnel and essential scientific, technical and financial resources are put at their disposal.

The Superintendence would assist local authorities, co-operate with regional planning offices and keep in constant touch with public and private bodies.

 

In order to solve the economic problems of a conservation balanced between rehabilitation and renewal, it is important to draw up legislation subjecting new buildings to certain restrictions with regard to their volume and dimensions (height, coefficient of land use) that will make for harmony with their surroundings.

The conservation policy would tend to restore the social balance and the financial and fiscal advantages available for new building should be accorded in the same proportion for the upkeep and conservation of old buildings, less, of course, any compensation for extra cost that may have been paid.

Local authorities should set up or encourage the establishment of revolving funds, by providing local authorities or non-profit associations with the necessary capital. This is particularly applicable to areas where such programmes can become self-financing in the short or the long term because of the rise in value accruing from the high demand for such attractive property. It is vital, however, to encourage all private sources of finance, particularly coming from industry, assurances and banks. Numerous private initiatives have shown the viable part that they can play in association with the authorities at either national or local level.

 

Methods and techniques of restoration and rehabilitation of historic complexes should be better exploited and their range developed. Specialised techniques which have been developed for the restoration of important historic complexes should be henceforth applied to the wide range of buildings and complexes of less outstanding artistic merit.

Steps should be taken to ensure that traditional building materials remain available and that traditional crafts and techniques continue to be used. Permanent maintenance of the architectural heritage, will, in the long run, obviate costly rehabilitation operations.

There is a fundamental need for better training programmes to produce qualified personnel. These programmes should be flexible, multidisciplinary and should include courses where on-site practical experience can be gained. This should help to create the required pool of planners, architects, technicians and craftsmen to prepare conservation programmes and help to ensure that particular crafts for restoration work, that are in danger of dying out, will be fostered.

The opportunity for qualifications, conditions of work, salary, employment security and social status should be sufficiently attractive to induce young people to take up and stay in disciplines connected with restoration and rehabilitation work. Furthermore, the authorities responsible for educational programmes at all levels should endeavour to promote the interest of young people in conservation disciplines.

The Importance of the Knowledge's Opportunity

The movements of people, goods and information across the continent of Europe are marked by a tendency towards concentration and polarisation. Liberalisation of the markets for transport and telecommunications and growing competition accentuate this process. Unless corrective measures are taken, owners of infrastructure and operators of information networks will be tempted to concentrate on the most profitable parts, thereby increasing the marginalisation of regions with smaller requirements for mobility and communications. Such a development would undermine economic and social cohesion. But the problem cannot be solved exclusively by providing more infrastructural facilities.

Investing in cultural heritage, in cultural innovation and in intelligence is of the utmost importance: without it, even the best infrastructure will do more harm than good to disadvantaged regions. It is an essential condition for genuine competitiveness throughout Europe and can be achieved only by facing up to important challenges: the trend towards a more intangible economy as a consequence of the Knowledge Society, the capacity for rehabilitation of memory and for innovation as a critical factor for development, and the need for a substantial increase in the general level of education and skills of the working population.

What is required is a combination of better access to areas and a more efficient and sustainable use of infrastructure and info-structure linked with the broadest possible diffusion of knowledge and innovative capacities.

By a broader diffusion of knowledge and culture – writes the European Spatial Development Perspective Document – the disadvantaged regions (and the Sicily is indubitable ones) must be able to meet the challenge of the Information Society by increasing their capacity to innovate and participate in new economic opportunities. People must increase their awareness of the opportunities presented, governments must seek to incorporate education, research and culture into the economic processes and to raise the general level of education and skills.

A more transactive, shared and intangible economy seems to be emerging in the economies of the most prosperous regions: a new international division of labour is emerging with a core labour-market of concentrated knowledge and skills. This market segment is relatively closed, not enabling lower skills to participate. The secondary market segment will be highly dependent on the performance of the high-skill international segment, and since it is characterised by lower added value goods and services, wages will be low. Such a division of labour would be a challenge to economic and social cohesion and makes imperative the need, especially for the peripheral regions, to invest in the culture economy, formed by information, education, technologies and loisir.

Where an insufficient contribution of institutional education system is being made to the development of a region's capacity to innovate, particular attention should be paid to strengthening their links with business and industry. Applied R&D and the development of knowledge and culture centres, technology centres, business incubators and other centres of innovation are examples of ways this could be done.

The dissemination of knowledge should not be restricted to a few favoured centres. The economic attractiveness of regions depends on the quality of the whole work force. Lifelong learning and improved vocational qualifications are an essential investment in human capital. In recent years, the cohesion countries have caught up considerably in this regard, particularly in combating illiteracy, but efforts to raise the general level of education of the labour force have to be continuing and unrelenting.

In order to achieve the upper written objectives, we can utilise the policy options given by the ESDP:

Integrated Management and Development of the Cultural Heritage and of the Culture Innovation

The ESDP writes that Europe's cultural heritage is an expression of its identity, a world asset characterised by great richness and diversity. Rigorous protective measures, including schemes for designating sites and monuments, can cover only small part of this heritage. For the remainder, the ideal of sustainable development calls for a more creative approach capable of passing on to future generations a cultural heritage to which the achievements of the present age will be added. The need is for the "creative management" of urban landscapes, promoting their overall coherence and reversing the trend towards the dereliction, damage and destruction prevalent in many areas.

The cultural heritage is also an economic asset of growing importance, reinforcing the need for protection, careful management, development and innovation of use. In particular, it is recognised that the environmental quality of cities is increasingly a location factor in mobile investment. Decisions on the location of new economic activities (especially those employing highly skilled labour) are taking into account, with greater frequency, the quality of life and environment.

Moreover, attractions of cultural value have over the last decades become an important factor in the dynamic development of the heritage-tourism industry. There is now a shift towards more active ways of spending the holiday and leisure time.

Conservation and creative management of the urban cultural heritage

The urban heritage is a valuable asset in projecting European culture across the world, a symbolic value that represents a strategic tool for a global competition. Considerable investment needs to be made in safeguarding outstanding historical ensembles, while urban landscapes ought to be remodelled on the basis of a coherent strategy which is not dominated solely by the past, or by the future once a time.

Many of Europe's cities possess extensive sites of historical heritage (monumental or industrial) of great value that are subject to a slow process of degradation. Despite substantial funds spent on maintenance and restoration, the trend has not been halted. To prevent irreparable losses, where this is still possible, proactive conservation programmes need to be started.

But, Europe's urban heritage does not only consist of outstanding ensembles: its cities represent places of intense social life and cultural events. The lifestyles of European cities must be considered in their entirety as a part of cultural heritage, and their identity and integrity needs to be preserved and used. Many cities in Europe are exposed to severe pressures of commercialism and cultural uniformity that remove individuality and identity, that erode memory and space. These include real estate speculation, the construction of over-large infrastructural projects, and adaptations to mass tourism. Often they have the effect of seriously disrupting the structure and social life of cities. An adequate response to these pressures needs to be found through development strategies that include, in particular, physical planning and land-use policy more careful to the interpretation of values.

For a more cultural-based urban planning, the policy options could be:

The ESDP, again, propose the way toward the consolidation of strategies based on the cultural matrix of the space and built by a cultural network, through improving of knowledge and the consolidation of a long-life education. These objectives could be reached through a cultural place network enable to represent a net of "creative economy incubators", and enable to develop the attitude to cultural heritage conservation.

The diffusion of the knowledge through a network of urban places (knowledge-based urban centres) could constitute a resource able of increase, not only the degree of culture, but also the level of citizens' participation. A citizen is not only who can satisfy the basic needs, but also who can enjoy of the knowledge, the art and the culture, who can live the "noo-sphere" and not only the "eco-sphere".

The Industrial Heritage Network Plan in Palermo

In this theoretic and politic context, the theme of the reuse of industrial heritage and their rehabilitation as knots of an urban cultural network represent a valid issue for experimenting the principles above explained.

The industrial heritage rehabilitation finds in Palermo's Master Plan an important occasion, because the new Master Plan declares that only a rehabilitation of the disused areas for collective functions could protect them from the speculation. These areas, completed their productive function, could become a strategic tool of the urban renewal.

Preserve the city signifies to recover it for the actual demands, use it, contribute to transform it and to make it coherent with the mutations of the need.

Palermo's Master Plan calls the disused areas "resource areas", in the sense that these areas offer some opportunities to the modification of the use toward more sustainable city's uses. These areas are able to constitute some "proximity areas" where it's possible improve the social share, the people participation and the exercise of a real democracy: a "knowledge democracy".

In a city that sets out to be multi-central (through its rearrangement in 8 municipalities), the relation among the cultural network and the centres of the municipalities appear important, because the two "network" (the cultural and the administrative one) are able to furnish themselves a mutual identity. The cultural network furnishes to the municipality the value of the memory and of the knowledge, receiving the political values of social aggregation, the economic values of economies' centres and the social values of proximity to the civic functions.

The knots of the cultural network could represent also "poles of the heritage economy", enable of cause and spread a flow of direct and induced economies.

The urban culture is not alone a tool or a separate development's sector, but it must be an interactive component with the others in the government of the space and the community. It requires interpretations, evaluations and adequate actions, obtained through the organisation of the cultural network, identified as a solution for contribute:

For implementing the network policy, the Municipality of Palermo is trying to adopt integrated conservation policies which:

In order to facilitate the implementation of these policies, the Municipality of Palermo undertakes to foster, within its own political and administrative structure, effective co-operation at all levels between conservation, cultural, environmental and planning activities.

In order to achieve good results for these policies, the Municipality of Palermo would foster the participation and the association in the industrial heritage rehabilitation. With a view to widening the impact of public authority measures for the identification, protection, restoration, maintenance, management and promotion of the heritage, we undertakes:

To ensure the effectiveness of the participation, the local authority would encourage information and training, in particular it undertakes:

• at awakening or increasing public interest, as from school-age, in the protection of the heritage, the quality of the built environment and architecture;
• at demonstrating the unity of the cultural heritage and the links that exist between architecture, the arts, popular traditions and ways of life at European, national and regional levels alike.

The Municipality of Palermo undertake to exchange information with the other European partners on their conservation policies concerning such matters as:

Places, Actors and Actions

The Industrial Heritage Network is formed by a great number of disused areas (not only productive one, but even they contain public activities). We can synthesise the areas in 5 categories:

coastal areas linked with the sea activities	inner areas linked with the administrative activities	railway areas that represent some mobility system	large industrial areas able to contain local and upper-local activities mixed	small industrial areas able to contain local administrative activities and socio-cultural activities
STAZIONE DI S.ERASMO	INDUSTRIA COALMA	STAZIONE LOLLI	ITALTEL	CARTIERA GUADAGNA
MANIFATTURA TABACCHI	INDUSTRIA MAG-HELG-ARPA	STAZIONE SAMPOLO	MULINO VIRGA	CONCERIA GUADAGNA
OSPIZIO MARINO	Mobili DUCROT	CASERMA DE MARIA	MATTATOIO	MATTONI GUADAGNA
CHIMICA ARENELLA	MERCATO ORTOFRUTTICOLO	STAZIONE NOTARBARTOLO	GASOMETRO	ALIMENTI PER STRUTT. SANIT.
CERAMICHE PULEO	FIERA DEL MEDITERRANEO	STAZIONE DI S.ERASMO	OSPEDALE PSICHIATRICO	ARREDI P. SORIMA
ISTITUTO NAUTICO	GASOMETRO		Mobili DUCROT	FABBRICA DI SEGO
FONDERIA CALA	MATTATOIO		CARCERE UCCIARDONE	SAPONIFICIO A. LA GUMINA
Vetreria Caruso			MERCATO ORTOFRUTTICOLO	OPIFICIO
GASOMETRO			FIERA DEL MEDITERRANEO	OPIFICI PIAZZA SCAFFA
SOCIETA' ANONIMA AGRUMI			STAZIONE LOLLI	Lavatoio
Quinta Casa della Compagnia di Gesù			CASERMA CASCINO	Molitura frumento (Consorzio)
BOTTIFICIO				Fabbrica conserviera Contorno
ARSENALE				CONCERIA MANNO
BAGNI TERMALI PANDOLFO				FONDERIA RANDAZZO
SOC. ANONIMA TELE OLONE				PASTIFICI RIUNITI
				CATRAME POLITI
				FONDERIA GALLO
				FALEGNAMERIA
				OPIFICIO
				ALLUMINIO BALSAMO (M.O.A.)
				MOBILIFICIO
				MOLITURA SOLMACCO
				FONDERIA PAPIRETO
				CONCERIA PAPIRETO
				Edicola dell'Averinga
				INDUSTRIA CHIMICA SOLVAY
				FONDERIA F.LLI DURANTE
				MULINO GIGLIO
				ISTITUTO DEI CIECHI

The actors able to participate at the planning process and at the financial process are:

All the actors share some relations, characterised by various trends:

Actors	Culture-oriented	Economic-oriented	Consensus oriented
State or region	Cultural Services. Ministry of Cultural Heritage.	Ministry of Treasure. Owners of the areas.	National Politicians.
Municipality of Palermo	Assessorship for the Culture.	Owner of the areas. Assessorship of the Labour, Tourism.	Local Politicians.
Private	Cultural Associations. Foundations. Non-profit organisation.	Owner of the areas. Cultural Firms. Sponsor.	Maecenas. Sponsor.
Public Institutions	Universities. Research Centres.

For promoting an effective heritage policy, the actions that the Municipality of Palermo undertakes to foster can be divided into five categories:

protect local cultural heritage as an institutional must;

link the institutional interests with the social needs;

draw the cultural heritage plans and individualise the cultural categories and not only the cultural catalogues;

fiscal facilities for private and begin with public actions to improve the private ones;

create an authority for cultural heritage and innovation, and create cultural department.

 

remove the causes of lack of social identity;

create "cultural interests communities";

improve the educational role of cultural actions;

create and improve of non profit associations, and improve the cultural firms and involve the bank system;

create and improve cultural partnership and improve public-private agreement.

 

specify responsibilities in cultural actions;

build an urban socio-cultural network and create a network of "proximity places" where various social classes can relate;

create the cultural network and interpret and explain the cultural values of city;

use specific funds for cultural actions and use international funds;

individualise some priorities and draw the action plan.

 

simplification of administrative process;

improve the "third sector" of economy and improve the non profit associations;

rehabilitation of cultural heritage;

create some poles of economy of culture;

improve the project financing.

 

All these actions are able to guarantee the previously defined system of sustainability:

ACTIONS SUSTAINABILITY	INSTITUTIONAL	SOCIAL	CULTURAL	ECONOMIC	ADMINISTRATIVE
INSTITUTIONAL	Protect local cultural heritage as an institutional must.	remove the causes of lack of social identity.	specify RESPONSIBILITIES in cultural actions.	simplification of administrative process.	INDIVIDUALISE RESPONSIBILITIES and time-schedule for project implementation.
SOCIAL	link the institutional interests with the social needs.	create "cultural interests communities".	build an urban socio-cultural network. create a network of "proximity places" where various social classes can relate.	improve the "third sector" of economy. improve the non profit associations.	improve the cultural associations.
CULTURAL	draw the cultural heritage plans. INDIVIDUALISE the cultural categories and not only the cultural catalogues.	improve the educational role of cultural actions.	create the cultural network. interpret and explain the cultural values of city.	rehabilitation of cultural heritage.	value the compatibility of rehabilitation.
ECONOMIC	fiscal facilities for private. begin with public actions to improve the private ones.	create and improve of non profit associations. improve the cultural firms. involve the bank system.	use specific funds for cultural actions. use international funds (EU, UNESCO, etc.).	create some poles of economy of culture.	improve the partnership of private sector in projects' implementation.
ADMINISTRATIVE	create an autHority for cultural heritage and innovation. create cultural department.	create and improve cultural partNership. improve public-private agreement	INDIVIDUALISE some priorities. draw the action plan.	improve the project financing.	improve public-private agreement.

In summary, we could affirm that the organisation of an Industrial Heritage Network in Palermo is able to give some sustainable dimensions to the development: