Vuoti urbani: una lettura di definizioni selezionate secondo categorie di “imprevisti”

Western metropolitan cities increasingly turn out to be made up of a network of urban voids, often seen as 'voids to be filled'. Despite the complexity in trying to name them, various definitions have been proposed over the past forty years in different disciplinary fields. The article looks at urban voids in these numerous definitions already proposed, to suggest a classification according to the recognition (or not) of the 'unpredictables'. Thus, two trajectories of thought emerged: on the one hand, the so-called 'optimistic' line, which stands in continuity with the economic growth models of the neo-liberal city. On the other hand, the 'critical' (or 'adaptive') line, characterised by a careful look at the transformations that have taken place within the void over the years. The aim is to propose a reading tool to understand what flexibility the places have determined for themselves - independently of the plan forecasts - in order to evaluate future urban interventions.