Urban and technological design for historical public spaces regeneration : the case of Kalsa district in Palermo (Sicily)

The Palermo Historical Centre is characterised by the presence of several public spaces, sometimes even interstitial, of indefinite form and function, under-utilised, often invaded by cars, difficult to cross due to the poor condition of the pavement and/or the absence of footpaths and, located near important historical-cultural centralities and/or public buildings with important flows. The density and compactness of the historical building fabric together with the complexity of the relationship between the historical-architectural heritage present, public services (such as schools) and the housing function generate frequent conflict situations in the use of public space to the detriment of the community living there and temporary users. The contribution intends to address the issue of urban regeneration of public spaces in historical centres by interpreting them as “extroverted habitable spaces”, as potential new spaces open to the neighbourhood and places for meeting, relating and socialising, focusing on the spatial relations, the flexibility of functions, and the technological aspects of these spaces. Through the case study of the Kalsa district in the Historic Centre of Palermo, the contribution will provide the state of the art of public spaces in the district and will define an urban and social regeneration process using the tactical urban planning approach, with the objective of reactivating the system of urban relations between public space and adjacent urban fabrics, activating spatial interventions and policies on the basis of a process that stimulates social relations, proximity, transforming these spaces, today fragmented and unlived, into a hybrid and flexible spatial-functional pathway, in which communities can recognise a new sense of extroverted habitability, rediscovering and re-inhabiting the public spaces of the neighbourhood.