The course introduces the student to the learning and reflection on theoretical and design tools for the construction of public space, with particular attention to the different physical dimensions of the city. The various dimensions of space will be observed and investigated, in its meanings of public, collective, shared, private (observing the intertwining between the statutory dimension and the practices that interest it) and in its composition in terms of urban materials that infrastructure it and make it habitable. The course provides the student with the following skills: D1. Knowledge and understanding The proposed activities will be oriented towards the knowledge of: - urban planning theories and research through the interpretation of public/collective space; - strategies and design principles developed to define the articulation of public/collective space and the relationships generated between the different recognizable parts within the city and territory; - the size and shape of the unbuilt space at the different scales of the city. D2. Applying knowledge and understanding The student will have to be able to apply the skills acquired during the course to develop an exercise in reading and rewriting of an urban space, with particular attention to the physical dimension of places, focusing his/her own reflection within a coherent time frame and the historical evolution of the urban context. D3. Making judgements The student must demonstrate: - to know how to read and interpret the different characters and complexities of public/collective/shared space as a fundamental material to increase the resilience of cities and improve the quality of habitable space; - to know how to read and interpret public spaces, even proximity ones, as places capable of encouraging practices that promote inclusion, health and well-being of the inhabitants; - to know how to observe and render with a critical spirit the different theories and design declinations that have placed open space as a fundamental material for the composition of the city and its public dimension, in its different spheres (public, collective, shared, etc). recognizable in some notable examples and in some texts and topics discussed during the course. D4. Communication skills At the end of the course, the student will have to be able to approach the study and design of public space in its multifaceted aspects. He/She must be able to: - identify issues and solutions inherent to the design of public space starting from the readings carried out; - articulate the arguments with in-depth thought, making use of various supports, making use of adequate graphic rendering techniques; - participate to the collective discussion in the classroom, with pertinent interventions. D5. Learning skills At the end of the course the student will have to demonstrate his/her ability to collaborate in the critical reading and logical reconstruction of parts of complex urban situations.

It is a prerequisite to have attended the Contemporary city design laboratory (or the Urban planning laboratories of the 2nd year of the course of the previous regulations).

Within cities, public spaces are dynamic environments with a long tradition in which the changes taking place in society are revealed with particular evidence. In the light of the underway challenges –both climatic and socio-economic – and of an increasingly complex transformational framework, the hypothesis put forward is that experiences capable of reflecting on the quality and value of contemporary urban planning can be experienced in the open space to define in an ambitious and premonitory way new uses and performances. Investigating the forms, the connotations, the devices with which the public space is equipped, identifying gradients and thresholds, specifying its semantic value of inclusion and exclusion in the ways of using and staying in the public space, means to critically develop an active reflection on its potential in the contemporary city. Starting from these considerations, the course will present a reasoned and critical reading of public space in its multiple forms, investigating some notable urban experiences, chosen among several exemplary case studies, paying particular attention to the interpretation and re-design of parts of some of them. From the collection of different types of space –both in terms of size and quality/performance– the focus will then by shifted to the systematizing and deepening of the knowledge on the contemporary city with respect to urban planning at different scales.

Bibliographical references G. De Carlo, Questioni di architettura e di urbanistica, Milano, Il Saggiatore, 1968 S. Chermayeff, C. Alexander, Spazio di relazione e spazio privato, Milano, Alberto Mondadori (1968) A. Mikoleit, M. Pürckhauer, Urban Code. 100 lessons for understanding the city, Cambridge, The MIT Press (2011). P. Viganò, Il giardino biopolitico. Spazi, vite e transizione, Roma, Donzelli editore (2023) Other bibliographic references will be provided during the single lessons.

On the M-Team e-learning platform, in addition to the course programme, additional materials will be made available to be used for studying and deepening of the various topics covered.

The course is divided into theoretical lessons, seminars –which will also involve external experts– and practical exercises. Frontal lessons are planned which will introduce notable examples in the Italian and international context, alternating with seminars and classroom work dedicated to the development of an exercise in reading and rewriting an urban space agreed with the instructors. The lessons will be held in Gorizia, at Polo of via Alviano 18. Any changes to the methods described here will be communicated on the Department, Study Program and teaching website.

On the Moodle e-learning platform, in addition to the course programme, additional materials will be made available to be used for studying and deepening of the various topics covered: http://moodle2.units.it

To take the exam the student will need to: • attend lectures and thematic seminars and demonstrate critical knowledge of the topics covered in class • actively follow the seminars on re-reading of public space projects • critically demonstrate the reading of the texts indicated in the bibliographic references • complete the reading and rewriting exercise of an urban space agreed with the teachers. The exam will consist in an interview on the topics covered in class, on the readings carried out and on the exercise of reading and rewriting of an urban space. The final evaluation will take into account the overall work carried out: the active participation of the student in the lessons and seminars, the level of preparation on the previously agreed texts discussed during the exam, the quality of the results of the reading and rewriting of an urban space exercise (1/3 of the final assessment will be dedicated to each of the three themes). Any changes to the methods described here will be communicated on the Department, Study Program and teaching website.

The course will deal with topics connected and in line with the objectives of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of the United Nations, in particular the n. 11 - Sustainable cities and communities and n. 13 – Climate action.