Students will acquire multiple skills concerning in particular: - The concept of sustainability in its various meanings and disciplinary evolution; - The techniques of analysis and representation of the territory; - The analysis of the social needs in terms of urban functions; - The formal and functional characters of urban structure; - The social and cultural characteristics of local communities; - The design process, mainly at the medium urban scale, and its relations with the socio-economic and environmental context. Furthermore, at the end of the course students must have acquired the ability to: - Analyze the urban structure at the level of both built and un-built spaces; - Collect and organize data for the representation of an urban area and the related social community; - Choose appropriate strategies and operational tools; - Use appropriate planning standards to frame an urban transformation; - Assess the impact that the proposed changes may have on an existing urban structure; - Properly present and discuss an urban project.

The skills and knowledge the student must have acquired in previous training are relate to: the basic technical elements of architecture and urban planning the basic concepts of urban history and the history of architecture the system of local institutions the urban planning governance the basic elements of urban sociology the representation of spatial analysis at urban scale the ability to process a text written in English.

Sustainability concerns futurability. The main idea behind this atelier is that Sustainability is not a technical issue, Sustainability concerns futurability. The way we can understand our present times and the way we can produce our future: because of this approach, we consider sustainability not only in terms of ecological and environmental issues, but also in terms of societal engagement and governance, diversity, inclusion and wellbeing, inequalities and rights. To cope with such a societal, environmental, economic and human sustainability, in this atelier we consider an Urban project both as a form of shared imaginary and as a form of Caring. Climate Change as a present condition. The core issue of the atelier is Climate Change: within our Class and thanks to our projects we promote a paradigm shift in urban planning moving from the concept of Sustainable Urbanism as the dominant policy narrative among the world’s major cities, based on actions to make “climate-friendly” either “climate-resilient” cities and territories , to the approach of “Climate Urbanism”. This shift is characterized by new policies, programs, and development initiatives aimed at: 1. considering climate alterations as a present condition instead of a future hazard and the actual implications (on society, economy, built and natural environment, mobility, digital and physical infrastructures) instead of the future possible alterations as the base for the development 2. tackling climate change through a systemic approach developing comprehensive spatial and infrastructural responses with the aim of evolving new models of living together instead of protecting the actual societal and economical conditions 3. developing a societal infrastructure of multiple private and public stakeholders instead of basing projects on institutional rethorics either privatization 4. promoting the horizontal metropolis as proper site of climate action instead of running local policies based on centers-peripheries narratives Medial territories as an opportunity. Instead of thinking about Europe as a network of both exploding antagonistic megalopolises and peripheral useless areas we can consider it a as a huge horizontal metropolis where the urban condition is the actual life condition. A huge territory where most of the population live out of the metropolitan areas and still cope with the future through their everyday life. We work on these forgotten and many times abandoned territories. It's the majority (="medial") of Italy and Europe: places with an aging population, strong and sometimes effective manufacture production, with an impressive soil consuming, characterized by a deep relation between the green and the gray infrastructure: an exceptional natural world intertwined with an inconsiderate network of roads, rails, electricity plants, lines. A territorial majority that is the very core of contemporary Europe and that also represents an opportunity to re-think the whole horizontal European metropolis as a completely sustainable and democratic place. Contemporary Urbanism and Sociology Trends. As a design tool, the course will also examine the contemporary debate on Urbanism and Sociology approaches, considering critically positions and projects. This aims at specifically increasing the knowledge and the awareness of a future designer.

SPECIFIC INFORMATION ABOUT THE COURSE STRUCTURE STUDENTS COMMUNITY The projects will be developed in international teams of 3-4 people. Since English is the only accepted language, we take a lot of care about forming teams: we encourage students in working with international companions instead of same-language students. We also promote collective discussions and debate: this atelier aims at working as a pluralistic think-tank. THE SITE: Biella, a European Medial territory Biella is a complex territory which has been considered as the cradle of industrial revolution in Italy. It’s a strong industrial district making luxury wool fabrics which is still playing a leading role within the world fashion system, since 70% of the whole worldwide wool production for Haute Couture is made here. Biella is an incredible place that was ravaged by the economic, demographic and societal crisis. Compared to Italy, Biella has the largest amount of abandoned industrial buildings (compared to the amount of soil). The fastest ageing population. Completely malfunctioning connections. An abandoned environment devouring abandoned villages and buildings that causes hydrogeological instability. At the same time Biella is one of the most vivid territory in Italy, with an incredible number of associations and bottom up organizations. Biella hosts three incredible foundations: the one of the last Italian family-based bank, Sella; the one runned by the renowned international artist Michelangelo Pistoletto; the one of the outstanding multinational fashion corporation, Zegna; the one of the local savings bank. An unbelievable individual and societal advocacy attitude (over 1500 associations) supports the lacks and the defects of institutions and territory. What we ask is to work in Biella coping with climate change and sustainability urgency through designing a shared new imaginary.

METHODOLOGY The course is divided into ex-cathedra and multi-disciplinary lessons, operational surveys, exercises and reviews, inspections and guided visits; also it will contribute to the urban project development. Periodic audits moments are also provided for seminar discussion with external speakers (administrators public, experts, architects, professionals, eventually socially engaged artists). While Crits are every week, a Group Crit session will also eventually take place. The evaluation will never take into considerations crits in themselves but the way students can accept and develop from crits starting from a personal and responsible position. We definitely promote autonomy and responsibility more than emulation. Frontal lectures and moments of collective student-teacher interaction on the progress of the work. It is also requested the willingness to carry out inspections on the area subject of the case study doing interviews and facilitating focus group with the support of professor The 30 minutes talks on the readings will be organized according to the four “A’s” protocol, that implies to answer to the following four questions: what Assumptions does the author of the text hold? What do you Agree with in the text? What do you want to Argue with in the text? What parts of the text do you want to Aspire to? Each reading will be presented according to this protocol by 2 groups. At the end of the 2 group’s presentation, the last 10 minutes will be used for free discussion among the groups. PHASES Urbanism and Environmental Sociology intertwine their specific contribution with a double phase structure: FIRST PHASE: MAPPING CLIMATE CHANGE The first phase aims at Mapping Climate change spatial implications on Biella territory and is focussed on designing what we can call “Plan Nul”. This zero plan is not the reading and the interpretation of the contemporary time. It is instead the most perfect as possible projection of what the territory will look like in the next following years if nothing happens. This is already a design phase and we know that designing is one of the most powerful tool we can use to understand reality. This phase aims at defining a proper “Primer” for intervening in Biella. How does Climate Change affects the territory? What is happening in terms of environment and climate change? What is really already changing? It concerns water, landslides, hydrogeological instability, soil pollution, air pollution, ecosystems, hazards. But it also concerns the social and individual perception of change, the ientifications of the actors, the stakeholders and the organizations involved, the practices of resilience local communities are developing. It concerns the effects on production and manifacture, the issue of financial and impact investments, the economic and wellbeing risks. Mapping the forthcoming future means being able to design a trans-disciplinary approach and interpretation-key. Urbanism and architecture are the most horizontal disciplines caring of territory and future: this is why we ask urbanists to cope with as many disciplines as possible and to draw a “Big Picture” of contemporary change. In a way, this is the most stunning form of design. SECOND PHASE: TACKLING CLIMATE CHANGE The second phase aims at defining prominent sceneries. Starting from both the mapped tendencies and the global trends we ask ourselves what the future would like. What if… climate REALLY change? ...the population really ages too much? ...we can move without cars? ...energy production becomes the leading sector? ...we fix an individual’s consumption daily rate? ...public space becomes an outlet for environmental hazards? ...we develop solutions for soil pollution? … Since the contemporary changing conditions also depend on the game of the actors and stakeholders, we will always try to understand how to transform a scenery into reality: how to involve actors in a proper productive and participated process of making. This phase may hopefully start with a site visit and a meeting with many actors and stakeholders: thanks to a big process of understanding, the groups would engage their research into a proper entagled process. Bringing together the sceneries and working with the local constituencies we develop a co-design process based on both engaging our competences and design with society and involving local organizations in strategies definitions. If the conditions will not allow groups to visit Biella and meeting the stakeholders we will further develop proper tools of interviewing/mailing/interacting with local stakeholders and actors. TEAMS The projects will be developed in international teams of 3-4 people. Since English is the only accepted language, we take a lot of care about forming teams: we encourage students in working with international companions instead of same-language students. We also promote collective discussions and debate: this atelier aims at working as a pluralistic think-tank. SITE Biella, a European Medial territory Biella is a complex territory which has been considered as the cradle of industrial revolution in Italy. It’s a strong industrial district making luxury wool fabrics which is still playing a leading role within the world fashion system, since 70% of the whole worldwide wool production for Haute Couture is made here. Biella is an incredible place that was ravaged by the economic, demographic and societal crisis. Compared to Italy, Biella has the largest amount of abandoned industrial buildings (compared to the amount of soil). The fastest ageing population. Completely malfunctioning connections. An abandoned environment devouring abandoned villages and buildings that causes hydrogeological instability. At the same time Biella is one of the most vivid territory in Italy, with an incredible number of associations and bottom up organizations. Biella hosts three incredible foundations: the one of the last Italian family-based bank, Sella; the one runned by the renowned international artist Michelangelo Pistoletto; the one of the outstanding multinational fashion corporation, Zegna; the one of the local savings bank. An unbelievable individual and societal advocacy attitude (over 1500 associations) supports the lacks and the defects of institutions and territory. What we ask is to work in Biella coping with climate change and sustainability urgency through designing a shared new imaginary.

The course has a vast bibliography concerning various aspects of Sustainability in relation to the city and territory, the critical approaches towards contemporary Urbanism trends, the actual global researches on coping with Climate change, the participation and the social aspects of new urban imagineries, social engagement and governance. Because of this pluralistic approach, the students may deepen specific extra bibliography references step-by-step. Most of the references are anyway available on the course-website. sinthetic selection of the essential bibliography: Arnstein S. “A ladder of citizen participation” in Journal of American Planning Association, vol. 35 no. 4 july 1969 Banham R., Barker P., Hall P., Price C. (1969) “Non-Plan: an experiment in freedom” in New Society, 338/1969:435-443 Belanger P. (2018), Extraction Empire 2017-1217: Undermining the Systems, States, and Scales of Canada’s Global Resource Empire. MIT Press Bianchetti C., Cogato Lanza E., Kercuku A.,Sampieri A., Voghera A. (2014), Territories in crisis. Architecture and Urbanism facing changes in Europe, Wien: Springer Bollier D. and Helfrich S. (2019) The insurgent Power of Commons, New Society Publisher: https://eu.boell.org/sites/default/files/free_fair_and_alive_book.pdf Boltanski, L., & Chiapello, E. (1999). Le nouvel esprit du capitalisme. Paris: Gallimard Brenner N., Schmid C. (2011) "Planetary urbanization" in: Gandy M. (ed.) Urban Constellations. Berlin: Jovis, pp. 10–13 Campagna F. (2018), Technic and Magic, Bloomsbury: London Cerruti But M. (2020), "Medial Territories" in MONU 33 Ciaffi D. “Sharing the Commons as a ‘New Top’ of Arnstein’s Ladder of Participation” in Built Environment vol. 45, 2019 p. 162-172 Ciaffi D. “L’administration partagée de biens communs” in La tribune fonda n.232 décembre 2016, pp.20-24 Corner J. (2006), Terra Fluxus, in Waldheim C. (ed.), The Landscape Urbanism Reader, New York: Princeton Architectural Press, pp. 21-33 Crutzen P. J. (2002). "Geology of mankind". Nature. 415 (6867): 23 Gaard G. (ed. 1993), Ecofeminism: Women, Animals, Nature, Philadelphia: Temple University Press Gallent N. and Ciaffi D. (edited by) (2014) Community action and planning. Context, drivers and outcomes, Policy Press, Bristol/Chicago Haraway D. (2016), Staying with the trouble. Making kin in Chtulucene, Duke University Press Hardin G. “The tragedy of commons” in Science, New Series, Vol. 162, No. 3859 (Dec. 13, 1968), pp. 1243-1248: Labsus, Rapporti sull’amministrazione condivisa dei beni comuni 2017, 2019: www.labsus.org Latour B. (2014), Agency at the time of the Anthropocene" in New Literary History 45:1-18 Long J. & Rice J. L. (2018), “From sustainable urbanism to climate urbanism” in Urban Studies, June 2018 Massachussets Institute of Technology (MIT)- Club of Rome Meadows D. et al. (1972), The Limits to Growth McHarg I. (1969), Design with Nature, Wiley & Sons Morton T. (2010), Guest column: Queer ecology in PMLA 125(2):273-282 Morton T. (2013), Hyperobjects: Philosophy and Ecology after the End of the World, Unversity of Minnesota Press Mostafavi M. with Doherty G. (eds. 2016), Ecological Urbanism, Harvard University Graduate School of Design, Lars Müller Publishers Ostrom E. (1990) Governing the Commons: The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action Cambridge University Press Pepperell R. (1995), The Posthuman Condition. Consciousness beyond the brain, London: Intellect Secchi B. (2010), “A new urban question. Understanding and Planning the Contemporary European City”, in Territorio 53/2010 Secchi B., Viganò P. (eds. 2009), Antwerp, Territory of a new modernity, Amsterdam: Sun Books Secchi B., Viganò P. (eds. 2011), La ville poreuse: un projet pour le grand Paris et la métropole de l'après-Kyoto, Paris: Métispresses Sheller M. (2018), Mobility Justice: The Politics of Movement in an Age of Extremes, London: Verso Spivak G.C. (1988), "Can the Subaltern speak?" in Nelson C., Grossberg L. (eds), Marxism and the Interpretation of Culture London: Macmillan Viganò P., Cavalieri C., Barcelloni Corte M. (eds., 2018), The Horizontal Metropolis Between Urbanism and Urbanization, Wien: Springer World Commission on Environment and Development (1987), Our Common Future, Oxford: Oxford University Press Zalasiewicz J., Williams M., Steffen W., Crutzen P. (2010). "The New World of the Anthropocene" in Environmental Science & Technology. 44 (7): 2228–2231

Exam: Compulsory oral exam; Group graphic design project; Group essay; Group project;

The exam consists of a public presentation of the project lasting no more than 15 minutes. Such a presentation is usually a public event where other professors, professionals and local stakeholders may eventually participate (also depending on the mobility restrictions). During the presentation the students shall present their project according to the schedule and the format given by the professors and be able to answer to the critiques and questions about the project itself, also using the materials and bibliography explored during the course. The format is developed together with the students and will anyway include all the results of the two phases. Both the graphic and the written parts of the final assignment have to be presented to the commission in order to let them know not only the contents but also the process every student went through during the whole course. If the exam will take place only online, the students must upload their posters and materials before the exam in order to let the professors check carefully the assignment. The presentation will anyway take place online, during a public discussion. Grading criteria The final evaluation will take into account ongoing evaluations, presentations and discussions of both the teams and the individuals. Since grading mostly depends on the learning outcomes, it is based not only on the final presentation of the project, but also on the whole course experience, taking into account individual and collective participation and feedbacks during discussions, crits, project development.

Exam: Compulsory oral exam; Group graphic design project; Group essay; Group project;

An eventual blended version of the exam will be set up according to the Politecnico guidelines. In any case the exam will consists of a public presentation of the project, exctly as in the online version, and grading criteria will be the same of the online version as well.