Lessons from Bologna on heritage driven urban regeneration

Bologna is more and more widely acknowledged as a benchmark in the field of heritage-driven urban development and regeneration. Against this background, the Municipality of Bologna gently organized a one-day study visit for KAIRÓS, the URBACT network on heritage as a driver for urban regeneration. The own selection of spots and the explanations taken from the different hosts stressed a good number of insights that can be synthesized in the following main lessons.

A social-driven approach to cultural heritage valorisation

As a sort of (implicit) pre-condition, the Municipality of Bologna has assumed a broad understanding on what cultural heritage valorisation means, and in this assumption promoting a new social accessibility is key —it is not by chance the city pioneered in the regulation of the urban commons. This social-oriented approach has the effect of expanding the portfolio of heritage valorisation projects in the city, and it is pivotal to build up a relevant city perspective to cultural heritage. 

Urban regeneration as means for sustainability

According to Bologna´s Fondazione per l’Innovazione Urbana ”urban regeneration means reorganizing and improving the city, whether it is former industrial areas, historic centers or abandoned peripheries, developing new urban uses and functions without new land consumption, responding to new cultural and social needs within a sustainable economic regeneration framework.” This idea is therefore quite instrumental in today´s efforts towards the compact city, and that is why heritage-led urban regeneration matters for sustainable urban development.

This is not about the historic centre only

As a result of the above, non-central located heritage valorisation and heritage-driven urban regeneration can or should be promoted as well. That is the case for Villa Aldini, an abandoned Napoleonic mansion on the city hills (picture below) which is the subject of a major regeneration and adaptive reuse project, and that of DumBO (Distretto urbano multifunzionale di Bologna) former railway premises outside Bologna´s quadrilatero which is now being re-developed as a creative hotspot.  

Take time to experiment

The decision to regenerate Villa Aldini and give it new value for the city is firm and has no way back, but they are not in a hurry. They are now in a sort of initial stage of experimentation to find out how the place (both indoor and outdoor areas) can be best (re)appropriated and used. To that aim, the mansion is being offered to temporary cultural events and residence for artists, like Archivio Zeta theatre company. It is like a “consultation to the market”, in order to give a more solid base to the adaptive reuse project. Such experimental aim was at the heart of ROCK, a 10.5 M€ transnational project led by Bologna from 2016 to 2020, with a focus on the historic centre, in the area around Via Zamboni. In this framework, a number of “tactical urbanism” type of interventions were rolled out with the aim to get some historic squares free of massive car occupation (pictue below) and those initiatives were so enthusiastically welcome by the people and the local media that were turned into permanent and scaled up to other city districts. Stakeholders other than the Municipality, like Bologna Opera House, were also involved in experimental actions and proofs of concepts to broaden the social usability of cultural heritage.  

 Municipality and University working hand in hand

Indeed, the ROCK project and the aforementioned experimental approach lie on a close working relationship between Comune di Bologona and Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, notably the Department of Architecture. Both have founded the Fondazione per l'Innovazione Urbana (FIU) as a centre for research, participation and communication on Bologna´s current urban dynamics. FIU has also contributed to provide theoretical basis and direction on heritage-led urban regeneration.  

Mobilising stakeholders makes a difference

It is just about making the most of a multi-stakeholder environment in advanced western societies. Just two examples. To provide direction and backing to Villa Aldini´s regeneration and adaptive reuse project, a working group has been set up, involving the Municipality, the University of Bologna, Villa Ghigi Foundation, the Foundation for Urban Innovation, Cineteca Foundation, Teatro Comunale, the Metropolitan Authority, the Emilia-Romagna Region and the Ministry of Culture, together with the contribution of residents. IncrediBOL! is a successful programme of the Municipality of Bologna on entrepreneurship in the creative-digital sectors, where heritage applications are playing a significant role, and it is supported by 26 institutional partners! One might say this is a sort of sophisticated governance, but it simply is the easiest way to make an impact. Moreover, in Bologna they benefit from Emilia Romagna´ strong civic traditions, as described by Robert D. Putnam in the seminal “Making Democracy Work” (1993).

City-to-Region alignment

In promoting a renovated view of the cultural heritage field, the Municipality of Bologna is not alone. For instance, Emilia-Romagna is one of the few regions in the EU with a concrete and powerful vision on how to link cultural heritage to the innovation policy, in particular the smart specialisation strategies. It is not by chance that Bologna is home to a variety of firms and start-ups which are supporting modern heritage management, ranging from place-sensitive lighting solutions —e.g. Viabizzuno— to immersive technologies to experience heritage differently —e.g. Apparati Effimeri. Furthermore, in Italy, like in other decentralized countries, a sound city-to-region articulation means getting access to significant funding, which is absolutely key in urban regeneration. Most initiatives on heritage valorisation and adaptive reuse promoted from the local level are funded by Emilia-Romagna´s Operational Programme.     

The power of good communications

Like funding, showcasing and good communications matter as well. The brand new permanent exhibition about Bologna´s urban transformations and flagships projects, including heritage-driven regeneration, is brilliantly amazing. Curated by FIU, located in the heart of the city in piazza Maggiore, and supported by cutting-edge technologies on visualisation and interaction from the local start up ecosystem, the exhibition is called to be a landmark to visitors and locals alike.     

Miguel Rivas, lead expert for KAIRÓS and partner at TASO

KAIROS is an URBACT Action Planning Network joined by Mula (ES) Sibenik (HR) Ukmergé (LT) Cesena (IT) Heraklion (EL) Belene (BG) and Malbork (PO). It focuses on cultural heritage as a driver for sustainable urban development and regeneration. These cities are experimenting with an integrated approach resulting from the proper assemblage of five key dimensions: Space, Economy, Social Cohesion, Attractiveness and Governance. Join the Kairós LinkedIn group