Autor(es)
Camerin, Federico
Tipo
Artículo de Investigación
Área del conocimiento
Ciencias Sociales y Económicas
Título
Giuseppe Campos Venuti in 20th century Italian urbanism and the “austerity” challenges for the future
Fecha
2018-03-31
Resumen
This work addresses the evolution of the notions and concepts of Giuseppe Campos Venuti (Rome, 1926), a key player in Italian urbanism during the post-WW2 period. The objective of this paper is to reveal Venuti’s ideas and convictions regarding the Italian society and, in general, Italian urbanism, a heritage and a approach that is still reflected in the analysis and evolution of the contents of the so-called piano regolatore generale (PRG, i.e., the general urban land-use planning). Today, after the introduction of "reformist urbanism", which reflects the profound changes in society that take into account the market, although bringing to the forefront the social demands, capable of assessing the business aspects of the economy, and dramatically reducing unproductive income, Italian urban land-use planning comprises an overall component and another that executes the general provisions. Throughout his professional, political and administrative career, Campos Venuti has been an active reference, always needing its own self-criticism to keep alive and rewrite the urban land-use planning agenda, always introducing new topics and updating it throughout his life. In contrast with those who denied the possibility and opportunity to continue relying on the land-use plan, Campos Venuti constantly appeared convinced of the convenience of adapting this instrument to the emerging conditions.The thought of Campos Venuti is analyzed starting in the 1960s of the 20th century, as well as the modality of studying urban planning. Campos Venuti’s long political and cultural battle in favor of a new urban legislation and management started in the 1960s with the structural analysis of the effects of urban income, and unfolds through the fight against urban gigantism and in support of public places, the defense of historic centers and natural assets, the support for public transport in view of the predominance of private alternatives, the fight against withdrawal of poor people and industry toward the outskirts, and the opposition to the pathological tertiarisation of the city. It also starts with the demand for financial resources for popular housing and condemning the waste of credits aimed for the construction of luxury buildings, second homes or business skyscrapers. This approach, focused on the role of the capitalist estate regime on the performance of “traditional urbanism”, has been characterized by the urban model proposed by Campos Venuti as an urbanistic alternative to the traditional practice, i.e., the sponsored “austerity” policy involved in the so-called five "safeguards" (public, social, productive, environmental, territorial intervention planning). His contributions to urbanism, in addition to an exemplary commitment in his academic work, urbanism practice and political activity, attain a summit with his last major work in the early 1990s, Cinquant"anni di urbanistica in Italy 1942-1992. From this moment, the work of Professor Campos Venuti can be linked with the contribution of another author who gives continuity and innovates the approach when studying urban planning. We refer to Federico Oliva (1945), architect and professor of urban planning at the Politecnico de Milán, who promotes a reform of the general urban land-use planning through the National Urbanism Institute (INU, the organization of Italian urban planners founded in 1930), which led to unfold the urbanism plan in two instruments: the structural and operational plans.In summary, Campos Venuti contributed his commitment not only to providing Italian urbanism with a rigorous scientific status and disseminating the results across civil society: his particular cultural and political strategy led him to represent urbanism itself as a strategy to solve the problems that affect the modern Italian society as a whole. However, the "austerity" envisioned by this Italian urban planner between the 1980s and 2000 has shipwrecked amid a rigid frame of exclusions and inequalities, and urbanism has been a predominantly neutral and technocratic discipline led by politicians in complicity with technicians. Campos Venuti’s thought is essential to understanding the current situation of urbanism and, in general, of the Italian society: the relevance and consistency of his intellectual contributions are still valid in the context of the current crisis that is shaking the capitalist system of the European countries.
Tema
Capitalist real estate regime; waste; urbanism generations of; urban plan; Italy; régimen inmobiliario capitalista; despilfarro; generaciones del urbanismo; plan de urbanismo; Italia.
Idioma
spa
ISSN
ISSN electrónico: 2448-7279; ISSN impreso: 0188-4611
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