Urban Critical Survey

The project, partially funded by the Ente Cassa di Risparmio of Florence and the Tuscany Regional Council, has been inserted into the Management Plan of the World Heritage site of Florence, and developed in sinergy with the Architecture Department of the University of Florence (DIDA).

It plays a special role regarding the protection of the landscape and will be constantly supervised by the UNESCO Office of the Municipality of Florence. Among the indicators that have be taken into account, the attention will be mainly brought on overlooks and panoramic viewpoints.

In summary, the project is focused on balancing the compatibility between economic aims, resources conservation and environmental quality, in a urban planning context of a landscape that is inevitably subject to continuous transformations.

So, for a better understanding, protection, conservation and enhancement of the site, here is proposed a widely tested methodology of detection and critical analysis, based on both the perceptual-visual analysis and the critical-qualitative survey of the urban landscape.

Our eye must be trained to see and recognize the structural components, to identify their weaknesses and strengths, that is the actually or potentially degrading or qualifying parts, to highlight the transformation dynamics in place, the qualities and weaknesses of the sites, and to determine their vulnerability or their potentiality regarding the impact with human activities.

This has the aim of identifing general directives on which base detailed guidelines, (also with the help of computerized catalogues), providing a useful tool to support any phase of the project, decisional and planning phase as well.

Participants: Municipality of Florence, University of Florence, Tuscan Regional Authority.

Credits:

Scientific supervisor for the Municipality of Florence: Dr. Carlo Francini

Scientific supervisor for University of Florence: Prof. Marco Bini

Planning and coordination: Dr. arch. Carolina Capitanio