Strategic Planning
for Contemporary Urban Region

This book is an account of how the Milan Provincial Administration and a team of researchers from Milan Polytechnic worked together to develop a new Strategic Plan for Milan’s urban region. Informed by innovative conceptions of both how to understand cities in the contemporary world, and engage in strategic planning work, this experience has already attracted considerable international attention.
The authors now consolidate their contribution into a comprehensive account which continually relates theory and practice. Examining the Milan Plan in detail, the book explains the profound transformations which put great pressure on the traditional descriptive tools so planners must engage in the production of new ones. It also proposes that these transformations affect the way in which urban policies and planning processes are designed. The project offers insights into - and new directions for - planning theory more generally while at the same time testing this powerful and innovative research hypothesis in an important European city empirical study. In detailing the results of this project, this book proposes useful ground-breaking approaches to planning for similar urban regions.

"An innovative attempt to deal with real-world uncertainties, this book reframes the discourseof strategic spatial planning. The authors create a new space for sensitive exploration of possibleurhan futures in an excellent case example to inspire academics and practitioners with whatcan he achieved if one dares to break the mould."
Jean Hillier, Newcastle University UK

"This book does much more than telling the story of a project for Milan. The authors skillfullyreflect on strategic planning by means of practice. The critical interplay of theory and practicemakes the book very useful for students, practitioners and non—conventional actors in strategicplanning processes."
Louis Albrechts, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium
 

CONTENTS

• List of Chart and Graphs
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• List of Contributors

0.0   The Context and the Demand for Strategic Planning 
        Alessandro Balducci, Valeria Fedeli, Gabriele Pasqui
1.0   The process of planning:
        the City of Cities Strategic Project
       Ida Castelnuovo, Marianna Giraudi
1.1   Planning the Changing City
        Alessandro Balducci
1.2   Data and images 
       Paolo Bozzuto, Fabio Manfredini
2.1   The Changing Urban Agenda 
        Gabriele Pasqui
2.2   Keywords: Habitability 
       Gabriele Pasqui, Paolo Bozzuto
3.1   About "Governance" in Urban Regions:
       When Territory, Sovereignty and Citizenship do not match
       Valeria Fedeli
3.2   Keywords: City of Cities / [City of] Populations
       Gabriele Pasqui, Paolo Bozzuto
4.1   New Planning Approaches / Challenges for Urban and Territorial
        Planning in Contemporary Cities
        Alessandro Balducci, Valeria Fedeli
4.2   The City of Cities Competitions and the Strategic Project
        Carolina Pacchi, Claudio Calvaresi
4.3   Drawing and Dialogue: Meaning and Form of the Instruments
        Used to Communicate the City of Cities Strategic Project
        Antonio Longo, Arma Moro
5.1   Planning, Institutions, Knowledge:
        Lessons from an Experimental Practice
       Alessandro Balducci, Valeria Fedeli, Gabriele Pasqui

• Bibliography
• Index

List of Charts and Graphs 
Charts
• Employees and local units in the industrial sector
• Employees and local units in the tertiary sector
• Dimension and number of employees in local units in 1991
• Dimension and number of employees in local units in the period 2001
• Immigrants ratio for age groups in the province
• Frequency distribution of population in relation to income groups.
Graphs
• Participating actors
• Percentage of ‘Design ideas’ and ‘Best practices’
• Mapping proposals in the urban region: a geography of actors andideas (percentages on the total)


ABOUT THE AUTORS:

Alessandro Balducci, PhD, is Full Professor of Planning and Urban Policies at Politecnico di Milano. He was the scientific director of the Strategic Project Città di Città. His main research fields are urban policies, participation, and strategic planning for great urban regions. He is director of the PhD program in Spatial Planning and Urban Development at the Politecnico di Milano. He has been President of the Association of the European Schools of Planning (AESOP) and is currently National Secretary of the Italian Society of Urbanists (SIU).
Valeria Fedeli, PhD in Territorial Planning and Public Policies (lUAV, Venezia), is Researcher and Assistant Professor in Urban and Territorial Analysis at Politecnico di Milano. She has coordinated (together with Gabriele Pasqui) the activities of the Strategic Project Città di Città. Her main research field is urban policies, governance and strategic planning in urban regions.
Gabriele Pasqui, PhD in Territorial Planning and Public Policies (IUAV, Venezia), is Full Professor in Urban Policies at Politecnico di Milano. He has coordinated (together with Valeria Fedeli) the activities of the Strategic Project Città di Città. His main research field are development policies and strategic planning in urban regions. He is head of the DiAP Dipartimento di Architettura e Pianificazione at the Politecnico di Milano.