Military terrain vague in Italy: expectant urban spaces waiting for their regeneration.

Military terrain vague in Italy: expectant urban spaces waiting for their regeneration.

Submission ID:

59

During the last three decades, most of the European countries were affected by a process of dismantling-abandonment-disposal of military premises which would result in their regeneration. Italy, in this respect, represents a very particular case. Several factors are contributing to the long-lasting abandonment of these public-owned assets, thus generating a particular kind of expectant urban spaces in the whole country.
In this context, the proposal critically addresses the late-1980s-onwards approach on the abandonment and regeneration of redundant military sites in Italy. In particular, the focus is on the relationship of military terrain vague with urban development. Author claims that the abandonment-regeneration of these properties is subjected to strong real estate pressures overcoming the urban dynamics. The paper, consequently, demonstrates that the abandonment-regeneration strategies of military sites have continuously responded to a speculative approach to realise new profit-oriented operations based on the extrapolation of the differential ground rent.
The essay is fundamentally structured in two sections. The first part analyses the reasons behind the creation of the so-called ‘military terrain vague’ in Italy based on geopolitical, military, public finance, and urban development logic. The second part focuses on the comparison between the abandonment-regeneration of two military sites located in Rome and Milan towards the materialisation of new profit-driven spaces and the factors avoiding their implementation. The study cases are the former Guido Reni barracks in the Rome’s Flaminio neighbourhood aimed to materialised the new ‘City of Science’ and the military compound “Parade Ground-Baggio warehouses” in western Milan periphery, which is likely to be redeveloped into a new area of centrality for the wealthy.

Preferred Track

3. Terrain vague redevelopments

Second Preferred Track

7. Urban competitiveness and social challenges