Sustainable Regenerative Strategies for the Inner Areas: An Example of “Civic Design” in Marradi (Tuscany)

Accessibility to public services, social inclusion, local development, revitalization of public spaces and well-being of the inhabitants: these are just some of the issues raised by the Italian National Strategy for the Inner Areas, that concern over 60% of the national territory but only 7.6% of the Italian population, continuously decreasing. The pursuit of sustainable urban development through the promotion of urban regeneration, as a strategic alternative to land consumption, and the improvement of the quality of life are also some of the objectives of regional planning in Tuscany. Sharing these aims, the Municipality of Marradi in the metropolitan area of Florence, in cooperation with the spin-off of the University of Florence Urban LIFE, developed Con.Marradi (Urban connections for a more attractive and sustainable territory), an urban regeneration project co-financed by Region Tuscany on the basis of a funding call for inner areas. The project is intended to reconnect fragmented public spaces and facilities located at the entry point of the town, in order to create a multifunctional hub of social-welfare services and recreational activities, both surrounded by nature and recognizable as a new “urban gateway”, aimed at improving the liveability of the place as well as its attractiveness for sustainable tourism development. At the scale of a small town in a fragile territory, the project is presented as a case study of “civic design”, an approach to spatial planning and design pivoted on urban welfare provisions, which pursues urban sustainability and resilience objectives by integrating innovative principles and techniques—such as civic participation, universal design, walkability, renewable energy and nature-based solutions.