Urban bioregional world in the making: The territorialist approach to bioregional planning and design

A territorialist approach to urban and regional planning, based on the urban bioregion framework, could be essential in counteracting the current patterns of territorial maledevelopment by offering a viable alternative. By illustrating its theoretical and operational principles with the help of case studies from the metropolitan area of Florence, Italy, the paper aims at illustrating the territorialist methodology to reorganise the urban and rural domains, considered as a whole, towards an urban bioregion model. This approach is based on proactive patrimonialisation of territorial heritage through democratic decision-making at the local level, with a goal of local self-sustainable development. Redesigning the territory following the urban bioregion model involves transforming the metropolis into a polycentric system connected to the eco-territorial bioregional network, redesigning the urban edge to limit the urban and facilitate localised interactions with the agro-forestry, and revitalizing rural and mountain regions to valorise their ecological significance and promote new opportunities of cultural and economic renaissance.