Giancarlo Paba’s Trilogy of Luoghi comuni (Common Places, 1998), Movimenti urbani (Urban Movements, 2003), Corpi urbani (Urban Bodies, 2010): Influential Italian “Critical Planning” Thinking

Abstract This chapter retraces three main bibliographic contributions of the recently deceased Italian scholar Giancarlo Paba, whose critical and radical thinking was very influential in Italian discourse over the past three decades. These contri- butions are “Luoghi comuni” (Common Places, 1998), “Movimenti urbani” (Urban Movements, 2003), “Corpi urbani” (Urban Bodies, 2010). This chapter proposes a selection of key themes and concepts of Giancarlo Paba’s critical approach that the author addresses and recursively develops in the three books (and in some other related contribution). They include the themes of “action”, “interaction” and “mate- riality”. In particular, this chapter portrays Paba’s critical thinking in planning and design through the key concept of “usable past” associated with that of “roots” of planning (as a discipline), which inspire contemporary actions and, like tree roots, encourage and generate new articulations of thought. In general, this chapter high- lights two radical attitudes at the basis of Paba’s human and scientific contributions: (1) his tireless drive toward radicalizing problems and solutions, to take another step forward each time, toward unpredictable and fascinating horizons; and (2) the ethical urgency of an ongoing verification of ideas by developing social participation.