RiappriopriAZIONI naturali. Esperienze di resistenza attiva per costruire e abitare il verde urbano

In the contemporary, fragmented and individualistic city, public space is crossed rather than experienced, as the dynamics of movement prevail over the condition of being. The centrifugal and at the same time centripetal motion in large urban areas has intertwined in a mutually reinforcing game with the decline of public space. Thus, in cities we have witnessed the proliferation of “closed” spaces, little used, sometimes used by vehicles more than by people. The reappropriation of these spaces to make them accessible and permeable often takes place through the collective action of groups of citizens. An example of this approach can be found in the city of Rome, where the will of the citizens led to the creation of the Garbatella park. The history of the Garbatella Park, which began thirty years ago with the contrast to the speculative uses of public land, is an example of active and constructive resistance that has led to the creation of a green area of 4.5 hectares. The practices implemented for the reappropriation of a nearby urban space have favored the reconstruction of the social dimension, expressed through practices of care of the public space. Through an analysis of the multiple problems faced for the creation of the Garbatella Park, the contribution proposes a reflection on the regeneration of public spaces from below aimed at the recovery of common goods, the increase of urban green towards the creation of new places of sociality.