CULTURAL POTENTIAL OF GREEN SPACES IN URBAN AREAS. SETUP OF KNOWLEDGE TOOLS

A research experience is presented, which has been carried out within the course of Heritage Conservation Fundamental at Politecnico di Milano, aimed to identifying a methodological approach applied to the detection of the cultural potential of green spaces resources in urban areas.

Considering the Milan urban area, which hosted Expo cultural events, the research purpose was to set up suitable knowledge tools through which the historical stratifications of representative signs of the material culture could be detected, in view of the protection and enhancements of the cultural heritage.
Italian and international students, organized in work groups, have been involved in different activities that allowed them to combine multidisciplinary experiences, from archival research to the collection of case studies of their home countries, until a city exploration through direct visit to its green areas, and the setup of survey charts. Their study was articulated into different phases including: analysis of the historical development of Milan, identifying its most significant urban transformations; the setup of an initial first level speedy chart aimed to censing green areas in urban contexts; a collection of international case studies focused on interventions in urban parks and green areas; analysis of specific sample areas within the city of Milan through analytical second level survey charts.

This approach allowed the construction of a multi-criteria matrix oriented towards the definition of overall urban resources in their complexity and at the same time of the unexploited potential of individual areas, the identification of "check tools" to test first and second level charts in the phase of data collection, as well as the construction of "cognitive maps" useful to guide subsequent design scenarios aimed to the conservation and reuse of green spaces in urban areas.