Research database

In recent years, growing attention has been given to rural territories in Europe: the ones made of marginal and abandoned spaces, out of main cities and towns, covering 80% of the total surface and where almost 30% of inhabitants live (Rural Observatory). This focus is reflected in the EU Agenda and policies, such as the FEASR/EAFRD, which allocates €95.5 billion for 2021-2027, and initiatives from EPSON and OECD for rural development. In Italy, this interest is evident in the political Agenda (SNAI; Bando Borghi PNRR), as well as in discussions within the field of architecture (Cucinella, 2018; Fosbury Architecture, 2023) and in the Academia (Riabitare l'Italia; CRAFT). The debate increasingly focused on ‘alternative’ practices for spatial design: the commoning processes (Dictionnaire des biens communs) – experiences typically related to metropolitan contexts – start to appear in these territories as tools to reactivate abandoned spaces with bottom-up strategies. Questioning ecological and social challenges, they are able to impact the regulation tools and territorial EU Agenda (Tiers-Lieux policies in France are the most emblematic). SUPERural focuses on the evolving construction of commons and place-making practices aimed at revitalizing rural territories, exploring their potential for architectural experimentation and their impact on social and regulatory dimensions. Its approach dismantles disciplinary silos that lead to fragmented observations of these phenomena, fostering a systemic and propositional vision. SUPERural seeks to understand how commoning processes of architectural reactivation develop not only in traditional metropolitan environments but also in relation to the production of spatial, social, and procedural innovations concerning the regeneration of rural territories. By examining with a comparative analysis 6 case studies, 3 of which are in Italy, SUPERural aims to: O1: Investigate the spatial and architectural experimentation within processes of commoning in rural areas O2: Understand the innovations of these architectural-driven processes in normative and social terms O3: Elaborate open access guidelines to support local administration and stakeholders in developing future initiatives to rehabilitate abandoned spaces