Form and nature of the sustainable city - Or rather: to think of the city as public good

摘要

This paper pursues to argue a simple but not so obvious matter: the suggestionudthat in order for a city to be sustainable, it must become once again anudenvironmental representation of public good. To support this thesis, references willudbe drawn to theoretical and conceptual reasons as well as to practical and operativeudones; both of which will meet through a methodology that can integrate andudsynthesize the points of view of both architectural and urban design. Architectureudhas always been an act of environmental modification. The modalities and qualityudof the undergone transformations are a consequence of the natural cultural imageudheld by man. Today the idea of an “Ecological Paradigm” is asserting itself inudcontrast to the supremacy of a “Network Society”. The framework outlined aboveudrequires a deep re-evaluation of principles and methods of architectural and urbanuddesign; especially it raises a fundamental question concerning the form and natureudof the sustainable city. In fact, to think of the city in a sustainable way, means toudaffirm the existence of a social, environmental and economic system ofudinterconnections, that become meaningful if we come back to think of the city asudpublic good.