City and non-city. The 'ecotonal' dimension of peri-urban landscapes

Authors

  • Sara Protasoni Politécnico di Milano (DAStU)

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26754/ojs_zarch/zarch.2024239082

Keywords:

Landscape ecology, Ecotone, City-archipielago, Leisure, Porous city, Public Space

Abstract

The article discusses the concept of peri-urban landscape, emphasising its ecotonal dimension, as a boundary placed between differently identified spatial/environmental units. A boundary that is extended to include multiple, mutable and multi-scale systems of relationships that engage spatial, ecological, cultural and social elements. This reinterpretation of the idea of the ‘peri-urban’ is explained with reference to the new relevance of the ecological approach and to the profound transformation of the idea of nature that is taking place in architectural reflection and public debate in general. The ‘city-archipelago’ and the ‘porous city’ are proposed as two of the most relevant images driving the transition towards new approaches to the design of parks, urban forests and urban campaigns, where new forms of public/collective space are now being tested through the reinterpretation of the notion of leisure, training and bewilderment.

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Author Biography

  • Sara Protasoni, Politécnico di Milano (DAStU)

    Head of the M.Sc. in Sustainable Architecture and Landscape Design at the Piacenza Campus of Politecnico di Milano, is a full professor of Landscape Architecture. After attending an M/arch 2 programme in the USA at Syracuse University with Werner Seligmann, she obtained a PhD in Urban and Architectural Design in 1997. She is currently in charge of the Landscape Design Studio at the AUIC School of Politecnico di Milano, where she is the director of the Summer School LANDSCAPE OF[F] LIMITS. She has taught at Politecnico di Milano and at the IUAV in Venice. Since 2002 she has been part of the teaching board of several PhD programme. She has collaborated with several magazines, including DOMUS and CASABELLA, and has twice been editor of RASSEGNA, edited by Vittorio Gregotti. She combines teaching and research (theoretical and design) in the field of landscape architecture.

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Published

2024-12-26

Issue

No. 23 (2024): Peri-urban landscapes

Section

Featured texts

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Copyright (c) 2024 ZARCH. Journal of interdisciplinary studies in Architecture and Urbanism

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How to Cite

Protasoni, S. (2024). City and non-city. The ’ecotonal’ dimension of peri-urban landscapes. ZARCH. Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies in Architecture and Urbanism, 23, 12-31. https://doi.org/10.26754/ojs_zarch/zarch.2024239082