Category: Publications Archive

Events at Politecnico, Publications Archive

Webinar: Mega-events in heritage rich cities

by James Robert Bell June 27, 2021

Mega-events in heritage-rich cities: From research to principles and policy recommendations (2021)

The online conference launched the Charter for Mega-events in Heritage-rich Cities. Mega-events have been changing their relationship with the city, now more commonly using existing infrastructures and facilities. In Europe and other parts of the world, this may put historic city centres and broader heritage assets under stress. How can cities rich in culture host mega-events without putting their own heritage at risk? How can mega-events become effective ways to promote and protect tangible and intangible heritage? 
 
The webinar will introduce and launch the “Charter for Mega-events in Heritage-rich Cities” that responds to these questions. The Charter derives from the HOMEE research project that investigated case studies across Europe and involved organizations, experts and professionals in the field. It provides principles and policy recommendations for decision makers and event organisers to avoid typical pitfalls while cooperating with the heritage sector. 
 
During the webinar sessions, leading international experts and policy-makers will discuss the Charter and engage with current and future challenges regarding mega-events, heritage and the city.

Participants

  • Ana Kočegarova (Head of Programme of the Kaunas 2022 ECoC)
  • Maria Gravari-Barbas (Professor, Paris 1 Sorbonne Sorbonne University; Director of the “Tourism, Culture, Development” UNESCO Chair); Pascal Liévaux (Chair of the EU Joint Programming Initiatives on Cultural Heritage)
  • Chryssa Martini (Eleusis 2023 ECoC)
  • Marco Edoardo Minoja (Cultural Director, City of Milan)
  • Jordi Pascual (Coordinator of the Secretariat of the Committee on Culture of United Cities and Local Governments)
  • Robert Piaskowski (Plenipotentiary of the Mayor of Krakow for Culture, on behalf of the Organization of World Heritage Cities)
  • Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailović (Secretary General, Europa Nostra)

July 8, 2021, Online

The video recording of the sessions are now available online. See the morning session and the afternoon session. 

Other, Publications Archive

Charter for Mega-events in Heritage-rich Cities

by Zachary Mark Jones June 24, 2021

Launched in 2021 as the final outcome of the HOMEE Research Project, the Charter for Mega-events in Heritage-rich Cities provides principles and recommendations that can help cities take advantage of the opportunities offered by mega-events and mitigate their risks. The Charter explores issues ranging from the new uses and physical stresses that mega-events can introduce in historic areas to changes in the understanding of heritage spaces. It investigates the challenges for the local governance of mega-events.
Local policymakers can refer to the Charter’s recommendations from the initial bidding stages for cultural mega-events like Capital/City of Culture programmes and throughout the planning of the event and its legacy. More broadly, the Charter can be useful for organising other large cultural events, festivals and sport mega-events that interact with cities’ tangible and intangible heritage.
The Charter consists of 13 key principles structured within the four themes: context matters,
planning legacies, inclusive governance, communities & identities. The 13 principles represent the Charter’s core values. They are supported by more detailed guidelines and recommendations aimed at policymakers, as well as event organisers, heritage officials and the local community.

Other, Publications Archive

Urban heritage and mega-events: The case of Matera-Basilicata 2019 European Capital of Culture

by James Robert Bell March 31, 2021

This HOMEE research report investigates the nexus between mega-events and heritage by observing the case of the Matera-Basilicata 2019 European Capital of Culture before and during the celebration. As the oldest continuously inhabited city in Europe, Matera represents in many ways a heritage-rich city and shows the complexity of this heritage/event relationship. The case of the Matera-Basilicata 2019 ECoC clearly demonstrates the significant impact that events like the ECoC can have on cities, even before carrying out the yearlong program – as occurred in Matera after it won the bid in 2014. While the mega-event planning and celebration undeniably contributed to improvements (in terms of accessibility, public spaces, etc.), the impressive heritage of the city was not widely integrated with the ECoC interventions and nonetheless absorbed most of the visitors’ attention.

Download Report Here

Books, Publications Archive

Transnational Architecture and Urbanism: Rethinking How Cities Plan, Transform, and Learn

by admin October 24, 2020

Since the 1990s, increasingly multinational modes of design have arisen, especially concerning prominent buildings and places. Traditional planning and design disciplines have proven to have limited comprehension of, and little grip on, such transformations. Public and scholarly discussions argue that these projects and transformations derive from socioeconomic, political, cultural trends or conditions of globalization. The author suggests that general urban theories are relevant as background, but of limited efficacy when dealing with such context-bound projects and policies.

This book critically investigates emerging problematic issues such as the spectacularization of the urban environment, the decontextualization of design practice, and the global circulation of plans and projects. The book portends new conceptualizations, evidence-based explanations, and practical understanding for architects, planners, and policy makers to critically learn from practice, to cope with these transnational issues, and to put better planning in place.

Transnational Architecture and Urbanism combines urban planning, design, policy, and geography studies to offer place-based and project-oriented insight into relevant case studies of urban transformation in Europe, North America, Asia, and the Middle East.

Ponzini, D. (2020) Transnational Architecture and Urbanism
Rethinking How Cities Plan, Transform, and Learn. London, Routledge

Authored by Davide Ponzini

Available at Routledge

Books, Publications Archive

About Star Architecture Reflecting on Cities in Europe

by admin April 25, 2020

Cities across the world have been resorting to star architects to brand their projects, spark urban regeneration and market the city image internationally. This book shifts the attention from star architects to star architecture, arguing that the process of deciding about and implementing relevant architectural and urban projects is not the product of any single actor. Star architecture can, in fact, be better studied and understood as assembled by multiple actors and in its relationship with urban transformation. In its 18 chapters, the book presents a multidisciplinary collection of expert contributions in the fields of urban planning, architecture, media studies, urban economics, geography, and sociology, consistently brought together for the first time to deal with this topic. Through a vast array of case studies and analytical techniques touching over 20 cities in Europe, the book shows the positive and more problematic impacts of star architecture with reference to the preservation of built heritage, tourism and media. The book will be of interest to architects, sociologists, urban planners, and public administrators.

Alaily-Mattar, N., Ponzini, D., Thierstein A. (Eds. 2020) About Star Architecture: Reflecting on Cities in Europe. Cham, Springer

Edited by Nadia Alaily-Mattar, Davide Ponzini and Alain Thierstein

Available at Springer