ITA>HK - L'ITALIA AD ORIENTE - MY TOWN | Giulia Menegotto

Our major concern regarding the city of the future is the rehabilitation of the human dimension, not only as an individual issue but a challenge involving the quality of the social life, a culture and a civilisation itself.

We all desire a human city, close to people of all age and conditions, not subdued to cars, calm, easy and pleasant to live, encouraging social and community development. A city well embedded in the nature and the surrounding landscape, beautifully shaped, flexible to be improved during time. A city with a simple governance through citizens’ active participation, sustainable in terms of costs, land use, energy consumption, and pollution. That’s why we propose:

·       treduce city dimensions (800x600m: 50 ha, half of the site area), by increasing density (500hab/ha). The remaining surface is left, or left back, to nature. On one side the marina, on the other sport grounds, allotments, gardens;

·       all the urban surface become pedestrian for bicycles or electric vehicles. One shuttle bus on the main road will be sufficient for public transport;

·       cars can reach the houses through an underground vehicular network leading to underground  parking;

·       a bus stand for exterior connections is in the city core, linked by a bridge to the nearby railway station. The latter can also be reached by a short walk across the bridge;

·       different working activities and urban facilities are integrated within the houses all around the city;

·       not polluting industrial activities are displaced in the big spaces underground, with a separate vehicular network. Lighting and ventilation are guaranteed through channels;

·       in the underground level a powerful power plant producing electricity, water supply, waste management making the city self-sustaining from outside services provision;

·       the four neighbourhood centres become the community places for people living nearby; complementary, on the main street, on the principal  square and on the waterfront all the city will meets together.

Housing typologies are different according to citizens needs.  Most of them are court houses, a modern version of the ancient Chinese traditional house; this particular typology, particularly pleasant for the local weather conditions, facilitates the development of social roots, inclusion of working activities and modification through time. The city, uplifted from the ground as a walled town, embedded in the surrounding landscape, has a clear structure and becomes a well identified place communicating sense of belonging.

The realisation of such a city requires a high initial cost, very high technical and governance capabilities that are balanced from very reduced management costs and goals achieved.