Programme

1. The Foundational Matrices of Urban Planning
- The emergence of modern urban planning;
- Technical-functional matrices;
- Political-social matrices;
- Aesthetic-morphological matrices;
- The industrial city and territorial transformations.

2. Elements of Urban Critique
- Urbanization and modernity;
- The metropolitan dimension;
- Public space and urban practices;
- Territorial inequalities and marginality;
- Critical interpretations of the contemporary city.

3. Environment, Ecology, and Territory
- Urban and territorial ecology;
- Climate crisis and environmental transformations;
- Territorial resilience;
- Ecological transition and urban design.

Attendance

Having attended at least 75% of the classes.

Programme

The city is considered not only as a built artifact, but as the historical outcome of relationships between human communities, geographical conditions, territorial economies, exchange systems, institutions, and transformations of the landscape.
The teaching path is structured into three parts, according to a methodological and chronological sequence.
In the first part, the course introduces the main terminological and conceptual distinctions between territory, environment, and landscape, clarifying the relationship between urbanization and urban planning. This framework makes it possible to recognize the city as a historical and geographical phenomenon, rooted in the physical and environmental contexts that have guided the settlement of human communities.
The module then addresses the formation of the city from a long-term perspective: from the ancient city to the medieval city, up to the modern city and the extended forms of conurbation of contemporary megalopolises. The historical sequence is adopted as a key to understanding the transformation of urban forms, systems of relations, and modes of spatial organization. The urban phenomenon is therefore interpreted in relation to territorial morphologies, local and supra-local economies, infrastructures, modes of exchange, and the progressive construction of the landscape.
The second part of the course is devoted to representations of territory and the city. Historical cartography, maps, and images of the world are considered not only as descriptive tools, but also as interpretative and design devices. Through them, students will be introduced to the reading of the relationships between representation, knowledge, and design, recognizing how every representation selects, orders, and makes visible specific values, hierarchies, and spatial relationships.
The third part introduces the disciplinary construction of urban planning, highlighting its tension between the ability to anticipate settlement transformations and the need to respond to the effects of urban phenomena already underway. From this perspective, particular attention will be devoted to the emergence of social and environmental issues that characterize the contemporary debate, also in relation to the goals of the 2030 Agenda.
The elements of knowledge introduced in the previous structure of the module will be revisited, explored in greater depth, and exemplified by taking Rome as an emblematic case of a city that is at once global and local. The city will be interpreted through its stratifications, its historical and environmental permanences, and its relationship with the metropolitan dimension as well as with natural and infrastructural systems. From this perspective, the theme of “Rome beyond Rome” makes it possible to discuss the extension of the contemporary city, the fragility of natural and historical heritage, the tensions between regeneration, sustainability, social cohesion, and competitiveness, as well as the need for coherent and forward-looking forms of governance.
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Core Documentation

Adopted texts
The reference texts will be indicated and discussed during the course in relation to the topics addressed in the lectures.
The following are proposed as general orientation texts:
• A. Mela, E. Battaglini, A.L. Palazzo, La società e lo spazio. Quadri teorici, scenari e casi di studio, Carocci, 2024.
• A.L. Palazzo, R. D’Ascanio, Paesaggio e ambiente. Prospettive multidisciplinari per la governance, Carocci, 2025.
Additional teaching materials, cartographies, short texts, and case studies will be made available during the module.

Reference Bibliography

References Storia della città e del territorio H. Pirenne, Le città del Medioevo, Laterza1980 (1927). E. Sereni, Storia del paesaggio agrario italiano, Laterza 1963. L. Gambi, Una geografia per la storia, Einaudi 1973. G. Dematteis, Le metafore della Terra, Milano 1985. F. Farinelli, Luoghi, strade, spazio: tra cartografia, geografia e potere, in “Urbanistica”, n. 84, 1986, pp. 6-19. P. Camporesi, Le belle contrade. Nascita del paesaggio italiano, Milano 1992. C. Palagiano C., Asole A., Arena G., Cartografia e territorio nei secoli, Roma 1986. M. Berengo, L’Europa delle città, Einaudi 1999. M. Liverani, Uruk, la prima città, Laterza 2006. S. Ciranna, G. Doti, M.L. Neri, Architettura e città nell’Ottocento. Percorsi e protagonisti di una storia europea, Nis, 2011. P. Bairoch, De Jéricho à Mexico. Villes et économies dans l’histoire, Gallimard, 1985 L. Rombai, Geografia storica dell‘Italia. Ambienti, territori, paesaggi, Le Monnier2015. P. Zumthor, La misura del mondo. La rappresentazione dello spazio nel Medio Evo, Bologna 1995. D. Pandakovich, A. Dal Sasso, Saper vedere il paesaggio, Cittastudi, 2009. S. Neri Serneri, Incorporare la Natura, Carocci, 2005. Storia dell’urbanistica L. Benevolo, Le origini dell’urbanistica moderna, Laterza 1963. F. Choay, La città. Utopie e realtà, Seuil1965. G. Piccinato, La costruzione dell’urbanistica 1871-1914, Officina 1978. C. Sitte, L’arte di costruire la Città. L’urbanistica secondo i suoi fondamenti artistici, JacaBook 1990. L. Benevolo, La cattura dell’infinito, Laterza, 1991. L. Mazza, Trasformazioni del piano, Franco Angeli, 1994. A.L. Palazzo, L. Giecillo, Territori dell’urbano. Storie e linguaggi dello spazio comune, Quodlibet, 2009. Roma V. Calzolari, Storia e natura come sistema, Argos 1990 I. Insolera, Roma moderna, Einaudi 2024 A.L. Palazzo (a cura di), Campagne urbane. Paesaggi in trasformazione nell’area romana, Gangemi, 2005.

Attendance

Attendance requirements Attendance is mandatory, as the module constitutes a first introduction to the concepts, tools, and vocabulary of urban planning and territorial reading. Participation in lectures and exercises is necessary in order to follow the progression of the course, understand the materials presented, and develop the final assignment or discussion.

Type of evaluation

Assessment methods Assessment will take into account active participation in classes, the ability to use disciplinary vocabulary correctly, and the understanding of the main methodological and chronological steps addressed in the module. The final examination will consist of an oral discussion. The exercise will be oriented toward the reading of an urban or territorial context through cartographic materials, visual sources, spatial data, or simple interpretative elaborations. The ability to describe the observed phenomena, to place them within a historical and territorial sequence, to recognize relationships between city, environment, and landscape, and to argue coherently will be assessed.