Patrimonio culturale e strategie di rigenerazione urbana per affrontare la sfida delle disuguaglianze sociali e garantire nuovi diritti di cittadinanza

Urban regeneration, considered an integral part of any intervention concerning the governance of the territory, can activate innovative processes in cities and communities’ life. In this perspective, also considering the great opportunities and resources deriving from the PNRR, a law that establishes principles, strategies and appropriate methods of activation would be indispensable. The issue, while finding a significant space in regional legislation, is in fact understood in an improper way in national legislation, as the only response to the containment of land consumption and linked only to the redevelopment of the built heritage rather than to the centrality of territorial planning and design. The challenges are instead immaterial and oriented towards generative social action, since policies and programs not only involve building actors, but require larger and longer-lasting complex social projects, aimed at supporting the weakest sections of the population, with adaptation of public infrastructures and equipment. The challenge is even more complex in the face of growing social inequalities which, particularly affecting marginal territories, have been further aggravated and amplified by the COVID 19 pandemic emergency. With reference to ongoing research activities and highlighting the most significant aspects of some case studies among those selected, the authors question the role of Culture and Cultural Heritage in the reduction of social and territorial inequalities with an approach that aims at overcoming the prevailing declination that is limited to considering the degree of access to “primary” citizenship services without verifying (also) the degree of access to culture and cultural heritage.