Enhancing Public Space Accessibility and Inclusivity in Residential Neighbourhoods: A Methodological Framework and Pilot Application

Abstract

The paper adds to the debate on urban transformation, which plays a significant role in improving quality of urban life and liveability of public spaces, as also stated in UN Sustainable Development Goal No. 11. The research aims to test a methodology for identifying an abacus of urban regeneration interventions to enhance attractive and critical nodes through accessibility and inclusivity. The quality of the system of connections between polarities, the promotion of active mobility, zero soil consumption and the renaturalisation of urban spaces are fundamental criteria to define urban regeneration solutions. The proposed approach develops on two levels: a GIS-based spatial analysis of urban data and a participatory process. The innovative planning process is tested on the San Leonardo neighbourhood in the Municipality of Parma, Italy, which allows us to verify the potentials and limitations of the procedure, identifying future work perspectives. Moreover, the application allows us to check the replicability in other urban contexts, possibly envisaging other applications to more case studies. Our results consist of the identification of the vocations and the critical aspects of nodes and axes to regenerate urban space in medium-sized and large cities’ suburbs.