Resilient communities. Social infrastructures for sustainable growth of urban areas. A case study

Climate change, natural and human-made disasters, overcrowding spaces, waste production, and energy access are just a few of issues that our cities have to deal with. At the same time, cities offer a promising intervention field to foster collaborations in planning and managing sustainable infrastructure for sustainable growth. Creating resilient cities has both social and physical dimensions. Reinforcing local identity and culture contributes to positive relationships among individuals, improving their collective ability to face change. The City of Bologna is engaged in the definition of pilot actions to promote the active participation of stakeholders for the acceleration of Local Urban Environment Adaptation Plan for a Resilient City, linked to Common Goods Regulation: act together (collective regeneration of urban spaces), live together (new welfare, health and well-being), grow together (collaborative spaces for innovative jobs and enterprises). In this context the Research Group of the University of Bologna is involved in the development of a flexible and replicable methodology to support the transition to more sustainable urban context. This paper illustrates this methodology and the experimental study carried on to establish active mechanisms of engagement of citizens, associations, creative communities, private bodies, aiming at increasing community resilience and sensitivity and fostering sustainable growth.