Aula Magna, Facoltà di Architettura, Piazza Borghese 9
30.06.2026 | ore 9.00
SEMINARIO
Rhythms and Arrhythmias of Urban Transformation
Urban landscape transformations manifest as coexistences and imbalances of different temporalities, in which alternations among demolitions, construction sites, temporary uses of abandoned places, and occupations are intertwined with the progressive privatization of space.
Starting from the documentary “Surviving a demolition” by Django Burdeau and Pauline Blanchet, which examines the demolition phases of the La Courneuve-Cité des 4000 area (Saint-Denis, Paris), the seminar investigates how urban temporalities can be observed, represented, and used. The film becomes a track, but also a tool: it allows us to grasp disproportion, delays, and friction that often escape the traditional tools of planning.
This perspective is complemented by the Roman experience of MAAM—Museo dell’Altro e dell’Altrove—and the practices promoted by the Movement for the Right to Housing, which have reclaimed urban spaces as places for living and cultural activities, producing alternative temporalities to those of urban planning and the real estate market, as well as new forms of permanence, conflict, and negotiation.
In an attempt to propose a rhythm-analytic reading of the urban landscape, inspired by Henri Lefebvre, the seminar distinguishes between the physical rhythms of transformation (demolitions, construction sites), economic and planning rhythms (linked to investment cycles), and the rhythms of space use (temporary practices, occupations). Through a comparison of the French and Roman cases, the critical issues surrounding the use of temporariness as a tool of urban governance emerge, along with the potential of practices that produce alternative temporalities.
Hence, a question that will guide the discussion: how are the times of urban change produced and intertwined, and how can they be observed and mobilized in the urban project?
a cura di: Lucia Concetta Vincelli, Dottoranda del Dottorato in Paesaggio e Ambiente
contatti: luciaconcetta.vincelli@uniroma1.it