This thesis addresses the coastal interface of Genoa as a spatial manifestation of socio-economic tensions between turbulent economic growth and the urban needs of the communities that experience this space. The work begins by contextualising the coastline as an emblematic case of high physical and morphological complexity, marked by a permanent condition of conflict between contrasting logics of growth and development, along which the city, infrastructures and economies compete within an orographically constrained space. These issues become particularly acute and embedded within the territorial palimpsest when coastal development has historically been defined by the dominance of operational, logistical and speculative logics, to the detriment of public, civic, social and ecological dimensions.
This condition is also sustained by a structural governance split between the Municipality and the Port Authority, producing a dual territory in which the port functions as an autonomous city-state regulated by sectorial planning and operational priorities. Stemming from this perspective, the analytical narrative investigate the coastal condition of spatial liminality, fragmentation and sectoralisation, and exposes the deprivation experienced by local communities throughout modern history, produced by the concentration of industrial and infrastructural development along the interface.
To counter this trend, this thesis rejects the logics of modern planning, zoning and functional separation, moving away from the territorial-scale masterplan as the dominant instrument. The project is instead conceived as a political act with strong social value, developed in the form of a speculative framework within which a coevolutionary approach is advanced. In this framework, the material reconfigurations of the coastal interface cannot be decoupled from processes of civic and institutional recomposition, aimed at rebuilding neighbourhood identities, local agency, and collective social networks. The ultimate objective of the project is to return large portions of Genoa’s coastline, today often reduced to liminal spaces and no-man’s lands, to common use. Within this vision, these reclaimed areas become the ground for new urban life, collective commons and new socio-economic ecologies. The project imagines Genoa regaining renewed attractiveness across multiple scales, repositioning itself as a major Mediterranean metropolis. The critique of masterplanning is further advanced by refusing its intrinsic fixity and working instead through scenario-building, six interlinked priority fields of transformation for the systemic scale, and four speculative design focuses which construct radical, situated and plausible new spatial imaginaries.
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Zeeland’s landscape is currently dominated by fossil fuel-based industries. Four big companies emit huge amounts of greenhouse gasses. As the energy transition progresses and stricter limitations to these polluters are set, they will have to drastically change their processes or phase out. Though necessary, this threatens the livelihood of these practically educated employees. To come to solutions that fit within a just transition, this research explores how spatial transformations can empower these workers.
The study uses spatial analysis, policy and plan review and stakeholder research to come to a vision of diversification of the labor market spaces and voices. This vision is worked out according to three spatial design principles: smart land use, multifunctionality, and evolving place identity. Smart land use prioritizes the redevelopment of brownfields and salinized farmland over using more unused land to develop. Multifunctionality means the use of large open spaces for more than one type of industry. An evolving place identity means that the future is built upon a past that is seen as a vital stepping stone instead of something to be ashamed of.
The results include the conclusion that for a just transition to take place, there is a need for worker-centered policies, retraining initiatives, and spatial strategies that allow individuals to choose their own pathway through the energy transition. This report presents a multisectoral and integrated strategy, working out the sectors of tourism, food production, and clean and green energy production. An expanded mobility network ties these changes together, allowing for better accessibility within and into Zeeland.
By positioning workers at the core of the transition, Zeeland can serve as an example for industrial regions navigating similar structural changes. A more diverse future will make Zeeland more resilient to both the current energy transition as well as other uncertainties and changes.
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