Infrastrutture, mobilità e territorio storico. Strumenti e risorse per un rilancio sostenibile

In the era of metropolisation – which sees the majority of the world’s population living in urban areas, and the contextual decline of the territories of environmental value characterized by smaller historical centres – mobility plays a crucial role for the regeneration strategies based on the principles of cohesion, inclusion, quality. On the one hand, recent policies at global and national level (2030 Agenda, SNAI) pay attention to the themes of accessibility and collective transport as a mature interpretative evolution of the “right to the city” (Lefebvre, 1968), particularly in the disadvantaged territories. At the same time, new strategic lines at national and international level (EU programming, Unesco heritage, measures such as Law 128/2017 in Italy) recognize the identity feature of historical infrastructures (historic railways, waterways, transhumance routes) as common goods that can support policies and plans aimed at cohesion and resilience, triggering opportunities for territorial mending and environmental sustainability. In this context, the infrastructure networks, possible connections within the territories of the smaller historic centres represent an interesting field of research to experiment new integrated approaches and to the activate public and private economic resources (structural funds, forms of inter-municipal cohesion, etc.). The paper therefore intends to develop a reflection on the opportunities offered by the revitalization of integrated and sustainable mobility for the enhancement of peripheral territories (inner, marginal, depressed areas), from their cultural roots to the built and natural heritage, up to the socio-economic layout. The reflection is supported by case studies in some Italian regions pointing out the inter-municipal dimension as an emblematic scope for integrated, partnership or association tools (APQ, PSC, PUMS) based on the centrality of mobility and transport planning. In these cases, the urban and territorial regeneration strategies are activated starting from the networking of the historical territory, beyond municipal borders, and through the relaunch of sustainable and inclusive mobility, relying on the widespread richness of common goods.