master thesis 2021: supervisor Daniele Campobenedetto, co-supervisor Maicol Negrello
This research investigates the relationship between nature and the city, a theme which developed with the affirmation of the industrial city.
In the context of nineteenth-century and twentieth-century urban expansions, Nature is deployed as a mean to solve the problems related to life in the city, which is modeled and transformed by man and takes shape in the built environment
This research investigates the potential of nature as a mean against the effects of climate change within cities, taking into consideration a specific case, the city of Paris – which in the European context is densely built and inhabited.
The investigation process was divided into three parts:
1. The definition of nature and the city is given, analyzing the development of this relationship in history through case studies where nature is decisive for the construction of the city.
2. The investigation moves to the specific case of Paris, analyzing the main transformation plans of the city that have allowed a gradual development of the natural infrastructure, from Haussmann around 1850 to 1975. Every public space shape resulted was subjected to analysis and was subsequently divided in hypothesised recurring space types.
3. The transformation of Paris’ ordinary public green spaces is planned, theorising a design model that proposes the completion of the natural infrastructure of the city.
