Event-based urban regeneration and gentrification in the historic centre of Genoa

Abstract

the hosting of important events has played a crucial role in the urban transformations that have been taking place in Genoa over the past 20 years, both for the huge investments they required and for the way in which they have redefined the city image. Urban transformation, upgrading and maintenance, all of which have affected the historic centre and the waterfront, have positively contributed to reversing the process of physic, economic and social decline that was devouring many parts of the city centre. The great operation of urban transformation, requalification and maintenance, which saw as protagonists the historic centre of Genoa and the waterfront of the Porto Antico (the ancient harbour), began in 1992 in the year of the Columbus Expo, celebrating the 500th anniversary of the discovery of America, and later continued and evolved with the G8 Summit, held in Genoa in July 2001, and the Genoa European Capital of Culture in 2004. These great events allowed, through the creation of a new open waterfront space in the city, a connection between the historic port basin and the ancient nucleus of the city. The phenomenon of gentrification began in the piazza Sarzano area in the early 1990s. The relocation of the Faculty of Architecture resulted in the moving away of weak and marginalised sectors of the population, an improvement in the commercial fabric and the development of student accommodation. The students have been able to take advantage of the very low rents, triggering a spontaneous process of renewal of the residential housing stock.