Planning for military real estate conversion: collaborative practices and urban redevelopment projects in two Italian cities

Abstract

Despite the fact that the strategic dismissal of a number of military bases has been affecting contemporary urban and rural areas and becoming a new challenge for city planning and policy-making, little attention has been paid to this complex topic at an international level. Several authors have suggested that collaborative planning processes are crucial for the success of military real estate conversion. This article analyzes the Italian policy for the alienation and leasing of public real estate between 1997 and 2012 through the analysis of two projects whose focus was on military real estate in central Italy. This analysis shows why collaboration was not able to solve the significant urban challenges related to the conversion of these areas. The authors suggest taking national policy and local variables and solutions into further consideration (e.g. the quality and design of the physical environment, the policy tools available in the potentially conflictual institutional setting of military base conversion) rather than considering the collaboration with the local community alone.

Keywords:

• urban planning
• military real estate
• military base conversion
• public participation
• Italy

Acknowledgements

This article derives from joint research activities undertaken by the authors. However, the first draft version of Sections 1–5 can be attributed to Davide Ponzini, the first draft version of Sections 6–7 can be attributed to Marco Vani, while Section 8 can be attributed to both of them. The authors would like to thank two reviewers of Planning Research and Practice for their valuable comments.