The theoretical grid. An antifragile strategy for Rome post-COVID mobility

Mobility represents a central issue for sustainable urban planning and regeneration processes in large cities, concerning the impact on environmental quality, equity, and social inclusion. However, the pandemic has strongly affected mobility trends, influenced by international and national social distancing measures and new "safe” lifestyles. Thus, many cities have been adopting mobility emergency strategies for urban resilience. In this context, as a result of a research developed in the framework of a collaboration between Roma Tre University and the Sapienza University of Rome, this essay proposes an "antifragile” strategy for Rome's "post-COVID” mobility, adaptable to other European metropolitan contexts, based on an integrated approach to urban planning and mobility. The research methodology is articulated in three phases: the analysis of the main scientific references related to urban resilience and antifragility concerning the relations between urban form, ways of living and mobility models in pre- and postpandemic scenarios, the study of the main ongoing practices in European cities and the proposal for an antifragile strategy for the city of Rome based on the theoretical grid. The theoretical grid is an urban grammar that proposes a model of reorganization for the city based on elementary urban units and defines an integrated strategy for the reorganization of mobility, the reconfiguration of local flows, and the regeneration of public space. This grammar is declined in specific ways according to the different urban fabrics, within an articulation in four "cities,” the historical city, the consolidated city, the modernist city, the peripheral urban fringes. © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Post-Covid cities and mobility A proposal for an antifragile strategy in Rome

Mobility is considered a central topic for urban regeneration in metropolitan cities, in relation to the impact on traffic congestion, air pollution, public space quality, social inclusion. During the Covid-19 pandemic, mobility patterns have been strongly affected by the spread of the virus and the social distancing measures. In the last months, many cities have adopted mobility strategies for urban resilience, to face the crisis by the reorganization of infrastructures and networks with a glance at a prevention of an unsustainable return to private transport in the post-covid phase. In this context, the research illustrated in this paper, developed within a collaboration between Sapienza University of Rome and Roma Tre University, aims to propose an "anti-fragile" strategy for "post covid Rome", adaptable to other contexts of European cities, starting from an integrated approach to urban planning and mobility. The research methodology has articulated the activities into three phases. The phase of analysis of the phenomena and the main scientific references relating to urban resilience and antifragility, highlighting the the relationship between urban form and mobility models. The second phase relates to the study of the main ongoing strategies and practices in some European metropolitan cities. The third phase proposes an operational hypothesis of an antifragile strategy for Rome highlighting the relevance of mobility transition. In the conclusion, the paper defines guidelines for urban regeneration combining the results of the case studies and the experimentation.