Balancing Physical and Socio-Economic Attributes

Cities, urban areas and neighbourhoods are complex ecosystems in which built environment and human activities interact and influence each other. In this chapter we try to analyse these interactions through the use of a simplified framework in two dimensions: the built environment, which measures the quality of tangible “hard” assets such as buildings, infrastructure and public areas, and the socio-economic environment, which measures the quality of intangible “soft” assets such as the vitality of the local community, opportunities for people and quality of life in general. “Distressed” areas are characterised by low quality on both dimensions; “Stressed” areas have a vital socio-economic environment but an inadequate built environment; “Aseptic” areas, on the contrary, have high performing buildings and infrastructures but are not able to create a vibrant local community; finally, “Ideal” areas represent the utopia of a place characterised by high quality on both dimensions. The positioning of cities, urban areas or neighbourhoods in these four categories is dynamic in the sense that virtuous urban regeneration programmes can transform Stressed areas into Ideal areas and, vice versa, lack of vision, poor governance or unexpected disruptive events can trigger the degradation of Ideal urban areas. The fundamental point we want to make here is that those who develop the territory must necessarily work on both the “hard” and “soft” dimensions with the same commitment. Creating a high-quality built environment is not enough and is just one of the necessary ingredients; to be successful, urban regeneration initiatives must also create conditions for attracting people and support social and economic activities. The built environment, both individual buildings and urban areas, can be considered not only as a “place” but also as a fundamental “tool” to promote sustainable socio-economic progress and environmental protection. With this approach the scope of activity for a real estate developer expands immensely and with it the need to develop innovative business models and additional skills.