A participation process for improving the liveability of a neighbourhood in Rome: the potential of the Environmental Island tool

Citizens’ involvement in public decision-making processes has been widespread in many countries for several decades. In Italy, starting from 2001, the constitutional reform of article 118 legitimized, through the principle of "horizontal subsidiarity", citizens’ active role in promoting initiatives of general interest. Since 2006, the Municipality of Rome adopted an instrument designed to facilitate the confrontation with citizens. This presentation deals with a participatory process activated by the “Roma I Centro” Borough, that was aimed at guaranteeing clear information on urban transformation projects for all citizens and influencing the decision-making process for the project proposal of one of the city's oldest and most central districts. The Department of Architecture of Roma Tre University, thanks to its previous research experiences on the Environmental Island topic, has been involved in this process. The participation process has been carried out and all the contributions were used by experts in elaborating the technical advice provided by the Borough to the central administration so that the design could be better tailored to citizens' requirements and expectations and anti-touristification.