Maria Pina Usai

The focus of the research carried out by Zones Portuaires and Corpi Idirici for the digital map of Genoa in the Atlas of Mediterranean Liquidity-is water. The map is broken down into the theme of the "immersed" with a dual meaning of "invisible-underground or underwater'' due to it being submerged or forced, and of "invisible-unknown or hidden" as a result of it being abandoned or unused. The map tells the stories of a select number of noteworthy places along fresh and saltwater routes, land and maritime passages, stories made invisible by anthropogenic hyper-infrastructure and immersed in physical conditions that lack knowledge and accessibility. The phenomenon has been studied from a point of view that moves from the sea to the hinterland and vice versa using a transdisciplinary approach method of investigation and restitution that makes use of the hybridization between artistic practice and scientific research.

One of the goals of 2030 AIVP Agenda is to strengthen port-city relationship by “promoting and capitalising on the specific culture and identity of port cities and allowing residents to develop a sense of pride and flourish as part of a city port community of interest” (6th goal). In order to do that, AIVP suggests to encourage the creation of Port Centres, to provide, by any means, daily news and information on port and city life for residents, particularly young people and school students and to organise temporary or permanent cultural events in port areas. This paper aims at presenting the Zones Portuaires Genoa experience as a device which since 2015 has experimented new methods for attending these objectives. The text will critically observe some projects that have been carried on within this process and will place them in the framework of a “research in action” approach.

Fino a pochi decenni fa, a Genova, porto e città erano culturalmente un tutt'uno: non c'era famiglia che non contasse un parente camallo, marinaio o armatore. Con la progressiva meccanizzazione portuale e una visione urbanistica che, in Italia, considera città e porto realtà separate, questo legame si è deteriorato. Il laboratorio di studi urbani UniGE "Incontri in città" e l'associazione U-BOOT Lab nel 2015 hanno promosso un dispositivo di indagine territoriale che coinvolge attivamente le comunità: Zones Portuaires lavora per favorire la connessione tra porto e città con un progetto di ricerca di lunga durata articolato in più azioni, la cui portata e efficacia sono cambiate nel tempo. Se il clima di fiducia sviluppato negli anni ha permesso di accedere ad ambienti, dati, contatti inizialmente non raggiungibili, anche le aspettative rispetto ai risultati si sono fatte più ambiziose nelle comunità coinvolte. Il testo esplora queste esperienze in maniera riflessiva e osserva il funzionamento del dispositivo e i suoi esiti, cercando di coglierne l'aspetto scientifico, culturale e sociale in una prospettiva integrata. Until a few decades ago, the port and the city were culturally "one" in Genoa: there was no family that did not count a dock worker, sailor or ship owner as a relative. With the progressive mechanization of the activity and an urbanistic vision that considers city and port as separate realities in Italy, this link has deteriorated. In 2015 UniGE urban studies laboratory "Incontri in città", initiated with the association U-BOOT Lab a device for territorial analysis and active community involvement: Zones Portuaires works to understand and promote the connection between port and city with a long-term research project articulated in several actions. The scope and effectiveness of these actions have changed over time: while the climate of trust developed over the years and has allowed to access environments, data, contacts that were initially unreachable, expectations regarding results have also become more ambitious in the involved communities. The text explores these experiences in a reflective way and with concrete examples it observes the functioning of the device and its outcomes, trying to grasp its scientific, cultural and social aspect in an integrated perspective. Introduzione Alla domanda «che cos'è Zones Portuaires?» nel 2015 rispondevamo «un festival tra città e porto». Dopo qualche tempo, abbiamo cominciato a parlare di «un dispositivo di ricerca-azione Tracce Urbane, 8, Dicembre 2020.