Multiscale Configurational Approach to the Design of Public Open Spaces after Urban Disasters

Housing shortage after urban disasters is often approached by governments and humanitarian organizations by building prefabricated houses that, during the transition between emergency and reconstruction, materialize the paradox of the permanency of a temporary situation. The events that followed the 2016–2017 seismic crises in Central Italy do not seem to be an exception: in absence of permanent houses, the displaced people have been accommodated in S.A.E. (housing emergency solutions) within temporary villages of heterogeneous social, spatial and environmental qualities. With the aim to explore and improve way-finding in the disaster-impacted settlements as well as accessibility and sociability of the temporary sites’ public open spaces, this paper proposes a human-centred design research approach in performance-based housing recovery planning and design decision-making, combining principles and methods from Space Syntax and Public Life Studies. This research demonstrates how to coordinate different digital analysis and design tools by illustrating their application in an urban regeneration project for Borgo1, a temporary housing settlement in the municipality of Arquata del Tronto. Specifically, the paper shows how a multiscale and multidimensional study of the site allowed identifying the ideal location for a new public square and subsequently guided the design process towards the initial design goals’ achievement.