Ravenna

Digital transition

DARE - Digital Environment for collaborative Alliances to Regenerate urban Ecosystems in middle-sized cities

No district of the city and no citizen should feel left behind. I am particularly happy that our City of Ravenna will be able to start-up the DARE project thanks to the UIA Initiative. Our beloved Darsena district represents our history and our capability to design the future of the City. Now, not only will it benefit of new basic infrastructures provided by the Municipality, but it will become an open-air lab for regeneration and digital transition. We will work to make the Darsena a place where it is nice to live and work, and where people, visitors and investors can find inspiration and opportunities. Our duty is to respond to citizens needs by listening, collaborating and innovating day after day.

Michele de Pascale, Mayor of Ravenna
The project in numbers
20,284
inhabitants live in Darsena District, a densely populated suburb of Ravenna
24
hectares brownfield along the Docks of Candiano canal characterize the area
30
years is the time the decline has lasted, with no major investments in the area
16
pieces of smart urban design and interactive public devices are going to turn the Darsena into a digitally equipped district
20,000
aware digital interactions by citizens are foreseen by the end of the project
4,998,004.00
Total ERDF budget granted
Challenge addressed

In Ravenna we have a district called “DARSENA”, the city docks. It used to be the city business and lively pole, until the Port has developed outside the city. Moreover, the railway has divided the historical city center and the suburbs. 
These factors made Darsena an abandoned industrial area (as large as the city center, with 32 private owners) side to side with a densely populated residential area (20.284 people, 16% non-nationals, 23% over 65 y.o., low incomes). Environmental situation, security, cohesion are challenging, as well as developing new functions and assets for the district, where no major business investment was recorded in the last 30 years. 
After unsuccessful top-down attempts to redevelop, in 2010-15 a new path has started. An integrated strategy was designed through a participatory process, and since 2016 an infrastructural action plan was started-up by the Municipality and some private investments popped-up. 
DARE moves from such complex context to engage a powerful Urban Regeneration Process based on and enhanced by digital transition. On one side, we dare to make our city go digital starting from the most critical district and urban policy. On the other, we believe a data & digital based regeneration process will enhance and support a new citizens-centred perspective and implementation.
Digital culture will make citizens (the younger, the older, the decision makers, the entrepreneurs…) not only digitally aware but also enabled to be part of the new collaboration framework (by sharing data, projects and actions) for their own life quality.

Solution proposed

DARE proposes an Urban Regeneration Process based on new alliances between public, private profit and non-profit sectors and residents. In order to create a collaborative platform, we will develop a digital environment and a participatory process. The digital platform will make data accessible, understandable and useful, describing the district, the process and the changes and enabling, in so doing, not only decision makers but also citizens to become active part in the process. 
Such system has to rely on a widespread DIGITAL CULTURE to allow people to become aware digital city changers and interact with regenerations iconic services/engagement actions based on data & digital tools. Platform and skills will allow us to collaborate rapidly and effectively to co-develop and start-up a set of new integrated and concrete actions for regeneration. 
The new governance will include a multidisciplinary expert team supporting feasibility and sustainability of projects and a specific focus on “story telling” the whole process.
Finally, we propose to assess our results against a new set of quality of life indicators, that may truly seize the improvements in the life of citizens.

Expected results

We aim at starting a process that may shift Darsena district from abandoned, neglected, static area, to attractive and innovative urban ecosystem, thanks to digital transition. We think that in 3 years’ time, 
Darsena district can become “the place to be”, where regeneration is tangible, in a connected urban environment. A point of no return towards quality of life. In addition, we focus on starting up a long-term process rather than short-term results.
A process based on a knowledge-based tactic, thanks to a physical and digital system of collection and integration of relevant data, based on an inclusive citizens-centered digital-based interaction system, measurable and evaluated according to Quality of Life indicators. 
Ravenna people will evolve into “city changers” thanks to the acquisition of a digital and participatory culture and Darsena district will be attractive towards external key targets (visitors, investors, entrepreneurs) and positively perceived by the citizens as a lively, innovative, healthy, safe & secure, inclusive place to live, enjoy and work.

Main milestones

July 2020: Darsena digitally equipped and citizens digitally aware
December 2020: ViR, the Darsena Virtual Realm, released (including data management platform, content management system and public interface)
February 2021: DALIA, the digital archive of the Darsena areas, to appeal residents, visitors and investors
November 2021: Darsena will be more innovative, healthy, safe & secure, inclusive thanks to new digital-related services and projects
April 2022: Darsena tactic 2022-23 issued from participation and new governance system
July 2022: Solid Urban Regeneration Process ready to evolve, sustain itself, scale-up and be transferred

Partnership
  • Municipality of Ravenna
  • Cineca - NGO
  • European Crowdfunding Network - NGO
  • STUDIOMAPP - NGO
  •  ENEA DTE-SEN - research centre
  • CIFLA - research centre
  • CertiMaC - research centre
  •  Chia Lab - SME
  •  BiPart Social Enterprise - SME
  • University of Bologna
  •  CNA Ravenna - bbuisiness supprot organsiation
  • Legacoop Romagna - business support organisation
     
The project in numbers
20,284
inhabitants live in Darsena District, a densely populated suburb of Ravenna
24
hectares brownfield along the Docks of Candiano canal characterize the area
30
years is the time the decline has lasted, with no major investments in the area
16
pieces of smart urban design and interactive public devices are going to turn the Darsena into a digitally equipped district
20,000
aware digital interactions by citizens are foreseen by the end of the project
4,998,004.00
Total ERDF budget granted
Contact of the project
Emanuela Medeghini
Project manager - Head of unit EUropean policies
Levente Polyak
UIA Expert

Project news & events

Presentation of tactics for the Darsena

DARE Ravenna Zoom-in #3 - Co-designing a future vision: The selection of a tactic for Ravenna's Darsena

...
The DARE partnership

DARE Journal #3: The multiple legacies of DARE

DARE is an innovative urban regeneration project that instead of focusing uniquely on the physical environment, has invested in the skills and ambitio...
Industrial site in the Darsena. Photo by Levente Polyak

From crowdfunding to community finance: Funding the Darsena’s bottom-up transformation

Financing territorial redevelopment is largely seen as a top-down process with priorities defined by public administrations at the local, regional or ...
Event to present the tactics of the Darsena. Photo: Levente Polyak

Towards a tactic for the Darsena: co-designing urban development scenarios

Participatory urbanism has become a buzzword in the past decade. Participation in urban processes can range from consultation on single issues, to co-...
DARE's digital environment. Image by DARE

Building an inclusive digital environment: data collection, management and literacy in Ravenna’s Darsena area

Digital platforms and tools have been increasingly central elements of urban planning and design. With the proliferation of digital instruments using ...
Making of DarsenaRavenna.it. Image by DARE

The Making of Approdo Comune: A digital environment for the regeneration of Ravenna’s Darsena

Changing the narrative of a neighbourhood can be just as important in urban regeneration as changing its physical fabric. However, imposing a story on...
Site visit in Ravenna's Darsena area. Photo by Levente Polyak

After RADAR: long-term perspectives for development in the Darsena

Property development is a long-term genre, with processes between vision, programming, design, development and inauguration that may take years if not...
Empaville session. Photo by DARE

From proposing to collaborating and voting: participatory tools for the Darsena

Digital democracy or e-democracy tools have been frequently used to overcome the trust gap between citizens and public administrations, by lowering th...
Interview with Emanuela Medeghini

DARE Ravenna Zoom-in #2 - Towards a tactic for the Darsena

The Urban Innovative Actions-funded project DARE is a non-conventional urban regeneration project that instead of focusing uniquely on the physical en...
RADAR Real Estate Forum

Connecting bottom-up ideas to owners and funders: The RADAR Real Estate Forum in Ravenna

Urban transformation, especially in the form of large urban development projects, is often seen as primarily top-down, regulated by public administrat...
Storymaps

Modelling the Darsena: Storymaps or the digital heritage of a neighbourhood

...
View of Darsena in summer

DARE Zoom-in #1: Narrating urban transformation - a digital platform for Ravenna's Darsena

In this first Zoom-in for the UIA project DARE, Levente Polyak explores the digital platform conceived to support the transformation of Ravenna's...
Night at the Candiano Canal

DARE Journal #2: Unfolding stories of the Darsena

DARE is an innovative urban regeneration project that instead of focusing uniquely on the physical environment, invests in the skills of its inhabitan...
Map of policies. Image (c) Multilab

Ravenna Mapping Darsena: In search of visions, lost and found

Many urban regeneration schemes focus on architectural interventions or masterplans that aim to transform the social fabric of an area through shaping...
The Candiano Canal

DARE Journal #1: The Project’s Approach

The DARE (Digital Environment for collaborative Alliances to Regenerate urban Ecosystems in middle-sized cities) project connects urban regeneration w...
View of the Darsena

Re-appropriating Ravenna’s waterfront: towards a collective story of transformation

Ravenna's Darsena area has been a delicate spot on the city’s map. After a process of deindustrialisation and a series of attempts to regenerate ...

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