Minding the gap: questioning our strategy to bridge urban theory and practice

Titolo Rivista TERRITORIO
Autori/Curatori Aubrey Toldi
Anno di pubblicazione 2025 Fascicolo 2024/108-109
Lingua Inglese Numero pagine 7 P. 166-172 Dimensione file 275 KB
DOI 10.3280/TR2024-108015
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Explicit debates about theory-practice tensions have evolved over the past decades. Recently, there has been much focus on exposing the practical and theoretical shortcomings of deliberation (critique), lending urban scholars to call for new, enlightened ways of acting (vision). While this has brought about broader disciplinary awareness, many still struggle to respond to calls for more inclusive, collaborative, and reflexive actions. Why? In efforts to move this conversation forward, this paper calls into question this ‘critique and vision’ strategy and proposes that planners consider approaching this debate with a ‘naming and anticipating’ attitude instead.

Negli ultimi decenni si sono sviluppati dibattiti espliciti sulle tensioni tra teoria e pratica. Di recente, ci si è concentrati molto sull’esposizione delle carenze pratiche e teoriche della deliberazione (critica), dando la possibilità agli studiosi urbani di invocare nuovi modi illuminati di agire (visione). Se da un lato questo ha portato a una maggiore consapevolezza disciplinare, dall’altro molti fanno ancora fatica a rispondere alle richieste di azioni più inclusive, collaborative e riflessive. Perché? Nel tentativo di far progredire la conversazione, questo articolo mette in discussione questa strategia di ‘critica e visione’ e propone che i pianificatori prendano in considerazione l’idea di affrontare questo dibattito con un atteggiamento di ‘denominazione e anticipazione’.

Parole chiave:tensioni teoria-pratica; approcci comunicativi-deliberativi; ‘critica e visione’

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Aubrey Toldi, Minding the gap: questioning our strategy to bridge urban theory and practice in "TERRITORIO" 108-109/2024, pp 166-172, DOI: 10.3280/TR2024-108015