Overview

Land-In-Pro focuses on the tangible and intangible legacy left by the 20^th century (de)industrialization processes in the Ligurian landscape, envisioning it as a living testimony of the past and a potential resource for the future. From the mid-19^th century and up to the mid-20^th century, the Ligurian coastal areas and the rural hinterland, 
became the sites for modern factories, also coinciding with the development of roads and rail networks, placing the area on a competitive international level in many industries. The decline of the Italian economic expansion phase in the 1970s and the new competitive economic global scenarios, heavily impacted the Ligurian industrial structure, gradually leaving behind former productive landscapes of relevant size and complexity.  Nowadays, they represent relics of a recent past deeply rooted in the territory and in the memory of local communities. In a region lacking in space, adaptive reuse becomes pivotal in the public discourse, intertwined with land management, industrial site reclamations, mobility and transport, and local sustainable development. With reference to the H2020 MSCA-IF 2019 MaMo project’s research methodology, Land-In-Pro will explore, document, and assess the legacy of the (de)industrialization processes in the peculiar Ligurian landscape.

Land-In-Pro makes use of a research approach based on the collection, processing, and critical interpretation of qualitative and quantitative data through the implementation of literature and policies review, historical research methods and architectural, ethnographic methods, and fieldwork investigation.

Objectives

Land-In-Pro aims to: (OB1) identify and investigate the diversity of buildings and sites that witness the impact of major 20th century (de)industrialization processes in the landscape; (OB2) record and analyse narratives embedded in the memories and social life of local communities in selected sites and local government stakeholders challenges; in light of the New European Bauhaus (NEB) Initiative and the Green European Deal, (OB3) interpret, evaluate, and assess this heritage as a resource for local sustainable development policies; (OB4) critically unfold new perspectives on conservation and adaptive re-use strategies of (post)industrial heritage for local communities’ sustainable development in view of the in Europe’s green transformation.

Methodology

Land-In-Pro draws its research methodology from the research project “Materializing Modernity: Socialist and Post-socialist Rural Legacy in Contemporary Albania - MaMo", funded by the EU under the H2020 MSCA-IF 2019 grant agreement no. 896925, transposing and adapting it to the new research topic objectives and context.

Land-In-Pro interdisciplinarity is enhanced by an integrated and holistic approach that combines the following areas of expertise and disciplines:

 - Historical Research and Literature review methods
 - Spatial, architectural and landscape analysis, and GIS
 - Ethnographic Methods
 - Critical Heritage studies

Work packages

Land-In-Pro will go beyond the state of the art by investigating and documenting the impact of 20^th century (de)industrialization processes both considering tangible and intangible aspects of landscape transformation.

Land-In-Pro is articulated on a three-years work plan unfolded in three phases (Ph1, Ph2, Ph3) and six complementary Work Packages (WPs):

 - WP1. Inventorying the tangible: Investigating, identifying, and mapping
 - WP2. In-depth investigation of a representative (pilot) case study
 - WP3. Processing and harmonization of collected data: webGIS and GIS project
 - WP4. Interpretation and evaluation: development of the Assessment Tool
 - WP5. Knowledge transfer and dissemination: discussing (post)industrial landscapes
 - WP6. Management and communication