The course focuses on the theme of the recovery and revitalization project of small mountain towns. The reference cultural context is represented by the National Strategy for Internal Areas and the debate following it.

Reference texts
De Rossi (edited by), Rehabiting Italy. The inland areas between abandonment and reconquest, Donzelli, Rome.

Educational objectives
The training course aims to acquire the ability to
develop a complex urban planning project, controlling it in his own
physical-morphological aspects with particular attention in terms of
sustainability (environmental, social and economic-administrative feasibility).

Prerequisites
Knowledge of the urban planning discipline is required on the following topics: urban planning analysis and interpretation of the existing one; Fundamental concepts of modern urban planning and design; history of modern urban planning.
Skills in the following fields are also required: freehand drawing of
urban planning schemes; computer knowledge of graphics programs
(Adobe Illustrator; Autocad; Adobe Photoshop; 3D modeling);
basic knowledge of English.

Didactic methods
From a methodological point of view, the course is structured in two modules:
1) cycle of lectures by internal and external teachers on the themes of geographical and landscape analysis of mountain contexts; territorial project; the themes of the relationship between project and context, developed with reference to the operations of extraction of the sense of place, and of evaluation of the
urban and environmental transformability; the relationship between project and structure, with reference to the operations of interpretation of the existing, anticipation of possible futures, configuration of settlement structures and infrastructural networks; the relationship between design and conformation, relating to the use of the different ways of physical and functional organization of the settlement forms.
2) Design exercise module: it is intended for the elaboration of a proposal in which the single interpretative and conformation operations of the physical spaces reproduce the main stages of the design process. In particular, the exercises deal with the following themes, to which specific thematic maps correspond: Interpretation of the context: the sense of places; conditions of transformability; ongoing or planned projects; prospective scenarios; Existing structure: settlement system, infrastructure system, environmental system; Plan structure: settlement system, infrastructure system, environmental system; Proposed configuration: the coherence framework of transformation projects.

Other
The course takes place in intensive mode with a period of stay at the center object of the exercise and a period of work and lessons in the university classrooms. The different formative moments can be summarized as follows:
- Organizational activities (explanation of the program; delivery of preparatory materials; Teams platform activation; etc.)
- Visit and stay at the mountain center object of the exercise and return of the perceptual analysis to the classroom:
- Frontal lectures ex cathedra
- Frontal lectures by the visiting professor
- Guest lectures
- Discussion of the progress of the documents
- Practical workshop with assistance from the teacher and guests
- Mid-term review
- Discussion in the classroom
The lectures are supported by presentations (ppt) with illustrations graphics, urban maps, photographs, videos, and provide for interaction
between teachers and students through case study discussions.
The laboratory exercises foresee the active participation of students and include hands-on activities such as freehand drawing, creation of analysis books and scale models of the urban context of study.

Learning assessment procedures
The course provides a single moment of verification consisting in the discussion of the analysis and project documents.
This is a collegial moment, carried out with the help of colleagues who, assuming the role of guest critic, allow the teachers and tutors of the course to observe the results of their students' work with detachment. All the members of the group present their work respecting the speaking shifts and responding to the critical solicitations that will be moved by the guest critics. The teacher then evaluates the whole work considering the following aspects:
Ability of the project to meet the needs indicated during the course;
Ability of the project to deal with the critical issues found in the analysis;
Morphological and aesthetic quality of the design solution and its insertion in the landscape context;
Quality of the representation of the design solution;
Individual ability to present the contents of the project with properties of language and ability to synthesize.

Sustainability
The course will address the 17 objectives of the Sustainable Development Agenda
objectives 11: "Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe,
long-lasting and sustainable "; 13: “Promote actions, at all levels, to combat climate change”; and 15: "Protect, restore and promote the sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, manage forests in a sustainable way, fight desertification, stop and reverse soil degradation and stop the loss of biodiversity"