A-Z GENOVA2 6 U R B A N I N T E R A C T I O N S

I N 2 D A Y S

A-Z GENOVA

D A L L A A A L L A Z E T A

{[dl-la] [a] [l-la] [z-ta]}

Using the alphabet as a frame is grounded in the

Italian phrase dalla a alla zeta that means to

change everything from head to toe. Each letter rep-

resents a theme of your city, and within each one an

ephemeral interaction is created. In a short period

of time the alphabet is covered to provoke new per-

spectives on the chosen themes, and therein an urban

metamorphosis from A to Z.

GEN OVA.

A CIT Y IN DECLINE?

Genoa wasnt designed to be understood. The slow

evolution of its narrow passageways created one

of the darkest and most confusing city centres

in Italy, and its expansion onto the surrounding

hillsides that enveloped nearby villages into

its suburbs has established a sprawling metropo-

lis that defi es both geography and logic. Riv-

ers have been cemented over, hillsides drilled

through, hilltops built on, and seafronts fl anked

by busy highways.

The dysfunctional physicality of the city un-

derpins its intrigue. Winding outdoor staircases

form improbable residential streets, and eleva-

tors buried in steep cliffs lead to unexpected

vistas of the city. Navigating out of the old

towns dense maze of shadowy alleyways into the

sunsplashed light of a vast piazza only to fi nd

a busy elevated motorway dividing you from the

citys harbour may seem like a bizarre intro-

duction to one of Genoas main attractions, but

this is the sort of contrast locals have learned

to tolerate.

GEN OVA.

A CIT Y IN DECLINE?

But residents endurance of the citys physical

form is day-by-day mutating into a full-scale grap-

ple. As one of the oldest and most rapidly ageing

urban centres of Europe the built environment is

increasingly perceived as a challenge. And floods

are increasing in intensity and frequency as the

natural environment ruptures from its built suf-

focation in violent bursts. Each episode causes

millions of euros worth of damage to burden an

already squeezed local authority that has faced

budget reductions in-line with Italys economic

crisis.

This state of crisis is slowly emerging as a per-

manent reality. Street maintenance slackens, gar-

dens are left to rot, emigration grows, social

gaps widen, and politics divides rather than unite.

These issues expose current system inefficiencies

and also magnify past profligacy the longest time

to complete the worlds shortest and least useful

public metro, being one anecdote all residents have

in their conversation armoury. This cocktail of dy-

namics has the potential to culminate in a defeat-

ist attitude whereby residents accept that things

inevitably work against them.

If peoples interpretation shapes their reality,

then tweaking perception can mediate change. The

history of Genoa is replete with examples of how

this works in practice. When the city-republic was

a maritime power in the twelfth century, the Eng-

lish fleet sought to secure safe passage in the Med-

iterranean by adopting Genoas flag the St Georges

cross in exchange for a periodic payment from the

monarchy to the Doge, the citys ruler. A seemingly

superficial image swap, altered the perception of

the English, and thereby actually changed the way

that others interacted with their fleet.

This type of thinking can be applied to the Genoa

of today. The citys palazzi embody an admired past

that contrasts sharply with the dysfunction of the

present day social and built environment, and this

relationship between nostalgia and the perception

of an inevitably deteriorating future have become

the central axis of its identity. By modifying the

interfaces through which city problematics are ex-

perienced, a new intangible value can be estab-

lished, and this could provoke change.

O B S E R V E

Use the urban environment to seek

new perspectives that generate in-

sight. Walking through the city,

even without a predetermined des-

tination, can provide access to lo-

cations that may not otherwise be

considered places. Speak to people

and understand how they interpret

the city, and what their perceived

issues, concerns and values within

it are. Above all be open to having

assumptions challenged by what is

observed.

L O C A T E

Locating is finding the points at

which perception and geography meet.

This is always mediated by our own

negotiation with the city. But an un-

derstanding of how interactions be-

tween people and environments play

out through observation can become

the springboard for identifying sto-

ries that capture the context of

specific places. These stories need

to be located through the city in

ways that create new interactions.

P E R M E A T E

Permeating is the spread of inter-

actions through an urban environ-

ment, and also the rearrangement of

things that already exist. This can

be the creation of new interfac-

es for issues that have been ob-

served and placed, which could alter

how people interact with them. The

change in the subjective perception

of something can create a new value

for that particular urban theme and

thereby permeate its interpretation.

A C C E S S

B I S A G N O

C L O S U R E

D E L I N Q U E N C Y

E M M I G R A T I O N

F R A G M E N T A T I O N

G A R D E N S

H A B I T A T

I N N O V A T I O N

J U N K

K R A P

L A N G U A G E S

M E N T A L I T Y

N E P O T I S M

O P P O R T U N I T Y

P A R K I N G

Q U A L I T Y

R A G E

S O P R A L E V A T A

T R A F F I C

U R I N E

V E R T I C A L I T Y

W A T E R F R O N T

X X X

Y A C H T

Z E N A

Access issues manifest themselves in many ways

through Genoa. City demographics make it one of

Europes oldest, and its sprawl complicates core-

periphery connectivity. Inadequate clear sig-

nage, disregarded street furniture, poor quality

crossings, and potholed pavements are regular

obstacles to walking. Giving fading zebra cross-

ings a colourful outline highlighted some access

challenges and improved the walking context.

Many shops, underpasses, elevated walkways, fac-

tories, and houses have been abandoned or closed

in the last few years across Genoa for a variety

of reasons. Recently built public amenities have

been left to decay, and in the historical centre

artisans facing diminishing trade are closing

their businesses for good, making for a surreal

atmosphere of forgotten places hiding in plain

sight. Giving these abandoned places speech bub-

bles could encourage a new approach to closure.

Many shops, underpasses, elevated walkways, fac-

tories, and houses have been abandoned or closed

in the last few years across Genoa for a variety

of reasons. Recently built public amenities have

been left to decay, and in the historical centre

artisans facing diminishing trade are closing

their businesses for good, making for a surreal

atmosphere of forgotten places hiding in plain

sight. Giving these abandoned places speech bub-

bles could encourage a new approach to closure.

Access issues manifest themselves in many ways

through Genoa. City demographics make it one of

Europes oldest, and its sprawl complicates core-

periphery connectivity. Inadequate clear sig-

nage, disregarded street furniture, poor quality

crossings, and potholed pavements are regular

obstacles to walking. Giving fading zebra cross-

ings a colourful outline highlighted some access

challenges and improved the walking context.

C L O S U R E D E L I N Q U E N C Y

B I S A G N OA C C E S S

Over the last decade Genoas population has

shrunk and got older, indicating that a brain

drain is in full swing. People are emigrating

after graduation to pursue their careers else-

where. An altered image of a note from the old

currency 1000 lire was placed outside the Mu-

seum of Migration.

Genoas green spaces are difficult to enjoy be-

cause they are often poorly maintained, hard

to access and unfriendly places with seemingly

never-ending building work. Restoring a level of

citizen ownership over these spaces by estab-

lishing small herb gardens in these parks could

lead to them being better cared for. Installing

a series of mini gardens across the city in var-

ious parks and squares could encourage people

to rethink their interactions with these spaces.

As the majority of people in Genoa live in large

apartment blocks that face directly onto traf-

ficked roads, many facades have become stained

by pollution over the years. This creates an un-

pleasant and unhealthy local habitats. But these

dirty walls are not an inevitability, clean fa-

cades can be achieved with low-cost civic ini-

tiatives, which can lead to improved local en-

vironments.

Despite the multiple nationalities and back-

grounds of Genoas residents, there is a notice-

able fragmentation between different people.

Many migrants are excluded from the formal job

market, which makes social interaction beyond

transactionary experiences in the informal sec-

tor difficult. Placing a barcode that does not

work on a street sellers impromptu stall is a

new way to tell this story.

E M M I G R A T I O N

G A R D E N S H A B I T A T

F R A G M E N T A T I O N

In the past, Genoese companies

revolutionised transport, bank-

ing and textiles, and although

these companies may have been

and gone, innovation can be re-

claimed by city residents. Peo-

ple have the capacity to create

original ideas that add value.

Establishing book exchanges on

disused and underused street

furniture to show how eas-

ily ignorable aspects of the

streetscape can be repurposed

for something positive.

Cigarette butts, litter,

and discarded materials

are easily found lying in

the streets. Reassembling

junk found in streets can

bring these disparate and

forgotten elements back to

life.

J U N K

I N N O V A T I O N

Its difficult to turn a corner in Genoa without

encountering dog krap on the pavement. Dog own-

ers fail to pick up their pets poop, and the

city fails to provide dog toilets or poo-collec-

tion bags. Integrating pop-art images into the

poo can change the experience of the sight, and

highlight the issue in a new way.

K R A P

One of Genoas biggest resources is the num-

ber of languages spoken in the city. Aside from

Italian and Genoese dialect, Arab, Spanish, Man-

darin, Bengali, Wolof, and French are heard reg-

ularly in the streets. Modifying the image of a

popular money transfer brand to create an ad hoc

language exchange in the city centre can encour-

age the exploration new cultures.

Nepotism is a well-established practice in Ge-

noese society, and is especially pronounced in

academic life recently the University of Genoa

unceremoniously topped a table as the most nepo-

tistic higher education institute in northern

Italy. This was highlighted through the creation

of a low-cost airline style gate for university

departments, with degrees provided on a table

for priority students, and all others pointed in

the direction of the library.

Genoa has struggled to cope with its shift to

a post-industrial economy. The stream of op-

portunity in the city has dissipated recently

following centuries of steady career paths. A

poster communicating the evolution of typical

jobs through the ages in the city showed the

typical 2000s man on his knees holding an Im

hungry sign.

Streets and pedestrian passages can be bland

and uninspiring. Experiencing the same unchanged

contexts over and over can under stimulate our

minds. To break the ritual monotony of these

places, creating new dimensions out of tape at-

tempts to establish new spaces that stretched

beyond the physical realm.

N E P O T I S M O P P O R T U N I T Y

M E N T A L I T YL A N G U A G E S

Its impossible to move around Genoa outside

of the pedestrianised historical centre without

seeing long stretches of parked cars. Public

squares have become car and motorbike parks,

and the number of parked vehicles create an un-

friendly walking environment that encourages a

driving culture. Mini-areas for human relaxation

in car parks shed light on the absurd dominance

of vehicles in the citys public space.

City environments can be stressful, and Genoa

is no different. Many streets carry the echoes

of arguments and disagreements at all times of

day. With mindfulness proven to reduce stress,

why not establish spaces for meditation at bus

stops to encourage reflection while waiting?

The elevated motorway that separates the port

with the historical centre known as the So-

praelevata is one of Genoas most talked about

problems. As discussions on resolving the flyover

have still come to nothing, it needed a cry for

help.

Genoas urban fabric can be difficult to navi-

gate as many roads are scarred by potholes and

pavements have upturned and out of place paving

stones. This level of quality can exacerbate the

difficult mobility situation faced by the age-

ing population. Giving pavements a voice with

ad hoc emojis made from litter, pine needles,

and leaves found around the site underlines poor

quality streetscapes.

P A R K I N G

R A G E S O P R A L E V A T A

Q U A L I T Y

For a relatively compact

city, car dependence in Genoa

is surprising. The volume of

cars can be quite oppressive

for pedestrians and cyclists

alike. The few measures taken

to reduce cars have failed,

the citys cycling scheme

flopped due to a lack of am-

bition, and the local metro

is ridiculed by locals as the

smallest and most useless in

the world. Traffic hacks, like

this one with a deckchair, can

momentarily create a new road

experience.

T R A F F I C

Public urination is not uncommon on Genoas

streets. Placing gold frames around traces of

urine can change how this phenomenon is medi-

ated.

U R I N E

Genoa has a large illicit red light

district in the heart of the city.

Many of the women involved in prosti-

tution have been trafficked illegally

in the country and are exploited by

organised crime syndicates. Placing

a black and white image of a naked

woman in the centre of this area,

and covering her mouth in red tape

could provoke reflection on this sit-

uation.

X X X

Z E N A

A bike sharing scheme called MoBike was intro-

duced in 2009 with power assisted cycling to

help climb hills, but the initial six stations

in flat parts of the city have not been expanded

on, and the scheme has gone unused, exposing it

as a tokenistic gesture rather than a meaning-

ful project. Sticking stars on them provides the

commune with a visible citizen feedback mecha-

nism.

Genoa is a maritime city with boats of all kinds

constantly docking in the citys harbour, its

ports, and marinas. Many of these are tourist

yachts and ferry loaded with day visitors who

disembark from their vessels to visit the city.

The reciprocity of this process is limited, why

not enable people in Genoa to visit the empty

boats while their passengers are in the city?

Although Genoa enjoys many beaches, some stretch-

es of the waterfront are more bizarre and over-

looked. Many of these places are littered, and

flanked by carparks or old industrial buildings.

A WTF (What The Fuck) sign that moved around

an area of the waterfront in La Foce may have

provoked passersby into not taking these places

for granted.

Y A C H T

W A T E R F R O N TV E R T I C A L I T Y

Zena is the name for Genoa is local dialect. The

frame of the citys new brand, GE NO VA: More

than this became a template for new GE NON VA

posters. Non va means not working and Ge is

the official abbreviation for the metropolitan

are. Placing these Genoa isnt working posters

in glitches found across the city highlight how

the Genoa can really be More than this.

W W W . A Z G E N O V A . C O M

@ L O O K A T Y O U R C I T Y