Verso un'architettura sostenibile. Ripensare le nostre città prima che collassino. Toward Sustainable Architecture. Recreating our cities before they collapse

In the early post-war period, our cities spread out without any control. Development was based on planning forecasts, not actual data, to the joy, as usual, of town planners! These forecasts have always been blown out of proportion in the interest of land speculation, and they have caused the image of the city to lose any recognizable form that would help us to understand its boundaries. This development has led to the swallowing up of an infinite amount of territory, which was once devoted to farming or forestry. This city or town was designed in accordance with the town-planning "laws" in effect. It was designed in terms of homogeneous, single-function zones, - so-called zoning - and its "residential districts" have lost any and every possible urban meaning: no more squares, open areas, broad areas, shops and activities that would encourage people to socialize, just huge "barracks", broad streets, parking lots and shopping centers. Anyone who lives in these so-called "districts" is obliged to drive to work, take the children to school by car, shop, reach a "park" where the children can play, by car, or, get to the center in search of all these places and activities that modern planning has deprived them of! As a result, traffic congestion prevails. People who no longer use their own two legs become obese, since they use mechanical means" to move about. What will happen when all that is no longer possible, because reserves have run out? Parting from these premises, I wanted to try making a series of observations aimed at bringing about a reversal in the trend of conceiving, developing and living in our cities and towns, before it is too late. I am sure that this little book of mine might be considered the work of a madman, but I am also sure that, in the long run, opinions must change, since the world has no other choice. In the nineteen seventies, the comedian, Marcello Marchesi came out with a gag which sounded more or less like this: "mankind was born to suffer ... and did everything it could to succeed in doing so!".

Ettore Maria Mazzola was born in Barletta (Italy) on July 17th, 1965; he took graduation in Architecture in 1992 at the University of Rome "La Sapienza" where, since 1993, he has taught as Assistant Professor. Since 2001 he has also worked as Visiting Assistant Professor of Architecture at the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture Rome Studies Program. Since 1993 he has worked as an architect in Rome, too. In 1993 he received, from the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Italy, a Bursary in Urbanism for the Summer Program of "Savaria" University of Szombathely (Hungary); in 1995 he won a Scholarship of the Prince of Wales' Institute of Architecture for the Summer School "Task Force for the City Civilized" Rome - Caprarola - Biarritz; in 1996 he was one of the representative members of Prince of Wales' Institute of Architecture for the Project "Urban Renewal of the area of the Oktober Theatre in St Petersburg"; again, in 1997 he was one of the representative members of the Prince of Wales' Institute of Architecture for the Project "Urban Renewal of the area of S. Maria in Gradi in Viterbo" (Italy); in 1999-2000 he worked as one of the members of the international team of the Prince of Wales' Alumni Foundation for the project of the New Neighbourhood Fonti di Matilde near Reggio Emilia (Italy) (team leader was Piercarlo Bontempi: in 2001 this project was rewarded with the Prize of "Congress for New Urbanism" as the best example of modern neighbourhood); in 2002 he received an honourable mention for his project in the International Competition of Architecture "Rione Rinascimento al Parco Talenti" in Rome; in 2006, the project for Pantelleria for the International Competition "Cities of Stones" made together with Samir Younés, Elisabetta Mannini, Vittorio Tortora and Paolo Vecchio, was rewarded with the publication and the exhibition at the Biennale of Venice; in 2006 was designed as member of the International Academic Committee of the INTBAU for The Venice Charter Revisited. He published several essays about Architecture and Urbanism; together with Samir Younés he edited the books: "Arpino - A New Neighbourhoods" Alinea 2003; "Como - The Modernity of Tradition" Gangemi 2003; "Artena - The recovery of urban integrity" Gangemi 2003; "Barletta - Sea-Centre and Periphery" Gangemi 2005; "San Giorgio a Liri - Re-integrating the dispersed city" Gangemi 2005; he also published the books "A counter history of modern architecture - Rome 1900-1940", Alinea 2004 and "Architecture and Town Planning - Operating Instructions", Gangemi 2006 with the introduction by Léon Krier; and the articles "Parigi oggi o Roma all'inizio del Novecento?" on the magazine Carta Etc. nr.5/2005 and "Sacrificati da Rutelli sull'Ara Pacis" on the magazine Carta Qui - Lazio e Roma, n°7/2006.