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Orvieto Place Making

The course objective is to provide students with an opportunity to experience the sense of place that every planner should strive to create while building the skills to develop a vibrant, rich, interactive public realm through a one-week immersion in the medieval city and surrounding area of Orvieto, Italy.

Orvieto Italy

Learning Objectives
  • Recognize, identify and catalog characteristics of the physical attributes of places in which people enjoy being. Apply these characteristics to public places to make them comfortable for people.
  • Contrast American and Italian cultures and lifestyles for a better understanding of American planning practices. Use this understanding to formulate effective strategies for attracting people to the public realm.
  • Recognize, evaluate and construct a successful mix of uses to bring and/or increase activity to public places.
  • Understand the complex mix of qualities that create alive people places and successfully manage their application to public places in America.
Introduction
For people interested in urban design and public planning, as well as those interested in learning more about International culture, Italy is a fabulous learning ground. And Orvieto, in particular, is well-suited as a laboratory to explore how people interact within public places.

Orvieto is situated atop a tufa outcropping La Rupe, in the Umbrian countryside. This picturesque and vibrant community has been thriving since its founding by the Etruscans. The current city has been constructed on the top of the original Etruscan settlement and is an excellent example of a vital Italian village and the meshing of different influences and cultures over the centuries. The public piazzas, cafes, weekly outdoor markets and nightly Passeggiata provide the background to discover how modern sensibilities have been combined with historic treasures.

Quality of life is very important to the citizens of Orvieto. Orvieto is the home to Cittaslow and is itself a Slow City. This setting provides a unique opportunity to contrast and compare what different cultures and civilizations consider important components of their public and shared environment.

Methods
While in Orvieto we will immerse ourselves in an Italian town for a week to observe and learn about the subtle qualities of superb people places. This medieval city serves as the lab in which to learn how culture, design and use come together to create exceptional places for people. This opportunity to learn extends well beyond the classroom. Much of the learning will take place as participants explore Orvieto in instructor guided tours and also on their own. A mix of cultural adventures and hands-on learning will take place. Do people make the place or does the place make the culture? Students will be faced with these types of questions and wonder how public planning might impact the culture, habits and pastimes of the people who live there.

By studying and actually participating in Orvieto culture, students gain a unique perspective on planning and public places that is not possible in the States. Orvieto is a people friendly environment from which we can learn as planners and as people that want to live in people places. Being in a different culture makes us more alert and aware. This allows students to be more aware of contrasts and similarities to America and provides an enhanced environment in which to analyze these characteristics.


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925-570-4791
dvanhuis@dvhexpertise.com