Papers by Daniele Mezzapelle
AST – Ambiente, società, territorio (n. 1-2), 2021
(Italian see beyond) Achieving “humanist innovation” through geography and geo-technology is the ... more (Italian see beyond) Achieving “humanist innovation” through geography and geo-technology is the main goal of GEO-IUALC, a project carried out by a small group of geographers in collaboration with the Accademia dei Fisiocritici (Siena). The design and implementation of a video-comics (Geonauti) – provided with qr-codes linking to interactive paths - are among the first results of the project. This article is about the “creative” potential of geography (and of those who deal with geography) in the cultural sphere, and introduces Geonauti as a didactic tool, usable both through cyberspace (and with the limitations imposed by the pandemic), and in the traditional space, visiting the Accademia and the beautiful city of Siena, Tuscany ------ Un piccolo gruppo di geografi è attivo in un progetto, denominato GEO-IUALC, che si pone l’obiettivo di attivare la geografia e le geo-tecnologie nella prospettiva di realizzare “innovazione umanistica”. Tra le attività del progetto, fondato sulla collaborazione con l’Accademia dei Fisiocritici di Siena, è stato realizzato un fumetto (Geonauti), al cui interno si sperimentano quattro diversi percorsi interattivi tramite codici QR. L’articolo riflette sulle potenzialità “creative” della geografia (e di chi si occupa di geografia) in ambito culturale e propone il fumetto come strumento didattico, utilizzabile sia mediante il cyberspazio (e con le limitazioni imposte dalla pandemia), sia nello spazio tradizionale, in una possibile visita all’Accademia nella città di Siena, Toscana.
La geografia a Bergamo. Nuove sfide per l’analisi territoriale e il mapping, 2019
Barriere/Barriers, Società di Studi Geografici - Firenze, Memorie geografiche NS, 16, 2018, pp. 755-762, 2018
(ITA) Il confine certamente riveste un ruolo di primaria importanza sia nei capisaldi disciplinar... more (ITA) Il confine certamente riveste un ruolo di primaria importanza sia nei capisaldi disciplinari della Geografia Politica che negli scenari evolutivi della Geopolitica. La natura archetipica dello stesso ne fa una matrice di pensiero e di mani- festazioni tanto complessa quanto imprescindibile, naturalmente riconducibile alla funzione della barriera per antonomasia. Il presente contributo intende condurre l’analisi osservando la declinazione cyberspaziale del concetto di confine – ossia quella appartenente allo spazio del Web, dei flussi telematici e delle reti virtuali che, tuttavia, influenzano in maniera più che robusta anche lo spazio (più) tangibile della realtà geografica. In tale contesto, la linea del confine si configura nella connessione e nella connettività; diventa una sempre più ricercata barriera di difesa – si pensi al firewall, il muro di bit da non oltrepassare – dai tanti attacchi malevoli che influenzano qualsiasi agenda governativa o attività quotidiana in-linea, fino a “delimitare” un inte- ressante rapporto di appartenenza, funzionale e biunivoco, tra cyberspazio e “real-spazio”. Ai fini dell’analisi, dunque, sullo sfondo di un vigoroso risorgere – ammesso che vi sia stato un tramonto – di logiche statuali e localistiche nel cd. paradigma post globale, si passeranno in rapida rassegna i casi del cyber-nazionalismo avuto ad inizio millennio e delle più recenti cyber-guerre tra Stati, considerandoli come emblematici esempi di un variato rapporto territorialità-sovranità. In effetti, tali esempi sembra- no rimandare ad un mutamento di approcci e di relative ricadute spaziali, con implicazioni che non necessariamente rimandano ad una facile passaggio tra vecchie e nuove concezioni ma veicolano un senso evolutivo circolare tutt’altro che scontato. ||| (ENG) The border certainly plays a role of primary importance both in the disciplinary cornerstones of Political Geography and in the evolutionary scenarios of Geopolitics. Its archetypal nature makes it a matrix of thought and manifesta- tions as complex as it is essential, naturally attributable to the function of the barrier par excellence. The present contribution intends to conduct the analysis by observing the border notion in cyberspace – such as the space of the Web, telematic flows and virtual networks which, however, strongly influence the (more) tangible space of the geographical reality. In this context, the border line is characterized by connection and connectivity; becomes a more and more sought-after defense barrier – i.e. the firewall, the wall of bits not to be crossed – by the many malicious attacks that influence any government agenda or daily on-line activity, up to “delimit” an interesting, functional and biunivocal, relationship of belonging between cyberspace and “real-space”. For the purposes of the analysis, therefore, against the backdrop of a vigorous resurgence – assuming there has been a sunset – of state and local logics in the so-called post global paradigm, the cases of cyber-nationalism at the beginning of the millennium and of the most recent cyber-wars between states will be reviewed, considering them as emblematic examples of a varied territoriality-sovereignty relationship. In fact, these examples seem to refer to a change in approaches and related spatial repercussions, with implications that do not necessarily refer to an easy transition between old and new conceptions but convey a circular evolutionary sense that is anything but obvious.
The attempt to outline new forms or new trajectories about the future city represents an attracti... more The attempt to outline new forms or new trajectories about the future city represents an attractive challenge, all the more if the research starts from the interesting dichotomy competitiveness/vulnerability that affects the city conceived and observed according to the new values of smartness. So, the aim of the paper is to contribute to a discussion and a possible definition of urban smartness concept, which is so pervading in actual paradigms, generating a varied phenomenology and even more considerable amount of smart cities. Analysis wants to investigate the closer connection between smartness and urbanity, where, in an intense smart cities proliferation, none other future seems possible for the city than that «intelligence based». Moreover, the analysis aims to understand the new urban order dynamics, by his strength points (competitiveness) and weak points (vulnerability), examining in depth the relation between smartness and territorial dimension and seeking an optimal scale of applied smartness, eventually exceeding that of urban borders. Finally, the evocation of famous essay by Louis Wirth is justified by the revolutionary reach that an innovative perspective, then and now, establishes about the issue: is the smartness a widespread, universal and absolute phenomenon which identifies a new future «way of life»?
Il tentativo di tratteggiare nuove forme o nuove traiettorie della città futura si rivela una sfi... more Il tentativo di tratteggiare nuove forme o nuove traiettorie della città futura si rivela una sfida affascinante, tanto più se l’indagine parte dalla interessante dicotomia competitività/vulnerabilità che interessa la città come declinata ed osservata secondo i nuovi canoni della smartness. Obiettivo del paper, dunque, è contribuire a una discussione e possibile definizione del concetto di smartness urbana, che tanto risulta pervasivo nei paradigmi attuali, generando una fenomenologia variegata e sempre più nutrita di «città intelligenti». L’analisi vuole indagare lo stretto legame che intercorre proprio tra smartness e urbanità, laddove, in un intenso proliferare di smart cities, non sembra esservi più futuro per la città se non basata sui canoni dell’intelligenza. L’analisi tende a comprendere la dinamica del nuovo ordine urbano, tra punti di forza (competitività) e criticità (vulnerabilità), approfondendo, inoltre, il rapporto tra smartness e dimensione territoriale e ricercando una scala ottimale di smartness applicata che superi, eventualmente, quella dei confini urbani. L’evocazione conclusiva del celebre saggio di Luis Wirth, infine, dipende dalla portata rivoluzionaria che la prospettiva dell’innovazione, oggi come allora, imprime alla questione: è la smartness un fenomeno diffuso, universale e totalizzante che identifica un nuovo futuro «stile di vita»?
The essence of the border, as separation from the "otherness", has not changed in the course of h... more The essence of the border, as separation from the "otherness", has not changed in the course of history. On the contrary, the interpretation given by the men, according to territorial and historical contexts, has undergone radical transformations. Nowadays, it's difficult to find an univocal feature for the border, especially if we take into consideration the new reality of worldwide digital connections. Telematics and virtual reality have altered the relational sphere, and it's necessary to find new criteria to analyze and interpret interactions among people and territories. The question we want to deal with here is: does the idea of border still make sense in the apparently borderless contexts of virtual reality and cyberspace? The aim of this paper is therefore to reflect upon the historical legacy and the functional evolution of the border and to wonder weather this "archetype" of the human action can still play a role in the cyberspace, where places, people and interactions are dematerialized. .; Daniele Mezzapelle has written paragraphs 2 and 3; Luca Zarrilli paragraphs 1 and 4 1 More correctly, it should be defined as an imaginary vertical plane that goes from the subsoil to the air space 2 It's the case, for example, of Second Life.
Conference Presentations by Daniele Mezzapelle
Feedback – Memorie Geografiche, 2021
Il contributo intende riportare al dibattito scientifico geografico le prime esperienze e risulta... more Il contributo intende riportare al dibattito scientifico geografico le prime esperienze e risultanze di ricerca del progetto GEO-IUALC. In particolare, il testo scritto a più mani propone sia le linee teoriche e progettuali di riferimento, sia gli avanzamenti tecnici e operativi, dalla sua genesi fino alle realizzazioni più recenti. Il fumetto, il metodo geografico e gli strumenti di innovazione tecnologica rivestono un ruolo centrale nel discorso, così come la natura esplorativa della sua forma, volutamente inedita – e apparentemente insolita per l’ambito accademico – per una via di innovazione geografico-umanistica.
QUADERNI ICONEMI – Alla scoperta dei paesaggi bergamaschi, 2020
L’apporto della Geografia tra rivoluzioni e riforme. Atti del XXXII Congresso Geografico Italiano (Roma, 7-10 giugno 2017), a cura di F. Salvatori, A.Ge.I., Roma, 2019, pp. 317-324., 2019
The attempt to outline new forms or new trajectories about the future city represents an attracti... more The attempt to outline new forms or new trajectories about the future city represents an attractive challenge, all the more if the research starts from the interesting dichotomy competitiveness/vulnerability of the city, conceived and observed according to the new values of smartness. So, the aim of the paper is to provide a definition of urban smartness concept, which is so pervading in actual paradigms, generating a varied phenomenology and even more considerable amount of smart cities. Analysis wants to investigate the closer connection between smartness and urbanity where none other future seems possible for the city than that "intelligence based". The paper wants to understand the new urban order dynamics, by his strength points (competitiveness) and weak points (vulnerability) and the real impact of smartness on the smart-citizen's everyday life. Furthermore, it seems relevant for this purpose, to examine in depth the relation between paradigm and territorial dimension, analysing the optimal scale of applied smartness, eventually exceeding that of urban borders. Finally, the evocation of famous essay by Louis Wirth is justified by the similar and revolutionary reach that an innovative perspective, then and now, establishes about the issue: is the smartness a widespread, universal and absolute phenomenon which identifies a new -and future -way of life?
Thesis Chapters by Daniele Mezzapelle
The spread of smart cities is a fast-paced and robust expansion, capable of generating a lively i... more The spread of smart cities is a fast-paced and robust expansion, capable of generating a lively interest in multiple environments. More and more in academic theorization, media language, political-institutional agendas and in everyday debate, the term Smart City (SC) has spread exponentially. However, such dissemination, has not brought a full awareness of what this English phrase indicates and this big amount of definitions does not allow a definitive demarcation. For this reason, the idea of a SC evokes scenarios of a future city, strongly digitalized and technologically advanced, assuming the traits of an easy rhetorical discourse with a certain amount of utopian ideal, easily nourished by financial or advertising interests. Thus, starting from these considerations, the thesis investigates the strong link between the city and the causes that have raised intelligence-based models, putting them in relation to the major urbanization challenges in the up-coming years: population growth, energy consumption, waste disposal management, public transport mobility, etc. In this sense, the starting hypothesis is to consider SC as a complex urban strategy in order to address the different problematic situations generated by urbanization rather than a defined type of city. In order to confirm this premise, the work proceeds with an empirical approach divided in two phases. The first one analyzes some SC measurement attempts that have been conducted by different subjects, both at national and global level. These works are made up of a series of quantitative surveys, based on different types of indicators, in a variety of application areas, which have returned an outline with the performance of each «smart city» detected. The second phase allows further evaluation of the phenomenon, proposing a measurement based on the available national data, using appropriate statistical techniques. The results thus obtained allow us to accept the hypothesis at the base of the work. Therefore, abandoning all the easy rhetorical drifts that characterize SC idea, the analysis has shown that the latter is more a systemic and holistic dynamic than a defined city. SC incorporates good management practices, indispensable to the city of all time. Equally, SC needs a re-modulation of the various complex systems affecting the urban-territorial configuration. Indeed, SC is based on a heterogeneous and variegated intelligence that compiles, breaks down and recompiles both territorial networks (such as transport, distribution, infrastructures) and involved actors' linkages, defining new interactions between various and changing territorial layers. These considerations open a decisive crunch in the current way of thinking about space and administrative organization; SC essence seems to reside in its continual re-modulation, choice, composition and dialectics between these various intelligent layers, evolving towards a wider territorial framework instead of an exceeded idea of a fixed urban aggregate.
Book Reviews by Daniele Mezzapelle
Semestrale di Studi e Ricerche di Geografia, 2019
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Papers by Daniele Mezzapelle
Conference Presentations by Daniele Mezzapelle
Thesis Chapters by Daniele Mezzapelle
Book Reviews by Daniele Mezzapelle