Giacomo Dallatorre

In Italy, the transition from one century to the next during the 20th century has left approximately eight thousand kilometres of disused secondary railways. Beyond the possibility of immediate use or reuse of a railway line, can we consider the possibility of walking along an abandoned railway in order to understand through which of its meanings it may be possible to imagine projects for the protection and enhancement of the landscape? With its 25.3 km, almost entirely decommissioned, the Lucca–Pontedera line is a representative sample of the disused network and a privileged design laboratory. By walking “through the railway” and engaging in dialogue with design experiences related to disused lines, this book attempts to answer this question.

Considering the discrepancy between the slow formation of soil and the speed at which it is consumed, this research identifies 'Urban fields' as a category of open spaces with soil that lacks either de facto or de jure protection. This definition is used to examine Pistoia as a case study, reflecting on an idea of 'forest' in which vegetation is closely connected to the very ground that sustains it. The identified urban fields — along with the description and forestation hypotheses for selected samples — offer a new perspective on Pistoia, different from the current one. C'è Campo is a research project that looks toward the city’s future, encouraging the development of integrated visions in which adaptation to the effects of global climate change can shape the evolution of the urban landscape.