Transformations
In Torino, the transformation is in plain sight for everyone. The ambitious zoning revolution, begun in recent years and accelerated by the Olympic Games, brought the citizens a more beautiful, liveable city with a traffic network that runs smoother. The city’s new zoning plan is based upon the development of three axes that are not only physical but also very much symbolic, characterized by a viewpoint of the function and vision upon which a new concept of the city is focused:
• the Po axis is one of leisure, the one that highlights the city’s beautiful landscape: not limited to its natural beauty – parks, rivers, tree-lined boulevards – but extends to superior historic features such as the piazza Vittorio with its Gran Madre, the Castello del Valentino with its Borgo Medioevale, the grandiose 20th century buildings in the Italia ’61 area as well as the university and training centres such as the Manifattura Tabacchi (Tobacco Factory).
• The corso Marche axis, a new centre of gravity of Torino’s entire urban sprawl, aimed at hosting the relocation of productive activities and services linked to new technology, research, innovation, knowledge and to ideally connect the two historical-architectural strongholds of the Castello di Stupinigi and the Reggia di Venaria with their magnificent parks.
• The Spina Centrale (Central Spine) boulevard, generated by the burying and covering of the Passante ferroviario (Railway Loop), together with new service industry, residential and commercial sectors (hosted by the reuse of large industrial areas no longer in use) is an area close to the old town centre at which a railway and subway system – connected by stations and stops - will converge, making access to Torino from all directions easier.
This is a transformation created for people and, above all, in function of the usability of chosen locations. The concept is the creation of new urban situations capable of offering job opportunities and a better quality of life: not only for the various services available or the beauty of its buildings but also for – principally – the quality of public space, in a manner that can favour relationships between people.
In this sense, one of the most fitting examples is offered by that which could be defined as the fourth urban axis that also represents one of the most important centres of future transformations: the underground “Line 2” (video) whose route transforms surface public spaces, actualizing a new “urban promenade”. If on one hand it creates points of interconnection with the existing public transportation network, particularly with the Passante Ferroviario (Railway Loop) and the underground “Line 1”, on the other hand it invents new quality urban facilities through the regeneration of disused industrial areas as well as the implementation of new public spaces such as parks and services close to the stops but – above all – through the creation of authentic new urban centralities.
Lastly, another vital sector of the city that will be subject to great change is the old town centre, through projects that will further enhance urban quality: from the restructuring of the Porta Nuova Railway Station to the recuperation of such prestigious locations as Villa della Regina, the Maneggio Chiablese and the Scuderia della Cavallerizza Reale (stables).