Self-government processes of the urban bioregion: insights from a study on the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital

Abstract

The relevant transformation processes that affect contemporaneity require a radical transformative change across all fields in terms of relations among human activities and the environment. The research illustrated in this contribution addresses the issue of change through the lens of territorial planning, discussing the hypothesis that in practices of territorial self-government it is possible to define ‘minimum units of bioregional planning’ enabling virtuous co-evolutionary interactions between humans and the environment. Drawing on theoretical insights and empirical work in the Aniene River basin, the study emphasizes the need to transcend the institutional/non-institutional divide and support subsidiary planning processes. Within this framework, digital platforms, such as a GeoSocialWeb, are conceived as enabling environments for interaction, fostering relational governance processes and context-specific forms of territorial self-government.