intervention strategies for renovation of social housing estates

Laurentino38. Example of deprived social housing estates in Rome. Chapter 7
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Stigma: bad reputation. The image of the neighbourhood went down by media reports
actually reinforcing existing problems.
Laurentino38 fits the listed criteria. In fact, together with other residential areas in Rome,
like Tor Bella Monaca, it is among the biggest social housing developments in Rome.
Laurentino38 alone houses people in 3.350 dwellings representing about 6% of the total
social housing stock in Rome. In size, Laurentino is comparable to the Bijlmermeer.
The tunnel technology has been used in Laurentino 38 as well as in the Bijlmermeer.
Differences mainly regard the shape and the function of the ground floor.
The media played a central role in emphasizing the bad reputation of Laurentino38. As it
happened in the case of Corviale (another well-known example of large social housing
estates in Rome), crime, squatting, drugs, all kind of functional and technical malfunctions
were often associated to Laurentino 38. This also applies to the Bijlmermeer since the
beginning and the media actually added to a bad reputation over the years.
7.1.1 PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Laurentino38 was built between 1972 and 1983 in the Southern outskirts of Rome. It is one
of those housing experiments of the so-called ‘mega structures’, the massive residential
blocks concentrating large building volumes to save green (Bossalino, 1992). It was the first
neighbourhood in Rome constructed with the innovative tunnel technology. Information abut
L 38 are also collected into five graphic plans at the end of this section.
The neighbourhood was planned to house 31.000 people on a total area of 164,5 hectares.
The plan was initiated by the Municipality of Rome and the local agency for social housing
(IACP of Rome) 2 . The majority of the estates were financed by the national public agency
(GESCAL) 3 (Barucci, 1979). In total, 3.350 dwellings were constructed, including 2.960 built
by IACP and 390 by housing cooperatives.
The urban layout was based on the concept of ‘independent residential neighbourhood’
provided with the necessary non-residential facilities spread all over the area (commercial,
education, health and public offices). Another design principle was separation of functions, a
concept inherited from the approach to modern living initiated in the ‘20s 4 .. Housing was
considered independent from educational and social services, pedestrian and vehicular
traffic, and public green.
The urban structure is very articulated. Its layout is based on the repetition of many
geometrical rules. The neighbourhood mainly consists of six ‘sectors’ (Northwest, North,
Northeast, Southwest, South and Southeast) placed on a circular, ring road. This road runs
for 4 kilometres on the borders of the neighbourhood, because a deep natural valley is
located in the centre of the area itself. Designed to support fast-flowing traffic, the ring road
crosses all the sectors dividing them into two parts. In accordance with the separation of
functions, the pedestrian routes follow different paths. Some of them run along the raised
walkways connecting two parts of each sector. The pedestrian routes serve as a link between
the town parts.
The space among the described stamps is entirely occupied by public green. Facilities and
green together, occupy 59% of the total area.
2008). Outinord is a company that provides technologically advanced concrete forming systems for mid-size to large
scale residential developments.
2 IACP is the acronym of Istituto Autonomo Case Popolari (Independent Public Housing Agency). After a recent reform
of the regulation, it is named ATER, Azienda Territoriale per l'Edilizia Residenziale pubblica (Territorial Institution for
Social Housing). (for translation of the acronym IACP, see Andeweg, 2007). ATER, ex-IACP, is an agency for social
housing with local competence (for more information about ATER, see Chapter 3).
3 GESCAL is the acronym of Istituto GEStione CAse Lavoratori (Agency for management of working class housing). It
was founded in 1963, after the previous fund INA-Casa (1949-1963), and was the main national fund for social housing
in Italy. It was active for 10 years, between 1967 and 1973 (Mezzetti et al. 2003). However, GESCAL’s was abolished
only in 1998 (www.cecodhas.org).
4 Despite being designed about 10 years later, Laurentino38 has many aspects in common with the Bijlmermeer. (see
Chapter 5).
2. G
URBAN LAYOUT