Land.com. The art of becoming

Abstract

This paper aims to bring a new imprint to social research by looking at places as communicative spaces, as "active metaphors" capable of transforming everything within them (their inhabitants) and of being, in turn, continuously transformed by the presence of humans. I want to explore what happens (or what can happen) when we look at places in their uniqueness to bring about empowerment. A dynamic model is outlined, to enable us to get to know and redesign places. What happens if we exploit their full potential? What happens when we are able to build a shared project starting from the recognition of each other’s strengths, and we are able to transform weaknesses into opportunities? Certainly, this may not be enough to transform places, but perhaps it can show us how to live better within them.