The urban role of a new university: a case study of Chieti-Pescara, Abruzzo, Italy

Abstract

The results of the study on the urban role of the University by the Pescara School of Architecture show that a new approach for this subject is needed. A university should be considered not only as a culture-producing institution, but also as an income producer and distributor for the area. In other words it is possible to promote the university as a strategic investment for development; and as a modernization and requalification factor both of the local production and of the human settlement and territorial structures. In the Abruzzo Region, and particularly in the Chieti-Pescara area, the university as a strategic intervention and its possible interactions with the urban system, is closely related to the nature of the urban phenomenon in this particular geographical context. Funds invested by the State in the university flow directly to individuals through the economic behavior of the university users themselves, according to an only partially measurable process. At present, in the Pescara area, it can be assumed that such economic contribution to the local system development is greater that the proceedings of the tourism industry, in an area with a well established tourist appeal.