University facilities and the right to education, as an opportunity for urban regeneration

The research work of thematic area 1 aims to redefine the relationship between the urban system and the university system, taking advantage of the creation of new university residences – students, colleges or other forms of student housing – an opportunity to trigger a process of regeneration on an urban scale and, consequently, also on a territorial scale, through:

• acquisition, conversion and reuse of existing spaces and buildings in the urban context;
• regeneration of the suburbs;
• insertion of facilities and equipment in the suburbs open to citizens who favor the relationship between university structures, urban functions and corresponding users.

Assuming this as operational planning, the vision includes broader purposes:

• guarantee all future students who decide to undertake a university course in any of the Apulian universities both the right to study and the right of citizenship, made possible, among other things, through the financing of new interventions for student accommodation;
• increase the attractiveness of universities in the Apulian territory, also at a national and international level;
• consider the university system as an integral part of Urban Regeneration policies.