Continuano a nascere cose molto, molto fighe a quanto pare...

Dear Roma Fa Schifo,

Hello! My name is Sarah Kinter, and I am an Art History student at Princeton University. I am spending this summer in Rome working with Architect Tom Rankin to help launch a new forum for the discussion and development of collaborative solutions for turning Rome into a more sustainable city. This forum, called Roma Sostenibile, is a participatory component of Tom’s organization Studio Rome, an Italian-based design and research consulting firm focused on sustainable solutions to urban living. Our hope is that Roma Sostenibile will unite organizations and individuals who share an interest in improving Rome’s ecological responsibility through projects, events, and virtual contribution to a growing discussion on sustainable urbanism worldwide. We thought Roma Fa Schifo would be interested in what we are doing and perhaps like to join in our mission by participating in the discussion.
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Here are just a few of the possibilities we foresee for Roma Sostenibile:

-Participatory mapping of a sustainable Rome
-Student workshops focusing on specific urban cases
-Ecological itineraries that offer a different perspective on the Eternal City
-Events aimed at gaining publicity for ecological causes in Rome


Our next series of events will begin this coming fall. While the dates and events listed below are still tentative, we urge you to add them to your calendar and join Studio Rome and Roma Sostenibile in our inaugural season of working towards a more sustainable Rome.

Friday, September 16, 13:00: Studio Rome will be hosting, in conjunction with the Faculty of Engineering at Sapienza University of Rome and the University of Minnesota Rome Program, the first in a series of screenings of documentaries and presentations related to ecological and urban themes, presented directly in English without translation. The first screening, of the TED-talk “Bill Ford: A future beyond traffic gridlock,” will be followed by a moderated discussion and debate on sustainable urban mobility. The event will be open to international students, faculty and members of the local community.

Saturday, September 17, 15:00: Roma Sostenibile will be hosting the first in a series of Ecological Itineraries. Ecological Itineraries are group walks through Rome’s lesser-known territory, its marginal neighborhoods, abandoned industrial sites and threatened natural areas.* The outings combine conscious use of public transportation, bicycles and walking and are planned to promote communication and participation with local organizations and stakeholders in the sites we visit. On this first itinerary we will be exploring Rome’s transit network, from Metro B to FM1, with a visit to the new Tiburtina Station construction site and the nearby Citta del Sole mixed-use project which reuses a former ATAC-deposit structure. We will meet above the Colosseum Metro Station. Plans are being made to join an ecological clean-up action at the end of the afternoon, in coordination with Legambiente’s Puliamo il Mondo initiative.

*Many other organizations have been conducting such itineraries in Rome for years: Scale Reale Architectural Itineraries, Context Travel, Stalker, Primavera Romana, Urban Experience, to name a few. What makes Roma Sostenibile’s Ecological Itineraries special is their international character (English and Italian being both official languages, with others welcome) and their inclusionary, interdisciplinary nature (with participants from architecture, ecology, planning, landscape and other disciplines and interests). Additionally, wherever possible the walks will assist in a volunteer project, such as trash cleanup. Each walk will be documented photographically and through video and disseminated through social network, as well as being pre- and post-mapped using digital tools.

We sincerely hope you will join us for these exciting events in the fall! Until then, you may be interested to check out our website at http://www.studiorome.org/Roma_Sostenibile/home.html and Tom’s sustainable city blog at http://sustainablerome.wordpress.com/. You can subscribe to Roma Sostenibile and start getting involved by registering your name and e-mail address on the Studio Rome website: http://www.studiorome.org/Studio_Rome_Home/contact.html.

Sincerely,
Sarah Kinter
Intern at Studio Rome
Princeton University ’12