Dwelling through Walking: Exploring Pionta Park As an Urban Theatre for Community Engagement

The socially rooted perspectives of artistic, architectural, urban and cultural domains connect urban development to aesthetic and structural enhancements. These improvements contribute to the revitalisation of cities and communities, simultaneously enhancing overall quality of life. In this framework, everyday communication plays a crucial role, as people engage both directly and indirectly with their urban surroundings through various ways. Such interactions can be enhanced through artistic endeavours and collective shared activities where diverse groups address local and place-specific issues through various ways (Moulaert et al., 2004). The concept of dwelling emerges as a central theme, offering fresh perspectives for ongoing observation, exploration, engagement, and advancement as an alternative to traditional urban regeneration strategies (Sennett, 2018). In the last decade, substantial research has highlighted walking as a potentially subversive activity (Solnit, 2001) and a form of resistance (De Certeau, 1984). Beyond its artistic value in social theatre or walking/street theatre, the act of walking offers a means to critically evaluate both the physical environment and social structures one traverses (Sansi, 2021), transforming urban settings into theatrical backdrops. Our research centres on Pionta, a former psychiatric hospital in Arezzo (Italy) encompassing an urban park and historic buildings across 12 hectares, with origins tracing back to mediaeval times. We investigate how the current Pionta community engages with and experiences this unique urban space in their everyday lives through walking, with Pionta serving as the theatrical setting. Drawing on recent participatory research, we showcase community-driven walking initiatives that uncover hidden historical aspects and examine the spatial and material characteristics of the urban environment that foster socialisation and community cohesion.