Cycling & Walking for Regional Development How Slowness Regenerates Marginal Areas

“This volume is an essential contribution … should be of interest to regional and rural development researchers and policymakers, regional planners, tourism scholars, mobilities researchers, and activists seeking to find the right synergies between active travel, sustainable tourism and the revaluation of marginalised territories. The book serves as an introduction to the intersection of these research domains and joins the exhaustive body of evidence that foregrounds place-based responses to lagging or regional discontent.” (Wilbert den Hoed, Regional Studies, Vol. 57 (10), 2023)

Paolo Pileri is a Full Professor of Urban Planning at the Department of Architecture and Urban Studies, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy. His research interests have consistently brought together environmental issues with urban and landscape planning, and many of his research efforts have involved projects focusing on sustainable mobility as a way to better link people and landscapes. In this context, he has been working on the VENTO project to connect “forgotten” but nonetheless stunning Italian landscapes along the Po River by means of an extensive cycle path. This is not merely about the path itself, but also the ability of a territory and landscape project to generate a new, green/local economy and new high-quality jobs. Professor Pileri is the author or editor of numerous publications, ranging from books and journal articles to popular works.

Rossella Moscarelli is currently engaged in a Ph.D. project titled “Inner areas and slow lines: an opportunity to regeneratemarginalized territories in Italy” at the Department of Architecture and Urban Studies, Politecnico di Milano. Holding an M.Sc. (cum laude) in Environmental and Technological Architecture, she is an active collaborator in the VENTO research group and has also studied public policies relating to, and the impacts of, the Camino de Santiago in Spain. She is the author of numerous publications on slow tourism infrastructure, land consumption, and regeneration.