Relations between city and territory. The ‘territorial city’ as (new) spatial pattern for the digital era

The transformations in progress in the Italian urban system are analyzed according to three main aspects : 1) the reduction of population in the cities, because of the townspeople movement toward the ring areas ; 2) the dissemination of primary urban functions from the traditional locations (the urban centers) to the surrounding territories ; 3) the small authority of the town planning set of rules, that does not match to the needs of a modem society. Aim of the paper is to characterize the current relationships establishing between city and territory. It argues that the attention to the territorial phenomena (and, consequently, to the territorial planning) is very important also in the actual phase of strong development of the information economy society. Infact the changes in the economic paradigms of the modem society can affect on the role of the territory in order to develop its specificities and capacities. Such development, however, must not be intended as co mpetitive with the role of the city. The “ territorial city”, as goal of this evolution, represents the potential synthesis of a cooperative action between city and territory.Mazzeo Giuseppe. Relations between city and territory. The ‘territorial city’ as (new) spatial pattern for the digital era. In: NETCOM : Réseaux, communication et territoires / Networks and Communication Studies, vol. 15 n°1-2, september 2001. Geocyberspace: building territories on the geographical space of the 21th century (I) pp. 49-60