On the Proximity Scale. How Can It Be Applied in Peri-urban and Rural Areas?

Nowadays in Italy, especially in peri-urban and rural areas, trying to offer an answer to the issue of the criteria for the comparative evaluation of active mobility imposes the adoption of some equivalence parameters (PRIT—Integrated Transportation Master Plan 2025 of Emilia Romagna). These parameters go beyond the criteria of a peculiar specialization typical of road and transport policies. Urbanized areas featuring low population density, characterized by mixed uses and often located in not fully flat territories, are particularly complex to consider as study cases for accessibility implementation solutions because they require the identification of parameters that combine at the same time the extension of spaces reserved for active mobility, bicycles, and/or pedestrians with the presence of forms of traffic moderation (safety) and pedestrian areas open to bicycles (accessibility). Here there is a more articulated design challenge than readily defining the specialized space for the pedestrian, cyclist, or those who practice forms of micromobility. In addition, in the street space resides a challenge that is not only technical but also cultural, involving practices and a new way of sharing the street by adjusting the speeds of vehicles and routes for different users. In the perspective of ecological transition, the contribution discusses how these places need a future-oriented vision for accessibility, recognizing that times, environments, and practices are changing rapidly and knowing that in reaching the EU carbon neutrality goals, nothing can beat active mobility as a field of technological and social innovation.