Econeapolis: the park of Sebeto (1987 & 1989)

The basin of the Sebeto covers a triangular area of about 20km2, bordered to the north-east by the “Pendino” which saw the first settlement of Neapolis, in 474 B.C., and the hill of Capodichino, now the site of the airport; to the south-east the slopes of Vesuvius; and to the south, the sea. The subsoil is alluvional and volcanic, while the surface soil is prevalently volcanic. The area was always marshy, and it conserved its natural state of equilibrium until it was built over during the last century. In the recent past three factors in particular have compromised this equilibrium: the imposition of a road network, the location of highly polluting factories and the sharp increase in residential density and building activity. The first proposal for the Park of Sebeto goes back to 1987, and was presented during the Exhibition celebrating the 500th Anniversary of the Faculty of Architecture. It derived from the urgent need to liberate the city centre by decentralising factories that produced pollution and redistributing the urban modal points throughout the metropolitan area. The area which can still be safeguarded of the Sebeto basin covers some 900 hectares and was proposed as a Great Park with naturalistic, agricultural and recreational attributes. The project included the repristination of the extant water courses and those which had been suppressed, and the creation of an artificial lake as a catchment area for the flood waters which cause periodic flooding in the eastern area of the city.