Dal Diamante non nasce niente dal letame nascono i fiori. Isole, utopie, distopie e forme di inselvatichimento urbano

The contribution takes its origin from the episode related to the demolition of the residential complex known as La Diga di Begato that rose in Val- polcevera, in Genoa. While not dealing directly with it, the essay aims to explore, through the identification of some keywords, the consequences rela- ted to the phenomenon of the cancellation of an identity and the consequent construction of a new social and urban reality that events such as a massive demolition can trigger. There are three concepts that are associated with the phenomenon of loss of identity: the first is represented by the image of the island, described as a circumscribed and perimeter place within the city, a space that memory tries to preserve from the physical and cultural transformations of the urban organism. The second is related to the apparent duality of the terms utopia and dystopia, which coexist in the global system as coactive phenomena in the construction of the contemporary urban image. The last theme is that of the urban wilderness, as an expression of di- scomfort and disorder, which apparently escapes the control of planning, but which, once again, reveals itself as a form of reabsorption of the conflicts intrinsic to the city itself.