Spatial perception of the “selva”through a cognitive cartographic workshop

This research is part of the PRIN 2017 project “SYLVA –Rethink selva: Towards a new alliance between biology and artificiality, nature and society, wilderness and humanity”,in which, the researchers of the unity of Genoa interpreted the concept of “selva”(literally “wild forest”) through two different points of view: physical and metaphorical.In this paper we expose the results of a cognitive cartography workshop held in Serra Riccò (Metropolitan City of Genoa, North-Western Italy) where we investigated the perception ofthe“selva”by the locals, maintaining a territorial point of view. We asked the participants firstto represent cartographically the places attributable to the “selva”; after that, they represented on their mental maps the improvements they would like to make in theseplaces. The participatory workshophas beenalso useful for the local administration to findideas about the management of the several rewilded woods in the municipal area.Recently, in fact, forest management has become increasingly linked notonly to technical aspects, but also to the emotional aspects of the communities that benefit from them.