Commercial Districts and Urban Regeneration: the strategic role of festivals

This thesis investigates how small, place-based food festivals can act as a soft strategy of urban regeneration in medium-sized or peripheral cities facing urban decline and a crisis of proximity retail. Most studies that consider festivals as a soft regeneration strategy, focus on large festivals (e.g., Edinburgh model) or medium scale events (e.g., the Nottingham Food and Drink Festival), without considering the role of micro festivals rooted in local identity. Addressing this gap in the literature, this study examines the micro festival Trame 2025 in Mestre as an exploratory single, embedded case. The research asks how and under what conditions a locally rooted food event can deliver short-term, soft outcomes when implemented through public–private governance and supported by omnichannel tools. Methodologically, the study combines interviews with organizers and venue owners, direct and participant observation during tasting windows, and documentary sources, focusing on five lenses: public and private coordination, participating venues, public and audiences, communication and media, and the urban space and temporal activation. The analysis finds that three main mechanisms were able to lead together to visible short-term outcomes, and these are public–private coordination led by Confesercenti with municipal and civic partners, specific timed tasting windows that synchronize pedestrian flows and lower barriers to trying new venues, and a focused omnichannel plan, integrating digital content and geo-targeted ads with on-street materials and local press. An identity anchor, the tramezzino, amplifies these effects by translating everyday culture into a shared story that redefines Mestre as a destination and complements nearby Venice. The study proposes transferable propositions for similar cities and provides policy guidance on how to make the format repeatable. Overall, the case demonstrates that a small, locally rooted festival can generate positive effects, concentrating pedestrian flows in the centre of the city, enhancing the venue reputation and creating a sense of pride among the community, making the city vibrant again.