Città incubatrice Davide di Martino Università Federico II di Napoli dv.dimartino@gmail.com ABSTRACT - The paper uses the concept of ecosophy as a theoretical frame. The concept was introduced by Felix Guattari (1991) to describe the necessity of a global tranformation of the nature of social relationships, subjectification and attention towards the environment as a single process of reform, essential to really cope contemporary ecological issues. Ecology is thus used as a structure of analogies between disciplines to suggest the importance of bottom-up processes in different fields of research. The concept of city as a complex system, driven from biological studies is reported in its recent outcomes in spatial analysis, where models based on far from equilibrium systems and bottom- up processes are being tested for advanced studies on the cities' dynamics. The study of urban economy, within the concept of city as complex, dynamic system, introduces the importance of a city's economical structure as a causal effect of economic performance in local systems. The structure is composed of individuals, institutions and their relationships, while its performances are deteremined by the relationship between structure and environment (external factors), and, within the structure, by the nature and quality of relationships, and by the levels of knowledge of individuals and institutions. The combined effect of relationship networks and knowledge provides innovation. The systemic approach to urban policy-making, underlines the importance of self- designed practices as potential public policies, which adapt rapidly to the context and easily evolve (innovate). The same practice-oriented, approach is proving to be more effective in development policies, compared to traditional training and skills-based programmes. Temporary use, an example of how practices can be transformed into policies, is viable of being understood, inside this ecological theoretical frame, as a mean of local development based on personal relationships, capacitation and bottom-up processes. The incubator city recognizes these processes, practices and policies as vital to its sustainable devolpment, designs strategic plans and its urban form in order to foster opennes, dynamics, bottom-up based economic cycles. Ecologia I temi ecologici applicati alla città sono al centro del dibattito di molte discipline. Ci si interroga sui modelli, i processi e i dispositivi attraverso i quali ristrutturare le città contemporanee, per costruire le metropoli del futuro. L'urgenza dell'azione