The legislative measures approved by the Region Friuli Venezia Giulia have shown a progressive diversification of planning standards with regards to a variety of territorial situations. Several municipal plans have further developed this process, providing new perspectives for the regeneration of urban spaces. In these tools, present and ‘extra-standard’ equipment fosters the reorganization of extended urban settlements; acts as the pivot of an incremental project for open and public spaces; deals with quality issues, referring to detailed normative tools, and to new synergies between public and private interventions. In the face of satisfied endowments, planning standards redirect attention to the completion of a ‘public city’ framework, whose design potential is far from being exhausted.
Keywords: Planning standards; small and medium-sized urban centres; framework of spaces and equipment