Urban Simulation Models: Contributions as Analysis-Methodology in a Project of Urban Renewal

The recent urban transformations produced in cities indicate the need to propose new theoretical and methodological approaches in physical planning. Based on the idea of complexity, it is required to integrate, in the analysis, multiplicity of interrelated factors involved in urban development,moreover, to develop planning tools that can incorporate variables not initially considered (for example when the norms were sanctioned) and instruments that would provide assessment alternatives to planning decisions in real time. The simulation models are suggested as tools to detect the elements, relationships and the dynamics in a simplified form that allow experiencing on the results. That is to say, a theoretical position on to a computer model is translated to investigate (in an experimental way) possible solutions derived from manipulating the variables, before the phenomenon is materialized. In the case of urban planning, this condition is of particular relevance, given the importance to anticipate unwanted effects in the intervention context that may arise when urban projects are built. The paper evaluates the application of a simulation methodology,based on the dynamics of systems and the application of software that can anticipate the effects of certain decisions in an urban renewal project in the city of Córdoba, Argentina. It applies the General Systems Theory that is a contribution to the notion of complex thought and is trans-disciplinary. Based on the idea of complex and multidimensional city, the effects of a real estate development are analyzed and conclusions on the limits and possibilities of using this tool during the processes of urban management are provided.Fil: Marengo, Maria Cecilia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Arquitectura, Urbanismo y Diseño. Instituto de Investigación de la Vivienda; Argentin

Operationalizing the circular city model for naples' city-port: A hybrid development strategy

The city-port context involves a decisive reality for the economic development of territories and nations, capable of significantly influencing the conditions of well-being and quality of life, and of making the Circular City Model (CCM) operational, preserving and enhancing seas and marine resources in a sustainable way. This can be achieved through the construction of appropriate production and consumption models, with attention to relations with the urban and territorial system. This paper presents an adaptive decision-making process for Naples (Italy) commercial port's development strategies, aimed at re-establishing a sustainable city-port relationship and making Circular Economy (CE) principles operative. The approach has aimed at implementing a CCM by operationalizing European recommendations provided within both the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework-specifically focusing on goals 9, 11 and 12-and the Maritime Spatial Planning European Directive 2014/89, to face conflicts about the overlapping areas of the city-port through multidimensional evaluations' principles and tools. In this perspective, a four-step methodological framework has been structured applying a place-based approach with mixed evaluation methods, eliciting soft and hard knowledge domains, which have been expressed and assessed by a core set of Sustainability Indicators (SI), linked to SDGs. The contribution outcomes have been centred on the assessment of three design alternatives for the East Naples port and the development of a hybrid regeneration scenario consistent with CE and sustainability principles. The structured decision-making process has allowed us to test how an adaptive approach can expand the knowledge base underpinning policy design and decisions to achieve better outcomes and cultivate a broad civic and technical engagement, that can enhance the legitimacy and transparency of policies

Is City Marketing Opposed to Urban Planning? The Elaboration of a Pilot City Marketing Plan for the Case of Nea Ionia, Magnesia, Greece

The role of city marketing has been increasingly important in Europe. Today it has become a necessity with regard to the processes of global competition of cities, tourist attraction, urban management, city branding and urban governance. Many European cities support their competitiveness through cultural and tourism development. In addition, the majority of the implemented city marketing policies relate with culture and tourism. City marketing has faced many criticisms, the main one being that it substitutes for urban planning. However, the work done in cultural planning indicates that, in order for cities to be successful, marketing must be inter-connected with planning. There are even international examples of cities that have elaborated marketing plans in order to attract the potential target markets (new investments, tourists, new residents etc). One recent approach argues that marketing can contribute to the sense of place. The data for this paper are provided by the INTERREG IIIc CultMark project (Cultural Heritage, Local Identity and Place Marketing for Sustainable Development) that has been in operation in five European places since 2004: Nea Ionia/ Magnesia/ Greece (lead partner), Chester/ UK, Kainuu/ Finland, Rostock-TLM/ Germany and Pafos/ Cyprus. The CultMark project is applying a place marketing strategy with a cultural approach. This means that it emphasizes the cultural dimension of marketing and the promotion of the cultural resources of each place. The innovative characteristics of this project are reinforced by the use of the two concepts of ‘creativity’, and ‘branding destination’. The main objective of the CultMark project is the development and implementation of innovative place marketing strategies, based on the elements of local identity and the cultural assets of the partner areas in order to contribute to their sustainable economic and social development. As a case study the elaboration of the marketing plan of Nea Ionia/ Magnesia/ Greece is chosen, and the aim of the paper is to show the interconnection of marketing and planning by trying to answer, among others, the following questions: a) does marketing planning constitute strategic planning?, b) how can marketing contribute to sustainability?, c) can cultural heritage be marketed?

Weak nodes detection in urban transport systems: Planning for resilience in Singapore

The availability of massive data-sets describing human mobility offers the possibility to design simulation tools to monitor and improve the resilience of transport systems in response to traumatic events such as natural and man-made disasters (e.g. floods terroristic attacks, etc...). In this perspective, we propose ACHILLES, an application to model people's movements in a given transport system mode through a multiplex network representation based on mobility data. ACHILLES is a web-based application which provides an easy-to-use interface to explore the mobility fluxes and the connectivity of every urban zone in a city, as well as to visualize changes in the transport system resulting from the addition or removal of transport modes, urban zones, and single stops. Notably, our application allows the user to assess the overall resilience of the transport network by identifying its weakest node, i.e. Urban Achilles Heel, with reference to the ancient Greek mythology. To demonstrate the impact of ACHILLES for humanitarian aid we consider its application to a real-world scenario by exploring human mobility in Singapore in response to flood prevention.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, IEEE Data Science and Advanced Analytic

The city of future: biourbanism and constructural law

Nowadays dynamic elements in urban fabric are often concealed by the insertion of stylish new architecture; real patterns of social life (‘bios’), have been replaced by rigid geometric grids and compact building blocks. New Urbanism and Biourbanism affirm that cities are now risking to be unstable and deprived of healthy social interactions. As an expansion of older historical urban fabric patterns, harmonious architecture can have a positive impact on the fitness of both human body and mind. Not only Biourbanism attempts to reinstate balance and lost values in the urban fabric, but also reinforces human-oriented design emergences in micro and macro scales. As a multifaceted discipline, it embraces laws of physics, such as Constructal Law and acknowledges its noticeable and unremitting influence to urban human behaviours. Urban life and behaviours are based upon systems of human communication formed by dynamic patterns; we are now talking about negotiating boundaries between human activities, changes in geographic mapping and mainly about sustainable systems to support uninterrupted growth of communities worldwide. Therefore, as a vital shift in architectural education, not only Biourbanism offers the opportunity to explore patterns and linguistics deeply imbedded into the built environment, but also enables scholars and communities to come together and participate actively into fast and innovative urban interventions. Projects developed during educational and professional training aim at reinstating memorable and preferential paths of communication, favouring everyday life rituals of the body and mind. Hence, by following everlasting laws of physics and formulas inherited from nature, architectural forms can be considered as the real innovation in urban design and planning of the City of the Future.Conference presentation funded by Department of Engineering

Feeding the cities through urban agriculture the community esteem value

The growth of global urban population produces an increase in food demand. With the aim of facing this demand, mainly concentrated in large urban areas, urban agriculture should be fostered to integrate traditional agriculture production, no longer considered sustainable. After suggesting the implementation of integrated systems of urban agriculture, in order to measure their social appreciation expressed by the community, the paper proposes the Community Esteem Value, obtained with a deliberative appraisal procedure

Spatial multi-criteria decision support system and strategic environmental assessment: a case study

This contribution focuses on the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) as an important tool to ensure sustainable development and reach a high level of environmental protection. More specifically, this paper provides an evaluation method based on the integration of Geographic Information System (GIS) and Multi-criteria Analysis, named Integrated Spatial Multi-criteria Decision Support System (ISMDSS) to support the preparation of the environmental assessment report and the construction of scenarios for the adoption of urban plans, as an innovative tool that integrates objectives and multidimensional (economic, environmental and social) components, but also different approaches and models for the construction of a long-term shared vision. In particular, considerations are made by presenting a thought-provoking case study on the SEA of the urban plan of the municipality of Marzano di Nola, located in the province of Avellino in the Campania region. The experiment carried out showed the potentiality of the ISMDSS to evaluate the impacts of different scenarios with the aim to development a sustainable urban municipal plan. The spatial dimension is useful in understanding the dynamics that characterize each environmental topic in a specific area, not only by considering the components of the natural and developed environment, but also the interactions with the social and economic components

Planning strategically, designing architecturally : a framework for digital library services

In an era of unprecedented technological innovation and evolving user expectations and information seeking behaviour, we are arguably now an online society, with digital services increasingly common and increasingly preferred. As a trusted information provider, libraries are in an advantageous position to respond, but this requires integrated strategic and enterprise architecture planning, for information technology (IT) has evolved from a support role to a strategic role, providing the core management systems, communication networks, and delivery channels of the modern library. Further, IT components do not function in isolation from one another, but are interdependent elements of distributed and multidimensional systems encompassing people, processes, and technologies, which must consider social, economic, legal, organisational, and ergonomic requirements and relationships, as well as being logically sound from a technical perspective. Strategic planning provides direction, while enterprise architecture strategically aligns and holistically integrates business and information system architectures. While challenging, such integrated planning should be regarded as an opportunity for the library to evolve as an enterprise in the digital age, or at minimum, to simply keep pace with societal change and alternative service providers. Without strategy, a library risks being directed by outside forces with independent motivations and inadequate understanding of its broader societal role. Without enterprise architecture, it risks technological disparity, redundancy, and obsolescence. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, this conceptual paper provides an integrated framework for strategic and architectural planning of digital library services. The concept of the library as an enterprise is also introduced