Urban gaming simulation for enhancing disaster resilience: a social learning tool for modern disaster risk management

An emergence of the disaster resilience concept broadens the idea of urban risk management and, at the same time, enhances a theoretical aspect in a way in which we can develop our cities without making it more vulnerable to natural disasters. Nevertheless, this theoretical plausibility is hardly translated into a practical implication for urban planning, as the concept of resilience remain limited to some scholars’ debate. One of substantial factors that limit the understanding of people about disaster risk an resilience is a lack of risk awareness and risk preparedness, which can be solved by restructuring social learning process that enable a process of mutual learning between experts and the public. This study, therefore, focuses on providing insights into the difficulties of disaster risk communication we face, and how gaming simulation can be taken as a communication technique in enhancing social learning, which is regarded as a fundamental step of disaster risk management prior the mitigation process takes place. The study argues that the gaming simulation can facilitate planners in acquiring risk information from the community, conceiving the multitude of complex urban physical and socio-economic components, and conceptualizing innovative solutions to cope with disaster risks mutually with the public

Towards a water-smart society: Progress in linking theory and practice

Few scientific publications discuss the vision of the water-smart society. Our paper addresses this gap, outlining key principles of urban water–smartness and translating them into five strategic objectives to support decision-making at the local government level. Based on recent literature and dialogue with six European water Living Labs, we argue that the water-smart society must highlight societal well-being and co-development across sectors. Furthermore, we emphasize the need for a long-term perspective, conserving nature, and maximising ecosystem services, while anticipating change. Finally, we discuss how a more grounded conceptualisation of the water-smart society can guide utilities and urban policy design.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Development of an integrated model for urban sustainable resilience through smart city projects in the Southern African context.

Doctoral Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.The construct Smart City has gone through a few phases in the last decades. Today there is still no consensus on an accurate definition of Smart City, even though a few concepts are now accepted by most stakeholders, establishing frameworks heading to enhance the quality of life of citizens, sustainable development and economic competitiveness, and, most importantly, the optimal balance between these. Starting from the framework of the Smart City model as conceptualized by the developed world, this research attempts to critically analyse the challenges and barriers to a transition and upgrade of such a model for implementation in developing countries, particularly in the Southern Africa. The mid-term future trends in the region create a huge expectation and concern internationally. Factors like the considerable demographic increase in the post-colonial Africa, the massive migration from the rural areas to cities and the shift from the manufacturing world pole in the East to the African continent predict a remarkable dynamic and vibrant scene in the near future. Stressing the ability of the region to respond to these challenges is starting to gain the attention of scholars and organizations internationally. However, it is important to say that most of the research studies point to both, the solution of dramatic situations related to poverty and underdevelopment, and secondly, the market prospect studies that research the economic potential of the region to foreign capital. Moreover, regarding urban systems, most African governments have scarce and unreliable data. Therefore, looking from a local perspective, it is fair to explore ways Africa and Africans are able to cope with the challenges to come. Not only to make the place attractive to outsider eyes but to increase the quality of life and opportunities for local people through selfmanagement. Africa has undergone through a long history of catastrophes in recent times, with horrendous impact on the population. Yet, a proved resilience makes room for hope in a better future, away from a patronizing management by external forces. Part of this research stresses the feasibility of tailor made solutions to cope with future challenges from a local perspective in the era of globalization. International agencies tend to rate performance in multiple fields based on worldwide standards. Taking into account the use of a series of indicators as a tool to rationalize (evaluate) the performance of any particular field of human action; the measurement of those indicators can vary from region to region. In such resilient environment as described above, the aim of this research is to identify sustainable ways for long-term implementation of up to date technologies in Southern African cities for an effective leapfrog that would bring Southern Africa up to nowadays standards without losing local references. A deep dive into the literature about current technologies and the African city represents the starting point of the methodological approach in order to understand localities and real challenges. The research looked at worldwide urban trends and aims to extract those parameters that are meaningful to Africa today. In order to validate the findings of the research, a case study focussed on specific urban challenges has been identified: the Umgeni River estuary in eThekwini municipality is representative of the confluence of multiple urban dynamics: environmental concerns, lack of municipal services, climate change vulnerability, ocean pollution, poverty, regional business, mining, commercial activities, informal settlements and formal planning. The waste sector in particular, typically undermined in the Global South, has been identified as a potential common thread across the aforementioned urban dynamics. The application to the case study of the lessons learnt through the study of the smart city and urban sustainable resilience highlights the readiness of the Southern Africa city and unlocks a discussion about sustainable urban growth. The results indicate a dual scenario, concerning yet optimistic: there are great disparities between the aspirations from city managers and policy makers, and the conflicted reality at ground level. The pressure due the competitive agenda to render Southern African cities appealing in order to gain foreign economic attention could fade as local communities improve their life condition and strength local markets: “Africa by Africans for Africans”. Two important factors can make this shift possible: one is the presence of strong academic institution with great number of strong collaborations with organizations of great reputation. The case study proves a great interest to assist with solutions to African matters by the international community, but probably not in the way city managers expect. The second one is the advantage that can be taken from the “already made” infrastructure fabric, re-programming the initially “colonial-conceived extractive economic vision” towards social gain

Sea guidelines: a comparative analysis: first outcomes

The European Directive 2001/42/EC (Directive) has introduced the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), a procedure for assessing the effects of certain plans and programs on the environment. The Directive has been transposed in different ways and times within Europe: member states have frequently drawn up guidelines to facilitate SEA implementation, by adopting different approaches. So far a few studies have been performed to analyze SEA guidelines. In this paper we aim to analyze key elements of SEA guidelines released by seven European countries in order to evaluate the effectiveness of those documents and SEA implementation. We have found that no SEA guidelines satisfy all key elements we have identified. Based on the latter finding, this work is introductory to a further analysis which aims to characterize SEA guidelines and define a proposal of SEA guidelines for landscape planning in the Italian region of Sardinia.</br

Climate-Smart Forestry in Mountain Regions

This open access book offers a cross-sectoral reference for both managers and scientists interested in climate-smart forestry, focusing on mountain regions. It provides a comprehensive analysis on forest issues, facilitating the implementation of climate objectives. This book includes structured summaries of each chapter. Funded by the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme, CLIMO has brought together scientists and experts in continental and regional focus assessments through a cross-sectoral approach, facilitating the implementation of climate objectives. CLIMO has provided scientific analysis on issues including criteria and indicators, growth dynamics, management prescriptions, long-term perspectives, monitoring technologies, economic impacts, and governance tools

Visualisation as a Model. Overview on Communication Techniques in Transport and Urban Planning

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) changed the way planners present and operate with their projects. New visualisation tools have changed the ways projects and plans are presented and disseminated. However, the opportunities given by visualisation are not completely exploited in the professional practice. This is due to several bottlenecks which occur in the daily carrying out of activities. The paper is organised in three sections. The first one explains how visualisation can be an added value to the planning practice if it is organised and designed as a framework of information; conceiving the visualisation as a model, data can be managed and represented in order to provide information at different levels of expertise, allowing city plans to be analysed and understood before their realisation. The second section resumes the changes caused by the introduction of ICT within the daily practice; a comparison between pre-digital and digital approaches highlights current opportunities for implementing the communication values of plans and projects. The third part illustrates some examples of innovative visualisations in the urban and transport planning practice, showing a number of uses of visualisation to fit different purposes. The paper concludes this insight formulating the necessity for integrating the studies on visualisation coming from different disciplines into a scientific method that can be proposed as a guideline in building the images of urban and transport plans. This would be particularly useful for obtaining a more scientific approach in the choices of representation and visualisation of urban aspects

Climate-Smart Forestry in Mountain Regions

This open access book offers a cross-sectoral reference for both managers and scientists interested in climate-smart forestry, focusing on mountain regions. It provides a comprehensive analysis on forest issues, facilitating the implementation of climate objectives. This book includes structured summaries of each chapter. Funded by the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme, CLIMO has brought together scientists and experts in continental and regional focus assessments through a cross-sectoral approach, facilitating the implementation of climate objectives. CLIMO has provided scientific analysis on issues including criteria and indicators, growth dynamics, management prescriptions, long-term perspectives, monitoring technologies, economic impacts, and governance tools

Landscape planning and ecological networks: part A: a rural system in Nuoro, Sardinia

Urban-rural landscape planning research is nowadays focusing on strategies and tools that support practitioners in designing integrated spaces starting from the analysis of local areas, where human and natural pressures interfere. A prominent framework is provided by the ecological networks, whose design regards the combination of a set of green areas or patches (the nodes) interconnected through environmental corridors (the edges). Ecological networks are useful for biodiversity protection and enhancement, as they are able to counteract fragmentation, and to create or strengthen relations and exchanges among otherwise isolated elements. Biodiversity evolution, indeed, depends on the quantity and quality of spatial cohesion of natural areas. In this paper, we aim at designing an ecological network for the periurban area on the town of Nuoro in central Sardinia. The narrative unfolds in two parts. Part A is presented in this paper and includes its methodological premises, i.e. biodiversity conservation and ecological network analysis and design, and the introductory elements of a spatial analysis on a pilot ecological network of one hundred patches. We locate patches by focusing on the ecosystems supported by the target vegetal species holm oak (Quercus ilex) and cultivated or wild olive (Olea europaea var. sativa, O. europaea var. sylverstis). These are very common plants species in the municipality and some animal species are active as seed dispersal. The reminder, i.e. Part B, of the essay is presented in an homonymous paper that focuses on the illustration of the network analysis conceived as a monitoring system and, in future perspective, as a planning support system

Online citizen reporting on urban maintenance: a collection, evaluation and decision support system

We present an online support system for urban maintenance which: 1. lets citizens directly report neighbourhood issues which may require attention from the urban maintenance services: 2. evaluates the priority of reported issues; 3. allows the allocation and management of resources and workforce on solving issues and 4. permits public tracking of their status. The web application was entirely developed using low-cost Google cloud services, with the advantage of low deployment and hosting costs and practically no systems administration costs, a highly replicable and transferrable solution, and a rapid development process relying on robust Google services. The model for evaluating priority of reported issues is based on the the ELECTRE TRI rating method. In the paper we present the system's standard workflow, the evaluation model and the implementation details. We also discuss its possible more general implications for fostering and supporting citizens participation. Unlike many existing platforms for citizens reporting of maintenance issues, our system incorporates an explicit and publicly accessible evaluation model to prioritise issues and assign resources for their solution. This, we argue, is a crucial prerequisite for the principles of transparency, publicity, accountability and equity be observed by municipal governments