The Value of Social Integration Tools. A Psychological Intervention on Urban Design in the City of Piacenza

Using the cognition of environmental psychology can help Metropolitan experts and evaluators to understand how to instill a sense of belonging among citizens, and mostly, immigrants, which can help reduce several urban issues, including some value negative effects. This could revitalize social interactions in several neighborhoods, trying to define a dialogue, for various economic, social, and cultural improvements, mainly in a downtown context. In this paper, we discuss the basics of psychological challenges and their connections, trying to define how these elements can help planners to create a sense of belonging in urban spaces and neighborhoods, before giving the reader a relative understanding of the physical-social condition of Piacenza through the connected cognition of the urban setting of the city. Then, in the consideration of the role of some experiences and theories of integration in Europe, the paper will promote some approaches, appropriate to the psychological factors, of designing and evaluating urban settings in the city, promoted in the hexagon analysis of the downtown, also encouraging an implementation model for each of the scale levels

Gis and landscape analysis

Landscape is “an area, as perceived by people, whose character is the result of the action and interaction of natural and/or human factors” (Council of Europe, European Landscape Convention, 2000). The changing conditions of this complex factor, that determines the variability of our local and national contexts in Europe, can be effectively measured thanks to quantitative and qualitative indicators. These values could be calculated through procedures implemented thanks to Geographical information systems (GIS), using elements of geostatistics and numeric cartography. The speculative basics of the need of using GIS for the landscape analysis is strongly connected to the necessity of finding a steadier definition of its variability in time and space, mainly in a context like the European Union, that is in constant demand for procedures that could be standardized as best practices

GIS AND LANDSCAPE ANALYSIS

Landscape is “an area, as perceived by people, whose character is the result of the action and interaction of natural and/or human factors” (Council of Europe, European Landscape Convention, 2000). The changing conditions of this complex factor, that determines the variability of our local and national contexts in Europe, can be effectively measured thanks to quantitative and qualitative indicators. These values could be calculated through procedures implemented thanks to Geographical information systems (GIS), using elements of geostatistics and numeric cartography. The speculative basics of the need of using GIS for the landscape analysis is strongly connected to the necessity of finding a steadier definition of its variability in time and space, mainly in a context like the European Union, that is in constant demand for procedures that could be standardized as best practices

The basal part Modino Unit Succession under the belt-foredeep system of the Northern Apennines (Italy)

The Modino Unit turbidite system of the Northern Apennines foreland basin provides an excellent opportunity to study the sedimentary and structural variations within the context of spatial and temporal distribuition of source rocks during the evolution of foreland basins. The substrate of this Unit was interpreted as a stratigraphic-structural mélange (Plesi et al., 2000), the expression of polyphase tectonic phases of Cretaceous-Eocene accretion that have affected the external part of Ligurian and Subligurian domain. In this article we present the preliminary data of different stratigraphic sections outcropping in Tuscan and Emilian regions, with particulary attention to the lower part of Modino Unit Succession, of pre-Ligurian stage, unconformably deposited at the top of the Ligurian and Subligurian substrate, composed by Fiumalbo Shale Fm. and Marmoreto Marl Fm. The tectonic setting of this Unit is complex and necessitated the use of stratigraphical, biostratigraphical and petrographical studies to achieve this goals. The Modino Unit succession is composed by three different formations: The Fiumalbo Shale Fm. followed in some sections of coarse breccia deposits that cover the substrate (Riccovolto Breccia) are made up of mostly red and green shales with intercalations of limestone and turbidite-like sandstones beds more or less extensive (Rio Acquicciola Sandstones Auctt. or M. Sassolera Sandstones Auctt.). The Marmoreto Marl Fm. are characterized by fine emipelagic sediments, have a massive structure (with rare thin layers of fine sandstones). The Monte Modino Sandstone Fm. are constituted by one or more sequences of turbidite facies with quite variable vertically and laterally . Their deposition occurs preferentially in the middle and front al part of the prism and is quickly interrupted, on its southwestern margin, by the thrust belt materials. From this reason the axis of sedimentation moving outwards. A petrographical study on turbidite-like sandstone beds in Fiumalbo Shale Fm., show a petrofacies characterized by a modal composition of Q48F27L+CE25, according with the composition of Monte Modino Sandstone of this study, while shows different composition in the Fine-Grained Rock Fragments Compositional Mode (LmLvLs plot). The sandstones in Fiumalbo Shale Fm., are composed by different tipology of fine grained lithic fragments, and its composition changes strata-strata in the same stratigraphic sections. The fine grained lithic fragments are composed by dominating metamorphic origin clasts and ophiolithic rock fragment associated with unmetamorphic radiolaritic fragments, The biostratigraphical analysis indicate that the age of theese formations is comprised between Lutetian and Chattian ages. These formations reflect a slope environment, with quite deep and with a strong affinity to Epiligurian sections, which resemble the coeval succession Monte Piano-Ranzano and their sedimentation environment reflects a time and an area of major physiographic expression of the prism. The composition of this arenites is interpreted as being controlled mainly by synsedimentary tectonics connected with the evolution of an accretionary prism east vergent. This composition reflects the different stages of the process of accretion and is the expression of the different sedimentary environments that were gradually generating. The lower part of Modino Unit succession seems to be supplied by two different source areas, the classic Alpine source area and a more proximal "Liguride derived" source, maybe located in the proto-appenninic wedge

Where We Grow up does Really Matter: Best Practices for Child-Friendly Cities Applied in Tarlabasi(Istanbul)

The article innovative aim is to introduce a research made to suggest some simple ways to improve the planning and design strategies for ensuring the highest sustainability level in child-friendly cities. The environments surrounding us strongly affect our perception of belonging to a place, and our social, mental, physical health. Therefore, designing and planning friendly environments for people of all ages should be perceived as one of the most important responsibilities for planners and politicians. At this point, in order to make cities friendlier for its inhabitants, it is considered useful to focus on the most vulnerable classes of people living in urban environments, such as children, because a city that is friendly for its kids will be welcoming also for anyone else. As a matter of facts, a child-friendly city is usually a urban environment that is suitable for most of its inhabitants and this is even more important in the most critical situations, such as the poorest slums of a developing city, like Istanbul, and its most fragile neighborhoods, like Tarlabasi. The research results highlighted thatTarlabasi has unique spatial child-friendly characteristics, despite its physical, social, and economic disadvantages, and these conditions can be dramatically improved with some very simple and affordable projects

Testing the use of Contingent Valuation Method in Real Estate Market: first results of an experiment in the city of Milan

One of the most criticism in Real Estate appraisal processes based on sales comparison approach is the reliability of data about market prices of comparable properties. In this context, the use of evaluation methods based on hypothetical markets, most widely used in the field of the evaluation of environmental goods or cultural heritage, could solve that problem. It has been found  that estimating the willing to pay (WTP) for a sample of goods with different features brings to reliable outcomes with negligible gaps by comparison with the values obtained by the more traditional real estate appraisal methods. According to these general assumptions, the paper suggests the use of Contingent Valuation Method with the aim of replace in the appraisal models the market prices of a sample of properties with the WTP for the same goods

improving a production site from a social point of view an iot infrastructure to monitor workers condition

Abstract In the context of Industry 4.0, this paper focuses on integration of workers in the digitalized factory. It proposes a method to design an IoT infrastructure and acquire human-related data from a production site in order to improve workers wellbeing and overall productivity. The method permits to identify bottlenecks and criticalities from a social point of view, focusing on the human performance, and define corrective actions at different levels (operations, plant layout or shift management). A case study was developed in collaboration with an Italian sole producer to validate the method and the related data acquisition system

Digital Manufacturing Systems: A Framework to Improve Social Sustainability of a Production Site

Abstract The topic of digital manufacturing is increasingly emerging in industry. One of the main scope of data digitalization is achieving more efficient factories. Different techniques and tools under the Industry 4.0 paradigm were already discussed in literature. These are aimed mostly at boosting company efficiency in terms of costs and environmental footprint. However, from a sustainability point of view, the social theme must be equally considered. While energy flows or costs can be already monitored in a production plant, this is not valid for data related to human effort. Monitoring systems aimed at supervising factory social sustainability were not already discussed in literature. The aim of this paper is to propose a method to acquire social related data in a production plant. The method is supported by a smart architecture within the concept of IoT factory. Such architecture permits to monitor the parameters that could influence social sustainability in a production site. After a discussion on production plants facilities and features, the parameters that need to be considered to guarantee socially sustainable manufacturing processes are identified. A set of sensors controls these data taken from different sources, including operator vital signs. Operations as well as humans are monitored. Data acquired by sensors are collected by a central server. A decision maker can interpret the data and improve the production system from a social point of view, implementing corrective actions. Data can be exploited not only for social assessments but even for other analyses on the production system. Guaranteeing social sustainability could boost the factory productivity. A case study is included in the paper: smart sensors are implemented in a production line to understand the operations efficiency in terms of social sustainability

Training Interior Designers To Project Feasibility Studies

The proactive economic and financial sustainability estimation for the Interior design has to be centered on an organized structure of knowledge in the project planning and development. This need arises, on one side, in the light of the consciousness that the Project assessment science works in the hard field of the ex-ante calculation of prices. On the other hand, it is linked to the necessity for a shift to a practical estimation approach, that should be effectively integrated even in the teaching activities, to be better prepared to the challenges they will meet in their future professional field. The paper will revolve around the need of introducing a structured system of principles in this field, as the valuation process is a key element for the risk management and it is important to apply internationally recognized valuation standards

Doing Something Scenario: Teaching Students an Incremental Approach to Design Strategies for Developing Countries

The 90% of the global population growth in the next 30 years will happen in developing countries, where the urban population rise will create increasing issues related to informal settlements and growing inequality. Improving the health conditions of the built environment and reducing the related risks will be a crucial challenge for future urban professionals. This paper is aimed at describing a learning experience built as a workshop for students, in which they designed a social facility modular system for developing countries, inspired by the organic and hypogeum architecture principles. The result is a list of guidelines for the design of similar functions, that should help a conscious construction process to reach some fundamental sustainability goals