Hygienic requirements of urban living environment in the Russian Federation and in Italy: a comparison

Introduzione/scopo. La pianificazione urbana tende a contenere e regolamentare la crescita urbana consentendo uno sviluppo sostenibile a livello ambientale, sociale e sanitario. Nel presente lavoro gli autori hanno confrontato i quadri normativi della Federazione Russ e dell’Italia ponendo particolare attenzione agli aspetti urbani degli spazi abitativi. Metodo. Considerando la ponderosa produzione normativa nei due paesi, il lavoro ha preso in esame le normative a livello nazionale per l’Italia e federale per la Russia, tenendo principalmente conto dei seguenti aspetti: strumenti di pianificazione urbana e protezione ambientale e sanitaria degli spazi abitativi. Risultati. I problemi relativi alla sicurezza igienico-sanitaria dell’ambiente di vita in Russia sono essenzialmente riconducibili a due sistemi normativi (SNiP e SanPiN), mentre in Italia rientrano nel D.M. 05/07/1975. I principi fondamentali della pianificazione urbana in Russia sono dettati da una norma federale, mentre in Italia sono recepiti nel Piano Regolatore Generale (PRG) comunale e nei diversi regolamenti locali, dove si riasriassume tutta la normativa sovraordinata. Gli aspetti legati alla qualità ambientale, infine, in entrambi i paesi sono disciplinati da varie leggi specifiche (federali e statali); un articolato sistema di norme che tengono conto dei potenziali impatti sulla salute e sull’ambiente Conclusioni. Gli autori ritengono che dovrebbero essere sviluppati, specialmente in Italia che si trova nettamente più indietro da questo punto di vista, strumenti normativi chiari e aggiornati aventi per oggetto l’igiene degli edifici e degli ambienti urbani, basati sulle più recenti acquisizioni di letteratura scientifica internazionale nell’intento di garantire i più alti standard in materia di tutela della Salute Pubblica.Aim. Urban planning tries to contain and regulate the uncontrolled growth of cities, encouraging their sustainable development at environmental, social and health levels. In the present work, the authors compare the regulatory frameworks of the Russian Federation and of Italy, with particular attention paid to the urban aspects of living spaces. Method. Considering the extant normative production in the two countries, the authors examine national legislation for Italy and federal legislation for Russia, mainly taking into account the following aspects: urban planning tools and environmental and sanitary protection of living spaces. Results. Hygienic-sanitary requirements regarding living environment in Russia are essentially expressed by two regulatory systems (SNiP and SanPiN), while in Italy they are regulated by the D.M. 07/05/1975. The main principles of urban planning in Russia are expressed by federal standards, while in Italy they are incorporated in the Municipal General Plan (PRG) and in the various local regulations, where all the superordinate regulations are summarized. Finally, aspects related to environmental quality in both countries are governed by various specific laws (federal and state); a complex system of rules that take into account potential impacts on health and the environment. Conclusions. The authors reckon that clear and updated regulatory tools should be developed, especially in Italy that lags behind, regarding the building and urban hygiene, relying on the most recent acquisitions of international scientific literature in order to guarantee the highest standards in Public Health safeguard

Reducing plastic pollution by recovery and recycling: evidence from a ‘Blue Economy’ project impacting policy-making in Italy

: This paper recognizes the relevance of the Seabed Cleaning Project, created by the Angelo Vassallo Sindaco Pescatore Foundation in 2010, and presents it as a tool to achieve benefits in environmental, social, and economic terms, in line with the innovative framework of the Blue Economy. The project suggests a practical, feasible, and scalable solution to plastic pollution that can be obtained thanks to the activity performed by fishermen in cooperation with the municipality and local community (in a multi-level cooperation perspective). The data show a significant reduction of plastic on the seafloor thanks to the project, but further research is needed in order to collect further positive outcomes from different applications of the project. In 2022, the "Salva Mare" Law was approved in the Senate, extending the good practices proposed by the Foundation nationwide and showing how small gestures and concrete actions can provide significant improvements in pursuit of a healthier, safer, greener, and smarter city for the future

Understanding the complexities of Building-Integrated Agriculture. Can food shape the future built environment?

Our food system is facing an unprecedented challenge: feeding a fast growing population without depleting precious resources like energy, soil, and water.Furthermore, the increasing urbanization has rapidly exacerbated the gap between farm to plate, leaving cities vulnerable to changes in the production and supply chain, as demonstrated by recent pandemics and wars. In this context, emerging technologies that allow plants to grow in absence of soil, permit to produce food in high densely built-up areas, bringing food production right were most consumers live. These initiatives enter within the so called Building-Integrated Agriculture (BIA), which is referred as the practice of locating greenhouses and soilless plant cultivation technologies on top and inside mixed-use buildings to exploit the synergies between the building environment and agriculture, involving resource recovery such as water, energy and nutrient flows. This paper aims at determining strategies, objectives, and best practices of BIA projects through the review of 21 case studies, to understand how a new advanced and future-oriented agriculture applied within the cities borders, can possibly shape the urban built environment and food systems of the future

Quantitative dominances of taxa structuring the macrozoobenthic communities living in different coastal habitats.

The aim of this study was to quantify the dominance of macrozoobenthic taxa structuring the benthic assemblages associated to 6 coastal habitats, which occur from the mesolittoral to the circalittoral zone of the Campania coast. Crustaceans, polychaetes and molluscs were the main taxonomic groups structuring all the benthic assemblages, representing an average of 89.20% of the total taxa. However, each habitat showed the dominance of only one peculiar taxon

Red coral (Corallium rubrum) populations and coralligenous characterization within "Regno di Nettuno MPA" (Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy)

Red coral is one of the most important species belonging to the coralligenous habitats, being a structuring organism and highly sensitive to human pressure. The presence of red coral populations is historically well documented along the Campania coast (Tyrrhenian Sea), and, due to its high economic value, it has been commercially overharvested since ancient times. Red coral populations along several cliffs on the "Regno di Nettuno" MPA of the Gulf of Naples were investigated using ROV-imaging techniques. Coralligenous habitats were characterized in terms of percent cover and number of morphological groups. Pizzaco site showed the richest and most diverse community. Density of red coral colonies was calculated and compared with morphometric parameters. Results show an inversely correlated trend between colonies density and their size. Finally, fishing pressure was estimated through frequency of lost fishing gears, and S. Angelo site resulted the most stressed one. Anthropic stress plays a key role in the degradation of coralligenous habitats and the dramatic reduction of red coral populations recorded in recent years allows to suspect a more extensive degradation of the entire community. An assessment of the distribution and state of the populations can provide useful information to take measures for a better MPAs management