Turismo sostenibile e tensioni urbane nel terzo millennio

Il processo di urbanizzazione è un fenomeno che, negli ultimi decenni, ha registrato notevoli cambiamenti, i quali hanno avuto delle ripercussioni sulla distribuzione della popolazione mondiale tra aree urbane e rurali. L’aumento di popolazione nei centri urbani sta già creando problemi relativi alla produzione e allo smaltimento dei rifiuti e alla disponibilità e qualità della risorsa idrica, come anche problemi di sicurezza sanitaria nelle periferie che continuano ad espandersi in assenza di infrastrutture e servizi. In relazione a ciò, il modello di sviluppo urbano sostenibile assume una valenza strategica in termini sociali, economici ed ambientali. Il turismo può, infatti, contribuire ad aumentare la vitalità economica delle città e a rafforzare il senso di identità urbana. Il turismo sostenibile contribuisce, inoltre, a mantenere l'integrità ambientale e culturale delle comunità, a conservare il patrimonio naturale e le zone ecologicamente sensibili. In questa Sessione dedicata al turismo è stata avviata una riflessione su ciò che il turismo può e deve fare per la sostenibilità del territorio, in maniera particolare di quello urbano. Diventa fondamentale comprendere in che modo il turismo può essere un elemento che può dare un contributo significativo allo sviluppo e all’innovazione sostenibile urbana, dato il suo impatto trasversale sulla società e le sue molteplici sfaccettature ambientali, economiche, sociali, culturali. In conclusione, sulla base degli spunti emersi è lecito affermare che il turismo rappresenti una opportunità di trasformazione delle città e dei territori circostanti, modificando gli equilibri sociali e culturali, economici e urbanistici, riuscendo persino a cambiare il modo di intendere e di vivere le città.Peer Reviewe

Chapter Introduzione

The present chapter introduces the concepts and the issues about Italian inner areas, as defined by the Strategia nazionale per le Aree Interne (National Strategy for Inner Areas – SNAI). In particular, it focuses on a new enterprise model called Community-based cooperatives; they play a fundamental role in the regional development process, from economic, social and environmental points of view. Finally, the key elements of these new cooperatives are highlighted

Chapter Conclusioni

The present text includes some conceptual maps, aimed at defining the potential role of Community-based cooperatives in revitalising Italian inner areas. The conclusions show the great importance of these cooperatives, which are considered as a key factor in favouring local development, and in arresting demographic decline in marginal areas. Though based on the results obtained with respect to Molise region, these findings can be extended to any other Italian inner area

Territorialisation dynamics for Italian farms adhering to Alternative Food Networks

The demographic processes of the last decades have led to variations in urban and peri-urban territorial configurations, questioning the patterns of traditional productive localisation. They have begun to outline new perspectives related to proximity to trading and commerce sites as well as to the services offered by the city. Business strategies, such as multifunctionality and diversification, have begun to consider these new possibilities that, at a larger scale, have triggered the process of territorialisation. The study analyses the influence of proximity to the city on the strategies of farms diversifying income through short food chains, with the aim of identifying the prevailing behaviours adopted in three different concentric areas at the urban centre of gravity: peri-urban, belt and rural. The study involves a dataset constituted by 217 farms, where each farm has been associated with a set of explanatory variables that outline some structural, social and economic characteristics. The sample has been segmented through a hierarchical cluster analysis, which allowed us to identify 5 groups of farms, after having reduced the number of variables through PCA (Principal Component Analysis). The results show that short food chains and, more generally, AFNs, are based on strategies alternative to those of traditional chains, and which involve a different economic dimension of the same chains and the construction of a different place-based agro-food system, also envisaging a re-localisation of space near the final market

Farmers’ Markets, Producer and Consumer Behaviour: Analysis of Interactions with the Metrics of Sustainability

This paper provides insights of the Italian farmers' markets (FMs) experience. These short food chains can be conceptualized among the so-called "alternative agro-food networks", which reject the traditional food chains features - productivity, products standardization and industrial organization - to focus on other issues such as quality, local production and "naturality" of agro-food production.The main objective of the paper is to evaluate the sustainability of FMs, through the analysis of the demand and the supply side. The analysis is based on a survey administered in 13 Italian FMs, involving 158 farmers and 458 consumers. Data are used to evaluate consumers' demand for sustainability within FMs and sustainability indicators at the farm level. These indicators support a classification of the farms, aimed at analysing their motivation to participate in the markets and the extent to which they are able to meet consumers' demand.Results show that FMs might be able to favour the spreading of a more sustainable economy. However, farms should improve their business strategies in order to meet consumers' demand for sustainability. In this respect, agricultural policies at the European and local level can play a role, in order to enhance sustainable practices within the farms

Chapter L’approccio metodologico

This contribution presents a methodological path tailored to highlight and manage the generating processes of Community-based cooperatives in Italian inner areas. Some quantitative techniques are involved, in particular multivariate statistical techniques, together with text analysis, in order to process the outcomes of a direct survey based on open responses. Moreover, a study of scenario, based on balance sheet data, is proposed, to verify the potential profitability of a new cooperative

Chapter Il caso studio del Molise

Basing on multivariate statistical methods, text and sentiment analysis, and profitability analysis, a study is performed, with the aim to define the role of Community-based cooperatives in the development process of the inner areas of the Italian region of Molise. Census data, direct interviews data, and balance sheets data are employed to identify a new model of local development based on cooperative principles

Monitoring Cardiovascular Physiology using Bio-compatible AlN Piezoelectric Skin Sensors

Arterial pulse waves contain a wealth of parameters indicative of cardiovascular disease. As such, monitoring them continuously and unobtrusively can provide health professionals with a steady stream of cardiovascular health indices, allowing for the development of efficient, individualized treatments and early cardiovascular disease diagnosis solutions. Blood pulsations in superficial arteries cause skin surface deformations, typically undetectable to the human eye; therefore, Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) can be used to measure these deformations and thus create unobtrusive pulse wave monitoring devices. Miniaturized ultrathin and flexible Aluminium Nitride (AlN) piezoelectric MEMS are highly sensitive to minute mechanical deformations, making them suitable for detecting the skin deformations caused by cardiac events and consequently providing multiple biomarkers useful for monitoring cardiovascular health and assessing cardiovascular disease risk. Conventional wearable continuous pulse wave monitoring solutions are typically large and based on technologies limiting their versatility. Therefore, we propose the adoption of 29.5 μm-thick biocompatible, skin-conforming devices on piezoelectric AlN to create versatile, multipurpose arterial pulse wave monitoring devices. In our initial trials, the devices are placed over arteries along the wrist (radial artery), neck (carotid artery), and suprasternal notch (on the chest wall and close to the ascending aorta). We also leverage the mechano-acoustic properties of the device to detect heart muscle vibrations corresponding to heart sounds S1 and S2 from the suprasternal notch measurement site. Finally, we characterize the piezoelectric device outputs observed with the cardiac cycle events using synchronized electrocardiogram (ECG) reference signals and provide information on heart rate, breathing rate, and heart sounds. The extracted parameters strongly agree with reference values as illustrated by minimum Pearson correlation coefficients (r) of 0.81 for pulse rate and 0.95 for breathing rate

THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE AGRI-FOOD SECTOR TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN ITALY

O aumento da população mundial, o risco de esgotamento dos recursos naturais necessários para a produção, a intensificação da mudança climática causada pela excessiva pressão antrópica no meio ambiente, exigem mudanças urgentes que atuem na escolha das fontes energéticas, na gestão dos recursos naturais, nas tecnologias de produção, nos estilos de consumo e, mais em geral, nos modelos de desenvolvimento local. Um desenvolvimento sustentável baseado em estratégias bioeconómicas está intimamente associado ao agrobusiness e à sua diversificação, ao desenvolvimento rural e local, aos limites e às oportunidades provenientes dos pilares ambientais e sociais da sustentabilidade. O objetivo deste estudo é o de fornecer um quadro das principais oportunidades através das quais o setor agroalimentar pode contribuir para a sustentabilidade dos modelos de desenvolvimento local em Itália. Após uma breve panorâmica do sistema agroalimentar italiano, o estudo analisa as oportunidades para conciliar o setor agroalimentar e o desenvolvimento sustentável, enfrentando as questões ambientais, o desenvolvimento social, a multifuncionalidade da agricultura.The increase in world population, the risk of depletion of natural resources needed for production, the intensification of climate change caused by excessive anthropogenic pressure on the environment, ask for urgent changes in the choice of energy sources, the management of natural resource, production technologies, consumption patterns and, more generally, local development patterns. A sustainable development based on bio-economic strategies is closely related to agribusiness and its diversification, rural and local development and the limitations and opportunities inherent in the environmental and social pillars of sustainability. The aim of this paper is to provide a picture of the main opportunities through which the Italian agro-food sector may contribute to the sustainability of local development patterns. After a brief overview of the Italian agro-food system, the paper discusses how to reconcile it with sustainable development, and considers aspects such as the environment, social development and multifunctional agriculture