Geodesign A-to-Z: Evolution of a Syllabus for Architects and Engineers

The aim of this paper is to document and present a critical reflective review on the evolution of a syllabus1 of a Geodesign course at the Master level in an Italian Faculty of Architecture and Civil Engineering. The author discusses the urgency of fostering the uptake of such an approach due to the need of properly addressing Strategic Environmental Assessment principles which are nowadays mandatory in the planning practice in Europe, but often poorly applied. However, with reference to the Italian case study, evidence is given of low diffusion of teaching Geodesign. To address this issue, the evolution of a decade of a Geodesign syllabus for master programs in environmental engineering, architecture and civil engineering is presented highlighting opportunities for scalability, and demonstrating a workable way to introduce Geodesign teaching in architecture, engineering and planning schools where it is still lacking

Los elefantes marinos de península Valdés

Durante la primavera austral, la Península Valdés (Chubut, Argentina) es el escenario de la masiva visita del elefante marino sudamericano (Otaria flavescens). Se trata de la temporada reproductiva. El recuento año tras año de este conjunto migrante es un trabajo indispensable para conocer la dinámica de la población. Los censos poblacionales terrestres ofrecen un invalorable conocimiento de sus fluctuaciones y migraciones. Se brindan particularidades de la elefantería de Valdés y sus poblaciones, aspectos biológicos relevantes y otras lecturas sugeridas

TOWARDS A NOVEL APPROACH TO GEODESIGN ANALYTICS

The adoption of sustainability principles in current European regulatory framework which affect spatial planning and environmental protection, such as Directive 2001/42/C, introduced the need for collaboration and participation in spatial planning practices aiming at achieving more evidence-based, transparent and democratic decision making. However, the involvement of a wide range of actors, along with traditional collaborative and participatory methods, makes it often diffi cult to grasp the dynamics which drive the process towards the fi nal decision. Emerging design methodologies and increased recourse to advanced information technologies promise unprecedented opportunities not only for applying a system approach and coordinating involved actors, but also for tracking the evolution of the design alternatives toward the fi nal plan. In this context, this paper explores the potential offered by the collaborative Planning Support System Geodesignhub to ease and record the process workfl ow of geodesign studies. The paper describes underlying theories, research questions formulation and the fi rst results of the analysis of empirical data on the Cagliari Geodesign case study. The set of variables and relations identifi ed in this research endeavor represents the fi rst effort towards the development of an operation framework for geodesign process analysis, which may potentially contribute to clarify the relationships between the knowledge base and the actors in the planning process. The aim is to earning a deeper understanding of the process dynamics for more informed, transparent, and democratic planning, design and decision-making. KEYWORD

Co-Design: digital tools for knowledge-building and decision-making in planning and design = Co-Progetto: strumenti digitali per la costruzione della conoscenza e il supporto alle decisioni nella progettazione collaborativa

L’utilizzo di strumenti digitali, oggi ampiamente diffuso nei processi progettuali, ha aperto enormi possibilità operative non solo per gli aspetti specializzati, ma anche per sviluppare forme di progettazione collaborativa e partecipata. Con questa strumentazione l’esplorazione di soluzioni alternative, dalla pianificazione alla scala territoriale ed ambientale fino alla progettazione alla scala dell’oggetto edilizio ed architettonico, potenzialmente diventa più rapida e di più agevole comprensione e valutazione. Queste potenzialità rendono ora importanti, per una realizzazione ancor più̀ efficace dei progetti alle varie scale, la definizione e l’implementazione di requisiti di interoperabilità (non solo di formati!) che ottimizzino l’integrazione delle informazioni fra i vari settori progettuali. Si vuole con questa tematica di co-design favorire non solo l’indagine sulla costruzione del progetto alle varie scale (in questo caso quella ambientale ed urbana), ma anche centrare l’attenzione sul carattere specifico del Disegno progettuale, che deve poter rappresentare una “interfaccia comunicativa” completa e comprensibile per tutti i soggetti coinvolti nel processo.Digital tools for design process, nowadays extensively popular, opened enormous operational possibilities, not only for technical practices, but also to collaborative and participatory design. Through these technological innovations, from urban planning and environmental design applications to the practice of architecture, exploration of alternative solutions is potentially faster being also potentially effective and easier understand and assess processes. In order to create more effective design workflows at different scales, this capability requires the definition and the implementation of interoperability (not limited to setting formats!) that optimizes the integration of information among the various project sectors. Within this framework of co-design it is expected to highlight not only research and practice related to building at different scales (environmental and urban process), but also to focus on the specific character of drawing applications, which should be able to present an understandable "communicative interface" for everyone involved

Correlated patterns of genetic diversity and differentiation across an avian family

Comparative studies of closely related taxa can provide insights into the evolutionary forces that shape genome evolution and the prevalence of convergent molecular evolution. We investigated patterns of genetic diversity and differentiation in stonechats (genus Saxicola), a widely distributed avian species complex with phenotypic variation in plumage, morphology, and migratory behavior, to ask whether similar genomic regions have become differentiated in independent, but closely related, taxa. We used whole-genome pooled sequencing of 262 individuals from 5 taxa and found that levels of genetic diversity and divergence are strongly correlated among different stonechat taxa. We then asked if these patterns remain correlated at deeper evolutionary scales and found that homologous genomic regions have become differentiated in stonechats and the closely related Ficedula flycatchers. Such correlation across a range of evolutionary divergence and among phylogenetically independent comparisons suggests that similar processes may be driving the differentiation of these independently evolving lineages, which in turn may be the result of intrinsic properties of particular genomic regions (e.g., areas of low recombination). Consequently, studies employing genome scans to search for areas important for reproductive isolation or adaptation should account for corresponding regions of differentiation, as these regions may not necessarily represent speciation islands or evidence of local adaptation

Integrating Green-Infrastructures Design in Strategic Spatial Planning with Geodesign

In the last decades green infrastructure planning, design, and management have been widely recognized as a way to contribute to reach higher levels of sustainability of development. However, often green infrastructures are considered in a sectoral way, while their design should be more integrated within comprehensive planning and design. The paper proposes the use of geodesign methods and technology to support the early phases of integrated strategic territorial planning, in order to enrich the relationships between the design of green infrastructure and of the other relevant systems via more comprehensive planning and design, and by applying systems thinking. A case study developed with architecture and engineering students under the umbrella of the International Geodesign Collaboration is used, to demonstrate how with intensive geodesign workshops it is possible to create spatially explicit design scenarios which take into account the relationships between green infrastructure and other territorial systems and dynamics. A set of analyses on the case study results of the two scales is used to demonstrate the assumption. It is also argued that geodesign intensive workshops can, in a very short time, contribute to raising the awareness among the participants of collaborative design to the importance of green infrastructure in strategic territorial planning