Paesaggi performanti: un approccio integrato nature-based per l'area industriale di Vicenza

Uno degli obiettivi primari delle città contemporanee è lo sviluppo sostenibile, che include la crescita economica, l’integrazione sociale e la tutela degli ecosistemi. I paesaggi urbani hanno un ruolo chiave in una sfida così complessa e le Nature-Based Solutions offrono l’opportunità di rispondere alle diverse criticità generate dalla crescita di suolo urbano e dagli eventi associabili ai cambiamenti climatici. Questo contributo illustra la ricerca di uno scenario sostenibile per la riqualificazione dell’area industriale della città di Vicenza all'interno di una tesi di laurea, in cui sono stati analizzati ed integrati i fattori chiave per la generazione di paesaggi performanti: protezione ambientale, nuove identità socio-culturali, economie più sostenibili e una migliore gestione del ciclo dell’acqua

Renaturalising lands as an adaptation strategy. Towards an integrated water-based design approach

The effects of soil sealing on the hydrological cycle and water resource exploitation are critical issues for the sustainable development of urbanised areas, where uncontrolled growth has led to deep changes in the hydrological balance regime. In a climate change scenario, the expected increase of rainfall results in hydrogeological and contamination issues, with severe impacts on the fragility of many territories such as small mountain cities. In this framework, renaturalising lands using Nature-based solutions can help to restore the original ecosystemic functions and to improve urban quality. To this end, this study proposes a multidisciplinary and transcalar water-based design approach, applied to the case study of the Comano Terme area in Trentino (Italy). Combining landscape design and hydraulic constructions, sustainable urban drainage devices were integrated into a slow mobility system and open-air public spaces to increase rainfallrunoff infiltration and storage. The hydrological model simulations showed how it is possible to treat part of the rainfall-runoff where it is produced, thus reducing and delaying the runoff quantities delivered to the stormwater system up to the receptor bodies. The proposed solutions merge with the existing environment and infrastructures, reconnecting the territory and enhancing its identity, while increasing urban resilience and providing social benefits

Benthic Uptake Rate due to Hyporheic Exchange: The Effects of Streambed Morphology for Constant and Sinusoidally Varying Nutrient Loads

Hyporheic exchange carries reactive solutes, which may include biological oxygen demand (BOD), dissolved oxygen (DO) and reactive dissolved inorganic nitrogen (Nr), into the sediment, where biochemical reactions consume DO. Here, we study the impact of streambed morphology, stream-reactive solute loads and their diel oscillations on the DO benthic uptake rate (BUR) due to hyporheic processes. Our model solves the hyporheic flow field and the solute transport equations analytically, within a Lagrangian framework, considering advection, longitudinal diffusion and reactions modeled as first order kinetics. The application of the model to DO field measurements over a gravel bar-pool sequence shows a good match with measured DO concentrations with an overall agreement of 58% and a kappa index of 0.46. We apply the model to investigate the effects of daily constant and sinusoidally time varying stream BOD, DO and Nr loads and of the morphodynamic parameters on BUR. Our modeling results show that BUR varies as a function of bedform size and of nutrient loads and that the hyporheic zone may consume up to 0.06% of the stream DO at the pool-riffle bedform scale. Daily oscillations of stream BOD and DO loads have small effects on BUR, but may have an important influence on local hyporheic processes and organisms’ distribution

Renaturalising lands as an adaptation strategy. Towards an integrated water-based design approach

The effects of soil sealing on the hydrological cycle and water resource exploitation are critical issues for the sustainable development of urbanised areas. Cities’ growth without adequate measures for mitigating anthropic impact has led to deep changes in the hydrological balance regime. In a climate change scenario, the expected increase of rainfall results in hydrogeological and contamination issues, with severe impacts on the fragility of many territories such as small mountain cities. In this framework, Nature-based solutions for sustainable urban water management can help to renaturalise lands, restoring ecosystemic functions. The area of Comano Terme in Trentino offers an opportunity to test an integrated water-based design approach to address the climate crisis. It is a fragile territory with many marginal and disconnected water resources: thermal and mineral springs, and River Sarca, strongly exploited for hydropower production. The increase in rainfall and flow releases from the upstream dam cause floods in urban areas, worsened by soil sealing. This experimental study proposes a multidisciplinary and transcalar approach that combines landscape design and hydraulic constructions to renaturalise the territory with Green and Blue Infrastructure. Sustainable urban drainage devices were integrated into a slow mobility system that reconnects the territory and increases urban resilience