Counteracting urban heat island effects in a global climate change scenario

Our cities and urban areas in general are facing many challenges - economic, social, health and environmental. However, the proximity of people, business and services associated with cities also creates opportunities to improve resource efficiency. Indeed, well-designed and well-managed urban settings offer great opportunities for sustainable living; partnership and coordination from the local to the European level can support their improvement. Climate change has the potential to influence all the components in the urban environment and to raise new and complex challenges for the quality of life, health and human biodiversity inside urban areas. Poor urban design can worsen the impacts of climate change. The attention of the European Union to the problems related to UHI is proved by the funding of the transnational cooperation project within the Central Europe Programme “Development and application of mitigation and adaptation strategies and measures for counteracting the global Urban Heat Islands phenomenon” (3CE292P3). This book is on of the main outcome project is coordinated by the Regional Agency for Environmental Protection in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, and involves 17 partners within Central Europe area

Post-earthquake Repositioning in a High-Value Heritage Context

This paper examines how a town affected by a catastrophe can be restored by repositioning. We describe how we locally applied a method for building back better with participation. To do it, we merged some already known techniques. We learned three lessons. First, the methodology that we deployed can support a nonconflictive recovery process. Second, the building\u2019s physical forms for the reconstruction according to the preferences of residents must be deeply investigated before proposing a model. Third, a post-disaster recovery plan has several problems in application, and where possible a pre-disaster recovery plan is preferable

Rethinking planning hierarchy considering climate change as global catastrophe

This article proposes overcoming the distinction between the effects of climate change and the effects linked to classical disaster hazards by considering Climate Change as global catastrophe. The theoretical approach to combining the two models has until now greatly emphasized the need for further research, but with poor results. Starting from a new conception of climate change as a catastrophe in progress, the paper proposes a revision of local planning hierarchy in order to give a primary role to risk assessment in every sector of local development

CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION MEASURES FOR ITALIAN COASTAL CITIES

Coastal cities are very vulnerable to climate change and naturalhazards. The risks caused by climate change have quadrupled in the past 30 years, causing both human and economic losses (UNISDR, 2012). These risks are also known as natural hazards and are generally attributable to extreme weather events such as: storm intensity, urban heat island, drought and flooding as well as sea level rise and coastal erosion (IPCC, 2007a). These threats have consequences and impacts on lives and livelihoods of coastal cities communities, on theirinfrastructures, economy and governments. Thus, to avoidemergences and disaster situations it is important to rethink and transform coastal cities in \u201ccoastal resilient cities\u201d, through a comprehensive and site-specific strategy for urban development in a climate changes adaptation perspective. In that framework, the research is part of the more broadestresearch field studying the climate change impacts on coastalcities, considering the relation between the specificcharacteristics of such cities (physics, social and economic), itsurban form/design, and especially their ability to adapt to climate change. The research\u2019s focus will be on the Italiancoastal cities and the NAS (National Adaption Strategy) thatencourages a "flexible" and "downscaling" approach,recognizing at the Italian Coastal Cities further critical issues in the implementation of adaptation measures (green&blueinfrastructure, green roofs, new materials, etc.), namely the small, historical, and touristic dimension, which needs to be protected. The main objective will be to propose, in line with the NAS, guidelines that through an integrated and participativedecisionmaking model, will be able to orient the policy processtowards a coherent planning/design. Moreover, it will create a European network of universities, local authorities and businesses to work together on this issue

Toward a trans-regional vulnerability assessment for Alps. A methodological approach to land cover changes over alpine landscapes, supporting urban adaptation

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The Mainstreaming of NBS in the SECAP of San Don\ue0 di Piave: The LIFE Master Adapt Methodology

Climate change is a global phenomenon that poses local risks to sectors across society and the economy. All these growing risks have led the Municipality of San Don\ue0 di Piave\u2014located within the Metropolitan City of Venice (CMVe)\u2014to strengthen, over the years, its commitment to the adaptation to climate change in its plans and policies. Nature-based solutions can offer a perfect example of sustainable solutions to cope with climate change mitigation and adaptation challenges. In this context, thanks to the support of the LIFE Master Adapt project, San Don\ue0 di Piave, applying its methodologies and creating new territorial information, was able to insert, within its Action Plan for Sustainable Energy and Climate (SECAP), important and structural Nature-Based Solutions (NBSs) for the entire municipal area. This experience demonstrates how this process of mainstreaming adaptation actions and NBSs is possible at all levels of government of the territory. It also highlights the virtuosity of replicability in other contexts of the CMVe and the transition from theoretical concepts to concrete actions (NBSs) for adaptation into existing plans. This process happened with a climate-proof modification of the existing planning attitude, whether mandatory or voluntary

Including Urban Metabolism Principles in Decision-Making: A Methodology for Planning Waste and Resource Management

Circular economy and urban metabolism concepts have recently received great attention both in the political and academic arenas, starting a roll-over process of the \u201ctake, make, and dispose\u201d dominant economic model that is leading to an ongoing increase of resource consumption and waste generation. However, there is a relative lack of guidelines for introducing such concepts in a decision-making process able to support the design of appropriate policies and strategies and the definition of specific actions to cope with such challenges. This paper attempts to contribute to the recent efforts at incorporating these concepts in policy and decision-making processes by providing a methodology for the development of strategic plans for waste prevention and resource management. The proposed methodology, developed within the Urban_WINS project, combines different quantitative\u2013analytical and qualitative methods and tools, together with a participatory process. The methodology was tested in eight EU cities and allowed to formulate several measures and actions aimed at addressing the challenges posed by the current consumption patterns. Moreover, the participatory approach led to the legitimization of the strategic plans, as well as to raise awareness among stakeholders. Although it might require specific tailor-made adjustments, this methodology is suitable to be replicated in other contexts

Inter-Municipal Methodology for Climate Transition Strategies : The First Case in Italy

To build resilient and climate-neutral cities, it is required to modify current territorial planning processes to make them more sustainable and virtuous. However, the implementation of new strategies and innovative governance models faces multiple obstacles, economic restrictions, and technical gaps. In particular, local governments often find it difficult to build structured transition processes. This article investigates how it is possible to respond effectively to the need of urban contexts to adapt to climate impacts, analyzing the case of the Climate Transition Strategy (CTS) “La Brianza Cambia Clima”, the first in Italy of this kind. Through the technical framework and the methodology described, the CTS can activate inter-municipal transformative actions through the mainstreaming of planning tools, the construction of a medium-long-term vision, and the identification of concrete and widespread actions to be implemented in the territory. This coordinated and shared strategic approach allows one to give stability, coherence, and continuity to adaptation processes involving different stakeholders and sectors of the Public Administration. Finally, it favors the implementation of multidisciplinary policies for territorial resilience on a large scale

Multi-Risk Climate Mapping for the Adaptation of the Venice Metropolitan Area

Climate change risk reduction requires cities to undertake urgent decisions. One of the principal obstacles that hinders effective decision making is insufficient spatial knowledge frameworks. Cities climate adaptation planning must become strategic to rethink and transform urban fabrics holistically. Contemporary urban planning should merge future threats with older and unsolved criticalities, like social inequities, urban conflicts and \u201cdrosscapes\u201d. Retrofitting planning processes and redefining urban objectives requires the development of innovative spatial information frameworks. This paper proposes a combination of approaches to overcome knowledge production limits and to support climate adaptation planning. The research was undertaken in collaboration with the Metropolitan City of Venice and the Municipality of Venice, and required the production of a multi-risk climate atlas to support their future spatial planning efforts. The developed tool is a Spatial Decision Support System (SDSS), which aids adaptation actions and the coordination of strategies. The model recognises and assesses two climate impacts: Urban Heat Island and Flooding, representing the Metropolitan City of Venice (CMVE) as a case study in complexity. The model is composed from multiple assessment methodologies and maps both vulnerability and risk. The atlas links the morphological and functional conditions of urban fabrics and land use that triggers climate impacts. The atlas takes the exposure assessment of urban assets into account, using this parameter to describe local economies and social services, and map the uneven distribution of impacts. The resulting tool is therefore a replicable and scalable mapping assessment able to mediate between metropolitan and local level planning systems

Let’s Do It for Real: Making the Ecosystem Service Concept Operational in Regional Planning for Climate Change Adaptation

The application of ecosystem service (ES) knowledge to planning processes and decision-making can lead to more effective climate change adaptation. Despite the increased attention given to the ES concept, its degree of integration and use in spatial planning processes are still below the expectations of those who are promoting this concept. Barriers hindering its operationalisation cover a span of aspects ranging from theoretical to procedural and methodological issues. Overall, there is a general lack of guidance on how and at what point ES knowledge should be integrated into planning processes. This study aims to promote the inclusion of ES knowledge into spatial planning practices and decision-making processes to enhance climate change adaptation. A replicable GIS-based methodology is proposed. First, the potential supply of ESs that can support climate change adaptation (ESCCAs) is defined, mapped, and quantified. Then, a need for an ESCCA supply is identified, and territorial capacities to respond to the expected climate change impacts on natural and socio-economic sectors are assessed. The methodology is applied to the Friuli Venezia Giulia Autonomous Region (Italy) as an illustrative case study. The results reveal that areas with similar geomorphological characteristics tend to respond similarly. Forest ecosystems, inland wetlands and specifically salt marshes can potentially supply a greater variety of ESCCAs. In the case study area, about 62% of the supplied ESCCAs can contribute to reducing the impacts in more than 50% of the impacted sectors. The territory of the study site generally shows good preparedness for expected impacts in most of the analysed sectors; less prepared areas are characterised by agricultural ecosystems. This reading approach based on land cover analyses can thus assist in developing policies to enhance different territorial capacities, ultimately leading to better and more sustainable decision-making