L'utilizzo delle fonti energetiche rinnovabili (FER) e i rischi per il paesaggio agricolo: prime riflessioni.

Con la significativa eccezione delle centrali idroelettriche e della combustione di biomasse, le fonti di energia rinnovabili (FER) hanno finora rappresentato una frazione molto limitata dell’energia primaria globale. Tuttavia, le tecnologie di generazione di energia rinnovabile, e in particolare gli impianti eolici e solari, hanno seguito una ripida curva di apprendimento: gli impianti fotovoltaici costano oggi l'80 per cento in meno rispetto a quelli costruiti dieci anni fa e dal 2013 viene globalmente installata più capacità di generazione elettrica da fonti rinnovabili che da carbone, gas naturale e petrolio. L'imponente e in gran parte imprevista riduzione dei costi totali di produzione da FER, insieme con le nuove soluzioni per l'immagazzinamento dell’energia, rende praticabili nuovi modelli di generazione di energia distribuita e alcuni analisti suggeriscono che l'energia elettrica prodotta da impianti fotovoltaici (FV) di grandi dimensioni sarà presto più economica dell’energia prodotta con tecnologie tradizionali, in molti paesi europei. La prospettiva di un sistema di produzione di energia elettrica basato su fonti rinnovabili rappresenta un’entusiasmante opportunità per il contrasto al cambiamento climatico indotto dall’uomo, ma impone una riflessione in merito ai potenziali rischi indotti. A questo proposito si propone una prima analisi dello scenario italiano e della rilevanza di un eventuale passaggio a un sistema di produzione di energia elettrica fortemente basato su fonti rinnovabili in termini di consumo di suolo e di potenziale concorrenza con gli usi agricoli. Le centrali elettriche basate su fonti rinnovabili hanno impatti ambientali generalmente bassi, soprattutto rispetto all’emissione di sostanze inquinanti, ma a causa della necessità di raccogliere forme diluite di energia (la radiazione solare e l’energia eolica), hanno una scala spaziale diversa rispetto ai tradizionali impianti termoelettrici. L'adozione di un modello di generazione distribuita basato su fonti rinnovabili è in grado di produrre effetti sociali, ambientali ed economici certamente positivi, ma implica trasformazioni rilevanti a livello di paesaggio e deve quindi essere gestito correttamente. Le autorità pubbliche e le comunità locali devono essere consapevoli della portata di questa transizione e partecipare alla progettazione dei futuri paesaggi energetici. Nell’intento di promuovere l'adozione di energie rinnovabili la legislazione italiana ha introdotto il concetto di 'aree non idonee' per gli impianti FER, ma l'approccio adottato finora nel processo di autorizzazione appare insufficiente per raggiungere risultati di alta qualità a scala locale. In questa prospettiva si suggerisce l’adozione di strumenti di pianificazione proattivi per orientare la distribuzione delle centrali rinnovabili a livello locale, colmando il vuoto che oggi si apre tra le politiche di efficienza nell’edilizia e i piani energetici su larga scala, verso la produzione di paesaggi di qualità e collettivamente condivisi

Territorializing and Monitoring of Sustainable Development Goals in Italy: An Overview

The 2030 Agenda defined 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) divided into 169 targets, applicable everywhere and based on the “No one left behind” principle. Goals and indicators to measure the achievement of the 2030 Agenda have to be localized. The paper presents the Italian current evolution of the territorialization of the SDGs, starting from the global level up to the local one, and wonders if the implementation of the 2030 Agenda takes concrete form with the quantitative monitoring of the SDGs at the local level (municipalities and not only capitals). A comparison among indicators proposed at different levels is set by using an ad hoc comparative reading grid. The analysis highlights that, in Italy, the principal barriers in the territorialization of the SDGs are the lack of data open sources, the proposal of new not adequately validated metrics by institutional/noninstitutional subjects and the progressive loss of relationship with Global indicator framework and targets of the 2030 Agenda. The strategies needed to reach sustainable development are obviously site-specific, but we need to maintain common metrics in measuring performances in relation to the 2030 Agenda. In the Global indicator framework for the Sustainable Development Goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, it is possible to find indicators suitable to measure performances at the local level— albeit in a smaller numbers—but in Italy, there is no awareness about this. Italy is completely losing both the opportunity to compare the results of the effort performed by the Municipalities in a rigorous way and the possibility to use strong metrics to support decision-makers’ policies for the future

Virtual or real megaregions?: the case of linear metropolitan system in northern Italy

Nowadays we are witnesses of a frenetic and chaotic development of contemporary cities. After the rising of metropolis (with the industrial revolution), the strong economic pulse during last decades caused the rising of new urban entities, at first called megalopolis, now called megaregions. These new entities are formed by two typologies of land: a polycentric system of metropolis and cities with highanthropogenic-pressure levels, where buildings (residential, industrial, commercial) are distributed along traffic corridors and form an urban continuum; a supporting ecological region with low-anthropogenic-pressure levels. These two typologies are both parts of the same system (the megaregion): if one exists the other one should exist as the counterpart that could maintain the system balanced, primarily from the ecological point of view.Peer Reviewe

Method to Support Circular Economy of aggregates (Sand / Gravel)

The objectives of the Green Deal require new circular economy approaches also starting from the management of construction and demolition waste. Circularity processes are affected both by regulatory actions and by physical, urban and industrial geographical aspects. The processes of industrial circularity are inserted in the territory where linear economies already exist by hybridizing them. In fact, localization processes of circular economies present cluster configurations. Furthermore, these circular economies are configured differently in relation to physical geography, to urban centers and transport infrastructures. The paper therefore aims to evaluate two case studies to extrapolate the risks and opportunities of the circular economy from construction and demolition waste (CDW)

A comparative cycling path selection for sustainable tourism in Franciacorta. An integrated AHP-ELECTRE method

Cycle tourism is a form of sustainable itinerant tourism expanding in Italy and the rest of the world, with prospects for growth in coming years. Europe and North America have already developed a wide range of cycling infrastructures tied to tourism experiences. Benefits induced are generally recognised: first, it is a sustainable solution that increases local economics while conserving the environment; second, it guarantees advantages on social connections, amusement, and physical and mental health. However, it requires an adequate network to enjoy destinations as historical and landscape peculiarities. Currently, literature provides some methods for planning itineraries dedicated to cycle tourism. Despite that, there is less attention on how evaluating existing or already planned tourist itineraries. This study covers this gap, by applying an integrated method to assess bicycle connections for tourism experiences within municipalities. Since this evaluation may contain many conflicting criteria (e.g., preferences of public administrator, technical and economic viability) and possible alternatives, this study frames the method as a multi-criteria decision-making problem (MCDM). Specifically, at first, the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) is adopted to calculate weights for each criterium; next, the ELimination Et Choix Traduisant la REalitè (ELECTRE) method is applied to provide a (possible) priority ranking of cycling tourist paths among alternatives, by computing indices of discordance and concordance between pairs of alternatives. The framework is applied to the Franciacorta area (North-East Italy), a national and international tourist relevance territory encompassing 22 municipalities. This study may be useful for public administrators to rationalise and prioritise cycling routes

Rappresentare l’armatura culturale del territorio con QGIS: l’esperienza del PTRA della Franciacorta

Landscape features are the result of interrelated actions of man-and-nature and can provide ecosystem services that need to be protected. Since urban planning policies can impact negatively on the conservation of cultural ecosystem services, urban plans must map them and make provision for their protection. For the Plan of Franciacorta (22 municipalities in Lombardy), we chose QGIS to set up a geo-database and map cultural heritage information. QGIS can provide more flexibility than a typical map, thanks to its graphics tools. To plan the development of actions to protect the landscape and suggest a range of planning opportunities for municipalities, an integrated representation of the landscape and protected ecological elements can highlight some critical issues: municipal borders can prove an obstacle in the implementation of supra-municipal projects and protected areas can include enclaves potentially vulnerable to urban pressures. Such maps have proved useful in guiding the planning choices in the development of the landscape protection schemes. The geo-location of critical aspects has brought out a range of inter-municipal planning opportunities

The Padanian LiMeS. Spatial Interpretation of Local GHG Emission Data

The relevant role of spatial planning in the enforcement of climate change mitigation, managing the development of new low-carbon infrastructures and increasing system-wide efficiencies across sectors, has been addressed at global level (IPCC, 2014 WGIII). In this context, local GHG inventories appear a relevant tool toward the definition of a coherent, inter-sectorial background for local planning, mitigation, and adaptation policies. Taking advantage of consistent GHG emissions data availability in the Lombard context, local maps of direct GHG emissions have been linked with geographic data, including municipal boundaries, population data, and land-use information, produced and organized within the research PRIN 2007 From metropolitan city to metropolitan corridor: the case of the Po Valley Corridor. The results of this mapping exercise have been evaluated on the background of consolidated knowledge about northern Italy urban patterns, including the Linear Metropolitan System – LiMeS – and preliminary observations about characteristics, potential, and limits of the tool are proposed