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

Il valore della città pubblica: principi e transizioni nella città del futuro

Nella pianificazione della città dei servizi l’assenza di valore distribuito spazialmente è discriminante. Possiamo ri-attualizzare o rileggere i valori o il sistema di valori da cui dipende il welfare urbano? L’evoluzione nel tempo della “città pubblica” mostra come i servizi hanno continuato e continuano sempre più velocemente a modificarsi per rispondere ai bisogni della popolazione (abitanti, residenti, city users) mettendo in evidenza nuove esigenze o maggiore necessità di flessibilità. Anche il ruolo dello stesso servizio evolve nel tempo e predilige differenti collocazioni nello spazio. In passato i servizi erano motivo di aggregazione, socialità e poli attrattori, ma gli effetti della pandemia hanno favorito la transizione verso la consegna a domicilio di molti beni e servizi: dai prodotti di prima necessità, ai farmaci e persino alle terapie mediche che prima non potevano che essere somministrate presso l’ambulatorio e l’ospedale più vicino. Un utilizzo che passa dall’essere saltuario all’essere abituale e ciclico per rispondere non solo a bisogni voluttuari (come un regalo comprato con Amazon), ma essenziali. Grazie alla sintetica rilettura del passato e alle possibili comparazioni con la situazione attuale, l’articolo si propone di evidenziare le qualità che la pianificazione dei servizi alla persona dovrebbe garantire, invarianti o evolutesi nel tempo, ovvero degli elementi di valore da tenere presenti per realizzare una “buona” città pubblica

Assessing urban and building vulnerabilities connected to the emergency management: an integrated methodology

In Italy, three are the common strategies applied to assess seismic vulnerability: structural analysis of existing buildings, semi-empirical analysis of urban systems (e.g. the one published in 2004 by the Region of Emilia- Romagna) and the ‘Emergency Limit Condition’ analysis of emergency plan systems. The aim of the research is to combine these approaches together into an integrated methodology to identify which urban areas are more vulnerable and the possible reasons: structural behaviour, infrastructural design, interaction with the emergency plan system. The methodology was applied to ‘Villaggio Prealpino’, a neighbourhood (101 hab/ha) in Brescia between 1950 and 1970 by ‘La Famiglia’ cooperatives. These cooperatives built about 30000 houses in 135 neighbourhoods (Lombardy and other regions), producing remarkable examples of social housing. Firstly, through a Geographic Information System based software, the urban system of the neighbourhood was analysed: inhabitants, residential and commercial buildings, infrastructural system. Secondly, their influence in emergency situations management was understood, considering: road widths, building heights and their structural vulnerability. This was computed by filling in the ‘2nd level form’ (realized by Gruppo Nazionale per la Difesa dai Terremoti). Finally, results were properly combined, to find the location of the most vulnerable areas. Through the integrated methodology it was possible to relate at the same time the vulnerabilities of urban systems, buildings and emergency plan systems, finding the weak points of an urban area during seismic events. The case study showed vulnerabilities in building constructions and infrastructural system. Due to the widespread construction technique (hollow brick masonry) and the few architecture typologies (e.g. two-story duplex), experimental tests have been done to analyse this kind of structures (previous studies show their seismic vulnerability) and to design a reinforcement. The aim is to provide local authorities with a methodology to understand where it is important to plan risk mitigation actions