Coniugare localismo energetico e pianificazione a Roma: tentativi effettuati e prospettive

Il processo di liberalizzazione dell’energia in atto prospetta rilevanti opportunità operative per gli enti e le comunità locali; opportunità che oltrepassano i soli effetti sul mercato energetico e riguardano in forma sistemica le attività produttive, l’organizzazione fisico funzionale degli insediamenti, la qualità dell’ambiente urbano, i modelli comportamentali degli abitanti, nonché il processo di democratizzazione e inclusione sociale. In tale contesto le politiche energetiche locali entrano appieno nelle politiche urbane e possono rilanciare la pianificazione su processi di rigenerazione urbana. Potenti posizioni a difesa del vecchio modello accentrato e anche inabilità delle amministrazioni frenano però lo sviluppo delle politiche energetiche urbane e dell’integrazione di queste nella pianificazione locale. Alcuni fattori evolutivi, provenienti dal basso e di tipo inclusivo, sembrano tuttavia aprire nuove, seppur ancora da studiare con precisione, prospettive per il breve termine. L’articolo intende fornire un sintetico quadro concettuale sul localismo energetico e riportare un primo compendio delle iniziative e programmi in merito messi in piedi a Roma negli ultimi decenni (tentativi già volutamente deboli in partenza), e quindi delineare le direttrici evolutive in atto e potenziali (in riferimento al contesto nazionale e internazionale) da sviluppare nel lavoro di ricerca per il prossimo futuro, in riferimento anche a strumenti operativi.The energy liberalization process under way promises significant operational opportunities for institutions and local communities; opportunities that go beyond just the effects on the energy market and concern in systemic form of productive activities, the functional physical organization of the settlements, the quality of urban environment, the behavioral patterns of the inhabitants, as well as the democratization and social inclusion process. In this context, local energy policies come fully in urban policies and can enhance the planning of urban regeneration processes. Powerful positions in defense of the old centralized model and also inability of the authorities, however, are holding back development of urban energy policies and the integration of these in local planning. Some evolutionary factors, coming from the bottom and in inclusive forms, still seem to open new, albeit still to accurately study, prospects for the short term. The article intends to provide a concise conceptual framework on energy localism and outline a first compendium of initiatives and programs set up in Rome in recent decades (deliberately attempts already weak at the start), and then delineate the ongoing and potential evolutionary lines (in reference to the national and international context) to be developed in the research work for the near future, also with reference to operational tools

Le città dell'intelligenza / L'intelligenza delle città. Visioni, figure, valori e razionalità operative nel processo della smart city

Trying to formulate sustainability in the context of innovative practices emerges a new pervasive idea recognized in the international debate by the smart city concept. To plan sustainability aiming to govern competitiveness may appear as a new key factor in any urban area dealing with globalization process, but actual problems like population dynamics, social cohesion and urban efficiency require better understanding about meanings and strategies for transition. The thesis attempts to outline how some categories such as innovation, sustainability and global interconnection, underlying in the smart city concept, are absorbed in the exercises of prediction of the future and visioning that many governments in Europe and in the world are beginning to experiment. The discourses and narratives on smart cities have to be compared into a globalized, competitive and extremely changeable reality; strategies that different cities try to improve to respond the need for transition require different resources and capabilities over time and space. In these terms smart city becomes an opportunity to build a new vision of the future capable to bring coherence through shared strategies of action, but if we want to be successful throughout this process, we need to recognize the importance of proceeding to a new definition of objectives to be achieved. The research aims to investigate the issue of smart cities by two different aspects: on the one hand trying to understand how smart city defines a new paradigm for urban development; on the other investigates practices related to that concept to highlight possible operational tools or any unexpected consequences

Le città dell'intelligenza / L'intelligenza delle città. Visioni, figure, valori e razionalità operative nel processo della smart city

Trying to formulate sustainability in the context of innovative practices emerges a new pervasive idea recognized in the international debate by the smart city concept. To plan sustainability aiming to govern competitiveness may appear as a new key factor in any urban area dealing with globalization process, but actual problems like population dynamics, social cohesion and urban efficiency require better understanding about meanings and strategies for transition. The thesis attempts to outline how some categories such as innovation, sustainability and global interconnection, underlying in the smart city concept, are absorbed in the exercises of prediction of the future and visioning that many governments in Europe and in the world are beginning to experiment. The discourses and narratives on smart cities have to be compared into a globalized, competitive and extremely changeable reality; strategies that different cities try to improve to respond the need for transition require different resources and capabilities over time and space. In these terms smart city becomes an opportunity to build a new vision of the future capable to bring coherence through shared strategies of action, but if we want to be successful throughout this process, we need to recognize the importance of proceeding to a new definition of objectives to be achieved. The research aims to investigate the issue of smart cities by two different aspects: on the one hand trying to understand how smart city defines a new paradigm for urban development; on the other investigates practices related to that concept to highlight possible operational tools or any unexpected consequences

smart city: inquietudini e narrazioni

The article summarizes a process of reflections and research at the PhD course in Urban and Territorial Planning, PDTA Department at Sapienza University of Rome, on the theme of smart cities. Undertaken since 2011, the research activities have been articulated in two doctoral theses and a seminar entitled "Smart Cities: the near future or just another myth?" in 2012. These researches aim to investigate the issue of smart cities by two different aspects: on the one hand trying to understand how smart city defines a new paradigm for urban development; on the other investigate practices related to that concept to highlight possible operational tools or any unexpected consequences. The article is then developed in two parts. The first part introduces some elements for an interpretation of the phenomenon mainly related to the spread of the concept into Italian experiences. The study notes that, from the outset of the emerging concept, the prevailing declination has been accompanied by a strong promotion of new technologies, in particular in the energy and telecommunications. It was also associated with a significant interest for possible funding by tying the term smart city in a new market strategy. The obvious risks are those of trivializing the values related to the spread of the new concept of smart city and prevent questions about how to guide new policies towards a more integrated approach. As planners we may find the new concept potentially useful to regenerate cities and their public spaces according to ecologically and socially favorable attitudes, but undertaken practices seem to indicate another direction. To prove it we may look at the growing interest for performance as an ultimate government purpose: measuring levels of smartness through indicators and statistics can lead to approve only some solutions for issues related to different urban contexts as well as accentuate the gap between technologically advanced and other areas less attractive to economic investments. A recent publication by the Association of Italian Municipalities defines some guidelines towards an integrated design, but it's too early to know how it will be implemented. The second part of the article attempts to outline how some categories such as innovation, sustainability and global interconnection, underlying in the smart city concept, are absorbed in the exercises of prediction of the future and visioning that many governments in Europe and in the world are beginning to experiment. The discourses and narratives on smart cities have to be compared into a globalized, competitive and extremely changeable reality; strategies that different cities try to improve to respond the need for transition require different resources and capabilities over time and space. In this terms smart city becomes an opportunity to build a new vision of the future capable to bring coherence through shared strategies of action, but if we want to be successful throughout this process we need to recognize the importance of proceeding to a new definition of objectives to be achieved.The article summarizes a process of reflections and research at the PhD course in Urban and Territorial Planning, PDTA Department at Sapienza University of Rome, on the theme of smart cities. Undertaken since 2011, the research activities have been articulated in two doctoral theses and a seminar entitled "Smart Cities: the near future or just another myth?" in 2012. These researches aim to investigate the issue of smart cities by two different aspects: on the one hand trying to understand how smart city defines a new paradigm for urban development; on the other investigate practices related to that concept to highlight possible operational tools or any unexpected consequences. The article is then developed in two parts. The first part introduces some elements for an interpretation of the phenomenon mainly related to the spread of the concept into Italian experiences. The study notes that, from the outset of the emerging concept, the prevailing declination has been accompanied by a

Inclusive energy as model of sharing sustainability for planning

The article comes from the ongoing research of the authors on the eco-energy values of the local plan and is based on a reflection about the possible evolution of sustainability paths towards principles of diffuse social sharing affecting territories and settlements. In particular, in the context of these principles of sharing sustainability, the article intends to focus on the development of decentralization processes resulting from the energy liberalization, in relation to local planning practices. The theme is developed in four subsequent steps regarding: (i) a problematic context of sustainability policies and the energy liberalization process; (ii) an interpretive overview of current European and Italian experiences towards forms of energy localism and signals for sharing sustainability; (iii) the energy district as a territorial projection of energy inclusive community: the active and dialectic role of energy district in the planning process; (iv) conclusions and research proposals regarding the integration of decentralized energy in local planning

Partire dalla periferia per la riqualificazione energetico-ambientale della città: una sperimentazione metodologico-operativa

Rispondere alle necessità di una città contemporanea più intelligente, in quanto più ecologica e più inclusiva, significa confrontarsi con gli elementi che complessivamente la caratterizzano, con i problemi irrisolti e le potenzialità inespresse. Appare riduttivo puntare solo alla realizzazione di impianti “green” di nuova edificazione, interventi de-limitati rivolti all’efficienza di piccole isole cittadine, che di fatto ignorano l’organismo città nella sua interezza. L’obiettivo dovrebbe essere invece quello di rendere greener l’esistente e operare con approccio sistemico sull’intero insieme urbano. La tesi esposta si pone quindi in maniera critica verso la logica di intervento mediante i cosiddetti “eco-quartieri”, sottolineando come l’azione ex novo puntuale e circoscritta, sebbene agevoli l’applicazione delle nuove tecnologie in campo eco-energetico e relazionale, ponga in secondo piano il contesto urbano di riferimento e le relative potenzialità di trasformazione di contesti più ampi. Quello proposto è un metodo teorico-applicativo place-based, che individua gli elementi di criticità su cui intervenire in modo diffuso e le potenzialità da mettere a sistema in base alle analisi dell’insieme urbano. Lo studio propone una specifica chiave interpretativa per nuove direttrici di pianificazione, rilevando in che modo l’indagine degli aspetti ecologici/energetici possa entrare nei vigenti strumenti di piano e nelle pratiche di governo del territorio, a seguito della collimazione tra i due approcci progettuali top-down e bottom-up che si intende approfondire operativamente nel prossimo futuro