Urbanizzazione in chiave neoliberale e progetti di sviluppo a grande scala

La riscoperta di alcuni valori sociali, economici e culturali introdotti dal neoliberalismo di fine secolo ha richiesto la riformulazione di nuovi concetti, obiettivi e metodologie sulle innovazioni della città post-moderna. Essa è chiamata ad assolvere la funzione di città “intelligente” (smart city) soprattutto in riferimento all’organizzazione territoriale, con l’obiettivo di mettere più direttamente in comunicazione la realtà locale con quella globale, soprattutto in tema di politiche strutturali. I progetti comunitari sul recepimento delle innovazioni con cui la globalizzazione elabora le proprie strategie nei confronti del locale individuano nella città medie il centro-motore primario dell’organizzazione territoriale, grazie ad almeno due fattori di straordinario impatto: l’attrattività e la competitività. Tuttavia, la riconosciuta perdita di competitività dell’economia locale, dunque dei sistemi locali dello sviluppo (SLoT), rende più problematico il rapporto locale/globale. Questo si verifica quando il soggetto chiamato in causa, in tal caso l’area vasta, si mostra incapace di valorizzare le proprie risorse mediante l’adattamento e l’integrazione delle priorità tematiche individuate dalle politiche comunitarie (5° e 6° Programma quadro): qualità della vita e gestione delle risorse biologiche; b) società dell’informazione conviviale; c) crescita competitiva e sostenibile; d) energia, ambiente e sviluppo sostenibile. L’obiettivo di questo contributo è quello di fornire spunti di riflessione affinché le risorse di area vasta siano utilizzate in sintonia con le priorità comunitarie. Tali risorse, di natura materiale, immateriale, naturale e umana, se correttamente integrate, possono conciliare le logiche del cambiamento imposte dall’apertura alla globalizzazione con quelle impegnate a difendere e tutelare l’identità storicoculturale del contesto locale, offrendo un contributo decisivo alla valorizzazione del territorio, quindi alla costruzione di un’economia locale proiettata verso il globale

Re-interpretation of an ancient passive cooling strategy: a new system of wooden lattice openings

Abstract Traditional passive cooling strategies are a very important tool in Mediterranean architecture to face climate changes and to limit energy consumption, both in new and ancient buildings, toward sustainability and reduction of fossil fuel consumption. Starting from the traditional architectural culture, the aim of the study is to understand how using and re-interpreting ancient constructive elements that interact with the outdoor environment, in order to assure the indoor thermal-hygrometric comfort. In this regard, the paper proposes the study of a new system of wooden lattice openings to be installed in Mediterranean buildings. It originates from the Islamic architecture and it is used especially to control natural light into the buildings. Actually, it has also the function to regulate the airflow into the indoor environment, mitigating the climate conditions and ensuring the comfort of inhabitants. For this reason, the research proposes the analysis of this system through modern computational tools and demonstrates that it can guarantee better indoor summer conditions, improving wind velocity and air change rate in the room

Measuring the financial sustainability of vine landraces for better conservation programmes of Mediterranean agro-biodiversity

The Apulia region, in southern Italy, has a long tradition of vine cultivation for winemaking. However, in the last decades, regional farmers substituted local landraces with more productive non-native varieties. Regional institutions introduced regulations aimed at preventing the extinction of the local and historic ecotypes in the form of financial subsidies to reduce planting and operating costs. In this paper, we compared the financial sustainability of a non-autochthone, a typical and a landrace variety for wine production, in intensive and semi-extensive cultivation systems, with and without financial supports. The analysis referred to northern Apulia, considering a 26-year economic duration of vineyards. The results showed that the non-autochthone variety was more profitable due to its higher yields, while investments regarding landrace-based plants were characterized by lower economic convenience, despite financial aid. These estimates shed light on the effectiveness and efficacy of the present regulations, as well as on the development of future strategies for a better restoration of vine landraces in Apulia. This new framework will help to increase farmers’ profits, improve environmental conditions for the community and ensure higher quality, security and safety for consumers

High-voltage overhead transmission lines and farmland value: Evidences from the real estate market in Apulia, southern Italy

The construction of high-voltage overhead transmission lines on farmland implies a permanent easement, involving expropriation of land and depreciation of the remaining farm area. The Italian system operator should pay compensation for both aspects, but recognizes only the former. Therefore, landowners often appeal to the law courts and claim compensation for the depreciation of the entire non-occupied area, often obliging the system operator to pay substantial amounts. This delays the provision of new power lines and increases their respective costs. In order to verify the correctness of the modus operandi by the system operator and landowners, a study was carried out into the impact of several characteristics of power lines on farmland value in northern Apulia, south Italy. The results highlighted that the area occupied by plinths and cabins, the height of towers and the type of intersection were the main sources of depreciation, which varies depending on the crop. Moreover, depreciation on the residual area exists, but only involves two narrow strips of land on either side of infrastructure. Finally, it is not constant, but tends to decrease rapidly as the distance from the infrastructure increases, and zeroes at 30–70 m from the power line

The choice experiment and the stochastic profit frontier: A methodological approach for groundwater preservation policies

Apulia is the fifth Italian region in terms of irrigated area and irrigation water used in agriculture. However, inefficiencies in the management of the regional irrigation consortia force most of farmers to use groundwater by private wells, with negative consequences on soil and crop characteristics, and with grave desertification risk. In the first instance, through a choice experiment survey, the study investigated the aptitude of the regional farmers toward the abandonment of their farm wells in exchange for an improved consortium irrigation network and additional services. Then, through a stochastic profit frontier, the impact of these choices was assessed on the economic performance of farms, providing useful information for suitable and fair groundwater preservation policies

Essays on firms financing and sovereign debt pricing

This thesis aims to provide new insights on the functioning of financial markets. In particular, I focus on European markets with the final objective of uncovering important evidences for the implementation of policies aimed to improve the resiliency of the financial system to economic crises. In the thesis, I tackle two important issues present in the financial literature. In chapters II and III I study the effects of the credit cycle on firm's choice of debt structure whereas in Chapter IV I investigate the relative pricing of sovereign credit risk by studying the relationship between sovereign CDS spreads and sovereign yields, for European countries, during and after the sovereign debt crisis. Chapter II is dedicated to the study of firm's choice of funding and its relationship with the evolution of the credit cycle. Using a sample of U.S. and European firms, I document the existence of a credit substitution channel between loans and bonds that reduces the adverse effect of a shrink in credit supply. Moreover, I also report estimates on the degree of substitution. In particular, I investigate on the ability of firms to fully substitute between the two forms of debt, and I find that firms in Eurozone countries can only partially substitute bank debt with market debt. In Chapter III I extend the findings of the previous chapter providing evidences on the the existence of an asymmetric effect when including in the analysis also lenders' characteristics. Main lenders' financial soundness, and the practice of relationship lending, contribute to reduce the necessity for firms of modifying their debt structure when the credit cycle is at a through. In Chapter IV I document that a distress puzzle at the sovereign level emerges during the crisis period for the Eurozone countries, and I offer empirical evidence on the theoretical relationship between CDS spreads and bond yields, before and after the ECB intervention. I estimate a contingent claim model for sovereign credit risk, and shed light on the relationship between risk and return for sovereign securities. Further, I test the profitability of arbitrage strategies that exploit deviations from the equilibrium condition. Finally, I observe that after the launch of the Outright Monetary Transaction (OMT) Programme, by the European Central Bank, the relative mispricing of the sovereign credit risk has strongly reduce

Towards low-carbon district heating : Investigating the socio-technical challenges of the urban energy transition

Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The AuthorsDistrict heating is a major energy infrastructure in many urban settlements in the world, contributing significantly to greenhouse gas emissions. Decarbonising district heating is an important step towards the realisation of a carbon-neutral society that entails considerable socio-technical change. Building on sustainability transitions literature that has dealt with socio-technical reconfiguration, this paper investigates the barriers to the implementation of a low-carbon district heating system that is based on biomass incineration minimisation and the total phasing out of fossil fuels. Empirically, the study relies on an extensive stakeholder analysis that involved 44 organisations representing technology providers, energy companies, industry organisations, policymakers, local authorities and researchers. The results show that while several stakeholder groups could converge on key issues such as the need to support certain technological niches and the danger of a biomass lock-in, divergences regarding barriers to be removed existed between policymakers, new entrant firms, and building owners. Cities were considered important actors for the implementation of the proposed low-carbon district heating concept. However, they should encourage building owners' participation in demand response schemes, decentralized renewable energy production, and the re-design of local electricity networks to support district heating electrification.Peer reviewe

Agritourism and territorial framework in the northern Salento (Apulia region, Italy)

The Territory Landscape Plan of the Apulia Region (PPTR)focuses on rural areas and agricultural sector, putting them in a holistic local and socio-economic context. This strategy isimplemented through the town-country pact, one of the five local projects proposed by the PPTR. The aim of the research is the study of the context and specificity of agritourism in Ostuni and Fasanocoastal areas (northern Salento), in which natural beauties, such as rural and coastal landscapes, coexist, characterized by ancient olive groves, historical rural houses and charming towns. In particular, the study analyses this rural context by means of the relationship between agritourism and territorial framework in order to check the sustainability of the development processes and their consistency with the programmatic guidelines of the PPTR. Qualitative approacheshas been used, such as semi-structured interviews and photographic material

MicroRNAs in melanoma development and resistance to target therapy

microRNAs constitute a complex class of pleiotropic post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression involved in the control of several physiologic and pathologic processes. Their mechanism of action is primarily based on the imperfect matching of a seed region located at the 5' end of a 21-23 nt sequence with a partially complementary sequence located in the 3' untranslated region of target mRNAs. This leads to inhibition of mRNA translation and eventually to its degradation. Individual miRNAs are capable of binding to several mRNAs and several miRNAs are capable of influencing the function of the same mRNAs. In recent years networks of miRNAs are emerging as capable of controlling key signaling pathways responsible for the growth and propagation of cancer cells. Furthermore several examples have been provided which highlight the involvement of miRNAs in the development of resistance to targeted drug therapies. In this review we provide an updated overview of the role of miRNAs in the development of melanoma and the identification of the main downstream pathways controlled by these miRNAs. Furthermore we discuss a group of miRNAs capable to influence through their respective up- or down-modulation the development of resistance to BRAF and MEK inhibitors

Improving the indoor climate of the traditional Ottoman houses in the Medina of Algiers

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