Itinerari turistici per la mobilità sostenibile: un’applicazione nell’area salentina

Nell’ambito del progetto strategico di cooperazione transfrontaliera Interreg V-A Grecia-Italia 2014/2020 denominato “AI SMART_Adriatic Ionian Small Port Network”, sono stati definiti due itinerari volti alla interazione del porto di Otranto con i territori dell’entroterra e con la opposta costa ionica, al fine di incentivare la fruizione turistica transnazionale sostenibile ed inclusiva del territorio pugliese. La genesi dei due itinerari tematici nasce dalla necessità/volontà di valorizzare alcune aree del Salento, attraverso il collegamento di nodi significativi per valenza paesaggistica, architettonica e storica, che definiscono due percorsi che vedono quali vertici Pulsano e Otranto. Il progetto mette a sistema le potenzialità del Salento come area dalla forte valenza turistica, con il tema della mobilità sostenibile

Passenger Dimensions in Sustainable Multimodal Mobility Services

Seamless integration of air segment in the overall multimodal mobility chain is a key challenge to provide more efficient and sustainable transport services. Technology advances offer a unique opportunity to build a new generation of transport services able to match the evolving expectations and needs of society as a whole. In this context, the passenger-centric approach represents a method to inform the design of future mobility services, supporting quality of life, security and services to citizens traveling across Europe. Relying on the concepts of inclusive design, context of use and task analysis, in this article, we present a comprehensive methodological framework for the analysis of passenger characteristics to elicit features and requirements for future multimodal mobility services, including air leg, that are relevant from the perspective of passengers. The proposed methodology was applied to a series of specific use cases envisaged for three time horizons, 2025, 2035 and 2050, in the context of a European research project. Then, passenger-focused key performance indicators and related metrics were derived to be included in a validation step, with the aim of assessing the extent of benefit for passengers that can be achieved in the forecasted scenarios. The results of the study demonstrate the relevance of human variability in the design of public services, as well as the feasibility of personalized performance assessment of mobility services

Degradative actions of microbial xylanolytic activities on hemicelluloses from rhizome of Arundo donax

Polysaccharidases from extremophiles are remarkable for specific action, resistance to different reaction conditions and other biotechnologically interesting features. In this article the action of crude extracts of thermophilic microorganisms (Thermotoga neapolitana, Geobacillus thermantarcticus and Thermoanaerobacterium thermostercoris) is studied using as substrate hemicellulose from one of the most interesting biomass crops, the giant reed (Arundo donax L.). This biomass can be cultivated without competition and a huge amount of rhizomes remains in the soil at the end of cropping cycle (10–15 years) representing a further source of useful molecules. Optimization of the procedure for preparation of the hemicellulose fraction from rhizomes of Arundo donax, is studied. Polysaccharidases from crude extracts of thermophilic microorganisms revealed to be suitable for total degradative action and/or production of small useful oligosaccharides from hemicelluloses from A. donax. Xylobiose and interesting tetra- and pentasaccharide are obtained by enzymatic action in different conditions. Convenient amount of raw material was processed per mg of crude enzymes. Raw hemicelluloses and pretreated material show antioxidant activity unlike isolated tetra- and pentasaccharide. The body of results suggest that rhizomes represent a useful raw material for the production of valuable industrial products, thus allowing to increase the economic efficiency of A. donax cultivation

The role of Italian Regional Strategies for Sustainable Development as agents of change towards more liveable cities for all

Le Strategie regionali per lo sviluppo sostenibile nascono come ovvia declinazione territoriale della Strategia nazionale per lo sviluppo sostenibile, basata sul riferimento nazionale dell'Agenda 2030 dell'ONU. L'approccio delle Strategie, sia a livello nazionale che regionale, è innanzitutto quello di attuare un processo collaborativo e integrato, prima ancora di elaborare un documento guida. Ma quanto sono riuscite le Strategie regionali a sviluppare un processo inclusivo, coinvolgendo anche la società civile e il punto di vista dei giovani nella loro stesura? A partire dal loro posizionamento, le Strategie sono riuscite a innescare un processo virtuoso che tenga conto dei documenti programmatici regionali e gli obiettivi strategici regionali tengono effettivamente conto di queste Strategie nell'individuare piani e programmi strategici con i relativi stanziamenti di bilancio regionali? Nel caso delle Smart City, quindi, i livelli di governance locale dovrebbero individuare obiettivi programmatici in grado di conciliare gli obiettivi di prosperità e benessere, secondo meccanismi decisionali reali e concreti. L'obiettivo del documento è quello di riportare l'attuale implementazione delle Strategie Regionali di Sviluppo Sostenibile e di analizzare il loro processo di attuazione, in linea con la Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development (PCSD) e il progetto "Policy coherence for sustainable development: Mainstreaming the SDGs in Italian decision making", finanziato dalla Commissione europea nell'ambito del Programma di sostegno alle riforme strutturali 2017-2020 guidato dall'OCSE. The Regional Strategies for Sustainable Development are born as an obvious territorial declination of the National Strategy for Sustainable Development, based on the national reference of the UN 2030 Agenda. The approach of the Strategies, both at national and regional level, is first of all to implement a collaborative and integrated process, even before elaborating a guiding document. But how successful have the Regional Strategies been in developing an inclusive process by also involving civil society and the views of young people in their drafting? Starting from their positioning, have the Strategies succeeded in triggering a virtuous process that takes into account the regional policy documents and do the regional strategic objectives actually take these Strategies into account when identifying strategic plans and programmes with the relative regional budget allocations? In the case of Smart Cities, therefore, local governance levels should identify programmatic objectives capable of reconciling the goals of prosperity and well-being, in accordance with real and concrete decision-making mechanisms. The objective of the paper is to report on the current implementation of Regional Sustainable Development Strategies and to analyse their implementation process, in alignment with the Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development (PCSD) and the project "Policy coherence for sustainable development: Mainstreaming the SDGs in Italian decision making", Funded by the European Commission under the OECD-led Structural Reform Support Programme 2017-2020

Short Sea Shipping: Evidence from Campania, Southern Italy

Background: The urban transport systems of coastal cities are conditioned by the limitations placed by their coastal position on the expansion of radial networks. However, while the water around them compresses terrestrial routes, it simultaneously creates space for alternative transport systems to support urban and metropolitan mobility. Objective: This study aims to evaluate the feasibility of establishing new navigation lines to support certain coastal locations in the gulfs of Naples and Salerno in Campania (Italy) which, due to their nature, are particularly suitable for the movement of the huge tourist flows that affect the area under analysis. Methods: This study expands upon specific previous and ongoing experiences, clarifying their strengths and weaknesses, identifying the basic characteristics of hypothesized fast maritime lines, and drawing conclusions about their technical and economic feasibility. Results: Based on the level of detail available to the present study, the hypothesized service does not seem to offer complete economic-financial sustainability. The primary shortcoming lies in the resources needed to adapt technical structures and to support businesses during the initial phase of the project. Conclusions: The feasibility of new transport services depends on the extent to which existing traffic can be subtracted the modes of transport already in operation. In the absence of public subsidies, the speed, frequency, regularity and safety of such transport are crucial

The role of logistics in promoting Italian agribusiness: The Belt and Road Initiative case study

The increasing policy interest in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has stimulated an interesting debate in the research community. Although there are numerous studies focusing on this issue, in literature little attention has been devoted to the impact of the initiative on the performances of Italian firms involved in agribusiness. In order to bridge this gap, this paper focuses on wine as a high-quality commodity exported all over the world and considered an epitome of Made in Italy. Furthermore, ports of Venice and Trieste was selected for the analyses as being part of BRI agreements. This study highlights that the BRI project may modify land use planning as a consequence of the policymakers’ choosing a specific port to serve as the Italian connection to the BRI. The heterogeneity that might influence regional data needs the usage of specific approaches (the order-α and order-m) to evaluate the firms’ efficiency as a consequence of two different links to the ports of Trieste and Venice. The authors attempt to perform this investigation considering the predicted effects of the BRI, and several different databases are used to examine these potential effects. The evaluation of accessibility in terms of distance and transport time could provide helpful details to policymakers when looking at different BRI alternatives. To achieve the analysis, the authors also consider dimensions connected to specific financial statements and labour, environmental and business innovation indicators. The results reveal that, when the scenario involves a specific port, some differences appear in the ranking of firms. The findings also show that the spatial effect connected to the choice of a specific port decreases for small firms. Since the Italian agribusiness sector – specifically the wine sector – is characterized by a prevalence of small and/or family firms, it is recommended that policymakers deal with the conclusions of present research to compare different BRI options from a land use point of view