Youth A Multicriteria Approach for the Evaluation of the Sustainability of Re-use of Historic Buildings in Venice

The paper presents a multiple criteria model for the evaluation of the sustainability of projects for the economic re-use of historical buildings in Venice. The model utilises the relevant parameters for the appraisal of sustainability, aggregated into three macroindicators: intrinsic sustainability, context sustainability and economic-financial feasibility. The model has been calibrated by a panel of experts and tested on two reuse hypothesis of the Old Arsenal in Venice.multiple criteria valuation, economic reuse, historical building conservation

A Multicriteria Approach for the Evaluation of the Sustainability of Re-use of Historic Buildings in Venice

The paper presents a multiple criteria model for the evaluation of the sustainability of projects for the economic re-use of historical buildings in Venice. The model utilises the relevant parameters for the appraisal of sustainability, aggregated into three macro-indicators: intrinsic sustainability, context sustainability and economic-financial feasibility. The model has been calibrated by a panel of experts and tested on two reuse hypotheses of the Old Arsenal in Venice. The tests have proven the model to be a useful support in the early stages of evaluation of re-use projects, where economic improvements are to be combined with conservation, as it supports the identification of critical points and the selection of projects, thus providing not only a check-list of variables to be considered, but an appraisal of trade-offs between economic uses and requirements of conservation.Economic Reuse, Historical Building Conservation

Economic Valuation of On Site Material Damages of High Water on Economic Activities based in the City of Venice: Results from a Dose-Response-Expert-Based Valuation Approach

The paper focuses on the economic assessment of damages caused by high water in the city of Venice. In particular, we focus our attention on a valuation exercise that addresses the estimation of monetary, short period, on-site damages due to high water events on the different business activities located in Venice. On-site damages include both mitigation costs, which refer to all types of financial expenditure undergone to avert physical and material damages caused by flooding, and remediation costs, i.e. costs to be sustained for maintenance and substitution of affected building elements. Hence, the present study can be considered as a pioneering attempt to analytically quantify, from an economic point of view, on-site damages from high water. An integrated dose-response modelling and an expert-based valuation approach have been selected as the most suitable economic valuation methodology to shed light on the on-site damages. The main focus of the work is to assess dose-response relationships, which are able to describe the physical effects of high water on the different on-site damage categories, including inner and front doors maintenance, cleaning of pavements and maintenance of the walls. Bearing in mind such an economic valuation framework, we proceed with the estimation of on-site damages not only for the present high water situation (business as usual) but also extend the valuation exercise to three additional high water scenarios: (1) a climate change scenario; (2) a high water protection scenario; and, (3) a combined climate change and protection scenario. Estimation results show that the welfare loss due to on-site, short-term damages supported by the business activities ranges from 3.41 to 4.73 million Euro per year, respectively for the business as usual and climate change scenarios. Finally, we can conclude that the introduction of a public policy protection mechanism that defends the city of Venice from any flooding above 110 cm above the Punta della Salute Tidal Datum, such as the MOSE, will reduce the on-site damages supported by the business activities up to 2.87 million Euro per year.High water damages, Venice, Economic valuation

Evaluation of Urban Improvement on the Islands of the Venice Lagoon: A Spatially-Distributed Hedonic-Hierarchical Approach

This paper presents a model for the evaluation of environmental and urban improvements on the islands of the Venetian lagoon. The model simulates the changes in residential real estate values using a value function integrated in a geographical database which provides spatial distributions of values changes. The fairly weak market signals, fragmented demand and strong externalities, and the scarcity of market data available do not permit the use of econometric models for value appraisal. Appropriate hedonic-hierarchical value functions are calibrated on the basis of a set of indicators of the characteristics of the buildings and the location. Some applications of the model are illustrated simulating two scenarios of future interventions which are actually being discussed or realised and involving the island of Murano, Burano and S. Erasmo in the Venice Lagoon. The interventions considered are: subway beyond the lagoon connecting Murano with Venice and the mainland, and the solution of “high water” problems on Murano, Burano and S. Erasmo.Public work assessment, Property value, Hierarchical analysis

Redeveloping Derelict and Underused Historic City Areas: Evidence from a Survey of Real Estate Developers

Infill redevelopment—the transformation of previously used urban sites—is generally regarded as an important way to attain environmental and urban sustainability goals. At many locales, however, such urban renewal, community development, and tax revenue goals must be reconciled with historic preservation objectives. Are economic incentives and regulatory relief useful tools for encouraging reuse of abandoned or underutilized urban sites with historic buildings? Answering this question is of key importance for many European cities and for older US cities, and has important implications in terms of urban sustainability and “smart growth” initiatives. We use conjoint choice experiments to explore the relative importance of economic incentives, regulatory relief, land use and property regime offerings at underutilized historical sites in Venice, Italy. We survey real estate developers and investors, and ask them to choose between pairs of hypothetical projects in three Venice locations, as well as between one of these projects and the alternative to do a development project elsewhere. Statistical models of the responses to these choice questions indicate that respondents are sensitive to the price of acquiring the land (and hence to any policies that influence prices), and especially sensitive to the property regime that would be granted to developers and investors and to the allowable land use. Contrary to expectations, our respondents were insensitive to tightening or relaxing the stringency of building conservation restrictions. Our findings sound a common theme with Howland (2004), who warns that redevelopment of previously used sites in Baltimore is impaired by obsolete land uses, zoning and infrastructure (but not by suspected or actual contamination). We conclude that the City should focus on offering land uses and property regimes that are more in tune with developer demand.Conjoint Choice Experiments, Real Estate Developers, Building Conservation Restrictions, Redevelopment Incentives, Brownfields, Infill Redevelopment

Redeveloping Derelict and Underused Historical City Areas: Evidence from a Survey of Real Estate Developers

Infill redevelopment—the transformation of previously used urban sites—is generally regarded as an important way to attain environmental and urban sustainability goals. At many locales, however, such urban renewal, community development, and tax revenue goals must be reconciled with historic preservation objectives. Are economic incentives and regulatory relief useful tools for encouraging reuse of abandoned or underutilized urban sites with historic buildings? Answering this question is of key importance for many European cities and for older US cities, and has important implications in terms of urban sustainability and “smart growth” initiatives. We use conjoint choice experiments to explore the relative importance of economic incentives, regulatory relief, land use and property regime offerings at underutilized historical sites in Venice, Italy. We survey real estate developers and investors, and ask them to choose between pairs of hypothetical projects in three Venice locations, as well as between one of these projects and the alternative to do a development project elsewhere. Statistical models of the responses to these choice questions indicate that respondents are sensitive to the price of acquiring the land (and hence to any policies that influence prices), and especially sensitive to the property regime that would be granted to developers and investors and to the allowable land use. Contrary to expectations, our respondents were insensitive to tightening or relaxing the stringency of building conservation restrictions. Our findings sound a common theme with Howland (2004), who warns that redevelopment of previously used sites in Baltimore is impaired by obsolete land uses, zoning and infrastructure (but not by suspected or actual contamination). We conclude that the City should focus on offering land uses and property regimes that are more in tune with developer demand.conjoint choice experiments, real estate developers, building conservation restrictions, redevelopment incentives, brownfields, infill redevelopment

Tests with three-dimensional adjustments in the rectangular working section of the French T2 wind tunnel with an AS 07-type swept-back wing model

The results obtained on the AS 07 wing and the working section walls for three types of configurations are reported. The first, called non-adapted, corresponds to the divergent upper and lower rectilinear walls which compensate for limit layer thickening. It can serve as a basis for complete flow calculations. The second configuration corresponds to wall shapes determined from calculations which tend to minimize interference at the level of the fuselage. Finally, the third configuration, called two-dimensional adaptation, uses the standard method for T2 profile tests. This case was tested to determine the influence of wall shape and error magnitude. These results are not sufficient to validate the three-dimensional adaptation; they must be coordinated with calculations or with unlimited atmosphere tests

Do We Care about Built Cultural Heritage? The Empirical Evidence Based on the Veneto House Market

Italian historical buildings require urgent and costly maintenance and restoration works, but neither the local, nor the national public administrators can afford these expenditures. Nevertheless the built cultural heritage represent a unique resource of the territory, as it embodies the local social, historical, and cultural values, generates positive externalities (Musgrave, 1959), and stimulates economic activities mainly related to tourism. Is it possible to quantify how much we care about historical buildings and to measure this value in monetary terms? The aim of this paper is to answer to this question via the hedonimetric approach. Specifically, we try to verify if the proximity to historical villas, districts, palaces, squares, fortresses, religious buildings and archeological site systematically influence the house market equilibrium price in the Veneto region (Italy). The paper is organized as follows: in section two a brief review of the literature is reported, in section three the database used for the hedonimetric estimates is described, in section four the econometric models and the results we had obtained are illustrated, and in section five some final comments are drawn.Cultural Heritage Externalities, Hedonic Housing Price Method