Multi-Criteria Analysis in Compound Decision Processes. The AHP and the Architectural Competition for the Chamber of Deputies in Rome (Italy)

In 1967, a national architectural competition was released for a preliminary project proposal, aimed at the realization of the new building for the Chamber of Deputies in Rome. The outcomes of that competition were unusual: eighteen projects were declared joint winners, and no winner was consequently selected. With reference to that event, this research aims to examine the usefulness of the evaluation tools that are currently employed and the positive effects that one of these techniques would have had, as support for the identification of the “winner” project, are highlighted. Therefore, an hypothetical examination/adjustment of the decision process of that competition through the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is developed, analyzing the outputs obtained by the implementations of this technique on the final decision. In addition to confirming the usefulness of the evaluation tools for compound and conflicting decision processes, the results of this experiment led to a further understanding of the socio-cultural dynamics related to the original outcomes of the competition analyzed. View Full-Tex

An empirical analysis of winning bids in public procurement in the Italian construction sector

The survival of a construction company depends on its ability to minimize the total cost of production in the long run. The long run cost curves reflect the production technology and the organizational structure of a company. These elements are the result of choices made by the entrepreneur and they are certainly influenced by the economic environment where the company is working. This study analyses the discount of the winning bids in the contracts for public works in the construction industry recorded over a sufficiently large and homogeneous period with respect to general external conditions. Based on known microeconomic models and on some specific assumptions, the winning discounts have been used to draw the long run cost curves. In turn, these cost curves have allowed to detect and classify different business strategies in the organization of companies operating in different Italian regions. The work must be attributed equally to the three authors

A Systematic Review of the Existing Literature for the Evaluation of Sustainable Urban Projects

From the 21st century to the present(2021), a worldwide awareness that cities’ development must be based on projects for socio-economic growth and environmental protection is increasing. World governmental agencies and the European Union have suggested action strategies for the construction of «prototype cities» whose value must be founded on the inclusion and/or preservation of anthropic-natural elements and their effects on territories. In order to minimize the theoretical– practical gap between planning and project design with a view to sustainable development and the evaluation of their performance from economic, social and environmental points of view, the present contribution aims to outline a framework useful for systematizing the main scientific contributions concerning sustainability and the evaluation of urban transformation projects. The objective is pursued by analyzing bibliographic references with specific regard to the use of logical-operative methodologies used to rationalize the processes of interventions’ evaluation and selection. The task of examining the available literature is carried out with an investigation protocol of four sequential steps. From the implementation of the last one, the evidence expressing the heterogeneity of the examples in the literature is described. Accordingly, the theoretical-methodological framework for the project evaluation from an urban sustainability perspective is illustrated

The optimal combinations of the eligible functions in multiple property assets enhancement

The present research concerns the procedures of concessions for the improvement and exploitation of public property assets. We propose a model that helps to define the optimal combination of novel uses in public properties. This model is an answer to the need for effective strategies to find new functions for disused buildings or abandoned areas. The model integrates the logic of the Discounted Cash-Flow Analysis (DCFA) and the goal programming for determining the new functions, to identify the macro-solution that maximizes the financial conveniences of the parties involved (Public Administration and private investor), in terms of monetary compensation for the Public Administration and return on investment for the private operator. The algorithm of the model has been applied to five existing public properties located in the city of Rome (Italy); for each property a specific procedure of concessions for the improvement of public assets can be activated and different eligible enhancement projects can be realized. The outputs generated by the optimization model are a valid decision support in all the phases of the concession procedure to identify the (public and private) strengths and weaknesses concerning the redevelopment initiatives on public properties. The effective re-use of these properties can actually help to prevent further soil consumption

Cultural and religious heritage enhancement initiatives: A logic-operative method for the verification of the financial feasibility

The relevance to develop effective interventions for the enhancement and reuse of the disused religious heritage is increasing. In the present research, a logic-operative method for the verification of the finan- cial feasibility of a redevelopment project is proposed. The articulation of the developed methodological approach into six steps is explained. Moreover, the defined method is applied to a functional reconversion project related to a former church located in the city of Bologna (Italy) and to be carried out through the Public Private Partnership (PPP) operational tool. In particular, the new intended use to be introduce in the religious building is identified consistently with the current needs of the communities and by exam- ining the reference market demand and supply at different scales (urban, regional and national), in order to define adequate uses able to respect the historical identity and past memories of the asset, to enhance its monumental forms and to become a significant new landmark for the territory. The outputs obtained from the implementation of the proposed method attest the feasibility of the initiative from the private investor point of view. In this sense, the method can constitute a useful tool for Public Administrations to define transformation sustainable strategies on the deconsecrated heritage

Saving soil for sustainable land use

This paper experiments with some costs-benefit analyses, seeking a balance between soil-take and buildability due to land policy and management. The activities have been carried out inside the MITO lab (Lab for Multimedia Information for Territorial Objects) of the Polytechnic University of Bari. Reports have been produced about the Southern Italian Apulia Region, which is rich in farmland and coastline, often invaded by construction, with a severe loss of nature, a degradation of the soil, landscape, and ecosystem services. A methodological approach to the assessment of sustainability of urban expansion related, on one hand, to "plus values" deriving from the transformation of urban fringes and, on the other hand to the analysis of the transition of land-use, with the aim of "saving soil" against urban sprawl. The loss of natural and agricultural surfaces due to the expanding artificial lands is an unsustainable character of urban development, especially in the manner in which it was carried out in past decades. We try to assess how plus value can be considered "unearned", and to understand if the "land value recapture" can compensate for the negative environmental effects of urban expansion. We measured the transition from farmlands and natural habitat to urbanization with the support of the use of some Geographic Information Systems (GIS) tools, in favor of a new artificial land cover in the region of Apulia, Southern Italy. Data have been collected at the regional scale and at the local level, producing information about land use change and increases of property values due to improvements, referring to the 258 municipalities of the region. Looking at the results of our measurements, we started an interpretation of the driving forces that favor the plus values due to the transition of land-use. Compensation, easements, recapture of plus value, and improvement are, nowadays in Italy, discussed as major land-policy tools for managing environmental and landscape preservation. The interplay between urban economics and environmentally sound regulations reveals some controversial issues in urban governance and nature preservation: perhaps some abstract regulations, conjoined with non-case-oriented urban policies, consider these keywords as the old chemists considered the Philosopher's Stone. The analyses show criticality emerging themes in emblematic cases, studied in some municipal contexts

Redevelopment Initiatives on Brownfield Sites: An Evaluation Model for the Definition of Sustainable Investments

With reference to brownfield sites redevelopment interventions, an innovative model for the definition of effective and financially sustainable initiatives is proposed and tested. The model borrows the operative logic of the break-even analysis (BEA). It neglects the basic assumption of BEA related to revenue linearity, by considering the real trend of the revenues. In fact, in specific contexts characterized by a real estate over supply—e.g., in small urban centers, or where a new plan includes a relevant increase in new buildings and/or the functional reconversion of existing disused complexes—the BEA hypothesis on revenue linearity could be inconsistent, as prices will tend to become depressed. In the mentioned situations, discount mechanisms on the unit prices could occur. These phenomena determine a reduction in the unit selling price in correspondence of the amount of gross floor area (GFA) increase. Taking into account the current and cogent needs of effective strategies for brownfields renovation, the innovative evaluation model is developed for supporting public and private investors’ decision processes. It could represent a valid reference in the preliminary phases of decision-making processes for public and private subjects, able to ensure the break-even point of the initiative balance sheet is reached

The Assessment of the Public and Private Conveniences in the Urban Transformation Interventions: An Optimization Model for the Value Recapture Adoption

In the field of urban transformation interventions, the “privatization” of the potential indirect benefits is a crucial issue. In fact, if not adequately recaptured and managed they can favor the private developers or owners by reducing the share of acquirable public resources intended for the realization of new infrastructures and services. For this reason, the Extraordinary Urbanization Contribution (EUC) was introduced in Italy in 2014 with Art. 16, co.4 of DPR n. 380/2001 to allow an equitable redistribution - between the public and private subjects involved - of the surplus value generated by urban variant interventions. The lack of univocal guidance for determining this contribution has made its application difficult, therefore the work aims to provide a rational and methodological rigorous decision support model intended for the public administration for assessing the surplus value generated by complex urban variant intervention. Its methodological structure is based on goal programming optimization principles. In particular, the innovative contribution of the model is to provide the assessment of the surplus value of “complex” urban variant interventions, or those for which the inclusion of the “time” factor could affect the results and the conveniences of the parties involved. For these reasons, different discount rate values are assumed. The main findings regard the possibility of being used for supporting the public administrations in the correct application of the national regulations, also consistent with the value recapture and value sharing research streams, and for identifying the extra-profit margins and conveniences of the private subject involved