Sustainable land use and climate adaptation: a review of European local plans

Adaptation plans are the result of a political decision based on the awareness that climate change has altered environmental conditions and action is therefore needed in order to return to, maintain or achieve the desired outcome. A crucial role in defining adaptation actions is played by the use of resources, in particular of non-renewable resources such as soil. This paper, based on a sample of recent Italian and European adaptation plans, seeks to investigate the presence of actions aimed at guaranteeing a sustainable use of natural and non-natural soil, in order to minimize the consumption of nonanthropized soil andalso contribute to containing the effects of climate change. The paper is divided into three sections: the first one describes the methodology employed; the second one focuses on the most up-to-date plans regarding the effects of climate change in some urban systems; the third one proposes hints for further reflections and useful recommendations to local decision-makers in the development of tailor-made adaptation actions aimed at guaranteeing an efficient use of both natural and anthropized soil. The reading of the plans has exposed that soil consumption is not among the factors that need direct action to reduce the vulnerability of urban systems to current climate change, but rather it is a phenomenon that can be contained by increasing green areas and/or infrastructures and encouraging agricultural and environmental regeneration. The attention seems to be drawn to not yet sealed soil, thus leaving out the already anthropized one that, as such, would require, instead, greater adaptation efforts

Land use and urban sustainability assessment: a 3D-GIS application to a case study in Gozo

Abstract Balancing urban growth and natural resource availability has been recognized as the main challenge of the 21st century from the strategic documents adopted by the recent World Summits. Agenda 21 advocates sustainable land use, as soil is a crucial natural resource to reduce urban vulnerability due e.g. to climate change, energy saving, and natural disasters. In this perspective, this paper aims at supporting local decision makers in identifying the portions and the buildings of an urban area most susceptible to transformation, in order to promote a sustainable land use according to physical and functional characteristics. The proposed methodology combines the 3D modeling of urban settlements and the adoption of the performance-based approach by the urban transformation government, in order to guarantee the satisfaction of the supply–demand ratio through a compatible balance between urban growth dynamics and the overall urban efficiency. The test area was Gozo island, where a significant urban transformation will occur as a consequence of the new Malta-Gozo tunnel construction

Petites zones verdes per l'estalvi energètic: efectes sobre diferents assentaments urbans

Los aspectos de la sostenibilidad, hasta hoy, emergen como un tema central dentro de la gran cantidad de definiciones existentes de Smart City. En el debate actual, la conciencia de que las TIC es sólo una de las herramientas, pero no la clave para el nuevo diseño del sistema urbano, especialmente de acuerdo con las nuevas exigencias para satisfacer las necesidades del presente sin comprometer la capacidad de las generaciones futuras para satisfacer sus propias necesidades, colocadas en la parte superior de los desafíos globales cada vez más apremiantes (cambio climático, energía, uso del suelo, etc.). Uno de los objetivos de la sostenibilidad urbana parece estar en contradicción con uno de los puntos principales del modelo de Smart City: la necesidad de densificar la ciudad, a causa del rápido crecimiento de la población. Si las ciudades están diseñadas para ser más compactas, para optimizar el uso del suelo, ¿cómo podemos evitar el riesgo de abarrotar la ciudad? Una posible respuesta puede venir del estudio de la relación entre los espacios urbanos llenos y vacíos; los edificios, por un lado, y los espacios abiertos por el otro. El equilibrio entre estos espacios debe ser estudiado con el fin de orientar las políticas e intervenciones para la correcta localización, tamaño y diseño de los sistemas de espacios verdes, en relación con el consumo de energía, confort ambiental y los efectos positivos de reducción de CO2. Esta contribución presenta los primeros resultados de un estudio destinado a determinar las dimensiones espaciales, valores de umbral verdes, que influyen en el microclima urbano bajando las temperaturas, y sus distancias de refrigeración, en relación con diferentes valores de densidad de asentamiento de la trama urbana.Els aspectes de la sostenibilitat, fins avui, emergeixen com un tema central dins de la gran quantitat de definicions existents d'Smart City. En el debat actual, la conciència de que les TIC és una de les eines, però no la clau pel nou disseny urbà, especialment d'acord amb les noves exigències per satisfer les necessitats del present sense comprometre la capacitat de les generacions futures per satisfer les seves pròpies necessitats, col·locades a la part superior dels desafiaments globals cada vegada més opressius (canvi climàtic, energia, ús del sòl, etc.). Un dels objectius de la sostenibilitat urbana sembla estar en contradicció amb un dels punts principals del model d'Smart City: la necessitat de densificar la ciutat, a causa del ràpid creixement de la població. Si les ciutats estan dissenyades per ser més compactes, per optimitzar l'ús del sòl, com podem evitar el risc de col·lapsar la ciutat?Una possible resposta pot venir de l'estudi de la relació entre els espais urbans plens i buits; els edificis, per un costat, i els espais oberts per l'altre. L'equilibri entre aquests espais ha de ser estudiat amb la finalitat d'orientar les polítiques i intervencions per la correcta localització, mida i disseny dels sistemes d'espais verds, en relació al consum d'energia, confort ambiental i els efectes positius de la reducció de CO2. Aquesta contribució presenta els primers resultats d'un estudi destinat a determinar les dimensions espacials, valors d'umbral verds, que influeixen al microclima urbà baixant les temperatures, i les seves distàncies de refrigeració, en relació amb diferents valors de densitat d'assentament de la trama urbana.The aspects of sustainability, to date, emerge as a central theme within the plethora of definitions of the Smart City. In the current debate, the awareness that ICT is only one of the tools and not the key to the new design of the urban organism is growing, especially according to the new requirements to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, placed on top of the increasingly pressing global challenges (climate change, energy, land use, etc.). One goal of urban sustainability seems to be in contradiction with one of the main points of the Smart City model: the need to densify the city, caused by the rapid population growth. If cities are designed to be more compact to optimize land use, how do we prevent the risk of town cramming? A possible answer may come from the study of the relationship between full and empty urban spaces; the buildings on the one side, and the open spaces on the other. The equilibrium between these spaces needs to be studied in order to direct policies and interventions to correctly locate, size and design the green spaces systems, in relation to energy consumption, environmental comfort and CO2 reduction positive effects. This contribution presents the first results of a study aimed at determining the green space dimensions threshold values, which influence urban microclimate lowering temperatures, and their cooling distances, in relation to different settlement density values of the urban fabric.Peer Reviewe

Green is the colour. Standards, equipment and public spaces as paradigm for the Italian sustainable city

The speed of the urban systems is related with a series of social, economic, and environmental transformations bringing often to a critic state that needs the redefinition of urban elements and relationships, in order to guarantee quality and safety to the inhabitants’ lives. Related to the new spatial conditions of planning is the topic of urban equipment that is an open matter in the urban politics. Their relevance for Italian cities made them a symbol of democratization and quality of the cities, due to the obligatory of minimum quantities of spaces for public services. The 50 years from the issue of DM 1444 allows to express a series of evaluations on the role of the public equipment in the processes of urban transformation and governance. Starting from this analysis, the paper proposes adequate and updated solutions in terms of evolution of the standards categories and their quantitative and qualitative characteristics, deepening the role of the urban facilities as potential sources of innovation. The first part of the paper highlights some elements related to the long period of application of the law, and the results of this application in terms of increase and quality in the urban equipment of the city. The second part explores the motivations behind the need for a comprehensive updating of the subject, referring to concepts such as sustainability, and quality of urban systems. In the third part, starting from new requirements, new needs, new risks affecting urban systems, as well as from critical points of the Italian law structure, the paper proposes new categories of urban planning standards and the related functional requirements they must to satisfy

Smart Mobility and Elderly People. Can ICT Make City More Accessible for Everybody?

The ageing population is a phenomenon whose relevance grows over time and quickly spreads in different territorial contexts. Therefore, cities will have to take into account the ageing population and define policies and strategies to improve the quality of life. For this purpose is particularly remarkable the transport sector because it allows to use the urban services and to promote an active ageing. Within the field of urban studies aimed at facing the new challenges related to social developments, including that of the ageing population, the Smart City paradigm has been spread to make cities safe, accessible and sustainable. The strategies to improve accessibility and safety of the mobility system using ICTs can have positive impacts in terms of ensuring elderly people the ability to lead an autonomous life and participate actively in society according to one’s individual needs. In this framework, the aim of the paper is to analyse how Italian cities are declining the topic of Smart Mobility, with particular attention to the use of new technologies to improve the elderly trips. The paper attempt to show that in the sample of Italian cities analysed the ICTs applied to the transport sector do not fully realize their potential; this is not due to the limited fields of application, but rather to the lack of a “system-orientated” perspective when applying innovations. The adoption of a smart approach cannot be limited to a market-induced uncritical introduction of devices or sensors, instead, it will be necessary to refine the tools for understanding the needs of specific categories of users, such as the elderly, to define integrated strategies able to operate on many aspects simultaneously

Le ageing cities tra passato e futuro. Strategie, metodi e proposte per migliorare l’accessibilità degli anziani ai servizi urbani

[Italiano]: Il volume raccoglie le conclusioni di un lavoro di ricerca che costituisce il naturale quanto autonomo sviluppo dei risultati del progetto MOBILAGE – Mobility and ageing: daily life and welfare supportive networks at the neighborhood level, finanziato nel biennio 2018-2020 da Fondazione Cariplo (Gant N° 2017-0942) e concluso nel giugno 2020. La questione ageing cities negli ultimi tempi ha assunto la connotazione di vera e propria emergenza soprattutto in ragione dei trend di crescita della popolazione anziana nelle città industrializzate. Il tema, di estrema rilevanza sia nel dibattito scientifico che nella prassi operativa nazionale e internazionale, si configura come una delle sfide/opportunità per ripensare/ridisegnare le città migliorando la qualità di vita degli anziani. Il gruppo di ricerca impegnato in questo lavoro, sotto la guida di Carmela Gargiulo, è costituito da giovani ricercatori che afferiscono al laboratorio TeMALab del Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile, Edile e Ambientale (DICEA) dell’Università di Napoli Federico II ./[English]: The volume gathers the conclusions of a research work that constitutes the natural as well as autonomous development of the project MOBILAGE - Mobility and ageing: daily life and welfare supportive networks at the neighborhood level, funded by Fondazione Cariplo in the biennium 2018-2020 (Gant N° 2017-0942) and finished in June 2020. The ageing cities have recently taken on the connotation of an absolute emergency due to the upward trends in the elderly population in industrialized cities. The issue, extremely significant both in the scientific debate and in national and international operational practice, is one of the challenges/opportunities to rethink/redesign cities, with a view to improving the quality of life of the elderly. The research group consists of young researchers, under the guidance of Carmela Gargiulo, who belong to the TemaLab Laboratory of the Department of Civil, Building and Environmental Engineering (DICEA) of the University of Naples Federico II

Smartness and Urban Resilience. A Model of Energy Saving

Climate change, energy issues and urban population growth are among the main themes on which the scientific debate focuses today. Over the last decades, the literature has proposed different approaches to face these challenges. This paper focuses on two widely debated approaches: the smart and the resilient city paradigms, that continue to draw the attention of scholars and institutional bodies worldwide. The need to find strategies to reduce energy consumption and mitigate climate change impacts has been a prerequisite for the Smart Energy Master project for territorial governance of energy. One of the results is the Urban Saving Energy Model that "looks” at the several characteristics of a city in an integrated manner. This paper presents the results of a scientific and technical procedure that, starting from a thorough investigation of the physical and environmental characteristics of the city of Naples, has identified which variables have the greatest effect on energy consumption. The results have shown that the possibility of identifying an "ideal" sustainable urban form, able to maximize energy efficiency, still remains theoretical, opening up the possibility that there are different consumption patterns due to the different physical, environmental and building characteristics of urban areas

Sistema fisico della città e governance energetica: un modello interpretativo

La città è il luogo storico di concentrazione della domanda di energia. Le trasformazioni della città sono, infatti, avvenute anche in ragione dello sviluppo di nuove fonti di energia, che hanno influito su economia e stili di vita, nonché sull'organizzazione fisica e funzionale dei sistemi urbani. Se questa considerazione sembra ovvia, meno scontate risultano essere le implicazioni e conseguenze del fenomeno, specialmente se paragonate alla valenza assunta dalla questione energetica nel raggiungimento degli obiettivi europei ed internazionali di sostenibilità ambientale. La forte attenzione alla tematica energetica, sia in termini di studio che di azione, è rivolta quasi esclusivamente ad aspetti specifici, quali ad esempio l'approvvigionamento energetico, i singoli settori di consumo, o le tecnologie di conversione energetica, tralasciando i luoghi di consumo per eccellenza, ovvero le aree urbane. Queste ultime sono, infatti, il luogo chiave dove agire per il raggiungimento di obiettivi ambientali strategici, quali la riduzione delle emissioni climalteranti ed il risparmio energetico. Le strette e complesse relazioni tra aree urbane, energia e cambiamento climatico che "together are the main interconnected driving forces of human-induced global change" (Pasimeni et al. 2014), non lasciano dubbi sul fatto che se le città sono parte del problema, allora sono inevitabilmente anche parte della soluzione. La natura multidimensionale della questione energetica, combinata con la complessità che caratterizza i sistemi urbani, i molteplici livelli di azione ai quali intervenire ed il cambiamento del modello di sviluppo economico ed insediativo già da tempo auspicato, dovrebbe far riflettere sull'approccio da utilizzare, al fine di garantire la sostenibilità ambientale ed energetica dei sistemi urbani. Su tale consapevolezza si sviluppa il presente lavoro di ricerca finalizzato ad affrontare la questione dei consumi energetici alla scala di quartiere, con particolare attenzione alle caratteristiche urbanistiche ed ambientali. L'attività di ricerca mira, in pratica, a contribuire al dibattito scientifico e tecnico-operativo sui temi dell'integrazione tra governo delle trasformazioni territoriali e sostenibilità energetica, nell'ottica di favorire la riduzione dei consumi energetici in ambiente urbano. L'obiettivo principale è la messa a punto di un modello interpretativo basato sull'approccio sistemico in grado di mettere in luce le caratteristiche che influiscono maggiormente sui consumi energetici

A critical review of parameters within urban sustainability models: how much do soil and natural resources weight?

The urgency to adopt new growth models promoting the decrease of natural resource consumption, has recently drawn the attention of researchers and policy makers to soil. This complex resource must be preserved, as it fulfills several ecological and eco-systemic functions and supports human activities. Its duality of functions determines the extreme vulnerability to degradation processes, such as sealing, desertification, loss of biodiversity. This awareness led Europe to approve the Seventh Environmental Action Community Programme (2014), which encourages Member States to adopt a more integrated approach to the transformation of soil, as a result of impacts that the land take phenomenon can produce on other natural resources and climate change processes (Yuan and Bauer 2007, 377; Wu 2008, 47). According to these brief considerations, strategies and actions aim at ensuring a more sustainable use of soil, reducing land and energy consumption and climate change effects should be promoted. In this perspective, this work describes an initial segment of a wider research oriented to define which actions allow mainly to limit the soil sealing and, at the same time, to reach energy-environmental sustainability goals too, at the urban scale. In detail, the article aims at proposing a first set of parameters measuring the consumption of soil and other urban resources, describing the main characteristics of the physical subsystem and which allows evaluating the efficiency of saving-oriented actions in the next stage of the research. To achieve this aim, a comprehensive critical review of urban sustainability models, reports and composite indicators was done, in order to provide useful insights on the measurement strictness and reliability of the numerous urban sustainability assessment reports and models, almost related to the institutional world rather than to the academic one