GIS procedure to evaluate the relationship between the period of construction and the outcomes of compliance with building safety standards. The case of the earthquake in L’Aquila (2009)

The earthquake (Ml=5.8; Mw=6.3) that shook L’Aquila (Abruzzo region, Italy) on 6 April 2009 and caused huge widespread damage in the other 56 municipalities of the seismic crater has also provided important input to reflect proactively on the need to avoid the repetition of similar tragedies, learning from the calamities that have occurred. In fact, L’Aquila and the other municipalities hit by the earthquake represent an open-air analysis laboratory to reveal and directly see the weak points of the different buildings on the field which did not adequately resist the shocks. In order to provide important data for social utility, in this paper we illustrate the steps which constitute a GIS procedure that we have thought in order to evaluate the relationship between the period of construction and the outcomes of compliance with building safety standards. Through sequential activities which have enabled us to also produce three-dimensional scenarios – of immediate communicative impact and able to show details for interdisciplinary analysis and strategical planning – we have portrayed the urban evolution of L’Aquila per period of construction and mapped the level of damage to the buildings. The relational analysis and quantitative data have permitted us to show that in the case of L’Aquila the major percentages of “unusable buildings”, and also these together with “condemned buildings due to external risks” concern the structures erected until 1955 and then in the 1956- 1975 period, followed by the ones constructed in the periods of 1976-1988 and 1989-1994. Similar results, in conjunction with other specific information, can offer the possibility to define and apply the consolidation measures necessary to tackle future earthquakes in an appropriate way, without a passive sense of resignation and with a deeper awareness of seismic risk

Corpi, strumenti, narrazioni

The volume aims to provide an updated overview of School Geography as an inclusive knowledge. As teachers and citizens, we daily deal with the differences we meet. Working and living with a group of students implies, in fact, working and living in contact with the difference, defined by its dimensions: gender, physical ability, cultural heritage, social or economic backgrounds. Following this perspective, the “Officine didattiche” are thought of as a powerful opportunity in fostering the integration between methodological frameworks and educational practices. Inspired by the experience of the “Officine didattiche”, organized during the 59° Convegno Nazionale AIIG (held from September 29th to October 3rd, 2016 at the Facoltà di Lettere e Filosofia – Università La Sapienza), the book has been set as an operative tool for teachers. The authors of the contributions integrated theoretical reflections with the didactic relevance emerged from their training experiences. The main aim of this volume is to provide methodological and practical supports and to act as an operative source in planning and conducting training courses for teachers. The contributions are organized in three parts: "Corpi", "Strumenti" and "Narrazioni", re-proposing the guiding themes of the “Officine” set in Rome. Furthermore, these three “parts” work as thematic axes connecting the book to the contemporary debate on school and children Geographies

Analysis of the Pontine region land use changes between the XIX and the XXI centuries via GIS elaboration

Lo scopo di questo lavoro è lo studio delle trasformazioni di un territorio che, nel corso di duecento anni, è passato da avere una connotazione fortemente naturale ad essere intensamente frammentato a causa della intensa antropizzazione. Fino ai primi decenni del ’900, canali, boschi e pascoli connotavano il paesaggio della Pianura Pontina; in pochi decenni, le bonifiche integrali degli anni ’30 e la consecutiva nascita di agglomerati urbani hanno stravolto completamente il territorio. Oggi alla crescita esponenziale del tessuto edilizio si è affiancata un’agricoltura di tipo intensivo e lo sviluppo di un apparato industriale lungo le principali arterie viarie. Per la ricostruzione dell’uso del suolo di una parte della Pianura Pontina sono state utilizzate tre fonti eterogenee e diacroniche (cartografia storica ottocentesca, foto aeree di metà ’900 e dati attuali ricavati da immagini satellitari) che, opportunamente elaborate attraverso i GIS, sono servite per produrre cartografie digitali con differenti livelli di dettaglio. In quest’ottica, i GIS si dimostrano imprescindibili strumenti per l’indagine geostorica perché permettono di effettuare analisi multitemporali di tipo qualitativo e quantitativo analizzando i cambiamenti avvenuti in un determinato territorio.The aim of this work is the study of the landscape changes suffered by the Pontine Region. The region was originally characterized by strong natural features and became heavily fragmented over the last two hundred years because of the extensive human activity. Until the first decades of the 1900s, the Pontine Region was characterized by wetlands, woods and pastures. In a short time, the reclamation during the Fascism period led to the growth of new urban areas and a radical and fast change of a landscape. Today, this region is characterized by intensive cultivation areas and the growth of industrial sector along the main roads. Heterogeneous and diachronic sources used to land use and cover reconstruction of a part of Pontine Region (historical cartography of 19th century, aerial photographs of the half of 20th century and current data from satellite imagery) are been elaborated trough GIS to create digital cartographies with different levels of detail. For this reason, GIS are essential tools for geo-hisrorical studies because allow to conduct qualitative and quantitative analyses and show change detection of territory