A multi-methodological combination of the Strategic Choice Approach and the Analytic Network Process: from facts to values and vice versa

The paper proposes a new multi-methodological framework combining a Problem Structuring Method and a Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis to address the problem of composing facts and values in the decision-making process of policy making. We position our work theoretically in relation to Latour’s concept of the "collective" as a potential description of the decision-making process, with its conflicts and negotiations, openings and closures. With Latour, we can say that there are no "separate chambers" in which facts (i.e., the use of public resources, different time horizons) and values (i.e., the values of different stakeholders, the legitimacy of public decisions) are discussed; rather, all these aspects are considered together in a cycle that encompasses them, progressively expanding and contracting to arrive at a tangible result: a decision. In the paper we illustrate the transposition of the concept of this cycle in our multi-methodology, the proposal of the combination of the Strategic Choice Approach (SCA) and the Analytic Network Process (ANP)—which is absent in the literature—and we then empirically test this theoretical contribution with a case study, the repurposing of a former hospital in Ital

Facing urban uncertainty with the Strategic Choice Approach: the introduction of disruptive events

The Strategic Choice Approach (SCA) is a method meant to deal with operational decision in a strategic way and to manage different sources of uncertainty in decision-making processes. The paper describes how SCA can deal with the future in the specific realm of urban planning in current cities, which represents a typical example of Wicked Problem, taking into account the three different levels of uncertainties that the method aims to manage (Uncertainties about the working Environment, UE; Uncertainties about Related decisions, UR; Uncertainties about guiding Values, UV). We argue that these three types of uncertainties are referred to the ‘ordinary’ problems of modern and contemporary cities. The project of an architectural/urban transformation has to do with this kind uncertainties and implications – in overcoming a series of approvals of different institutional order – and, with this purpose, takes the form of a contract. Instead, this categorisation doesn’t conceive some new and uncertain challenges of future cities, around climate change, infrastructural disruption, insecurity, pandemics, at local and global scales, that are currently under debate in the cities. In this study we suggest that this character of uniqueness can imply the exploration of a new category of uncertainty in the SCA scheme, the ‘uncertainty about disruptive events (UD)’, a type of catastrophic or just unknown in their effects. First of all, we define the PSMs (Problem Structuring Methods) as methods of structuring the «wicked problems». Secondly, we examine the SCA as «a strategic choice process through time», taking into account the three different levels of uncertainty that the method intends to manage.Lo Strategic Choice Approach è un metodo ideato per affrontare le decisioni operative in modo strategico e per gestire diverse fonti di incertezza nel processo decisionale. Il paper descrive come lo SCA può occuparsi del futuro nel campo specifico della pianificazione urbana nelle città odierne, tenendo conto dei tre diversi livelli di incertezza che il metodo mira a gestire (Uncertainties about the working Environment, UE; Uncertainties about Related decisions, UR; Uncertainties about guiding Values, UV). Sosteniamo che questi tre tipi di incertezze si riferiscano ai problemi ‘ordinari’ delle città moderne e contemporanee. Il progetto di una trasformazione architettonica/urbana ha a che fare con questo tipo di incertezze e implicazioni - nel dover superare una serie di approvazioni di diversi ordini istituzionali – e, a tale scopo, assume la forma di un contratto. Tuttavia, questa categorizzazione non concepisce alcune nuove e incerte sfide delle città del futuro, riguardo cambiamenti climatici, le infrastrutture, l'insicurezza, le pandemie, a livello locale e globale, attualmente in discussione nelle città. In questo studio suggeriamo che questo carattere di unicità possa implicare l'esplorazione di una nuova categoria di incertezza nello schema di SCA, ‘uncertainty about disruptive events (UD)’, un tipo di eventi catastrofici o semplicemente sconosciuti nei loro effetti. Innanzitutto, definiamo i PSMs (Problem Structuring Methods) quali metodi di strutturare i «wicked problems». In secondo luogo, esaminiamo l’SCA come «un processo di scelta strategica nel tempo», tenendo conto dei tre diversi livelli di incertezza che il metodo intende gestire

Aesthetic Perspectives in Group Decision and Negotiation Practice

This paper explores the role of the aesthetics in Group Decision and Negotiation (GDN) practice, specifically how it affects the methods and the cognitive processes in the architectural field. We intend aesthetics as “scientia cognitionis sensitivæ”, a particular process and way of knowing and experiencing the problem through senses, imagination and empathy. We argue that (a) aesthetics and aesthetic features can (and do) convey knowledge about the problem; (b) we can distinguish between two kinds of aesthetics, one of the process and one of the product and (c) the aes-thetics can contribute to create a “plural subject”. The issue is investigated through a decision problem about the transformation of an iconic building in the centre of Turin (Italy), in two ways: (1) by merging the Strategic Choice Approach (SCA) with architectural design and (2) by approaching the same issue with Storytelling, as a method for problem-based instruction. Considering the aesthetics as a specific form of language, the paper offers innovative considerations about the role of repre-sentation and visualisation tools and models—drawing, scheme, diagrams, but also video and text—as support for group decisions and negotiations, in the construction of knowledge within decisional processes

How to Activate the Value in Existing Stocks through Adaptive Reuse: An Incremental Architecture Strategy

This paper illustrates a methodology for the remediation of polluted ex-industrial sites that considers the adaptive remediation and reuse of previously productive buildings and is structured in an incremental strategy. The main features of an adaptive reuse intervention are generally considered: low investment; high heritage awareness; urban identity; strong community engagement; and green concern. These characteristics are only partially compatible with the transformation of brownfields, mainly because of their usual size of the area, as it would require a large initial investment to purchase and convert the entire asset. To tackle this issue, we are proposing an incremental strategy that starts from the design process and is based on three main principles: (i) keeping and reusing as much of the existing buildings and facilities as possible; (ii) drawing the masterplan layout according to the pollutants, their zone distribution and the remediation techniques; and (iii) increasing public interest towards the area, attracting investors and stimulating a mechanism to rise the market value of the real estate property. The incremental strategy is illustrated through a project to reactivate an abandoned industrial area in Venice, Italy

Pursuing the SDG11 Targets: The Role of the Sustainability Protocols

This paper is built on the following research questions: (i) What are the direct/indirect relationships between Sustainable Development Goal 11 (SDG11) and sustainability protocols? (ii) Could the sustainability protocols constitute a solution towards the achievement of SDG11? We underline that, on the one hand, the SDGs are guidelines to support the development of sustainable policies and thus address all elements that may affect them, and on the other hand, sustainability protocols are assessment tools to promote sustainability-conscious design while remaining focused on the built environment. In the Italian regulatory context, the paper highlights how this difference in terms of focus and scale means that they only overlap and mutually reinforce each other with regard to certain aspects, more related to energy and air pollution issues and less to the social aspects of sustainability. Even if there is not always a direct relationship between the evaluation criteria of the protocols and the indicators of SDG11, it is possible to conclude that the sustainability protocols can facilitate the achievement of the SDG11 targets, acting as a key for the implementation of sustainable cities and helping in structuring the process leading to sustainability in a broader framework

An integrated participative spatial decision support system for smart energy urban scenarios: A financial and economic approach

The decision-making about heating supply system options in an urban perspective is extremely challenging. Nowadays, this type of evaluation is not only a technical and economic issue, but also a political and environmental choice. Aware of this widening of the problem, recent approaches propose to combine financial evaluations (DCF, CBA, ROI, energy budget costs –VEDI SITO ENTRANZE VEDI CORGNATI VEDI INGARAMO)…with Multicriteria Decision Analyses (MCDA), able to consider quantitative and qualitative aspects. However, there is another specific feature of the problem that is rarely considered: the territorial dimension. In fact, it is possible to notice that few Spatial Decision Support System (SDSS) have been currently developed in this realm. The paper aims to present a new method finalised to support urban energy decisions in real-time processes, developed in the context of a European project (DIMMER). The method is composed by three parts: i) a new Web-based Spatial Decision Support System (SDSS), called “Dashboard”; ii) an Energy-Attribute Analysis (EEA) develop ad hoc to be integrated in the Dashboard; iii) a MCDA. Differently from other SDSS, one of the main strengths of the Dashboard is the ability of acquiring, storing and managing geo-referenced as well as non geo-referenced data performing real-time analyses of spatial problems taking into account a wide range of information. In this sense, the Dashboard can formally visualize and assess a potentially infinite number of attributes and information being able to read and process enormous web-databases. This character makes the Dashboard a very effective tool that can be used in real-time during focus groups or workshops to understand how the criterion trade-offs evolve when one or several decision parameters change. The paper describes the main procedure of the new method and the Dashboard’s test according to a district in Turin (Italy)

Learning sustainability by making games. The experience of a challenge as a novel approach for Education for Sustainable Development

[EN] Nowadays, the programs of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) are designed for changing attitudes on environmental, economic, and social dimensions. In this context, and considering the varied ages of the participating students, it is necessary to implement appropriate pedagogical methods that are generally different from the traditional ones. Among the available approaches, Sustainability serious games (SSGs) appear to be an ideal candidate to facilitate ESD providing students with opportunities to experience the complex issues of sustainability. Besides learning by playing SSG, another relevant opportunity, capable of engaging teachers and students into a relevant and meaningful learning context, is learning by making SSGs, capable of engaging teachers and students into a relevant and meaningful learning context. In light of these comments, this paper proposes a major contribution to the research on learning by making games through a detailed discussion of the results obtained during a University Challenge experience, where students were involved in the design and development of SSGs. The Challenge involved 59 higher education (HE) students who were asked to work in groups to create a (per-group) prototype of a SSG aimed at improving the sustainability of our campus. Results of the Challenge assessment show that this learning approach can indeed be considered a valuable alternative for ESD.Cravero, S.; Strada, F.; Lami, I.; Bottino, A. (2021). Learning sustainability by making games. The experience of a challenge as a novel approach for Education for Sustainable Development. En 7th International Conference on Higher Education Advances (HEAd'21). Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 651-659. https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAd21.2021.13192OCS65165

Architectural design and planning talk to each other: a dialogue via Strategic Choice Approach (SCA)

The paper proposes the use of the Strategic Choice Approach as a way of structuring the architectural design process, partly individually and partly supported by meetings and interviews with DMs, experts, and stakeholders. SCA is employed as a graphic and a designing tool to provide alternative transformation scenarios. We reflect on the possible use of SCA to determine prescriptive conditions on physical form at a scale that is still intermediate between the single building and the urban tissue. In this sense, planning and architectural design talk to each other via SCA. It still represents a way of approaching the challenge of planning in an uncertain world, but moreover it produces an architectural project or transformation. SCA can work in a physical sense, not only eliciting guidelines and strategies. This proposal shows an application to a real-world problem, currently under debate by the City of Turin (Italy), the re-use of abandoned barracks located in a prestigious residential area

Questioning Low-Carbon Transition Governance: A Comparative Analysis of European Case Studies

To achieve the international emission reduction targets, current researches underline theneed to overcome the dominant techno-centric approaches to energy transition, in favor of analysesthat explore in more detail those practices and organizational assets that play a role in favoring atransition towards a low-carbon society. In this light, the article focuses on governance practicesand, in particular, on the different tools and actors involved across variable scales and temporalities.Drawing on the activities of the ERASMUS+Strategic Partnership for Higher Education LOTUS(Locally Organized Transition of Urban Sustainable Spaces), a selection of European case studiesis explored and compared in light of (i) the implemented actions in terms of energy productionand efficiency measures, (ii) the legal framework and the origin of the funding and (iii) the numberand type of involved actors and their partnerships. On this basis, the analysis outlines, from botha theoretical and a practical stand, a number of critical issues that characterize these episodes ofenergy transition governance. In particular, the authors reflect upon the interaction between energymeasures and urban contexts, the need for synergies among government level and the emergence ofnew forms of partnership among public, private and third parties’ actors