INPUT aCAdemy 2019 Proceedings Ultra Compressed PDF

Dicea
UniNa
Federico II Open Access University Press

Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II
Scuola Politecnica e delle Scienze di Base
Smart City, Urban Planning for a Sustainable Future
5
Carmela Gargiulo Corrado Zoppi
Editors
Planning, Nature and Ecosystem Services
INPUT aCAdemy 2019

Conference proceedings
La cooperazione al cuore del Mediterraneo

Planning, nature and ecosystem services / editors Carmela Gargiulo,
Corrado Zoppi - Napoli: FedOAPress. 2019 - (Smart City, Urban Planning
for a Sustainable Future. 5).
Web link:
http://www.tema.unina.it/index.php/tema/Monographs
ISBN: 978-88-6887-054-6
DOI: 10.6093/978-88-6887-054-6
Editor
Rocco Papa, University of Naples Federico II, Italy
Editorial Advisory Board

Mir Ali, University of Illinois, USA - Luca Bertolini, Universiteit van Amsterdam, Paesi Bassi - Luuk
Boelens, Ghent University, Belgium - Dino Borri, Polit ecnico di Bari, Italia - Enrique Calderon,
Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spagna - Roberto Camagni, Politecnico di Milano, Italia - Derrick
De Kerckhove, University of Toronto, Canada - Mark Deakin, Edinburgh Napier University, Scotland
- Aharon Kellerman, University of Haifa, Israel - Nicos Komninos, Aristotle University of
Thessaloniki, Grecia - David Matthew Levinson, University of Sydney, Australia - Paolo Malanima,
Magna Græcia University of Catanzaro, Italy - Agostino Nuzzolo, Università degli Studi di Roma Tor
Vergata, Italia - Rocco Papa, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Italia - Serge Salat, Urban
Morphology and Complex Systems Institute, France - Mattheos Santamouris, National Kapodistrian
University of Athens, Greece - Ali Soltani, Shiraz University, Iran
Selection and double blind review under responsibility of INPUT aCAdemy 2019
Conference Committee
© 2019 FedOAPress - Federico II Open Access University Press

Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II
Centro di Ateneo per le Biblioteche “Roberto Pettorino”
Piazza Bellini 59-60 - 80138 Napoli, Italy
http://www.fedoapress.unina.it
Published in Italy
Gli E-Book di FedOAPress sono pubblicati con licenza
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
Cover and graphic project: TeMALab

This book collects the papers presented at INPUT aCAdemy 2019, a special edition of the INPUT
Conference hosted by the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Architecture (DICAAR)
of the University of Cagliari.
INPUT aCAdemy Conference will focus on contemporary planning issues with particular attention to
ecosystem services, green and blue infrastructure and governance and management of Natura 2000 sites
and coastal marine areas.
INPUT aCAdemy 2019 is organized within the GIREPAM Project (Integrated Management of Ecological
Networks through Parks and Marine Areas), co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund
(ERDF) in relation to the 2014-2020 Interreg Italy – France (Maritime) Programme.
INPUT aCAdemy 2019 is supported by Società Italiana degli Urbanisti (SIU, the Italian Society of Spatial
Planners), Istituto Nazionale di Urbanistica (INU, the Italian National Institute of Urban Planning), UrbIng
Ricerca Scientifica (the Association of Spatial Planning Scholars of the Italian Schools of Engineering) and
Ordine degli Ingegneri di Cagliari (OIC, Professional Association of Engineers of Cagliari).

S CIENTIFI C C OMMITEE L OCAL C OMMITEE

Dino Borri - Politecnico di Bari Ginevra Balletto - Università di Cagliari
Marta Bottero - Politecnico di Torino Ivan Blecic - Università di Cagliari
Domenico Camarda - Politecnico di Bari Michele Campagna - Università di Cagliari
Arnaldo Cecchini - Università degli Studi di Sassari Ignazio Cannas - Università di Cagliari
Donatella Cialdea - Università del Molise Anna Maria Colavitti - Università di Cagliari
Giovanni Colombo - ISMB Istituto Superiore Mario Boella Sebastiano Curreli - Università di Cagliari
Valerio Cutini - Università di Pisa Maddalena Floris - Università di Cagliari
Andrea De Montis - Università degli Studi di Sassari Chiara Garau - Università di Cagliari
Romano Fistola - Università degli Studi del Sannio Federico Isola Università di Cagliari
Carmela Gargiulo - Università di Napoli “Federico II” Sabrina Lai – Regione Autonoma della Sardegna
Davide Geneletti - University of Trento Francesca Leccis - Università di Cagliari
Roberto Gerundo - Università degli Studi di Salerno Federica Leone - Università di Cagliari
Paolo La Greca - University of Catania Anania Mereu - Università di Cagliari
Daniele La Rosa - University of Catania Marianna Agostina Mossa – Regione Sardegna
Giuseppe Las Casas - University of Basilicata Salvatore Pinna - Università di Cagliari
Antonio Leone - Tuscia University Cheti Pira - Università di Cagliari
Sara Levi Sacerdotti - SITI Daniela Ruggeri - Università di Cagliari
Giampiero Lombardini - Università degli Studi di Genova Laura Santona – Regione Sardegna
Stefania Mauro - SITI Corrado Zoppi - Università di Cagliari
Giulio Mondini - Politecnico di Torino
Beniamino Murgante - University of Basilicata
Silvie Occelli - IRES Piemonte

Rocco Papa - Università di Napoli “Federico II”
Raffaele Pelorosso - Tuscia University
Alessandro Plaisant - Università degli Studi di Sassari
Bernardino Romano - Università degli Studi dell'Aquila
Francesco Scorza - University of Basilicata
Maurizio Tira - University of Brescia
Angioletta Voghera - Politecnico di Torino
This book is the most recent scientific contribution of the “Smart City, Urban Planning for a Sustainable
Future” Book Series, dedicated to the collection of research e-books, published by FedOAPress -
Federico II Open Access University Press. The volume contains the scientific contributions presented at
the INPUT aCAdemy 2019 Conference. In detail, this publication, including 92 papers grouped in 11
sessions, for a total of 1056 pages, has been edited by some members of the Editorial Staff of “TeMA
Journal”, here listed in alphabetical order:
– Rosaria Battarra;
– Gerardo Carpentieri;
– Federica Gaglione;
– Carmen Guida;
– Rosa Morosini;
– Floriana Zucaro.
The most heartfelt thanks go to these young and more experienced colleagues for the hard work done
in these months. A final word of thanks goes to Professor Roberto Delle Donne, Director of the CAB -
Center for Libraries "Roberto Pettorino" of the University of Naples Federico II, for his active availability
and the constant support also shown in this last publication.
Rocco Papa
Editor of the Smart City, Urban Planning for a Sustainable Future” Book Series
Published by FedOAPress - Federico II Open Access University Press
Table of contents
Introduction 15
Corrado Zoppi
Sessione 1 - Ecosystem services and spatial planning
The Danube Riverside Development in the Iron Gates Gorge, Serbia, between 17
Socio-economic needs and Protected Ecosystem
Branislav Antonić, Aleksandra Djukić, Milica Cvetanović
From a species-centred to an ecosystem-based management approach, a case 29

study of the saltmarshes of Hyères (Provence, France)
Patrick Astruch, Charles-François, Boudouresque, Thomas Changeux et al.
Spatial evolutions between identity values and settlements changes. Territorial 39
analyses oriented to the landscape regeneration
Donatella Cialdea
Analyzing senior tourism. The role of ecosystem services to improve sustainable 52
tourism destinations
Romano Fistola, Rosa Anna La Rocca
Carbon sequestration and land-taking processes. A study concerninig Sardinia 66
Maddalena Floris, Corrado Zoppi
The impact of urbanization processes in landscape fragmentation. A comparison 80
between coastal zones of Sardinia and Liguria
Giampiero Lombardini, Andrea De Montis, Vittorio Serra
Areas of considerable public interest, territorial common goods and ecosystem 86
services: an application case for the city of Cagliari
Marzia Morittu, Alessandro Plaisant
A bottom up initiatives for biodiversity: ecologic representation for the inner areas 98
of Sardinia
Giuseppe Roccasalva
The soil matter between eco-systemic performance and spatial planning in 111
metropolitan areas
Saverio Santangelo, Paolo De Pascali, Annamaria Bagaini, Clara Musacchio,
Francesca Perrone
Knowledge-building models for environmental planning: the case study of Bari 120
Stefania Santoro, Domenico Camarda, Pasquale Balena
From Ecosystems to Ecosystem Services. A spatial methodology applied to a case 130
study in Sardinia
Matilde Schirru, Simona Canu, Laura Santona , Sabrina Lai, Andrea Motroni
Table of contents
Session: 2 - Integrated management of marine protected areas

and Natura 2000 sites
Organize the management of protected areas according to an optimal framework. 142

Experimental case
Aicha Bouredji
A methodological approach to build a planning environmental assessment 152
framework in the context of marine protected areas
Ignazio Cannas, Daniela Ruggeri
An experimental methodology for the management of marine protected areas 165
Maddalena Floris, Federica Isola, Cheti Pira
Marine Forests (Fucales, Ochrophyta) in a low impacted Mediterranean coastal 176
area: current knowledge and future perspectives. A phycological review in Sinis
Peninsula and the Gulf of Oristano (Sardinia Island, Italy)
Daniele Grech, Luca Fallati, Simone Farina, David Cabana, Ivan Guala
Assessing the potential Marine Natura 2000 sites to produce ecosystem-wide 185
effects in rocky reefs: a case study from Sardinia Island (Italy)
Paolo Guidetti; Pierantonio Addis; Fabrizio Atzori et al.
Bottlenecks in fully implementing the Natura 2000 network in Italy. An analyisis of 201
processes leading to the designation of Special Areas of Conservation
Sabrina Lai
Urban pressure scenario on the protected areas systems. The case study of 212
Teatina adriatic coast
Alessandro Marucci, Lorena Fiorini, Carmen Ulisse
Posidonia banquettes on the Mediterranean beaches: To what extent do local 225
administrators’ and users’ perceptions correspond?
Paolo Mossone, Ivan Guala, Simone Simeone
The ecosystem services cascade perspective in practice: a framework for cost- 235
benefits analysis in Marine Protected Areas. The study case of Portofino Marine
Protected Areas
Chiara Paoli, Paolo Povero, Giorgio Fanciulli et al.
The contribution of the assessment of policy consistency and coherence to the 251
definition of the legistative provisions of marine protected areas. The examples of
the regulations of “Tavolara-Punta Coda Cavallo” and “Isola dell’Asinara”
Salvatore Pinna, Francesca Leccis
Passive acoustics to monitor flagship species near boat traffic in the Unesco world 260
heritage natural reserve of Scandola
Marion Poupard, Maxence Ferrari, Jan Schlüter et al.
Use of ecological indices to assess the health status of Posidonia oceanica 271
meadows in the Eastern Liguria. Influence of ecological status on natural capital
Ilaria Rigo, Monica Montefalcone, Carla Morri et al.
Coastal governance and planning agreements for integrated management of 281
marine protected areas in UE coasting project
Saverio Santangelo, Paolo De Pascali, Maria Teresa Cutrì et al.
PLANNING, NATURE AND 8 ISBN: 978-88-6887-054-6

ECOSYSTEM SERVICES DOI: 10.6093/978-88-6887-054-6
© 2019, FedoaPress
Table of contents
Innovative management tools to survey boat traffic and anchoring activities 292
within a Marine Protected Area
Thomas Schohn, Patrick Astruch, Elodie Rouanet et al.
SHADES. Sustainable and holistic approaches to development in European 302
seabords
Francesco Vita, Fortunato Cozzupoli
Session 3 - Rural development and conservation of nature and

natural resources
New local projects for disadvantged inner areas. From traditional model to bio- 312
regional planning
Anna Maria Colavitti, Alessio Floris, Francesco Pes et al.
Inclusion of migrants for rural regeneration through cultural and natural heritage 323
valorization
Elisa Conticelli, Claudia de Luca, Aitziber Egusquiza et al.
Environmental and social sustainability of the bioenergy supply chain 333
Sebastiano Curreli
Proposals on the Agricultural Land Use in According to the Features of the 345
landscape: The case study of Sardinia (Italy)
Pasquale Mistretta, Giulia Desogus, Chiara Garau
Common land(scape): morphologies of a multifunctional rural landscape in the 356
Isalle Valley, Sardinia
Roberto Sanna
SheepToShip LIFE: Integration of environmental strategies with rural 366
development policies. Looking for an eco-sustainable sheep supply chain
Enrico Vagnoni, Alberto Atzori, Giovanni Molle et al.
Session 4 - Geodesign, planning and urban regeneration
The territorial planning of European funds as a tool for the enhancement and 375
sustainable development of natural areas: the experience of the Strategic
Relevance Areas of the ERDF OP 2014-2020
Stefania Aru, Sandro Sanna
The International Geodesign Collaboration: the Cagliari case study 385
Michele Campagna, Chiara Cocco, Elisabetta Anna Di Cesare
A geodesign collaboration for the mission valley project, San Diego, USA 399
Chiara Cocco, Bruce Appleyard, Piotr Jankowski
University and urban development: The role of services in the definition of 410
integrated intervention policies
Mauro Francini, Sara Gaudio, Annunziata Palermo, Maria Francesca Viapiana

© 2019, FedoaPress
Table of contents
Urban environment. An analysis of the Italian metropolitan cities 419

Giuseppe Mazzeo
Recycled aggregates. Mechanical properties and environmental sustainability 431
Luisa Pani, Lorena Francesconi, James Rombi et al.
Geodesign fast-workshops evidences. On field applications of collaborative design 443
approach for strategic planning and urban renovation
Francesco Scorza
Session 5 - Green and blue infrastructure
Green infrastructure as a tool of urban regeneration, for an equitable and 453

sustainable planning. An application case at l'Eixample, Barcelona
Clara Alvau Morales, Tanja Congiu, Alessandro Plaisant
The value of water: ecosystem services trade-offs and synergies of urban lakes in 465
Romania
Denisa Lavinia Badiu, Cristian Ioan IojĂ, Alina Constantina Hossu et al.
A blue infrastructure: from hydraulic protection to landscape design. The case 476
study of the village of Ballao in the Flumendosa river valley
Giovanni Marco Chiri, Pino Frau, Elisabetta Sanna et al.
Municipal masterplans and green infrastructure. An assessment related to the 488
Metropolitan Area of Cagliari, Italy
Sabrina Lai, Federica Leone, Corrado Zoppi
The Ombrone river contract: A regional design practice for empowering river 502
communities and envisioning basin futures
Carlo Pisano, Valeria Lingua
Green infrastructures in the masterplan of Rome. Strategic components for an 513
integrated urban strategy
Laura Ricci, Carmela Mariano, Irene Poli
Session 6 - Smart city planning
Smart City Governance for Child-friendly Cities: Impacts of Green and Blue 524
Infrastructures on Children's Independent Activities
Alfonso Annunziata, Chiara Garau
Resilience, smartness and sustainability. Towards a new paradigm? 539
Sabrina Auci, Luigi Mundula
Energy autonomy in symbiosis with aesthetics of forms in architecture 549
Pietro Currò
Sharing governance and new technologies in smart city planning 563
Paolo De Pascali, Saverio Santangelo, Annamaria Bagaini et al.

© 2019, FedoaPress
Table of contents
Smart Mapping Tools for the Balanced Planning of Open Public Spaces in the 573
Tourist Town of Golubac, Serbia
Aleksandra Djukić, Branislav Antonić, Jugoslav Joković, Nikola Dinkić
Towards a model for urban planning control of the settlement efficiency 587
Isidoro Fasolino, Francesca Coppola, Michele Grimaldi
Somerville: Innovation City 595
Luna Kappler
Urban regeneration for smart communities. 605
Caterina Pietra, Elisabetta Maria Venco
Energy autonomy as a structural assumption for systemic development and 619
circular economy
Manlio Venditelli
Session 7 - Water resources, ecosystem services and nature-

based solutions in spatial planning
Landscape and species integration for a nature-based planning of a 630

Mediterranean functional urban area
Erika Bazzato, Michela Marignani
Tourism and natural disasters: integrating risk prevention methods into the Plan 640
for tourism
Selena Candia, Francesca Pirlone
Integrated management of water resources. An operative tool to simplify, direct 649
and measure the interventions
Vittoria Cugusi, Alessandro Plaisant
Application of NbS to the city plan of Segrate Municipality: spatial implications 660
Roberto De Lotto
Nature-Based Solutions impact assessment: a methodological framework to 671
assess quality, functions and uses in urban areas
Claudia De Luca, Simona Tondelli
The recognition of the Aspromonte National Park ecosystem networks in the 679
urban structure project of Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria
Concetta Fallanca, Natalina Carrà, Antonio Taccone
Shaping the urban environment for breathable cities. 692
Michela Garau, Maria Grazia Badas, Giorgio Querzoli, Simone Ferrari,
Alessandro Seoni, Luca Salvadori
Defense, adaptation and relocation: three strategies for urban planning of coastal 704
areas at risk of flooding
Carmela Mariano, Marsia Marino
Thermal Urban Natural Environment Development 714
Francesca Moraci, Celestina Fazia, Maurizio Francesco Errigo

© 2019, FedoaPress
Table of contents
A network approach for studying multilayer planning of urban green areas: a case 723
study from the town of Sassary (Sardegna, Italy)
Maria Elena Palumbo, Sonia Palumbo, Salvatore Manca, Emmanuele Farris
Urban areas morphometric parameters and their sensitivity on the computation 734
method
Luca Salvadori, Maria Grazia Badas, Michela Garau, Giorgio Querzoli, Simone
Ferrari
Session 8 - Conservation and valorisation of architectural and

cultural heritage
Preservation and valorisation of small historic centers at risk 744

Maria Angela Bedini, Fabio Bronzini, Giovanni Marinelli
Material and immaterial cultural heritage: identification, documentation, 757
promotion and valorization. The courtyards and hallways of merit in the
Murattiano district of Bari
Antonia Valeria Dilauro, Remo Pavone, Francesco Severino
Planning of historic centers in Sardinia Region: conservation versus valorization of 767
architectural and cultural heritage
Federica Isola, Federica Leone, Cheti Pira
Approach towards the "self-sustainability" of ancient villages 776
Francesca Pirlone, Ilenia Spadaro
Fostering architecture efficiency through urban quality. A project for via Milano 787
site in Brescia
Michela Tiboni, Francesco Botticini
Session 9 - Accessibility, mobility and spatial planning
The role of community enterprises in spatial planning for low density territories 800
Cristian Cannaos, Giuseppe Onni
Measuring multimodal accessibility at urban services for the elderly. An 810
application at primary health services in the city of Naples
Gerardo Carpentieri, Carmen Guida, Housmand Masoumi
Urban accessibility for connective and inclusive living environments. An 826
operational model at support of urban planning and design practice
Tanja Congiu, Elisa Occhini, Alessandro Plaisant
Improving accessibility to urban services for over 65: a GIS-supported method 839
Carmela Gargiulo, Floriana Zucaro, Federica Gaglione, Luigi Faga
Cycle networks in Natura 2000 sites: the environmental assessment of the 851
Regional Cycling Plan of Sardinia, Italy
Italo Meloni, Elisabetta Anna Di Cesare, Cristian Saba

© 2019, FedoaPress
Table of contents
Improving regional accessibility through planning a comprehensive cycle network: 859

the case of Sardinia (Italy)
Italo Meloni, Cristian Saba, Beatrice Scappini et al.
Vehicle routing problem and car-pooling to solve home-to-work transport problem 869
in mountain areas
Antonio Pratelli, Massimiliano Petri
Session 10 - Tourism and sustainability in the Sulcis area
Wave, walk and bike tourism. The case of Sulcis (Sardinia -Italy) 881
Ginevra Balletto, Alessandra Milesi, Luigi Mundula, Giuseppe Borruso
Smart Community and landscape in progress. The case of the Santa Barbara walk 893
(Sulcis, Sardinia)
Ginevra Balletto, Alessandra Milesi, Stefano Naitza et al.
A Blockchain approach for the sustainability in tourism management in the Sulcis 904
area
Gavina Baralla, Andrea Pinna, Roberto Tonelli et al.
People and heritage in low urbanised settings: An ongoing study of accessibility 920
to the Sulcis area (Italy)
Nađa Beretić, Tanja Congiu, Alessandro Plaisant
Place branding as a tool to improve heritage-led development strategies for a 928
sustainable tourism in the Sulcis-Iglesiente region
Anna Maria Colavitti, Alessia Usai
Walkability as a tool for place-based regeneration: the case study of Iglesiente 943
region in Sardinia (Italy)
Chiara Garau, Gianluca Melis
The use of recycled aggregates in the implementation of Municipal Masterplans 955
and Coastal Land-Use Plans. A study concerning Sulcis (Sardinia, Italy)
Federica Leone, Anania Mereu
Relationships between conservation measures related to Natura 2000 sites and 971
coastal land use plans: a study concerning Sulcis (Sardinia, Italy)
Federica Leone, Corrado Zoppi
A Smart Planning tools for the valorisation of the Carbonia's building heritage via 983
an energy retrofitting based approach
Stefano Pili, Francesca Poggi, Eusebio Loria, Caterina Frau
Special session 1 - Ecological networks and landscape planning
Resilient ecological networks. A comparative approach 995

Andrea De Montis, Amedeo Ganciu, Maurizio Mulas et al.

© 2019, FedoaPress
Table of contents
A complex index of landscape fragmentation: an application to Italian regional 1007

planning
Andrea De Montis, Amedeo Ganciu, Vittorio Serra
Measuring landscape fragmentation in Natura 2000 sites. A quantitative and 1017
comparative approach
Antonio Ledda, Andrea De Montis, Vittorio Serra
Regional ecological networks: theoretical and practical issues 1028
Giuseppe Modica, Salvatore Praticò, Luigi Laudari et al.
Comparative ecological network analysis. Target and vector species and other 1038
naturalistic issues
Maurizio Mulas, Matteo Cabras, Andrea De Montis
Measuring connectivity in Natura 2000 sites. An application in Sardinia 1049
Vittorio Serra, Andrea De Montis, Antonio Ledda

© 2019, FedoaPress
Introduction
INTRODUCTION
This e-book contains the Proceedings of the INPUT aCAdemy 2019 Conference held at the
University of Cagliari on 24-26 June 2019, titled “Planning, nature and ecosystem services.”
Input aCAdemy follows the tenth INPUT Conference, held in September 2018 at Tuscia
University, in Viterbo and, in some way, it breaks the biennial tradition of the INPUT
Conferences. The reason for the frequency increase of the INPUT Conferences is that the
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Architecture of the University of
Cagliari is involved in a project funded by the Programme INTERREG Marittimo–Italia
France–Maritime 2014–2020, Axis 2.
In the context of the project, entitled “GIREPAM–Integrated Management of Ecological
Networks through Parks and Marine Areas”, the Department and the Office for Nature
Protection and forest policies of the Regional Autonomous Administration of Sardinia are
studying and defining an experimental methodology to integrate conservation measures
concerning Natura 2000 Sites into marine protected areas regulations. The methodology is
implemented to build the new regulations of two marine protected areas of Sardinia, namely
the Island of Asinara and of the Island of Tavolara and Cape Coda Cavallo.
Since GIREPAM allocates a considerable amount of funds to the organization of an
international conference on protection of nature and natural resources, ecosystem services
and their relationship with spatial planning processes and practices, green infrastructure,
and integrated management of protected areas and Natura 2000 Sites, and these funds
must be spent by December 2019, the research group at the Department proposed to the
INPUT Community, during the 2018 Viterbo Conference, a 2019 INPUT Conference
focussing on these themes. The INPUT Community responded enthusiastically and, that
being so, the research group has made every effort to make the event come true.
The Conference develops through plenary sessions and parallel tracks. The scope of the
plenary sessions is to propose distinguished points of view concerning research and implied
planning ideas and policies on important and significant issues which feature the ongoing
scientific and technical debate on nature and natural resources.
The questions proposed and discussed in the Conference are three central topics which are
characterized by several studies available in contemporary literature, and by vibrant debates
as well, both from the theoretical and technical points of view. These questions are
presented and discussed in the three plenary sessions which are the starting points of the
three days of the Conference. Each plenary session is organized as follows: first, a speaker,
a distinguished scholar, proposes the findings of his theoretical and/or applied research
work and derived implications for spatial policy; secondly, a discussant, a distinguished

© 2019, FedoaPress
Corrado Zoppi
scholar as well, critically analyzes the positions expressed in the first place and identifies
open or unresolved questions and outstanding issues; thirdly, the public enters the
discussion, through questions, observations, critical positions. Finally, the speaker replies to
the discussant’s and to the public’s statements.
The first plenary session is on “Valuing ecosystem services in money: A necessary evil for
protecting biodiversity?”; the speaker is Erik Gomez-Baggethun (Faculty of Landscape and
Society, Norwegian University of Life Sciences); the discussant is Andrea Arcidiacono
(Department of Architecture and Urban Studies, Polytechnic University of Milan).
The second plenary session concerns “Managing urban ecosystems for goods and services”;
the speaker is Kevin Gaston (Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter);
the discussant is Bernardino Romano (Department of Civil, Building-Architecture and
Environmental Engineering, University of L’Aquila).
The third plenary session is related to “Mapping and modeling ecosystem services: A
cascade ES modeling approach applied to the Flemish Natura 2000 Network”; the speaker is
Jan Staes (Department of Biology, University of Antwerp); the discussant is Beniamino
Murgante (School of Engineering, University of Basilicata at Potenza).
The topics presented in the plenary sessions are the background of the discussions which
characterize the parallel tracks. These tracks are featured by studies which consider
protection of nature and natural resources, ecosystem services and their relationship with
spatial planning processes and practices, as regards the following topics:
1. Ecosystem services and spatial planning;
2. Integrated management of marine protected areas and Natura 2000 sites;
3. Rural development and conservation of nature and natural resources;
4. Geodesign, planning and urban regeneration;
5. Green and blue infrastructure;
6. Smart city planning;
7. Water resources planning, ecosystem services and nature-based solutions in spatial
planning;
8. Conservation and valorisation of architectural and cultural heritage;
9. Accessibility, mobility and spatial planning;
10. Tourism and sustainability in the Sulcis area;
11. Ecological networks and landscape planning.
The closing plenary session of the Conference proposes a roundtable discussion on
“Planning Nature 2000 Network and protected areas: The integration of conservation
measures into regulations.” The roundtable will involve panelists from several institutions
who participate in the GIREPAM Project.

© 2019, FedoaPress
THE DANUBE RIVERSIDE
DEVELOPMENT IN THE IRON
GATES GORGE, SERBIA, BETWEEN
SOCIO-ECONOMIC NEEDS AND
PROTECTED ECOSYSTEM
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a
Department of Urbanism
University of Belgrade, Serbia
e-mail: antonic83@gmail.com
adjukic@afrodita.rcub.bg.ac.rs
URL: http://www.arh.bg.ac.rs/
b
Department of Regional Geography
e-mail: mimacvetanovic@gmail.com
How to cite item in APA format:

Antonić, B., Djukić, A. & Cvetanović, M. (2019). The Danube riverside development in the iron gates gorge,
Serbiz, between socio-economic needs and protected ecosystem. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning,
nature and ecosystem services (pp. 17-28). Naples: FedOAPress. ISBN: 978-88-6887-054-6, doi: 10.6093/978-
88-6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
The Iron Gates are the longest gorge of the Danube, a major waterway in Europe. For Serbia,
the Danube is both important as a transport corridor and tourist route, which is also applied
for the Iron Gates part. In the other side, the Iron Gates are the largest national park in
Serbia, with protected river and mountain ecosystems, plus many cultural heritage sites, which
significantly restricts riverside development. Third , it is also a region with its local population,
settlements, and economy. This overlapping makes any future planning perspective for the Iron
Gates Region very complex and with expected compromises. The current spatial plans for the
Iron Gates recognise this complexity. This is particularly visible along the Danube riverside. The
river is certainly the main access to the gorge and the main driver of desirable socioeconomic
development for local communities thereof. However, the development along the river is
impossible in many parts due to protected riverside areas or rough terrain. Remaining parts
have the other problems with inadequate plot organisation. Therefore, the implementation
of the plans carries many challenges at lower levels. The aim of this paper is to present this
discrepancy and offer new ways for concrete solutions. It compares the main planning actions
to facilitate local socio-economic development and the newest efforts of local authorities to
implement them for riverside as a critical resource for the region. The final highlights are
dedicated to the actions that are unorthodox and thereby innovative for riverside development
in unique ecosystems.
KEYWORDS
Water Infrastructure; Riverfront Development; Tourism; Protected Ecosystem; the Danube; the
Iron Gates
B. Antonić, A. Djukić, M. Cvetanović
1 INTRODUCTION – DEVELOPMENTIN PROTECTED ECOSYSTEMS

Ecosystems and their sustainable use are always an ‘old-new’ topic for scholars. One of its
simpler definitions explains that ecosystems are the specific systems formed in correlation
between living organisms and their non-living surrounding in a particular area (CDO, 2019).
In the other words, the meaning of a community instead of an individual (species) is in
focus (Smith, 2013). Interestingly, this meaning can be expanded to some, at first very
different systems, such as urban areas. Considering the structure of cities as a system
created in interaction between humans and their built environment (Lynch, 1960), both
systems show noticeable similarities in their functioning (Steinitz & Rogers, 1970; Stremke &
Koh, 2010).
Completely natural and urban ecosystems are extremes in the meaning of an ecosystem. An
academically more researched type is the natural ecosystems that require protection due to
challenging natural-human relations. In their essence, all ecosystems are under the
influence of different external and internal factors (Chapin, Matson & Vitousek, 2002). These
factors can be purely natural, such as topography or climate, or from anthropogenic
activities, such as settlements and economy. The ecosystems seen as protected areas are
also a subject of international concern. The International Union for Conservation of Nature
(IUCN) defines a protected area as a “clearly defined geographical space, recognized,
dedicated and managed, through legal or other effective means, to achieve the long-term
conservation of nature with associated ecosystem services and cultural values” (Dudley,
2008). This definition undoubtedly links ecosystems and protected areas.
The “hotspot” about protected ecosystems in the last decades is how properly managing
them to meet protection needs and their viable utilization (Lackey, 1998; McDonald, 2018).
Therefore, the IUCN (2010) prioritizes several types of protected areas in its current
operative program. One of them is transboundary protection areas. In the case of Serbia,
the most important example is the Iron Gates (Serb. Ђердап/Đerdap) protected area,
halved between Romania to the north and Serbia to the south (Fig. 1). The Iron Gates are
actually the greatest gorge on the Danube River, the second longest in Europe, which
implies that this location had significance through history. The gorge with mountainous
landscapes at both backsides is a large protected ecosystem. The protection encompasses
numerous smaller sites of natural and cultural heritage, as well as the whole gorge as an
entity. Hence, the Iron Gates are a sensitive area in which any kind of development must be
carefully planned. In the recent years, this has been especially noticeable in the case of
booming cultural tourism, because protected areas have preserved the particular character
that attracts tourists (Adams, 2008).

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The Danube Riverside Development in the Iron Gates Gorge, Serbia, between Socio-Economic Needs and Protected…

An expected answer to the previous situation is to set adequate planning actions for an
ecosystem, which must make a right balance between its ecological protection and spatial
utilization (Steiner, 2002). A proper planning, including both functional and physical design,
is a paramount task for the viability of protected ecosystems today (Stremke & Koh, 2010).
This dichotomy can be applied for the national parks in Serbia (Jovičić & Ivanović, 2004).
The current spatial plans for the Iron Gates Region also recognize this complexity. This is
particularly visible along the riverside of the Danube, which is certainly the main access to
the gorge and the main driver of desirable socio-economic development for local
communities thereof. However, this type of development is forbidden or very limited in
many parts due to protected riverside areas or rough terrain. Remaining parts have the
other problems with inadequate plot organization. Therefore, the implementation of capital
projects by plans carries many challenges at municipal and urban/settlement levels.
The aim of this paper is to present this discrepancy and offer new ways for concrete
solutions. It compares the main planning actions to facilitate local socio-economic
development and the newest efforts of local authorities to implement them for riverside as a
critical resource for the region. For many of them, it can be easily concluded that “ordinary”
planning actions cannot enable the capital projects in the Iron Gates. Hence, final highlights
refer to the actions that are unorthodox and thereby innovative for riverside development in
this unique ecosystem.
2 METHODOLOGY
The concrete subject of this research is the western third of the Serbian Iron Gates, around
Golubac Town. The research is developed as a case study, followed by structure and used
material. It combines three methods as separate analyses. Before them, the key elements of
relevant theory are given.
The analyses are organised by three respective levels:
− the first analysis is the research of the main policy documents for investigated area,
e.g. three spatial plans of regional and municipal levels. A special focus is on the
capital projects in the Danube Riverside. The plans are: (i) spatial plan of the special-
purpose area of the international waterway E80 –the Danube (Pan-European Corridor
VII)[Serb. Просторни план подручја посебне намене међународног водног пута
Е80 – Дунав (Паневропски коридор VII)], (ii) spatial plan of the special-purpose
area of “Đerdap” National Park [Serb.Просторни план подручја посебне намене
Националног парка “Ђердап”], and (iii) spatial plan of Golubac Municipality
(Serb.Просторни план Општине Голубац].

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− the second analysis is a field research, including the communication with local
experts and representatives from Golubac, regarding the implementation of the
capital projects. It links municipal and urban/settlement levels (Golubac Municipality
and Golubac Town as its seat);
− the third analysis pertains to plot organisation in the riverside part of Golubac Town,
with the emphasis on its (in)compatibility with the capital projects planned for this
area.
All three analyses are a matter for a mutual discussion after their explanation. The main
findings from this discussion lead to the introduction of the aforementioned “unorthodox”
approach proposed by Golubac Municipality, which deals with resolving the implementation
of capital projects at the local level.
3 CASE STUDY –THE IRON GATES GORGE IN SERBIA

A case study is the area around Golubac Town, which also administratively concurs with the
eastern half of Golubac Municipality. Golubac Town itself is located at the western entrance
of the Iron Gates gorge – it has strategic position between Pannonian Plain (west) and the
Iron Gates Gorge (east). Nearby Golubac Fortress marks the unique position of the dramatic
landscapes change (Fig. 1a).
The Iron Gates are a large transboundary protection area, protected separately by both
countries; it is a “Đerdap” National Park in Serbia and “Porțile de Fier” Natural Park in
Romania. Serbian park is older, established in 1974, and it is the largest national park in
country (Stanković, 2002). Romanian park was established in 1990 and it is the second
largest natural park in country (Toniuc et al., 1992). The total surface of both areas is 1,794
km2. This coverage roughly corresponds to the Iron Gates Region.
The entire region presents a huge and rich ecosystem. First, the gorge is not uniform; it
contains of four inner gorges (“narrows” or canyons) and three inter-valleys. This allows the
change of the elements of natural and cultural landscape with many specific segments of
the scenery (Fig. 1b). Geologically, “the Danube [in the gorge] offers a rare, unique glimpse
in the geology of the South Carpathians, as it crosses transversally the folded structures of
this alpine chain” (Popa et al., 2004, p. 7).). Unique flora and fauna, mostly emphasised in
the deciduous forests follow this (Niculae, 2002). On the other side, human-made parts of
landscape are visible, but with a different impact across the gorge. The most important
change by humans is certainly the formation of large Iron Gates artificial lake in the early
1970s. This led to the flooding the lowest part of the gorge with all previous islands and the
reallocation of several settlements (Orşova, Donji Milanovac) and the most valuable heritage

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sites (Tabula Traiana, “Lepenski Vir” archaeological site), leaving old settlements to be
flooded. The destiny of “Lepenski Vir” with the remnants of the oldest permanent settlement
along the Danube is particularly interesting (Fig. 1c). Its site is dislocated by 100 meters
away from its original location, with the intention to preserve the previous ambient in
ecosystem (Pavlović, 2017). The artificial lake is thereby a prominent new element of
landscape (Stanković, 2002). Accordingly, formation of the lake formed a new riverside, too.
These lower parts of the gorge, next to the Danube are more under human influence, which
mirrors through settlement formation and agriculture, especially orchards and pastures
(Niculae, 2002). At the end, the historic remoteness and contemporary socio-economic
problems have made the region more attached to tradition and with preserved tradition and
local customs (Antonić & Đukić, 2018). Therefore, human influence in the Iron Gates can be
considered as mixed – both positive and negative (Popa et al., 2004).
Fig. 1 The ĉerdap (Iron Gates) National Park: its position in Serbia and the location of the
main heritage sites in it, including the most prominent ones: Golubac Fortress (a), Kazani
Narrows (b) and “Lepenski Vir” archaeological site (c) (Author: B. Antoniý; Author of photos:
B. Antoniý; Supplementary maps: Google Maps).
4 ANALYSES AND RESULTS
4.1 ANALYSIS 1: THE INPUTS ABOUT CAPITAL PROJECTS FROM

STRATEGICPLANS
The first analysis considers Golubac area from national perspective, because all three
mentioned plans are developed at national level.

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Spatial plan of the special-purpose area of the international waterway E80 – the Danube
(Pan-European Corridor VII) (Hereinafter: the Danube Plan): In this spatial plan from 2013,
it was mentioned that a passenger dock at Golubac Fortress will be built (as it was done).
Within this area, there is already cargo dock in Golubac (in bad state, for reconstruction). It
was also planned to build a nautical centre in the central part of the Danube Riverside in the
Iron Gates gorge (Serbia), but this has not yet been implemented. Several minor projects,
such as marinas and new border crossings for ferry transfers, are also mentioned and
mapped. The Danube plan also underlines the direct positive effects of the corridor
development of the Danube waterway and its surroundings are expected from tourism. For
the development of sustainable tourism, it is necessary to provide the marking of directions
of movement through the forest complex, to build the necessary infrastructure facilities, to
present the tourist offer and to monitor the visit (NASP, 2010).
Spatial plan of the special-purpose area of “Đerdap” National Park (Hereinafter: Đerdap
Plan): This plan was purposely created and enacted for the park in 2012. It foresees several
capital projects for the area. One visitor centre was built (more is planned), the Golubac
Fortress is reconstructed, with new road bypass. Priority is given to the development of
conservation conditions and projects for the preservation, improvement and sustainable use
of immovable cultural assets and their protected environments in the context of tourism
development. The construction and modernization of the road network, the development of
river passenger traffic, the promotion and development of cycling traffic within EuroVelo 6
corridors is planned (and partly implemented). In terms of tourism, the realisation of
nautical-tourist infrastructure (marinas, docks and nautical centres) is planned and this is
accomplished with a minor part. Five tourist spots are planned on the “Road of the Roman
Emperors” section in the gorge. One of the priorities is the construction of tourist facilities
with respect to ecological criteria, bio-climatic architecture, the use of renewable energy
sources, and compliance with the landscape (NASP, 2009).
Spatial plan of Golubac Municipality (hereinafter: Municipal Plan): This spatial plan (2011)
prioritise the improvement of Golubac Town as a municipal seat, primarily with public
services and tourist facilities. Priority activities in rural settlements along the Danube are:
increase of traffic accessibility, development of eco-agriculture, start of development of
capacities in the field of rural tourism (renovation, arrangement and equipping of villages
suitable for the development of eco, ethno and gastronomic tourism). These types of
tourism would play a major role in the development of cultural tourism by learning about
the local tradition and cuisine of this region. Rural tourism in the Iron Gates is still
underrepresented, but incentives for Dobra village are mentioned. The main projects are:
the town marina, new border crossing, new tourist pier for the fortress, and the

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Iron Gates in its background, which is an issue for this shrinking community. The main local
observations regarding new capital projects for Golubac urban zone are:
− the reconstruction of Golubac Fortress with the construction of supplementary visitor
centre with parking and cruiser pier is almost completed. The last step is the
revitalisation of the fortress vicinity, including an apartment village (“fishermen
village” project);
− new big-format tourist facilities in Golubac Town are a very challenging issue for a
municipality. “Golubački Grad” Hotel on the main town square from the 1980s was
privatised after 2000. However, new owners are not capable to modernise it, so the
hotel offer is substandard. Public sector has a limited influence in the private
ownership. Hence, municipal authorities estimate that the construction of a
completely new hotel in a different location in Golubac is a more probable solution;
− the proposed project for the main road bypass around the town is contested, too.
The town is currently under the pressure of dense traffic because the Iron Gates
Main Road (National Road No 34) passes through the centre of Golubac. However,
this road also brings travellers and tourists and support local retail;
− a new 7-km long quay with pedestrian and cyclist path along the Danube Riverside in
Golubac is 70% done. The path is a part of “EuroVelo 6” Route. The remaining part
between the town and the fortress, which is technically the most complex due to cliff
terrain, is left for the future;
− a project for a new marina is the first stage of preparation. After long negotiation,
western port was chosen for this facility, but available land is too small for the format
of a modern marina;
− a new border crossing by ferryboat is almost completed in the western outskirts of
the urban zone (Usije). Serbian part was completed, but Romanian border crossing is
still in preparation;
− the upgrading of the town beach in Vinci weekend-house zone at the north-western
edge of the urban area is a long-waiting project. The existing beach is used, but
mostly by the local population. This upgrading for tourism purposes request a
complex technical intervention, to secure the beach facilities from strong winds and
waves during winter months.
2.3 ANALYSIS 3: MAPPING OF LAND ORGANISATION

The previous section scrutinises local view on the capital projects in Golubac area. Capital
projects, such as a new marina or a hotel, certainly require large land plots. The problem is

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the current land organisation (Fig. 3). In the town centre, all available plots are small and
individually inadequate for any capital project thereof. The process of land consolidation
among many owners is very complicated in Serbia, so it is always the last option. Several
larger plots along the riverside are suitable by size, but they are in public ownership and in
public use (town park, local education centre). Outside Golubac centre, the only large land
plots are at its eastern outskirts. Nevertheless, these plots are in state ownership and
belong to “Đerdap” National Park, which defines them as the part of a protected ecosystem
and restricts their future use and development without any construction.
Fig. 3 The map of land registration (land parcels) in Golubac Riverside / Resource: Municipal cadastre
(Authors: N. Mandiý, M. Kostadinoviý & S. Miýanoviý /Customised by B. Antoniý).
5 INSTEAD OF AN ORDINARY CONCLUSION. INNOVATIVE

APPROACHES TO ACQUARE A LAND FOR THE NEW RIVERSIDE
DEVELOPMENT
A general notion from three elaborated analyses presents a sharp dichotomy between
national and local levels. To summarize, the capital projects in analyzed spatial plans are
generally greeted by national level as a key element to the foster long-awaited socio-
economic development of Golubac. In the other side, their implementation faces big
obstacles at urban level, considering the current land organisation in Golubac. Knowing that
small municipal government, such as Golubac, has limited resources, possible ways for land
consolidation are even more questionable. This situation demonstrates significant
discrepancies between different vertical levels of “classic” territorial planning. Golubac
municipality thereby aspires to find some “unorthodox” solutions for its capital projects. This
is related to a unique position at the end of artificial Iron Gates Lake, where the current
Danube Riverside is also new, from the 1970s.Without this limit, land reclamation is
proposed as a model to fully or partly obtain land plots for capital projects from the lakebed.
This is also an innovative approach for Serbia. Some on-going projects have already used

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land reclamation; the new visitor centre of Golubac Fortress was built on reclaimed land.
Local authorities are planning the following land-reclamation interventions:
− the land for a new big-format hotel with more exclusive facilities should be
developed on the land reclaimed from the town eastern ‘port’, which is actually a bog
and without any use today. The position of this new land is excellent for this type of
a hotel, because it is next to the main road and between the town centre with
historic fabric (western) and the national park and the fortress (eastern);
− in the case of the town road bypass, a middle solution is backed by local level. This
refers to the new bypass road just for the most problematic transport (heavy vehicles
like regional buses and lorries), while the other vehicles will use the current route, to
support local economy;
− the last and the technically most contested eastern part of the Danube quay with
pedestrian-cyclist path is to be resolved by the construction of a bracket-structured
path, inclined in the cliffs along the river;
− a project for a new marina is already in preparation. The location is the existing
(western) port, which will be further enlarged and upgraded with the new technical
and leisure facilities. A part of the future complex will be built on the land reclaimed
from the riverbed;
− the new border crossing is intentionally built at the western part of Golubac area –
Usije Settlement, to make balance in the spatial development of the Danube
Riverside. The municipality dedicated a bigger plot for the border crossing, as a
reserve for the future needs;
− similarly, the existing beach in Vinci northwest area is to be resolved through land
reclamation. This is less drastic, in the form of a several-meters wide “belt” with
concrete sand boxes that will gradually descend to water and preserve the sand from
strong winds and waves.
Many of explained interventions are still in the form of proposals. It is also evident that most
of them are financially, technically, and professionally demanding due to compromise with
the protected ecosystem of the gorge. This means that local level cannot implement them
without external influence. Therefore, the next step for local authorities is to promote these
projects and related interventions externally, but not just to national government. New
approaches should be made to access to the private incentive, which will bring a new
energy in local development.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This paper is done within the Project DANUrB – a regional network building through tourism and
education to strengthen the “Danube” cultural identity and solidarity. The project is co-financed by
INTERREG EU Programme. It present a part of the research published under the official project report.
The authors also thanks to the following students: Nevena Mandić, Mladen Kostadinović and Srđan
Mićanović.
AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Branislav Antoniü is a teaching assistant at the Department of Urbanism, University of Belgrade –

Faculty of Architecture, Serbia. His scientific and pedagogical interests are urban and spatial planning,
with a special focus on the planning of medium-size and small communities, as well as the spatial
aspect of housing and tourism. He is an active participant in scientific conferences and exhibitions. He is
also a licensed urban and spatial planner with professional involvement in more than 30 spatial and
urban plans and urban design projects.
Aleksandra Djukiü is an associate professor at the Department of Urbanism, University of Belgrade –

Faculty of Architecture, Serbia. Her scientific and pedagogical interests are urban planning and design,
with a special respect on urban morphology and urban renewal and regeneration. She is an active
participant in scientific conferences and exhibitions. She is also a licensed urbanist, planner and
architectural designer – she was the leader of member of working team in numerous documents in
urban planning and design, as well as in architectural design and spatial planning.
Milica Cvetanoviü is a PhD student of geography, narrower scientific field regional geography, at
University of Belgrade – Faculty of Geography, Serbia. Her scientific interests are regional geography,
tourism and sustainable development, with a focus on researching the importance of tourism in the
sustainable development of the regions. She is primarily involved in the research of the regions in
Serbia. She participated with scientific papers at national and international conferences and published
several papers in journas of national importance.

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FROM A SPECIES-CENTRED
TO AN ECOSYSTEM-BASED
MANAGEMENT APPROACH
A CASE STUDY OF THE SALTMARSHES OF HYÈRES
(PROVENCE, FRANCE)
*PATRICK ASTRUCHa
CHARLES-FRANÇOIS BOUDOURESQUEb
THOMAS CHANGEUXb
a
GIS Posidonie, Mediterranean Institute of
Oceanography (MIO)
Aix-Marseille University, France
e-mail: patrick.astruch@univ-amu.fr
b
Aix-Marseille University and Toulon University
CNRS, IRD, MIO (Mediterranean Institute of
Oceanography), France
e-mail: charles.boudouresque@mio.osupytheas.fr

Astruch, P., Boudouresque, C.F. … & Moussy F. (2019). From a species-centred to an ecosystem-based
management approach. A case study of the saltmarshes of Hyères (Provence, France). In C. Gargiulo & C.
Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature and ecosystem services (pp. 29-38). Naples: FedOAPress. ISBN: 978-88-6887-
054-6, doi: 10.6093/978-88-6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
The management of the complex saltmarshes-wetlands-coastal lagoons (hereafter: saltmarsh
ecosystem – SME) is often centred on the so-called ‘heritage-value species’ (rare, threatened
and/or charismatic species). In addition, managers, stakeholders and the public at large,
generally favour certain visible higher-level taxa, such as birds and magnoliophyta, rather than
the ‘ordinary biodiversity’. This ‘species-centred’ or ‘taxon-centred’ approach, a legacy from the
20th century, is fully understandable in areas where species identified as critically endangered
occur. However, an ecosystem-based approach, of course including heritage value species and
higher taxa, but based upon the whole functioning of the ecosystem, would present advantages
of paramount importance. The ecosystem-based approach involves the management of the
interactions between functional boxes, the search for an equilibrium according to the supposed
baseline, ecosystem services and management goals; it can also involve man within a social-
ecosystem-based approach. This approach offers a basis for taking into account the current
global change. A conceptual model of the SME has be en established. Considering the high
diversity of saltmarsh environments, both physically and biologically, this model is a framework
that can be adapted to each case study. Here, the authors focused on case studies of Hyères
saltmarshes. In the light of historical data running over several centuries (opening and closure
of connexions with the sea, fisheries, salt production), the management during the last decades,
mainly based upon waterfowl conservation and enhancement, the weaknesses of the traditional
species-centred approach and the advantages of an ecosystem-based approach are highlighted.
KEYWORDS
Coastal Lagoons; Saltmarshes; Ecosystem-based Appro ach; Management; Conservation;
Mediterranean
* The other authors are: Daniel Fagetc, Matthieu Lascèved, Laurence Le Diréacha, Laura Massinellia,
Flore Moussya.
P. Astruch, C. F. Boudouresque, T. Changeux et al.
1 INTRODUCTION
Saltmarshes are a worldwide ecosystem of which the origin and structure vary according to
climate, precipitation rate and variability over years. Nevertheless, high functional similarity
can be observed worldwide between saltmarsh ecosystems (SME) (Adam, 1990). In
temperate microtidal areas such as the Mediterranean Sea, saltmarshes are a complex of
both wetland and coastal lagoon or estuarian system. Hereafter, we will use the term
saltmarshes with this comprehensive meaning. Saltmarshes play an important role at the
interface between terrestrial and marine realms and provide numerous ecosystem services
(Costanza et al., 1997; Himes-Cornell et al., 2018). They are often more or less artificialized,
and harbour threatened habitats (Gedan et al., 2009; Mollema et al., 2013).
Saltmarshes are therefore ecosystems of high heritage value and concern; many
international agreements are aimed at protecting and sustainably managing them (e.g.
Ramsar, Habitats Directive Natura 2000, 92/43/EEC) (Evans, 2012). Management plans for
SMEs with conservation issues are based on a species-centred approach; goals focus on the
maintenance or the enhancement of ‘biodiversity’ and ‘high-value’ taxa, namely emblematic,
rare, aesthetically attractive and/or threatened species, to the detriment of ‘ordinary
biodiversity’ and species considered as harmful (Boudouresque, 2014; De la Blanchère,
1875). Biodiversity is often seen by managers as the number of species, which is considered
as a health index of the ecosystem (Boudouresque, 2014; Wilson, 1988). In reality,
disturbances and stress usually increase the number of species (Hastwell & Huston, 2001).
Although this species-centred approach has allowed the protection and conservation of key
species, the failure to take into account the whole ecosystem functioning has often resulted
in artificialized ecosystems and even in failures in species conservation.
The aim of the present work is to apply an Ecosystem-based Approach (EA) to SMEs, in a
Mediterranean context. We propose a conceptual model of the SME to understand its
functioning and provide a tool to improve the management efficiency. Here, we focus on the
case of the Hyères saltmarshes.
2 METHODOLOGY
Coastal wetlands and lagoons around the bays of Hyères and Giens (Hyères, Provence,
North-western Mediterranean Sea, France) have been profoundly transformed by human
activities. Since the Middle Ages, two distinct areas have been delineated, Salin des
Pesquiers and Vieux Salins (Fig. 1). The first was a coastal lagoon surrounded by wetland
where an important local fishery was established, generating considerable revenue

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From a species-centred to an ecosystem-based management approach, a case study of the saltmarshes of Hyères

(Réveillon, 2018). The second, smaller one was exploited for salt production since Antiquity.
From 1848 to 1995, these two areas were converted into an intensive salt production zone.
In 2001, the whole site became the property of the Conservatoire du Littoral (a public
agency dedicated to the protection of littoral land) and managed by the Toulon Provence
Méditerranée (TPM) local authority. Since then, the management goals were mainly focused
on the historical heritage (salt production) and the conservation of waterfowl and wintering
birds (Audevard, 2017). Managers already highlighted the low connectivity between the
open sea and the saltmarshes, with important consequences for the fish assemblage.
Fig. 1 Location of the saltmarshes of Hyères (Salin des Pesquiers and Vieux Salins).
Since the seminal work of Teal (1962), several studies have considered the food web and
interactions between functional compartments within SMEs (De Wit, 2011). The need for an
EA is stressed by the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD, 2008/56/EC) of the
European Union (EU) (Laffoley et al., 2004), applied to fisheries management worldwide
(Rice, 2005). In the framework of the MSFD, an EA has been applied to Mediterranean
marine ecosystems to assess their quality (e.g. Posidonia oceanica seagrass meadow:
Personnic et al., 2014). The Ecosystem-based Quality Index (EBQI) has been developed to
provide a standard tool for managers and stakeholders (Ruitton et al., 2017).

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The conceptual model of the SME proposed here is based on taxa from the north-western
Mediterranean. However, it is designed to be also used in other areas. This model was
based on the expert judgement of the authors, the literature and original data. Original data
were collected within the saltmarshes of Hyères on submerged macrophytes, fish and
plankton to complete the available information.
3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
3.1 CONCEPTUAL MODEL AND HABITATS OF THE HYÈRES SALTMARSHES

In the conceptual model we propose (Fig. 2), there is only one width of arrows: the goal of
this model is not to assess the carbon flows but to understand the links between
compartments. The taxa vary according to the site location and the connection with the
open sea. For example, submerged Magnoliophyta (boxes 1 and 2) are represented by (i)
Ruppia spiralis in low connected, euryhaline and hyperhaline conditions, (ii) Zostera spp. or
Cymodocea nodosa in well-connected and euryhaline or marine conditions and (iii)
Stuckenia pectinata in low-connected and oligohaline conditions (Guélorget & Pertuisot,
1992; Shili et al., 2007; Tamisier & Boudouresque, 1994).
Fig. 2 Conceptual model of Saltmarsh-wetland-coastal lagoon ecosystem (SME). Arrows correspond to the
carbon flux between boxes. Box colours: Green: primary producers, Yellow: primary consumers; Red:
predators; Brown: litter (dead vegetal material); Black: endofauna and detritus-feeders; blue: box outside the
ecosystem but with significant interactions.

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In the Hyères SMEs, the Ruppia spiralis meadow is present, with a high biomass and cover;
R. spiralis is a halophilous species, the only seagrass that can thrive in such a range of
salinity (i.e. 0-108 g kg-1). The absence of other expected taxa such as Zostera noltei can
be explained by e.g. low connectivity with the open sea, high salinity and eutrophication).
Plankton can react very fast after shifts in water conditions. Sites well-connected with the
open sea present a low abundance of both phyto- and zooplankton, bigger individuals and
relative stability over time (i.e. older populations). Salinity is the main driver of
phytoplankton and zooplankton (Quintana et al., 1998). In less connected and stable areas,
abrupt fluctuations occur, the abundance is higher, particularly for phytoplankton, mainly
represented by small individuals corresponding to a young population.
Fish assemblages (which contribute to several boxes) are dominated by sedentary taxa
adapted to oligohaline, euryhaline or hyperhaline conditions: e.g. Atherina spp., Gambusia
affinis, Pomatoschistus spp., etc. When the connection with open sea is better established, a
higher species diversity is observed (e.g. Chelon spp., Sparus aurata, Diplodus spp.,
Dicentrarchus labrax, Anguilla Anguilla). The abundance of juveniles of these taxa can be
considered as indicative of this connectivity. The physico-chemical conditions (salinity,
dissolved oxygen) of the different parts of the lagoon depend upon the degree of
confinement (sensu Perthuisot & Guelorget, 1983) and are the main drivers of fish
assemblages (Bodinier et al., 2010). The management of the saltmarshes of Hyères, mainly
focused on birds since its implementation in 2004, has led, as might be expected, to a
conspicuous increase in the number of bird species and their abundance; in addition, the
overall reproduction success improved (Audevard, 2017). The saltmarsh vegetation
encompasses several habitats (Noble & Michaud, 2016), e.g. pioneer stands of Salicornia
patula and Suaeda, stands of Sarcocornia fruticosa, Juncus subulatus and Arthrocnemum
macrostachium, ephemeral and small extension lawns, stands of J. maritimus, and dense
stands of the invasive Spartina patens. Aside from the birds, the macrofauna of the
saltmarshes of Hyères includes the fox Vulpes vulpes, the wild boar Sus scrofa and the
domestic cat, Felis silvestris catus. The frog Hyla meridionalis, sensitive to high salinity, only
survives in a freshwater stretch of the 'canal de ceinture' of the Salin des Pesquiers; the
toad Pelobates cultripes is no longer present, due to increased salinity in the area where it
once dwelt; the lizards Lacerta bilineata and Podarcis muralis are not uncommon in the
outer parts of the saltmarshes. In contrast, the lizard Psammodromus hispanicus, once
relatively common, is nearly extinct in the area, maybe because of restoration work on the
tombolo, with large bulldozers moving the sand (Orsini et al., 1993). The European pond
turtle Emys orbicularis is relatively common at Les Vieux Salins, despite competition with the
invasive red-eared slider Trachemys scripta (Joyeux, 2005; Lascève, 2014).

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3.2 AN ALTERNATIVE SOCIAL-ECOSYSTEM-BASED MODEL OF MANAGEMENT

Historical data regarding the use of the Salin des Pesquiers lagoon as an active fishery show
that the site's functioning was totally different before the middle of the 19th century, from
that of today (Réveillon, 2018). The Salin des Pesquiers was an open Mediterranean lagoon,
with a permanent connection with the Bay of Hyères, and sometimes also with the Gulf of
Giens. Taking into account global warming, the sea level rise and the increase in submersion
events, a new marinization of the SME is expected.
Between the current management approach, which is clearly bird-centred, and the
restoration of totally natural functioning of the SME (socially and ecologically unrealistic), an
intermediate path could be a mix of bird conservation, more wilderness and, as a result, an
improvement of the fish nursery role of the lagoon in order to foster coastal fishery. These
three facets should be aggregated in the context of a social-ecosystem-based approach. (i)
The water circulation in those ponds where high salinity and low connectivity prohibit the
use by teleost fish could continue without major change, in order to avoid the trapping of
juvenile fishes that cannot escape to join a suitable habitat for adult populations, inside or
outside the lagoon (Bruslé & Carbony, 1992). (ii) The initial objectives of the first
management plan of the saltmarshes of Hyères, established in 2004, was centred on
waterfowl and saltmarsh landscapes conservation. The new management plan, based on a
social-ecosystem-based approach, would not be inconsistent with the traditional goals of
managers, but would also consider the improvement of the ecosystem functioning (based
on water circulation and connection with the open sea), the unavoidable future marinization
of the SME, and the improvement of access to the sites for visitors.
The social-ecosystem-based approach applied to SME management presented here must be
considered as a logical progression of management approaches within the scope of current
guidelines such as the MSFD. Worldwide, the species-centred approach applied during the
20th and early 21st centuries has allowed the conservation of heritage, threatened and rare
taxa and the maintenance of large surface areas of well-functioning SME. The present
approach also considers those high-value taxa but associated with the ‘ordinary biodiversity’
for an improved assessment of the functioning of the ecosystem. The consideration of
human activities within the SME is consistent with management objectives taking into
account conservation of both fauna and flora, and the preservation of sustainable economic
activities. This approach deals with the social-ecosystem concept, where Man is considered
as part of the system and contributes to its functioning with an impact that is not ‘negative
by definition’, and that can even be positive (Boudouresque et al., in press). Ecosystem
services provided by SME (Himes-Cornell et al., 2018) must be taken into account to
highlight the benefits offered by a well-functioning SME. A species-centred approach, based

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on an unreachable baseline state of the ecosystem (e.g. before the Industrial Revolution),
cannot be considered as a suitable management approach in the context of global change
issues. In contrast, the EA can assess and monitor the functioning of SME, taking into
account the expected changes (rise of the sea level), more connections with open sea,
marinization, ‘positive’ consequences for teleost fish species of halieutic interest with
juveniles which settle in brackish water, and ‘negative’ decrease in nesting and breeding of
some species of waterfowl.
4 PERSPECTIVES AND CONCLUSIONS

The species-by-species approach is essential for species that are critically endangered
throughout their range, such as the monk seal Monachus monachus, or in part of their
range, such as the osprey Pandion haliaetus in the Mediterranean Sea. But this approach, if
it does not fit into an ecosystem approach, is often ineffective, or leads to an artificialized
environment, closer to an animal park or a botanical garden than to a natural environment.
The goal of the ecosystem-based approach (EA) for the saltmarsh ecosystems (SMEs) is not
to quantify the carbon fluxes between each functional compartment, but to understand the
functioning of the ecosystem in order to support the management choices. The goal of the
EA is not to restore a natural ecosystem (SMEs are never natural ecosystems), but to find a
reasonable balance between different management choices, in relation to humans (e.g.
historical heritage, tourism, environmental education, the role of nursery, artisanal fishing),
different functional compartments (e.g. macrophyte vegetation, herbivores, invertivores,
infauna) and different taxa (e.g. teleosts, birds, insects). In addition, such a balanced
approach is likely to optimize ecosystem services while more efficiently protecting the taxa
that really require protection.
Finally, the conceptual model that serves as the basis for the EA, once adapted to each SME
and its management objectives, can serve as a basis for the establishment of an Ecosystem-
based Quality Index (EBQI), a powerful tool for assessing the quality of the SME and the
efficiency of its management.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work was feasible thanks to the financial support of the French Water Agency Rhône-
Méditerranée-Corse. We’re grateful to the managers of the study sites (Toulon Provence
Méditerranée, Conservatoire du Littoral and Port-Cros National Park) and especially
Frédérique Gimond-Lanteri, Marc Simo, Marie-Claire Gomez, Nicolas Angles d’Ortoli and all
the technical team for their knowledge and involvement in the project.

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IMAGES SOURCES
Saltmarshes of Hyères (Vieux Salins, Provence, France)
AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Patrick Astruch. Research engineer at GIS Posidonie (Marseille, France; NGO working on applied
research on marine ecology), he is focused on the monitoring and the understanding of the functioning
of marine and coastal ecosystems within the Mediterranean. GIS Posidonie is defined as a link between
fundamental research in ecology and management.
Charles-François Boudouresque. Professor emeritus at the Mediterranean Institute of

Oceanography (Marseille, France, Aix-Marseille University), teaching and working at Aix-Marseille
University since more than 50 years, he is an international expert in phycology and marine and coastal
ecosystems functioning.
Thomas Changeux. Research engineer at the French Research Institute for Development, based at
the Mediterranean Institute of Oceanography (Marseille, France, Aix-Marseille University), he is an
expert in fish ecology in brackish and freshwater ecosystems.
Daniel Faget. Lecturer at Aix-Marseille University (UMR TELEMME), he’s working on the history of
fisheries, particularly within the Mediterranean context.
Matthieu Lascève. Biologist naturalist working in Toulon Provence Méditerranée management team of
the saltmarshes of Hyères, he’s involved in the monitoring of birds, reptiles and mammals’ populations.
Laurence Le Diréach. Doctor in Oceanography and researcher at GIS Posidonie, she is specialized in
fish ecology and monitoring in brackish and sea water, particularly on fish juveniles and larvae.
Laura Massinelli. Master degree in Oceanography from the University of Aix-Marseille, she has
contributed to the project during an internship at GIS Posidonie, particularly on macrophytes
community mapping.
Flore Moussy. Master degree in Environmental Sciences from the University of Montpellier (France),
she has contributed to the project during an internship at GIS Posidonie, working on the Ecosystem-
based approach applied to saltmarshes. She also participates to experimental fishing and plankton
community monitoring.

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SPATIAL EVOLUTIONS BETWEEN
IDENTITY VALUES AND
SETTLEMENTS CHANGES
TERRITORIAL ANALYSES ORIENTED TO THE
LANDSCAPE REGENERATION
DONATELLA CIALDEA
L.a.co.s.t.a. Laboratory, University of Molise

e-mail: lab.lacosta@unirmol.it
URL https://www.lacosta.unimol.it

Cialdea, D. (2019). Spatial evolutions between identity values and settlements changes. In C. Gargiulo & C.
Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature and ecosystem services (pp. 39-51). Naples: FedOAPress. ISBN: 978-88-6887-
054-6, doi: 10.6093/978-88-6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
The coastal landscape is, by definition, the environ ment where main contradictions and major
conflicts develop. This paper is focused on the variations that have defined the layout of the
settlement system especially in relation to the presence of the sea and the naturalistic values
of coastal environments. The research, carried out during the preparation of the studies for
the Landscape Plan of the Molise Region, is the res ult of the elaboration of the interdisciplinary
research group of the l.a.co.s.t.a. Laboratory, University of Molise in Italy, involved in territorial
investigation and in the elaboration of analysis and project maps, as a part of the work
carried out, under the Agreement with the Molise Region. It is a large-scale project for the
New Landscape Plan for the Molise Region, as an exp erimental model of application of the
recent Italian Code for Cultural and Landscape Heritage, belonging to the European Landscape
Convention. The two components, included in the title, identity values and settlements changes,
aim to underline the landscape peculiarities and the settlements features, strictly connected to
the natural environment. The case-study concerns th e coastal area of the Molise region. In fact
the presence of the sea also intervenes and therefore in this paper we analyze a methodology
used to compare the levels of values, connecting the identifying factors, linked to the settlement
system with the need to safeguard or in some cases restore environmental values.
KEYWORDS
Landscape Regeneration; Urban Built Environment; Identity Values; Smart and Resilient Land
D. Cialdea
1 INTRODUCTION
This paper concerns the coast but also the urban centres, where the size of the urban
settlement linked to the second houses along the coast, assumes even greater dimensions
than the historical centres, far away from the coast. In dealing with the study of literature,
the cases of small-sized regions were analyzed, which in the course of drawing up their own
Landscape Plan dealt with the theme of recovering identity values, in some cases giving
priority to the aspect of landscape enhancement and in others the local identity of small
historic centres. The literature on this topic very often faces problems in a sector-specific
way. The slow pace with Italian Regions is preparing their own Landscape Plan (in terms of
adapting the old landscape plans or in terms of drafting the new landscape plans) does not
yet allow us to get a clear picture of their different attitudes. From the theoretical point of
view, many studies were made, with several interesting finding. They concern various
aspects: in some cases they regard the identification of indicators useful for assessing the
landscape quality (Cassatella & Peano, 2011; Clementi, 2012; De Marco & Mattiucci, 2015;
Gambino & Peano, 2015; Voghera, 2011); in other cases they provide the construction of
the cognitive framework of the territory (Magnaghi, 2007, 2012) or a normative apparatus
useful for planning choices (Barbanente, 2011, 2015, 2017).
The present work adds a contribution to the discussion of the topic: there is a reciprocal
influence between the “naturalness” aggression and the development of the urban
settlements, whose loss of harmony results in great problems for both. In specificity of case
study, the work attention was focused on physical and environmental factors, in a spatial
view, with emphasis in potentiality of the strategic planning issues. In our case it is
necessary to highlight some peculiarities: the particular condition is that we are in an urban
environment, but within a small city. Our study also contemplated the consideration of
similar cases in other regions that have centres with similar urban features. For example,
the Sardinia Region, although it is an island, presents characteristics of the urban areas,
small and medium-sized, very similar to the Molise Region. In fact, even in Sardinia specific
urban policies have been activated. The construction of the new model of "urbanity", with
respect to which some generating elements are precisely the historical centres and, more
generally, the nucleuses of urbanity present in the territory, requires that the infrastructural
systems are generating new values (Regione Sardegna, 2003). Even the Basilicata Region
does not have large cities. The research also shows that the territorial structure of the
Basilicata Region is common, in large part, to the Mediterranean area characterized mainly
by the presence of small settlements under 10,000 inhabitants. In such a structured system,
with a low population density, without significant social and economic dynamics, the

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Spatial evolutions between identity values and settlements changes

network of small centres represents an extraordinary identity wealth, witness to the
relationship between man and the environment (Abate, 2012). Also in the Umbria Region,
even if it doesn’t overlook the coast, there are a lot of small size cities. The Region has
drawn up the “Strategic Territorial Plan” that outlines a strategic vision of the regional
territory starting from the settlement dynamics. The urbanization process has however
taken on specific features that differentiate it from that which has affected most of the
Italian regions; the absence of metropolitan areas or large conurbations, is in fact
accompanied by the presence of small and medium-sized cities of great quality, located in a
largely intact and well preserved territory. From this, the need to develop an all-Umbrian
model to face the redevelopment of the building able to solve the main problems: the
resettlement of new activities and the maintenance of inhabitants, accessibility and urban
mobility, the recovery of heritage historical-artistic or unused to be allocated to new
functions" (Regione Umbria, 2013).
The attention of our research was mainly focused on the study of methodologies concerning
the values of the landscape and the values of urban and extra-urban settlements. Regarding
the Landscape Values, we analyzed some documents produced in Italy for the preparation
of the different Regional Landscape Plans. In particular, the Puglia Region has produced an
in interesting document for the Landscape Districts identification, that allows the integration
of the "Cultural Heritage Map" with all different historical civilizations data (Regione Puglia,
2015). Also the Tuscany Region has drawn up the Landscape Schedules, with the
identification of the quality objectives, including the description of the structural features
identifying territories in question, noting that "the use made by the early Italian Landscape
Plans has defined a custom that recalls very closely (perhaps too) the cultural heritage
schedules (Regione Toscana, 2010). The link between cultural heritage and landscape
induces an 'object' evaluation of the landscape, leaving out the aspects linked to the
sensitive, relational, cultural, perceptive dimension" (Poli, 2012). Also interesting is the work
of the Lombardy Region that researches the "Landscape Traces" that also proceeds to the
identification of the still existing and travelable road fragments, to the presumptive or
documentary recognition of the missing ones, to the relative artefacts as well as to the
travel support buildings, to connections between itineraries, and to their reciprocal
functional hierarchy. The data collected in survey schedules should be transferred in the
Geographical Information System of the Lombardy Region in which it will be possible to
outline the whole catalogued network (Regione Lombardia, 2010). Moreover, in the Molise
region numerous studies have been carried out in recent years concerning the landscape
values of the territory, performed by experts in the various disciplinary sectors (Cialdea &
Privitera, 2007; Cialdea & Mastronardi, 2014; Privitera, 2005, 2006; Rosskopf et al., 2016).
Furthermore, in relation to Urban and Extra-urban Settlements several European-level
© 2019, FedoaPress

D. Cialdea
documents on integrated sustainable urban development were consulted on the

implementation of sustainable urban development related to the delegation to urban
Municipalities, designing integrated strategies useful for the monitoring and evaluation of
urban projects (in particular see European Commission, 2015). Subsequently were consulted
documents of local Authorities that have addressed the issue of cataloguing of goods
located within historic centres that had similarities with the region under study, i.e. of
regions mainly in central and southern Italy with small and medium-sized (Regione Calabria,
2004; Regione Sicilia, 2008; Regione Umbria, 2013; Napoli, 2014). Finally, some recent
works edited recently by the L.a.co.s.t.a. Laboratory Research Group were taken into
account (Cialdea, 2007; Cialdea, 2009).
2 METHODOLOGY
The observation and study of the landscape requires more and more of an evaluation in
terms of both methodology and content, because it is necessary to critically interpret the
complex system in which the landscape itself is articulated. This work involved three
different steps: the analysis phase; the in-situ data verification phase and the synthesis
phase with the results. Our analysis has two main purposes: on the one hand, it strives to
identify the peculiarities of the landscape, in many cases linked to the physical
characteristics of the places (which often also mean difficulties - hydrogeological instability,
imperviousness of places). On the other hand, the article proposes a reflection on policy
intervention tools with potential to tackle and to solve problems related to the urban
expansion, especially along the seacoast. These two components are included in the title
that aims to correlate identity values and settlements changes.
The methodology for deepening the territory transformations focuses on the evolution of
settlement systems. In this phase of the work we focused on the variations that influenced
the settlement system especially in relation to the presence of the sea. Therefore, we
describe the Model of Analysis (Cialdea, 2013) tested for a comparative analysis of cross-
border coastal environments and now refined during the preparation of studies for the
Landscape Plan of the Molise Region. The ongoing research was developed starting from a
portion of the sample area for which a fair amount of territorial data was collected. The data
were carefully selected and classified using a model scheme, and they were merged into an
organic and structured spatial database, from the elementary data useful for the
construction of complex evaluation indicators. The identification of the indicators was carried
out using a two-dimensional model in which the static territorial component, classified
according to the five Resources Systems, was taken into consideration (S1 physical-
environmental resource, S2 landscape-visual resource, S3 historic-cultural resource, S4

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productive-agricultural resource, S5 demographic-tourism resource). The data for each
system is processed in three chosen states, these are: actual state; state evolved over time;
previsional state, that is with reference to the formulation of urban planning tools currently
in use. Therefore, three basic grids were created, which serve as a reference for the reading
of each resource system. They were constructed starting from several primary documents.
The term basic grid defines the layers constituting the information base of the management
system for the territorial data which is useful for landscape analysis. Comparisons between
the basic grids of each resource system will create the information and evaluations which
will form the research conclusions. The basic grids will be described below and several
images are shown of those created for a municipality, that is Campomarino, along the coast
of the Molise Regione (see Fig. 1).
Fig. 1 General view of the landscape, historical and urbanistic evidences along the Molise Region coastline
(Source: l.a.co.s.t.a. elaboration 2018)
To create the grids the raster data model was applied; precisely because the data derives
from various sources and is unhomogeneous (from traditional map data to that in GIS
format, with different levels of geo-referencing from the lowest level to data shape points),
the raster model is the least approximate for this type of application. As is known the two
main systems for modelling the real world in GIS are the raster model and the vector model.
An extremely concise description of the specifications of each model in relation to the type
of data to be processed is that the vector model suits discrete data, for example
administrative boundaries, the limits of an urban planning zone, the electricity lines, data
shape points, but is not good for representing data of a continuous nature such as the

© 2019, FedoaPress

D. Cialdea
altimetrical model of a territory, the influence of a data shape point on the surrounding
territory and distribution models in general because such phenomena do not have precise
boundaries without any breaks. Moreover, the raster model facilitates intersection analysis
with data of diverse accuracy because the accuracy is defined (knowingly by whoever
conducts the analysis) by the size of the data cell used (and therefore by the accuracy
established for the model) and not by the accuracy of the data collection. In this case in
particular, the accuracy level is that typical of 1:25.000 maps which conventionally equals
the intrinsic error in graphics (such is considered the margin of error deriving from the pen
mark equal to 0.35 mm which is the equivalent of just under 10 metres in the nominal scale
1:25.000) which it is not possible to go below in traditional maps. However, it must be
stressed that the choice of the 10 metre pixel does not degrade the information to a level
that is any lower than the least accurate data and as such results as being widely usable for
territorial analyses where even 10 metres are below a significant threshold from the
moment that they represent only 100 m2.
The first grid, called A, that is the reference for the analysis of the present state, was
developed from the present PTPAAV (Vast Area Landscape Environmental Physical Plan).
The elements were divided by category in accordance with the diverse categories of
interest: Elements of historic, urban, archaeological, architectural interest; Agricultural-
productive elements of interest for natural characteristics; Naturalistic elements of interest
for physical-biological characteristics; Areal elements that are geologically unstable;
Elements and environments of visual interest.
An evaluation was assigned regarding the importance of each single element for each of the
above mentioned categories; this evaluation is known as a value and may vary in a domain
given by the following scale of ordinal type points: Low; Medium; High; Exceptional.
In this form the synthesised maps were digitalised for the purposes of the project thus
obtaining layers of vector information divided into the above categories and by different
primitive graphic representations (point, line or polygon). It was chosen to use the numbers
1 to 4 establishing the following correlations (Tab. 1).
VALUE RANGE
1 low
2 medium
3 high
4 exceptional
Tab. 1 Values attributed to elements of interest in the PTPAAV n. 1

© 2019, FedoaPress


However, the interesting lies in being able to correlate these four distinct fields of evaluation
in an overall picture. To this end a particular type of visual overlay was used, based on the
RGB (Red, Green, Blue) model used in the digital sphere for visualising coloured images
(Tab. 2). The grid relative to the evolved state (E) was created on the basis of land use in
the area examined in the period of time between the 1950s and nowaday: this grid
highlights the main variations with particular attention to wooded areas (highlighting the
areas corresponding to reforestation and deforestation), dunal areas (with the aim of
defining the zones that have disappeared and those that remain), urban areas (and related
progressive expansion), areas under cultivation (with particular attention for the zones
affected by the land reforms).
BAND RASTER
overlay Visual
1
R – RED Historic
G – GREEN Agricultural
B – BLUE Naturalistic
Tab. 2 Association between the raster and the bands selected for visualisation
Therefore, the evolved state is described using the comparison between two representations
of the state of the territory that are 40 years apart. The categories attributed to the
polygons for this map have been streamlined and simplified so as to obtain the following
key that is valid for both periods: urban areas; agricultural areas (including meadows and
meadow-pastureland and arboriculture); grasslands and wastelands (shrub cover <40% and
tree cover <20%); shrub and bushland (shrub cover >40%); chestnut plantations;
broadleaf forests; coniferous forests; mixed forests of conifers and broadleaf; reforestation
(forestry formation of conifers and broadleaf with h<5m); bare ground areas (mountains,
coasts etc.); water bodies and wetlands. From a comparison between the two it is evident
that the land cover (vegetation) and use for which the terrain is destined changed
significantly in about 40 years. In order to better assess the changes and evolution it was
deemed necessary to create a comparative information layer (which analyses the decrease
or increase of the land with respect to the sea). Therefore, the key was structured in the
following way: increase in urban areas; increase in agricultural areas; increases in woodland
areas; increase in bare ground; increase in shoreline; decrease in agricultural areas;
decrease in woodland areas; decrease in bare ground; decrease in shoreline; no change.

1
For historic interest both data points and lines were selected and given a value. The points were
identified with a 50 m radius circle and the lines buffered to a total width of 210 m, corresponding to
the maximum width of a drove-road of 110 m with a buffer of 50 m on either side.

© 2019, FedoaPress

D. Cialdea
Finally, the grid for the previsional state (P) has been derived from the current urban plan
and consists in the identification of the various designated zones with their relative
attributes (building and land use characteristic). As regards the municipality of
Campomarino, the previsional state was created using the forecast suggested by the Master
Plan (P.R.G.). This zoning (available in .dwg format) was imported into a GIS and then
georeferenced, obtaining a .shp file which identifies the zones using polygons as the
primitive graphic.
3 DISCUSSION AND RESULTS

The Molise’s circa 35 km of coastline is characterised by notable environmental diversity
with an alternating presence of coastal marshes, delta systems, sandy shorelines and dunal
systems. The inland area, which is mainly hilly and today under intense cultivation, is
characterised by water courses with respective flood plains and banks which still conserve
their particular natural characteristics, constituting a series of important ecological corridors
which from the delta develop towards the inland areas. The main environmental
characteristic of the coastal area comes from the alternation of stretches of sandy shoreline
interrupted by the delta systems of the main water courses. Not by chance three Site of
Community Importance (SCI) exist: they include circa two thirds of the entire Molisan
coastline. Some analyses were carried out for these territories, for which it is still possible to
think of “soft” forms of development (i.e through the creation greenways parallel to the
coast or blueways parallel to the rivers, where eco-tourism and low impact eco-tourism can
be promoted which will consent both sustainable fruition and habitat maintenance).
Meanwhile, some specific problems exist. For the SCI named “Foce Trigno – Marina di
Petacciato” (IT7228221): the dunes are in quite natural condition but in order to achieve
their effective stabilization it would to be opportune to undertake series of environmental
restoration operations, (planting of autoctonous species, re-naturalisation, realization of
trellises etc.). For the SCI “Foce Biferno - Litorale di Campomarino” (IT7222216): the
realization of an access road to the building site and the construction work have completely
flattened the dunes and obliterated them for ever. For the SCI “Foce Saccione – Bonifica
Ramitelli” (IT7222217): the great problem of illegal construction emerged.
An analysis has also been made of existing built on areas: the substance of urban and rural
construction was examined, divided into urban areas and important rural agglomerates.
According to the methodology already described these elements were examined in the three
states Actual, Evolutional and Previsional, extracting the information from the following
layers (Tab. 3):

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STATE LAYER
A Information layer derived from photo-interpretation of the ortho-photos in colour

E Information layer derived from the comparison between the state in 1954 and nowaday
(vegetation map)
P Information layer derived from the zoning of the Campomarino Municipality Master Plan
Tab. 3 Information layers for each state
As an example, the analyse undertaken for the municipality of Campomarino are given (see
Fig. 1): according to ISTAT the following inhabited localities resulted: Campomarino, Lido
Campomarino, Nuova Cliternia, Buccaro, Cianaluca, Ramitelli, Santa Monica. The presence
of Scattered houses is also mentioned, corresponding to 345 buildings. Therefore the
corresponding polygons were identified. Moreover, it was though opportune to note the
presence of a built up area half way between Campomarino and the Lido of Campomarino.
This area was therefore delimited and the polygon was given as its locality the toponym
“Sotto le case” (from the I.G.M.), as it is situated at the foot of the cliffs of Campomarino.
The subsequent operation was that of overlaying the urban_CGR.shp layer on the
information layers of the Synthesis Map S1 of the PTPAAV n. 1, that is the elements of
exceptional, high, medium and low value in the ambits of interest: Visual; Historical;
Agricultural; Naturalistic. The aim is evident: to show how there are built up areas in zones
considered by the project group of value and to be protected using methods of restrictive
transformability. In the first place the overlay was made on the Perceived ambit (Tab. 4).
LEVEL LOCALITY
Exceptional Buccaro
Exceptional Campomarino – Historic Centre
Exceptional Campomarino – Urban Expansion;
Exceptional Campomarino Lido;
Exceptional Sotto Le Case
High Buccaro
High Campomarino – Historic Centre
High Campomarino – Urban Expansion
High Cianaluca
High Campomarino Lido
High Nuova Cliternia
High Ramitelli
High Santa Monica
High Sotto Le Case
Tab. 4 The Perceived layer

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D. Cialdea
It is obvious that the case involving Campomarino - historic centre cannot be taken into
account as it is a zone which certainly pre-dates the approval of the PTPAAV (in 1991). In
the locality of Buccaro most of the built-on area is in an area of high perceived interest;
however, to the north is a built up area in an ambit of exceptional perceived interest. At the
Lido there are no built up areas in ambits of exceptional perceived interest, with the
exception of a single building on the edge of the is the same as that for naturalistic interest,
strip of pine wood which protects the coast and obviously omitting the presence of
campsites and bathing establishments. On the contrary, the locality “Sotto le case” results
as being almost entirely within an ambit of exceptional perceived interest. It should be
noted that the presence in this area of Campomarino railway station has been deliberately
omitted as it is not considered pertinent (and is however earlier than 1991). Even part of
the built-on area present in the urban expansion zone of Campomarino results as being in
an ambit of exceptional perceived interest. The overlay on the historical layer presents
nothing of interest, thus we pass to the analyses of the overlay on the layer of Naturalistic
interest, as an overlay between the built-up urban areas and the productive-agricultural
zones would not be coherent. Only two cases were obtained: High, for Buccaro and Medium
for Campomarino Lido. The areas involved in these two cases are the same as mentioned
previously, as each time the polygon generated for perceived interest, as the perception, in
these cases, is of elements of natural beauty. However, it should be noted that for this
ambit of interest we are not faced with intersections with ambits of exceptional value. From
the analysis of the overlays between the information layer of the present urban areas in
Campomarino and the information based on the Actual state at least one situation of
territorial transformation emerges that is contrary to the dictates of the Landscape Plan.
What also emerged in this case was the particular state of the expansion of the lidos and
thus the heavy presence of built on areas along the coast.
In conclusion, from the planning point of view, it opened space for proposals that generate
actions to improve the quality of the landscape. The choice was made to verify the actual
state and the proposed state of things in the areas under examination, the actual state
intends the reality of restrictions currently existing on the territory in question. Ample space
has been dedicated to the overall picture of the restrictions, landscape and historical-
archaeological which have been defined as positive elements. In reality other types of
restriction also exist on the territory, linked the difficulties caused by the nature of the
territory itself; for example the hydro-geological restriction which in the Molise covers
almost the entire regional territory, or the seismic restrictions which also covers the majority
of the regional territory. These are, however, restriction of an environmental type - which
will also be taken into consideration - but we concentrated on the so-called positive
restrictions, defined as such in that they are useful for the definition of quality landscape
© 2019, FedoaPress


objectives. In fact, they contribute to the information systems of landscape-visual and
historical-cultural nature in the areas under examination. On the contrary, proposed state
indicates what can be deduced regarding the intentions of a plan. The case of the Molise is
emblematic for the total absence of planning tools above municipal level. Therefore, an
examination has been made of individual planning tool proposals at municipal level, with the
aim of putting together the various plans in order to seek out possible - and inevitable -
incongruities in the border zones between one municipality and another. Moreover, our
attention was dedicated to the identification of the geographic and geo-morphological
characteristics of the coast, with particular attention to the phenomenon of erosion and
therefore includes a careful study of variations in the coastline, also regarding the continual
interventions carried out for coastal protection. Moreover, within the project area exist some
SCI areas, which as is known are still without a management tool and least of all a planning
tool. Therefore, three an examination is undertaken of these areas in search of the most
evident conflicting situations. Finally, the initial hypothesis was tested in the case-study in
order to highlight the possibility to re-generate local increase through the new landscape
planning tool as an element able to include the resources safeguard and the economic
development.
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AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Donatella Cialdea. Full Professor (Urban Planning) at the University of Molise since 1988. She is the
Director of the Laboratory L.A.Co.S.T.A. (Laboratory for activities relating to Territorial and
Environmental Development) at the University of Molise in order to prepare students and operators in
the Geographical Information Systems field. Dean of the Faculty of Engineering from 2009 to 2012 and
the Coordinator of the PhD Course in "Landscape Analysis and Valorisation" at the University of Molise
and the University of Sassari based consortium. She was the Scientific Coordinator of the International
Master Level I Pro.D.U.C.T.I.V.E. Coast (Proposal for the Development of Urban and Coastal Territory in
relation to the Value of the Environment), aimed at the technical-scientific training of a specific
professional figure - the Selective Interpreter of Territorial Data. At present she is a Member of the
National Landscape Committee of the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage.

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ANALYZING SENIOR TOURISM
THE ROLE OF ECOSYSTEM SERVICES TO IMPROVE
SUSTAINABLE TOURISM DESTINATIONS
ROMANO FISTOLAa, ROSA ANNA LA ROCCAb
a
Department of Engineerin
University of Sannio, Italy
e-mail: rfistola@unisannio.it
b
Department of Civil, Architectural and
Environmental Engineering
University of Naples Federico II, Italy
e-mail: larocca@unina.it

Fistola, R. & La Rocca, R.A. (2019). Analyzing senior tourism. The role of ecosystem services to improve
sustainable tourism. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature and ecosystem services (pp. 52-65).
Naples: FedOAPress. ISBN: 978-88-6887-054-6, doi: 10.6093/978-88-6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
This study focuses on two emerging and growing phen omena that occur in today’s cities and
will have impacts on the future organization of urban systems, affecting all their components
(physical, functional and social). On the one side, population aging, as the principal effect of
the “baby boom” generation, but not the only one; on the other side, the tourism phenomenon,
as one of the economic sectors relentlessly growing worldwide also according to the United
Nations World Tourism Organization forecasts. Senio r tourism, thus, has been considered as an
urban phenomenon to be investigated as one of the occurrences giving rise to new demands
of use of the cities. As these new demands request for good quality and variety of services
and facilities, this paper considers the issue of E cosystem Services (ES), meant as one of the
peculiarities able to increase the attractiveness of a tourism destination and enhance its physical
quality. ESs contribute to augmenting the well-being of city populations (residents and tourists),
improving the efficiency of its services and, overal l, assuring the outliving of the whole complex
urban and/or territorial system. In other words, the study considers the ecosystem services as a
background condition for a territorial context, trying to identify which of them act as polarizing
factors for senior travelers. Starting from the characteristics of senior tourism, the study works
out a first characterization of a senior-friendly destination in which ecosystem services play a
strategic role in improving the general quality of the supply systems’ facilities and amenities, in
order to assure a high-quality level of life both for residential and temporary urban populations.
KEYWORDS
Senior Tourism; Senior Friendly Destination; Ecosystem Services
Analyzing senior tourism. The role of ecosystem services to improve sustainable tourism destinations

1 INTRODUCTION: MOTIVATION OF THE STUDY

The paper aims to investigate two emerging phenomena that affect the evolution and the
future of today's cities and, therefore, the governance of urban and territorial transformations.
On the one hand, the phenomenon of population aging requires a reconsideration of the urban
services supply dedicated to this specific segment of users; on the other hand, the steady
growth of tourism is considered not only as an undisputed economic factor, but also as an
urban phenomenon that involves various sectors related to the acts of urban transformation
governance (La Rocca, 2014).
In the light of the reflections above, and considering the theme of ecosystem services (ESs)
as a background panorama for the research, the study aims to define which of the ESs
available in a territorial context can have a polarizing effect on tourist flows, with particular
reference to the segment of senior travelers. It’s clear that the study deals with different levels
of research that intersect each other and should be deepened, in order to support the actors
of territory governance towards the ESs which, besides having a strategic role for the
safeguarding of local communities, need particular attention as they can incentivize the
beneficial effects deriving from a well-planned tourism development.
Therefore, in a first phase, the study was aimed at identifying the essential conditions for a
senior-friendly urban system, that is, a system capable of responding to the needs of a specific
demand segment, in compliance with the objectives of sustainability and urban resilience. A
potential profile of senior travelers is defined in the first part of the work, while recognizing that,
at present, there is no single agreed scientific definition. However, what appears to be generally
recognized is that this segment of users is particularly interested in high quality services, favors
cultural tourism and is extremely flexible with regard to the travel period, due to a greater
availability of time not strictly connected to periods off work (Tourage project, 2014).
In the second part, the work examines the issue of ESs in relation to tourism-oriented urban
systems. This type of urban systems can be particularly significant for their need to respond
to a tourist load which, albeit temporarily, adds up to the people who live in them year-round.
The relationship between ecosystem services and tourist activity can be an interesting
research path, given that it is based on the relationship between natural environment and
man-made environment. In fact, tourism can be analyzed as one of the few (probably the
only) urban activity capable of combining the two aspects of this relationship, which would
deserve greater attention from the scientific community dealing with urban studies.
Therefore, the study focuses on the definition of a clear methodological-theoretical framework
to support subsequent research developments oriented towards the definition of indicators
able to “measure” the capacity of a “city/tourist destination” to meet the needs of a new and

© 2019, FedoaPress

R. Fistola, R. A. La Rocca
growing demand of use, which, for this purpose, must have adequate facilities, ancillary
services and amenities to ensure a proper balance between daily and tourist uses of the city.
2 SILVER-HAIR TOURISTS: A METHODOLOGY FOR TRACING THE

PROFILE OF A GROWING TOURIST SEGMENT
The definition of the senior tourist’s profile took place through the analysis of the scientific
literature produced in the last five years (2013-2018), available on the main online databases
that collect scientific articles, conference presentations and books related to the subject
matter of this paper. In particular, we examined the following bibliographic platforms:
− Science Direct, Elsevier (SD).
− Web of Science, ISI Thompson Reuters (WoS).
− the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ).
Science Direct is the platform of the Elsevier publishing group which collects scientific articles,
books and essays related to 27 scientific categories. The products in the database have
different levels of accessibility depending on whether or not the full text is available. This
availability may depend both on the relationship between the publisher and the author and
on the authorization of access to the database by the registered user. For the purposes of the
research, we accessed the database by using the registered allowed University of Naples
“Federico II” user, due to the greater flexibility of access guaranteed to the university.
Furthermore, the choice to use the Science Direct platform is related to the wide availability
of and access to the full texts of all articles in the database. The platform was then consulted
by introducing the keywords indicated in Tab. 1 in the “Search” box. The first results obtained
were subsequently selected by time period (last 5 years), scientific area of interest and finally
by product type. In the database, in fact, 24 different product types can be selected; among
them, we selected the following 4 significant categories for the purposes of our study:
research article; book chapters; case reports; conference info.
The Web of Science platform is the multidisciplinary bibliographical/citation database of the
Thomson Reuters publisher, which acquired the ISI (Institute for Scientific Information) – the
academic publishing service that devised the Impact Factor and other citation indexes. The
repository allows the simultaneous querying of the three databases: Science Citation Index
(SCI), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI) and Arts and Humanities Citation index (AHCI).
Unlike the previous one, this platform allows a first processing of the query results and
consequently makes it possible to select these results within the scientific areas of interest.
In particular, among all categories, those closest to the regional science field for content, aims
and objectives were selected.

© 2019, FedoaPress


The Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) is a community-curated list of open access
journals which aims to be the starting point for all information searches, providing access to
high quality and peer-reviewed resources. We chose to query this database to have the Open
Access scientific production as an exclusive reference, which is, in some way, “not subject” to
the strictness of academic publishing. This database differs from the previous ones for its
specific query results, due to the much smaller number of products listed.
KEYWORD SD WoS DOAJ TOTAL
Ecosystem services and tourism 46 53 3 102

Ecotourism 179 683 264 1126
Senior tourism 63 133 7 203
Smart tourism 72 185 36 293
Sustainable tourism 1603 781 226 2610
Tourism and accessibility 156 406 235 797
Tourism attractiveness 115 423 9 547
TOTAL 2234 2664 780 5678
Tab. 1 Results of the first round of queries of the three databases examined (authors’ elaboration)
Tab. 1 shows the results of the first round of queries carried out on the basis of seven
categories of keywords mentioned in the title or in the abstracts. The second round of queries
was carried out to obtain better results, in light of the following criteria:
− overlapping of results (same results in different databases);
− repetition of results for two different queries.
By applying these criteria, the number of representative papers considerably decreased, thus
allowing for an easier analysis of their contents and coherence with the objectives of the
study. In particular, the third round of acquired products verification referred to the application
of the following criteria for the selection of results:
− mismatch between the content of the publication and the objective of our study, which,
in this phase, was particularly focused on the definition of a possible profile;
− poor correlation between the presence of the keyword in the title and the content of
the paper, in relation to the object and objectives of our study.
The overview of the results is shown in Tab. 2.
The table above highlights the clusters defined in view of the whole selection process (rounds
1-3) and a first definition of contents matching on a qualitative basis.

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CLUSTERS PAPERS LEVEL OF ATTINENCE
ANALYTICS 2 -
CASE STUDIES 4 -
CHARACTERISTICS 20 ++
GENERAL 3 +
MOTIVATION 2 +
SUPPLY SIDE 1 -
TYPOLOGIES 4 +
TOTAL 36
- Low; + medium; ++ high

Tab. 2 Overview of the materials selected and identification of the clusters (authors’
elaboration)
This means that the greater significance of the “Characteristics” cluster is due to the specific
objective of this research phase, aimed at the construction of a reliable profile of the senior user.
Similarly, the clusters relating to studies dedicated to specific types of tourist use and the
reasons behind the choices of travel were considered significant for the purposes of this
specific phase of the work. However, some of them were rejected on the basis of the following
criteria: a) no significant mention of senior tourism behaviors; b) unavailability of full texts;
c) focus on not relevant specific aspects (health, psychological aspects, dementia, handicap,
etc.); d) publication date not in the fixed period.
In particular, the “c” criterion highlights that, in the scientific literature on this subject, the
topic of senior tourism (despite having enjoyed a discreet attention and being recognized as
capable of activating a tourist flow) has been almost exclusively addressed in terms of
perceived “weakness” of the elderly population (particularly from the point of view of health),
as closely linked to the need for medical assistance: a sort of “geriatric tourism”.
However, the aspect that we seek to point out in this study concerns the transformation of
the “senior” population, for which it is reductive to talk about “elderly population”; it is a “new”
generation that refers to a cultural model not yet clearly defined, identified as “active aging”
(Benberin & Tanbayeva, 2017; Boudiny & Mortelmans, 2011; Boudiny, 2013; Walker, 2010;
Zaidi et al., 2013).
After filtering out all data available, we selected 13 documents considered to be the most
significant for the objectives of our study (Tab. 3).

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CLUSTER YEAR REFERENCES
Nikitina, O., & Vorontsova, G. (2015). Aging population and tourism:

2015 socially determined model of consumer behavior in the “senior tourism”
segment. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 214, 845-851.
Alén, E., Losada, N., & Domínguez, T. (2016). The impact of ageing on
2016 the tourism industry: an approach to the senior tourist profile. Social
Indicators Research, 127(1), 303-322.
Nella, A., & Christou, E. (2016). Extending tourism marketing:
2016 Implications for targeting the senior tourists’ segment.
DEMAND Tiago, M. T. P. M. B., de Almeida Couto, J. P., Tiago, F. G. B., & Faria, S.
2016 M. C. D. (2016). Baby boomers turning grey: European profiles. Tourism
ANALYSIS Management, 54, 13-22.
Zsarnoczky, M. (2017). Developing Senior Tourism in Europe. Pannon
2017 Management Review, 6(3-4), 201-214.
Sánchez, N. L., Alén, G., & Dominguez, V. (2018). Determinants of
2018 senior's perceived barriers to travel. PASOS: Revista de Turismo y
Patrimonio Cultural, 16(2), 387-399.
Mélon, M., Agrigoroaei, S., Diekmann, A., & Luminet, O. (2018). The
2018 holiday-related predictors of wellbeing in seniors. Journal of Policy
Research in Tourism, Leisure and Events, 10(3), 221-240.
Losada, N., Alén, E., Nicolau, J. L., & Domínguez, T. (2017). Senior
2017 tourists’ accommodation choices. International Journal of Hospitality
Management, 66, 24-34.
SUPPLY Huber, D., Milne, S., & Hyde, K. F. (2018). Constraints and facilitators for
2018 senior tourism. Tourism Management Perspectives, 27, 55-67.
ANALYSIS
Lee, C. F., & King, B. (2019). Determinants of attractiveness for a
2019 seniors-friendly destination: a hierarchical approach. Current Issues in
Tourism, 22(1), 71-90.
Klimova, B. (2018). Senior Tourism in Europe: Current State and
2018 Prospects for Future. Advanced Science Letters, 24(7), 4778-4781.
Losada, N., Alen, E., Cotos-Yanez, T. R., & Dominguez, T. (2019).
2019 Spatial heterogeneity in Spain for senior travel behavior. Tourism
CASE STUDY Management, 70, 444-452.
La Rocca, R., & Fistola, R. (2018). The tourist-religious mobility of the
“silver-haired people”. The case of Pietrelcina (BN). TeMA Journal of
2018 Land Use, Mobility and Environment, SP, 67-84.
doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.6092/1970-9870/5767
Tab. 3 Final selection of the analyzed documents
The selected documents use the questionnaire as method of analysis to identify users’
preferences and features. The investigations, in particular, are aimed at collecting data
concerning:
− socio-demographic aspects: age, economic status, autonomy, social status, level of
education, sex, etc.;

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− motivation of the trip: visit family or friends, leisure, culture, events, festivals, nature,
etc.;
− length of the trip: short, medium, long stay;
− travel arrangements: package tour, self-arranged tour;
− means of transport: plane, train, bus, car;
− reasonable distance of the destination.
The most widespread measuring method is the Likert scale (Losada et al., 2017) which allows
both one-dimensional and multidimensional analyses. In some cases, the analyses use
multidimensional methods that refer to main components (Klimova, 2018), or factor analysis
(Nikitina and Vorontsova, 2015; Zsarnoczky, 2017); other studies (Tiago et al., 2016) focus
on the description of this segment of the population by analyzing behaviors and dividing them
into “behavioral groups” according to their different habits and needs. By examining the
selected documents, we were able to trace a first profile of users, though further appropriate
and direct investigations will be carried out providing for a subsequent deepening of the
research. In this phase, the main characteristics that contribute to defining the senior
travelers’ segment have been defined (Tab. 4). As highlighted in literature (Alén, Losada, &
Domínguez, 2016), a particularly important aspect concerns the preferences of this specific
category of users, with respect to the organization of the trip, in relation to:
− accommodations: they mostly prefer hotels and resorts if they travel in groups, while
they prefer to stay with relatives or friends if they travel alone;
− type of trip: they prefer organized trips, “package holidays”, guided tours, mainly for
reasons of convenience, security and companions to travel with; this choice is often
due to their marital status (single, widowed, divorced), whilst the younger seniors
prefer self-organized tours;
− time spent in planning the trip: it is different according to the age classes; the younger
seniors usually prepare their trip closer to the travelling date than older seniors;
− source of information: senior tourists prefer interpersonal sources (word of mouth,
friends and neighbors) rather than the web or other informatics tools to look for travel
information;
− seasonality: they are willing to travel during a period other than the high seasonality
period, both for low prices and no overcrowded conditions;
− length of trip: they are generally willing to spend long holidays as they have a lot of
free time available, but this condition may vary for personal reasons;
− means of transport: they generally prefer tourist buses, as they love sharing the trip
with others.

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VARIABLES
55-59 seniors
59-69 elderly
AGE CLASSES
69-79 old people
79 + very old
Prevalence of women in the old people age class;

SEX Prevalence of men in the senior age class mainly for the
nature-based tourism
Married
STATUS
Widowed
High school degree

LEVEL OF EDUCATION
University degree
Retired
EMPLOYMENT Housewives
Employers
Good
HEALTH CONDITION
High
Rest and relaxation

Visit new places
Learn and experience new things
Get away from stress
MOTIVATIONS (PUSH FACTORS) Improve health and well-being
Take challenge/experience an adventure
Seek intellectual enrichment
Exercise physically
Visit family and friends
Natural attractions
Historical attractions
Cultural attractions
ATTRACTIONS (PULL FACTORS) Special events and festivals
Leisure activities
Good weather
Commercial facilities for shopping
Safety of the destination
Availability of medical facilities
Infrastructure
AMENITIES (PULL FACTORS) Service quality of travel agents
Service quality of tour leaders and tour guides
Hotel accessibility and disability features
Cleanliness and Hygiene
Easy accessibility of destinations
ACCESSIBILITY (PULL FACTORS)
Quality of the Public Local Transportation
Price of inclusive packages/hotels
AVAILABILITY (PULL FACTORS)
Suitable costs
Tab. 4 Profile of senior tourists: characteristics, push and pull factors

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The review of the literature shed light, on the one hand, on the factors that characterize the
senior tourists’ profile, on the other, on the peculiarities of a senior tourist-friendly destination.
It should also be pointed out that, although there is no officially shared definition, senior
tourists are almost unanimously considered as a sub-category of social tourism or, rather, of
accessible tourism, since disability is almost automatically identified with old age. Indeed, in
developing the definition of accessible tourism, Darcy and Dickinson (2009) do not provide
any juxtaposition of these two conditions (old age = movement disabilities), except for
equating the elderly with the so-called “weak” categories: Accessible tourism enables people
with access requirements, including mobility, vision, hearing and cognitive dimensions of
access, to function independently and with equity and dignity through the delivery of
universally designed tourism products, services and environments. This definition is inclusive
of all people including those travelling with children in prams, people with disabilities and
seniors (pag.34).
Although an autonomous (and further) definition of senior tourism has not yet been put
forward in this work, it was assumed that this kind of tourism was primarily made up of people
with:
− good physical and mental health;
− autonomy of movement
− aptitude for travel and leisure, cultural and physical well-being, socialization reasons;
− propensity to spend part of their assets on journeys.
Therefore, if, on the one hand, it is possible to define a reliable profile for a tourist population
made up of “seniors”, on the basis of these characteristics, on the other, the definition of the
specific features of a theoretical tourist destination suitable for senior tourism is reasonably
achievable (Tab. 5). At a later stage, the study involves the development of direct surveys
through the use of questionnaires, as well as the consultation of experts who can validate the
results achieved so far. A particular aspect of tourism activity, that is especially relevant with
regard to the objectives of this study, concerns the evolution of tourism demand towards a
more sustainable fruition (from mass tourism to sustainable tourism) that currently
characterizes the various tourist segments (young people, adults, the elderly). Analysts of the
tourism industry, in fact, highlight the predisposition of these types of users to spend more
on services that are “environmentally sustainable” (eco-labelled hotels, energy savings, zero
km supply, etc.). On the basis of this consideration, the next part of the research work was
oriented towards the study of the relationship between the tourist demand in a senior-friendly
destination and the supply of services that could fall into the category of ecosystem services.
In other words, in the following part the paper focuses on the relationship between the tourist
load and the urban ecosystem concerned, with the aim of defining conditions that can

© 2019, FedoaPress


guarantee system balance, even when an additional load represented by the transient
population of tourists is present. In addition, it is important to highlight how a second key to
reading (no less important but far less investigated both in the literature and in development
policies) concerns the possibility that senior tourism could represent a way to improve the
quality of life of the tourists themselves, who are not just an additional tourist typology to
which “pre-packaged” trips that respond exclusively to the logic of the economic market of
international tourism are offered (Dann, 2002). This second key of lecture is much more
respondent to the objectives of the present research even though less explored in literature.
In this regard, the contribution of the present study could be framed as a new line for the
research oriented to investigate the perspectives of the relation between the tourist activity
and the territorial transformations.
PROFILE OF THE DEMAND OUTLINE OF DESTINATION

(FACTORS INFLUENCING SENIOR TRAVELERS)
age Physical condition

Easy reachability
income
Accessibility to local resources
health Safety
Good level of mobility infrastructures
curiosity
Physical accessibility
knowledge of languages other than mother Temperate Climate
Availability of parking areas for coach
tongues
Nature-based resources
cultural level Cultural attractions
enjoy visiting countries different from
Functional conditions
residence Quality of the supply of services
propensity to travel in low-season period Hospitality
Variety of the supply of services
Urban propriety
Accessible Medical facilities
Accessibility
Quality of the Local Public Transport
Network
Sociopolitical condition
Security condition
Quality and variety of local food
Expertise
Tab. 5 Demand profile and destination outline

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3 ECOLOGICAL SERVICES AND SENIOR TRAVELLERS: A

METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH
The theme of ecosystem services has started attracting scholars’ interest since 2005 thanks
to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA) which defines the ESs as benefits obtained
by the population from ecosystems as “providers” of essential services for achieving the man-
environment balance. Among these services, cultural services are deemed necessary to
improve the mental and intellectual well-being of the resident population as well as of the
transiently hosted one (Altunkasa et al., 2017). They probably represent the most important
category for the study, for which the preferences of senior travelers must be formalized.
In this sense, a first relationship between tourism activity (understood as an experience
capable of increasing culture and knowledge) and ESs is established. The demand component
of tourism can be interpreted as the expression of the needs required by a transient population
that needs food, water, energy, produces waste and represents a load for the destination
chosen, also on the basis of its physical-geographical features (climate, beauty and
uniqueness of places and landscapes, cultural heritage, etc.).
The above considerations highlight the need to formalize which ESs are most relevant in
determining the choices of a tourist destination for senior travelers, as indicated in the steps
below. In this regard, we drew up an online questionnaire – to be easier to administer to the
sample of interest - structured in three main parts. The first one serves to identify the general
characteristics of the respondent, who is requested to fill in the sections about age segment,
sex and geographical origin. The second part is the most important as it elaborates, in the
form of questions, the interest in the various ecosystem functions supplied by a potential
tourist destination. With the conclusive question, we try to validate the set of answers given
previously. While the first and third parts provide text responses, the central part asks the
interviewee to assign, on a scale of 0-5, numeric scores for relevance.
The methodology summarized below must be considered as a first definition of the process
of identifying which ESs are capable (as a side effect) of polarizing tourism of people over 55.
In this sense, it is possible to identify the following 10 steps referring to a perimeterized
administrative/territorial area, which provides a sufficient set of data relating to the local ESs.
The presence, quantity and relevance of ESs can be detected through different procedures,
including the use of remote sensing techniques for the ESs supporting our survival and well-
being, in order to quantify the specific presence of ecosystem components within the territorial
region of reference (Longato et al., 2018).
− Identification of the urban center and the surrounding area as the reference territorial
unit (RTU);

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− detection of the ESs present in the RTU;

− consideration of the polarizing ESs for the senior tourists (ST) (questionnaire);
− extraction of polarizing ESs within the RTU;
− definition of polarizing ecosystem factors (PEF) through specific multivariate statistical
techniques;
− verification of the presence and relevance of PEFs in the RTU;
− identification of the characterizing PEFs;
− indications of territorial governance oriented to the development and specific
promotion of PEFs.
Fig. 1 shows the different steps of the proposed sequence.
Fig. 1 Steps towards the identification of tourism polarizing ecosystem factors (PEFs)
4 CONCLUSIONS
This study proposes a reflection on the subject of population aging and the growth of this
phenomenon worldwide, which is involving another global and constantly growing
phenomenon as tourism.
The consideration mainly concerns the need to provide our urban systems with efficient quality
services able to meet the needs of the different “populations” living in today’s cities as well
as in the tourist destinations. In this regard, senior tourism is no longer exclusively an
additional tourist segment to comply with the need of preventing the “seasonalization”

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phenomenon (dependence of a destination on tourism flows that concentrate in specific

periods of time). It, instead, represents a segment of urban users able to convey the efficiency
and quality of urban services and, in particular, of those connected to a sustainable use of
the territory. However, thanks to advances in medicine and technology, and to the large
amount of free time available, senior travelers will more and more represent a segment of
the tourist population to which cities and regions that base their economy on tourism should
be devoted, by adapting their spaces and ESs to the needs of the elderly, in order to improve
the quality of the destination.
REFERENCES
Alén, E., Losada, N., & Domínguez, T. (2016). The impact of ageing on the tourism industry: an
approach to the senior tourist profile. Social Indicators Research, 127(1), 303-322.
Altunkasa M.F., Berbero lu, S., Uslu, C., & Duymuş, H. (2017). The effectiveness of urban green
spaces and socio-cultural facilities. TeMA. Journal of Land Use, Mobility and Environment, 10 (1), 41-
56. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.6092/1970-9870/4087
Benberin, V. & Tanbayeva, G.Z. (2017). The scientific approach to ensuring active ageing. Bulletin of
the national academy of sciences of the republic of kazakhstan, (4), 18-26.
Boudiny, K. & Mortelmans, D. (2011). A critical perspective: towards a broader understanding of 'active
ageing'. E-journal of applied psychology, 7(1), 8-14.
Boudiny, K. (2013). ‘Active ageing’: from empty rhetoric to effective policy tool. Ageing & Society,
33(6), 1077-1098.
Dann, G.M. (2002). Senior tourism and quality of life. Journal of hospitality & leisure marketing, 9(1-
2), 5-19.
Darcy, S. & Dickson, T. (2009). A Whole-of-Life Approach to Tourism: The Case for Accessible
Tourism Experiences. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 16(1), 32-44.
Huber, D., Milne, S. & Hyde, K.F. (2018). Constraints and facilitators for senior tourism. Tourism
Management Perspectives, 27, 55-67.
Klimova, B. (2018). Senior Tourism in Europe: Current State and Prospects for Future. Advanced
Science Letters, 24(7), 4778-4781.
La Rocca, R.A. (2014). The Role of Tourism in Planning the Smart City. TeMA. Journal of Land Use,
Mobility and
Environment, 7(3), 269-283. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.6092/1970-9870/2814
La Rocca, R.A. & Fistola, R. (2018). The tourist-religious mobility of the “silver-haired people”. The
case of Pietrelcina (BN). TeMA Journal of Land Use, Mobility and Environment, SP, 67-84.
Lee, C.F. & King, B. (2019). Determinants of attractiveness for a seniors-friendly destination: a
hierarchical approach. Current Issues in Tourism, 22(1), 71-90.
Longato, D., Maragno, D., Musco, F. & Gissi, E. (2018). Ecosystem Services for spatial planning. A
remotesensing-based mapping approach. In A. Leone & C. Gargiulo (Eds.), Environmental and
territorial modelling for planning and design. (pp. 52 - 55). Naples: FedOAPress. ISBN: 978-88-6887-
048-5, doi: 10.6093/978-88-6887-048-5

© 2019, FedoaPress


Losada, N., Alen, E., Cotos-Yanez, T. R. & Dominguez, T. (2019). Spatial heterogeneity in Spain for
senior travel behavior. Tourism Management, 70, 444-452.
Losada, N., Alén, E., Nicolau, J.L. & Domínguez, T. (2017). Senior tourists’ accommodation choices.
International Journal of Hospitality Management, 66, 24-34.
Mélon, M., Agrigoroaei, S., Diekmann, A. & Luminet, O. (2018). The holiday-related predictors of
wellbeing in seniors. Journal of Policy Research in Tourism, Leisure and Events, 10(3), 221-240.
Nella, A. & Christou, A. (2016). Extending tourism marketing: Implications for targeting the senior
tourists' segment. Journal of Tourism, Heritage & Services Marketing, 2(2), 36–42.
http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.376336
Nikitina, O. & Vorontsova, G. (2015). Aging population and tourism: socially determined model of
consumer behavior in the “senior tourism” segment. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 214,
845-851.
Pueyo-Ros, J. (2018). The Role of Tourism in the Ecosystem Services Framework. Land, 7(3), 111.
Sánchez, N. L., Alén, G. & Dominguez, V. (2018). Determinants of senior's perceived barriers to travel.
PASOS: Revista de Turismo y Patrimonio Cultural, 16(2), 387-399.
Tiago, M. T. P. M. B., de Almeida Couto, J. P., Tiago, F. G. B., & Faria, S. M. C. D. (2016). Baby
boomers turning grey: European profiles. Tourism Management, 54, 13-22.
Walker, A. (2010). The emergence and application of active ageing in Europe. In G. Naegele (Ed.),
Soziale lebenslaufpolitik (pp. 585-601). Ten Brink, Meppel: Springerlink.
Zaidi A., Gasior A., Hofmarcher M., Lelkes O., Marin B. & Rodrigues R. “Active Ageing Index 2012:
Concept, Methodology and Final Results” (2013), Methodology Report Submitted to European
Commission’s DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion, and to Population Unit, UNECE, for the
project: “Active Ageing Index (AAI),” UNECE Grant No: ECE/GC/2012/003, Geneva, the European
Centre for Social Welfare Policy and Research, Vienna, March. 2013. 21.
Zsarnoczky, M. (2017). Developing Senior Tourism in Europe. Pannon Management Review, 6(3-4),
201-214.
WEB SITES
www.millenniumassessment.org
http://www2.unwto.org/
http://www.tourage.eu/
AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Romano Fistola is associate professor of urban planning at the University of Sannio. His researches
mainly deal with topics such as the relationship between technological innovation and urban
transformations, urban and territorial risks, the systemic interpretation of the city, the relation between
land use and mobility, the sustainability of urban functions, and the comprehension of digital
environments for the prefiguration of urban assets.
Rosa Anna La Rocca, PhD in Urban and Regional Planning, associate professor in Urban Planning at
University of Naples Federico II. Her research activities refer to the analysis of phenomena that can
change urban organization and they are focused on the study of three main relationships: tourism and
town planning; land use and mobility, innovation technologies and urban transformations.

© 2019, FedoaPress

CARBON SEQUESTRATION AND
LAND-TAKING PROCESSES
A STUDY CONCERNING SARDINIA (ITALY)
MADDALENA FLORIS, CORRADO ZOPPI
Department of Civil and Environmental

Engineering and Architecture
University of Cagliari, Italy
e-mail: maddalena.floris@unica.it; zoppi@unica.it
URL: www.unica.it

Floris, M. & Zoppi, C. (2019). Carbon sequestration and land-taking processes. A study concerning Sardina
(Italy). In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature and ecosystem services (pp. 66-79). Naples:
FedOAPress. ISBN: 978-88-6887-054-6, doi: 10.6093/978-88-6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
According to the European Commission’s “Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe,” the annual
land take in the countries of the European Union sh ould amount at most to zero by 2050. This
entails that planning practices should focus on ecological objectives, which should be prioritized
over other current issues, such as land values’ and uses’ regulations, spatial market processes
and real estate. Land take and related urban development not only implies decline in the
availability of land able to sequestrate carbon, but also an increase in emissions. That being
so, innovative ecological policies are necessary in order to mitigate or eliminate land-taking
processes. This study analyzes the interdependence between land take and carbon capture and
storage, identified as an ecosystem service, and pro poses an interpretive approach, which is
implemented into the Sardinian regional context, that is, a spatial context concerning one of the
two insular regions of Italy. CORINE Land Cover nom enclature is used to identify the land cover
characteristics. The European Environment Agency makes data available as regards the time
series of land cover types. Carbon capture and stor age is defined through the NDVI (normalized
difference vegetation index) concerning semi-natural and natural zones. By means of the NDVI,
an approximation of carbon sequestration distribution and a spatial relation between carbon
capture and storage capacity and land-taking processes are detected. The outcomes imply
relevant consequences with reference to the implementation of planning measures concerning
mitigation of land take and preservation and improvement of carbon capture and storage.
KEYWORDS
Land Take; Ecosystem Services; Carbon Sequestration ; Normalized Difference Vegetation Index
(NDVI)
Carbon sequestration and land-taking processes. A study concerning Sardinia (Italy)

1 INTRODUCTION
This study analyzes the interdependence between land take and carbon capture and
storage. The research goal is to assess the evidence of a relationship between carbon
sequestration by the soil and land-taking processes, and to estimate the quantitative profile
of this relationship. The assessment is implemented as regards a spatial context concerning
Sardinia, one of the two insular regions of Italy. The results are relevant in terms of further
research developments. Carbon capture and storage is a phenomenon, based on
photosynthesis, which characterizes peat swamps, forests and grasslands, and other similar
ecological systems and consists in carbon dioxide removal from the air by its sequestration
by soil and plants (Lal, 2008). The interaction involving air composition and soil has a strong
influence on climate regulation (Jobbagy & Jackson, 2000) and is strictly correlated to
changes in land cover. Moreover, land condition and green areas play an important role in
regulating the carbon cycle since they provide carbon capture and storage as an ecosystem
service (European Commission, 2012; Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005). The EEA
(European Environment Agency, 2013a) provides the following definition of land take:
“Change of the amount of agriculture, forest and other semi-natural and natural land taken
by urban and other artificial land development.” This is a relevant reference for the ongoing
discussion on spatial planning since, according to the European Commission’s “Roadmap to
a Resource Efficient Europe” (Communication COM(2011) 571 of 20 September 2011), the
annual land take in the countries of the European Union should amount at most to zero by
2050. Furthermore, a medium-term goal is established by 2020 with reference to the 2014-
2020 cohesion policy, which states that direct and indirect impacts of this policy on land
cover have to be carefully monitored and assessed. The structure of this study consists of
three sections. The next section discusses the methodology concerning the definition of the
taxonomies of normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and carbon sequestration
related to the Sardinian regional context. The results of a multiple linear regression used to
assess the relation between carbon storage and capture and land-taking processes are
described in the third section. In the conclusions, a discussion related to the outcomes is
proposed as regards implications and suggestions concerning planning measures and further
research developments.
2 METHODOLOGY
The relation between carbon capture and storage and land-taking processes is studied on
the basis of spatial units represented by the 377 municipal administrations of Sardinia,

© 2019, FedoaPress

M. Floris, C. Zoppi
which are the lowest layer of the regional public administration framework. A linear
regression is estimated according to specification shown in Tab. 1. Carbon sequestration is
the dependent variable, whereas the explanatory variables are the level of land take and the
land take change occurred between 1990 and 2018, the most recent data concerning the
number of residents and the area of the land administered by a municipality. The last two
variables are used as control variables to check for: i. the presence of a concentration
factor, namely, the lower the number of residents the highest the capacity of capturing and
storing carbon dioxide (Sklenicka et al., 2013; Zoppi & Lai, 2015); and, ii. the effect on
carbon capture and storage capacity caused by the size of the municipal area, which, ceteris
paribus, can possibly positively influence carbon sequestration.
VARIABLE DEFINITION; SOURCE UNIT MEAN ST. DEVIATION
C_SEQ Carbon capture and storage Stored carbon dioxide 89.40 22.00
capacity; estimated through per ha of municipal
the NDVI, see Subsection 2.1 land, Mg/ha
L_TAKE Size of uptaken land; Percentage ratio of land 3.41 5.29

Copernicus Database uptaken per km2 of
municipal land,
km2/km2, %
L_TAKE Change in uptaken land; Percentage ratio of the 0.99 1.29

Copernicus Database 2018-1990 change in
land uptaken per km2 of
municipal land, %
RESIDS Resident people in 2016; the Number of resident 4,385.01 12,199.99

Comuni Italiani (Italian people
municipal administrations)
ML_AREA Area of the land administered km2 63.92 61.76

by a municipality; the Region
Sardinia’s Geoportal
Tab. 1 Statistics of the variables included in regression model C_SEQ = Ȗ0 + Ȗ1 L_TAKE + Ȗ2 ¨L_TAKE + Ȗ3
RESIDS + Ȗ4 ML_AREA
The next subsection presents the methodological approach implemented to define the
spatial taxonomy of carbon sequestration, whereas a discussion proposed in a previous
study (Zoppi & Lai, 2014, Section “What is land take?”) is assumed as reference for
characterizing the spatial distribution of land take. As per Zoppi and Lai (2014), the spatial
taxonomy of land take implemented in this study is based on the land cover classification of
the COoRdination de l’INformation sur l’Environnement (CORINE) Land Cover vector map

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(CLC) of the European Environment Agency (EEA) of the EU (European Environment
Agency, 2013a). In the CLC classification, non-artificial surfaces are classified into four
classes (at Level 1): i. agricultural areas; ii. forests and semi-natural areas; iii. wetlands;
and, iv. Waterbodies. The land-taking process is identified in this study as the change of
status of areas from non-artificial classes to the artificial land-cover class. Sardinia has
experienced an increase in artificial land from 2.26% in 1990 (54,443 hectares) to 3.14% in
2018 (75,718 hectares).
2.1 CARBON CAPTURE AND STORAGE

A number of studies propose combinations of carbon dioxide- and remote sensing-related
data to represent spatial taxonomies of carbon pools (Lee et al., 2016; Sun et al., 2019; Rao
et al., 2013; Raciti et al., 2014). NDVI indexes biomes’ levels of greenness, on the basis of
their reflectance spectrum. Late in the 1970s, it was discovered that the quantity of
radiation active in photosynthetic terms absorbed by the plants is positively correlated to net
photosynthesis. The remote sensors of satellites provide quantitative information concerning
the absorbed radiation active in photosynthetic terms. The NDVI is computed through the
following formula:
NDVI , (1)
where NR is the near-infrared reflectance and RD is the red reflectance. The spatial
distribution of the NDVI taxonomy reveals values included in the interval -0.60 - 0.96, as
shown in Tab. 2.
Based on the NDVI distribution, a spatial taxonomy is mapped which associates groups of
types of land cover, featured by similar characteristics, to NDVI intervals. This is
implemented on the basis of the authors’ expertise and of on site survey.
Carbon capture and storage capacity associated to land cover types as regards the pools of
carbon is determined on the basis of the spatial data provided by a project funded by the
Autonomous Region of Sardinia1.

1
The spatial database is based on the surveys implemented in the Project “Charter of the land units
and land use capability of Sardinia – First part (2011-2013).” The Project was funded by the
Department of Local public administrations, Finance and Spatial planning of the Autonomous Region
of Sardinia (ARS). The surveys were implemented by the following public bodies: (i) AGRIS (the
Agency of the ARS for theoretical and experimental research concerning agriculture, agri-industrial
production and forestry) for the Muravera-Castiadas area (South-eastern Sardinia); (ii) LAORE (the
Agency of the ARS for the implementation of the regional projects concerning agriculture and rural
development), and the University of Sassari, for the Arzana and Nurra areas (Central and North-
western Sardinia); and, (iii) the University of Cagliari for the Pula-Capoterra area (Southern Sardinia).

© 2019, FedoaPress

M. Floris, C. Zoppi
The InVEST2 model uses the carbon pools provided by the Project quoted above to estimate
the carbon capture and storage capacity for each land cover type (Nelson et al., 2008).
Three NDVI-related intervals are determined in this study with reference to the Sardinian
region, which are characterized by soil features and by the estimated mean carbon capture
and storage capacity defined through InVEST (Tab. 2).
CARBON SEQUESTRATION CAPACITY
NDVI INTERVAL CLASSIFICATION
(Mg/ha)
-0.5981 – 0.2659 Soils with no vegetation, bare rocks, 0

built areas, water bodies
0.2659 – 0.4890 Soils with sparse vegetation, grass or 104.50

medium-density vegetation
0.4890 – 0.9597 Soils with dense vegetation; forests 117.39
Tab. 2 Stored carbon and land uses
3 FINDINGS
The findings concerning the implementation of the proposed methodology are proposed in
the following paragraphs. The first two subsections describe the spatial distributions of
carbon capture and storage and land-taking processes, whereas the last shows the results
of the multiple regression model defined by the variables reported in Tab. 2.
3.1 SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF CARBON CAPTURE AND STORAGE

The spatial taxonomy of carbon sequestration belongs to the interval 4.30-115 Mg/ha. The
carbon sequestration capacity of about 37% of the municipalities is below 90 Mg/ha. The
towns of South Sardinia reveal values comparatively lower than the others. Municipalities
located around the SE-NW line which connects Cagliari to Oristano (from South to Central
Sardinia) are particularly characterized by a low sequestration capacity. About 4% of the
towns, mostly located in the central and northern areas of the Island, show values
belonging to the interval 109-116 Mg/ha.
The Metropolitan City of Cagliari, whose administration extends over seventeen
municipalities, shows a relevant decrease in carbon capture and storage capacity caused by

2
InVEST (Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs) is a free of cost software product,
licensed under the BSD open source licence. InVEST is developed by the Natural Capital Project
(NCP), whose partners are: the Woods Institute for the Environment and Department of Biology of
Stanford University; the Institute on the Environment of Minnesota University; the Nature
Conservancy; and, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). http://data.naturalcapitalproject.org/nightly-
build/investusers- guide/html/index.html.

© 2019, FedoaPress


intensive land artificialization generated by heavy urban expansion, which is as high as
10,700 Mg. This outcome implies that the density of carbon sequestration capacity
decreases as urban transformation increases (Sun et al., 2019).
Even higher is the loss in carbon sequestration which is shown by the coastal towns, whose
a share of about 35.5% reveals an increase in land take in the interval 0.96-10.80 km2 as a
consequence of pressures generated by tourist enterprises, which put at risk coastal and
marine environments and their provision of ecosystem services (Lai, Zoppi, 2010). A share
of around 38% of the coastal municipalities shows a carbon sequestration capacity ranging
between 4.3 and 70.6 Mg/ha.
Fig. 1 reports the spatial distribution of carbon capture and storage in the Sardinian Island.
Fig. 1. Taxonomy of carbon sequestration
3.2 SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF LAND TAKE

The regional land which changed its status from non-artificial to artificial amounts to about
215 km2 in the period 1990-2018. Its spatial distribution is not homogeneous, and it shows
the highest values in the most populous cities, such as the Metropolitan City of Cagliari (5.6

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M. Floris, C. Zoppi
km2) and the urban areas of Olbia (9.4 km2), Sassari (10.8 km2) and their surroundings,
and in the costal tourist settlements.
Nevertheless, more than 33% of the municipal administrations reveal an increase in land
take less than 0.09 km2, whereas less than 18% reveal an increase in land take more than
0.98 km2. The towns which are included in the Cagliari metropolitan administration, Olbia,
Sassari and a small number of costal settlements belong to this set.
The highly populated and urbanized consolidated tissues of Sassari and Cagliari reveal
values of land take which amount to 5% and 2.5%. The two contexts are examples of two
different types of urban expansion, namely land sharing and land sparing (Soga et al.,
2014).
Cagliari shows a density of 1,801 residents/km2, and, that being so, a compact tissue3 and
a relevant concentration of green spaces within it, which makes the Sardinia’s capital city a
land sparing urban context, while Sassari, which shows a density of 234 residents/km2,
characterized by less concentrated green spaces within the compact tissue, can be identified
as a land sharing urban context (Lin & Fuller, 2013). The density of green areas within the
compact urban fabrics is positively correlated to protection of biodiversity and supply of
ecosystem services and, as a consequence, planning and decision-making processes should
focus on land sparing-based policies (Soga et al., 2014), whose Cagliari is an important
point of reference. Tab. 3 reports the comparison of the cities of Cagliari and Sassari in
terms of their land-sparing and land-sharing attitudes.

CITY GREEN SPACES COMPACT TISSUE GREEN AREAS IN THE COMPACT URBAN
(km2) (km2) TISSUE (km2/km2; percentage of green spaces
within the compact urban tissue to the area of
the compact tissue)
Sassari 0.5 15.7 2.8%
Cagliari 2.8 54.7 4.9%
Tab. 3 Analysis of green spaces within the compact urban tissue
3.3 RESULTS OF THE REGRESSION MODEL

The outcomes of the regression model are consistent with expectations on signs and
significant in terms of p-values (always lower than 2%) as regards the estimates of the
explanatory variables’ coefficients (Tab. 4).

3
Compact urban fabric is identified within a municipal area by the “artificial surfaces” of the CORINE
Land cover (European Environment Agency, 2013b).

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Explanatory variable Coefficient Standard deviation t-statistic p-value
L_TAKE -0.716 0.300 -2.395 0.0180
L_TAKE -4.370 1.126 -3.879 0.0002
RESIDS -0.0003 0.0001 -2.559 0.0110
ML_AREA 0.092 0.019 4.910 0.0001
Dependent variable: C_SEQ - Adjusted R-squared: 0.289
Tab. 4 Results of the regression model
The estimate of the land-take coefficient entails that, everything else being equal, an
increase of 1% in land take implies a decrease of about 700 kg/ha in carbon capture and
storage. This also implies that the total land-taking process related to Cagliari4 in 2018
reveals that about 40% of the municipal land is artificialized, which determines a loss of
about three million Mg in carbon capture and storage.
Furthermore, the estimates of the regression model reveals that between 1990 and 2018
the change in land take (variable L_TAKE) causes a negative impact on carbon capture and
storage, in addition to variable L_TAKE, which represents the level of land take. As a
consequence, the results show that carbon capacity decreases not only in correlation with
an increase in the land take level, but also in connection with an increase in the change rate
of land take. Taking into consideration Cagliari, an increase of 6.5% in the level of land
take5 is correlated to an additional decline of around 235,000 Mg in carbon capture and
storage.
The estimated coefficients of the control variables RESIDS and ML_AREA are significant and
present negative and positive signs respectively, as was expected.
The concentration effect of RESIDS is a decrease of 5.6 kg/ha in carbon capture and
storage related to an increase of 20 residents. This entails that, ceteris paribus, Sassari
(127,533 residents) reveals an additional capacity of 399,000 Mg compared to Cagliari
(154,083), as a consequence of less residents.
Lastly, carbon capacity is positively correlated to the size of the municipality (ML_AREA),
because the estimate of the correspondent coefficient is positive, and, as a consequence,

4
Cagliari is the capital city of Sardinia and the most populous municipal area. Data drawn from
Copernicus, see Tab. 1.
5
Data drawn from Copernicus, see Tab. 1.

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M. Floris, C. Zoppi
the impact on carbon capture and storage of an additional 1-km2 of municipal area is
connected to an increase of around 90 kg/ha in carbon sequestration.
4 CONCLUDING REMARKS6
The outcomes of the regression model show an important and significant correlation, at the
municipal level, between carbon sequestration and land take, and indicate that NDVI is a
very effective proxy for carbon sequestration capacity, since it identifies the size of carbon
captured and stored, and provides a way of measuring this capacity as a phenomenon
independent from land take, and, in so doing, it makes it possible to estimate the regression
model in stochastic terms. Moreover, since the coefficients of the variables representing the
factors that were tentatively assumed as determinants of carbon sequestration are
significant and the goodness of fit of the model is relatively high (adjusted R-squared is
about 30%, see Tab. 4), it can be concluded that our research perspective is effective in
explaining, in quantitative terms, the relationship between carbon sequestration and land
take.
Our study puts in evidence a number of important implications concerning the relationship
between carbon sequestration capacity and land-taking processes. First, our estimates
highlight a robust negative influence of land take (level) and land-taking dynamics, that is,
increase in land take through time, on carbon sequestration capacity, which is a finding
consistent with Stakura et al.’s (2015) outcomes related to expansion of urban areas
(sprawl). This implies that, everything else being equal, the presence, size and dynamics of
land take are correlated to a decrease in carbon sequestration capacity.
Second, the reduction in capacity as a consequence of land-taking process is significant in
quantitative terms. From this standpoint, our results imply that the presence and size of
protected areas, which limit urban expansion and, in so doing, land-taking processes (Hazeu
et al., 2009; Martínez-Fernández et al., 2015), are important factors to conserve and
possibly enhance carbon sequestration capacity.
This entails that land saving and, as a consequence, conservation of carbon sequestration
capacity spreads over the whole municipal land area in correlation with the presence and
size of protected areas. An important type of protected areas are the Sites of the Natura
2000 Network (SN2Ns), established under the provisions of the Habitats (no. 92/43/EEC)
and Birds (no. 2009/147/EC) Directives. According to the Habitats Directive, an Appropriate

6
This Section partially reproduces a discussion proposed in a previous study (Lai, Zoppi, 2017, Section
“5. Discussion and Conclusions”).

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assessment procedure7 must be applied not only in case of plans and projects concerning
land parcels located within SN2Ns, but also in case of plans and projects related to areas
outside the SN2Ns’ boundaries, if such plans and projects may possibly damage habitats
and species within the SN2Ns.
A third important policy implication, related to the positive impact of Natura 2000-related
policies on the conservation of the non-artificial status of land, is that, because the impact
of Natura 2000-based environmental protection on land take is not related to other
conservative planning rules, there is no need for severely restrictive planning codes, if
SN2Ns are properly established. Indeed, the establishment of SN2Ns does not imply that
there are land uses or developments which are forbidden in general terms. However, the
mere presence of a SN2N entails that developers, public administrations, planners, and
practitioners, have to show that their projects or planning proposals will not damage or
generate loss of habitats and/or species, which, according to the outcomes of our analysis,
significantly reduces land-taking processes.
Finally, an important implication of this study is the following. Municipal masterplans should
state, as regards new development proposals, that such proposals should describe their
impacts on existing land uses and demonstrate that artificialization processes are minimal, if
any, as for the Appropriate assessment procedure, in case of plans and projects that may
possibly generate negative impacts on habitats and species of the SN2Ns. The four points
highlighted above entail important implications for planning policies, both at the local
(municipal) and regional levels. A first consequence is that policies aiming at reducing land
take and at preserving carbon sequestration capacity, should imply the establishment of
new protected areas, or the enlargement of existing ones. Both policies need effective and
continuous cooperation involving the local and regional administrations, since the complex
and long-lasting time period concerning the establishment of new or enlarged protected
areas needs a substantial integration of planning visions on behalf of the local and regional
authorities. Cooperation is necessary since the identification of conservation objectives and
the subsequent establishment of conservation measures entail that the local authorities
propose these measures, possibly in the context of a management plan, and the regional
administration approves them and, in some cases, brings them to the attention of national

7
Paragraph 3, art. 6, of the Habitats Directive establishes that “Any plan or project not directly
connected with or necessary to the management of the site but likely to have a significant effect
thereon, either individually or in combination with other plans or projects, shall be subject to
appropriate assessment of its implications for the site in view of the site's conservation objectives,”
and that “the competent national authorities shall agree to the plan or project only after having
ascertained that it will not adversely affect the integrity of the site concerned and, if appropriate,
after having obtained the opinion of the general public.”

© 2019, FedoaPress

M. Floris, C. Zoppi
administrations. Cooperation and integration of the local and regional planning processes
would imply an important enhancement in the quality of Sardinian public planning, which
has been characterized by a lack of coordination in recent years (Zoppi & Lai, 2010). A
second significant implication is that in public planning processes, especially at the municipal
level, experts in nature conservation should systematically participate and cooperate with
spatial planners and developers in the process of definition and approval of local plans, in
order to support the identification of sites to be proposed for the establishment of protected
areas and, in so doing, to define policies aimed at limiting land take and at preserving
carbon sequestration capacity. At present, this expertise is not considered as a necessary
component of local planning teams (Leone & Zoppi, 2016). Thirdly, attention should be paid
to the possibility of proposing new protected areas in the strategic environmental
assessment processes of local plans. These processes entail the inclusion of objectives
related to the protection of environmental resources and to the sustainability paradigm into
the definition of spatial plans, which implies the possibility of the integration of such goals
into the plans, even though they were not considered in the first place (Zoppi & Lai, 2014).
Moreover, since the presence and size of protected areas are effective against land take and
in support of preservation of carbon sequestration capacity, conservation measures
consistent with those adopted for the protected areas could be extended over areas located
outside the boundaries of protected areas. From this perspective, complete and detailed
maps concerning the spatial distribution of natural resources are needed. A fifth point is
related to the necessity of a comprehensive coordination of conservation measures between
plans of cities and towns whose municipal areas are adjacent to each other. From this point
of view, a fundamental role should be played by the planning office of the regional
administration, which coordinates local plans under the provisions of the Sardinian rules
concerning the approval of regional and local plans. Finally, as widely recognized in the
literature, conservation measures may prevent the implementation of traditional land uses
related to urbanization, agriculture and pastures, and, by doing so, they may possibly
generate conflicts between local communities and municipal authorities (Kovács et al., 2015;
Leone & Zoppi, 2016). The issues of information, participation and consensus-building
should not be undervalued in the definition and implementation of local plans that entail
conservation measures and policies against land take and in support of carbon sequestration
capacity, and inclusive participatory processes should be carefully designed in detail long
before plans are discussed and approved. Our methodology and results are based on a
regression model that assesses the relation between carbon capture and storage capacity,
defined on the basis of the NDVI spatial taxonomy, and land-taking processes. The model
considers the municipalities of Sardinia as spatial units. From this perspective, it has to be

© 2019, FedoaPress


put in evidence that it would be interesting to detect what would happen if spatial units,
different from the Sardinian municipalities and related to more detailed spatial taxonomies,
were considered, especially with reference to the most relevant conurbations, such as
Cagliari and Sassari. The comparative assessment of the relationship between carbon
sequestration and land take related to different areas identified within the fabric of the main
Sardinian conurbations would help to improve the goodness of fit of the estimated model,
its explanatory power, and the quality of its implications in terms of the definition and
implementation of policies to preserve and enhance carbon sequestration capacity and to
limit or prevent land-taking processes.
NOTES
Maddalena Floris gratefully acknowledges Sardinia Regional Government for the financial
support of her PhD scholarship. (P.O.R. Sardegna F.S.E. Operational Program of the
Autonomous Region of Sardinia, European Social Fund 2014-2020 - Axis III Education and
training, Thematic goal 10, Priority of investment 10ii.).
Maddalena Floris and Corrado Zoppi have made substantial contributions to the study’s
conception, background and design remarks (Section 1), and to discussion and concluding
remarks (Section 4). Subsections 2.1, 3.1 and 3.2 are by Maddalena Floris. The introductory
paragraph of Section 2, and Subsection 3.3 are by Corrado Zoppi.
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AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Maddalena Floris graduated in Architecture at the University of Cagliari, Italy (2013). She is presently
a graduate student in the doctoral program in Civil Engineering and Architecture at the University of
Cagliari. Her research areas are sustainable urban and regional planning, and environmental policy-
making. Her research studies focus on the relationships between ecosystem services and spatial
planning, and, in particular, on the issue of carbon sequestration enhancement.
Corrado Zoppi, Civil engineer, is Doctor of Philosophy in Economics (USA, 1997), Doctor of Research
in Territorial Planning (Italy, 1992), and MSc in Economic Policy and Planning (USA, 1990). He is a
Professor at the University of Cagliari (Sector ICAR/20 – Spatial planning). He is presently teaching at
the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Architecture of the University of Cagliari in
the Undergraduate and Graduate Programs in Environmental and Territorial Engineering and in
Sustainable Tourism Management and Monitoring (Regional and Urban Planning, Strategic Planning and
Environmental planning).

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THE IMPACT OF URBANIZATION
PROCESSES IN LANDSCAPE
FRAGMENTATION
A COMPARISON BETWEEN COASTAL ZONES OF
SARDINIA AND LIGURIA
GIAMPIERO LOMBARDINIa
ANDREA DE MONTISb, VITTORIO SERRAc
a
Department of Architecture and Design
University of Genova, Italy
e-mail: atp.lombardini@gmail.com
b
Department of Agricultural Sciences
University of Sassari, Italy
c

Lombardini, G., De Montis, A. & Serra, V. (2019). The impact of urbanization processes in landscape
fragmentation: A comparison between coastal zones of Sardinia and Liguria. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.),
Planning, nature and ecosystem services (pp. 80-85). Naples: FedOAPress. ISBN: 978-88-6887-054-6, doi:
10.6093/978-88-6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
Landscape fragmentation (LF) is the process, according to which landscape parts (patches)
become smaller and more isolated. LF is partly due to human activity and has always
accompanied man since prehistoric times. In recent decades, the increase of human population,
the exponential growth of human needs and the construction of settlements and transport and
mobility infrastructures have accentuated the effects of LF. These situations result in a reduction
of connectivity of habitats, due mainly to a barrier effect that hinders the movement of animal
species. In literature, numerous indices have been proposed for the quantification of LF. In this
paper, we apply the Urban Fragmentation Index (UFI) , that evaluates the fragmentation caused
by urbanized areas, and the Infrastructural Fragmentation Index (IFI), that evaluates the LF
caused by road infrastructure. In addition, we aim at comparing LF in the Italian regions of
Liguria and Sardinia, with a typical focus on coastal and inner areas. We demonstrate how LF is
always higher in coastal landscape units, where there is a higher impact of human development.
KEYWORDS
Landscape Fragmentation; Fragmentation Index; Coast al Zones; Urbanization
The impact of urbanization processes in landscape fragmentation

1 INTRODUCTION
Landscape fragmentation (LF) can be defined as a dynamic process, where larger landscape
fragments, or patches, tend to become smaller and more insulated than in their original
condition (EEA, 2011). This process can be caused by linear and mobility infrastructures,
such as railways and roads and urbanised surfaces, which reduce the range of movement of
animal species and the connectivity of the landscape (Bissonette & Adair, 2008). An
important consequence of an increase in LF is a decrease in landscape connectivity (LC), i.e.
a higher impedance to movement for mainly animal species, depending on land cover
pattern (Scolozzi & Geneletti, 2012).
LF is measurable through indices, such as the Infrastructural Fragmentation Index (IFI),
that measures LF caused by roads, motorways and railways, and the UFI, that quantifies LF
caused by urbanized areas. In this paper, we aim at measuring LF through the IFI and UFI
in two Italian regions: Liguria and Sardinia. We direct our application to the assessment of
LF in the four provinces of the Liguria and of the metropolitan area of Cagliari and the
historic region of Ogliastra in Sardinia. This essay unfolds as follows. In the next section, we
describe the selected methods. In section 3, LF indexes are applied and results presented
and discussed with some short concluding remarks.
2 METHODOLOGY
IFI and UFI are LF measures that allow the assessment of the overall level of disturbance
caused by transport and mobility infrastructures, such as roads and railway traits, and
human settlements (Biondi et al., 2003; Bruschi et al., 2015; Romano, 2002; Romano &
Tamburini, 2001). IFI can be expressed with the following equation
§i n ·
¨ ¦ Li Oi ¸ N P
IFI ©i1 ¹ (1)
A
where Li stands for the length in meters of the road or railway trait with the exclusion of
discontinuities (viaducts, bridges, tunnels), Oi for a (dimension less) occlusion coefficient, A
for the extension in squared meters of the landscape unit (LU) area; P for the perimeter in
meters of the LU, and N for the number of patches. We consider patches larger than 0.20
ha to eliminate the distortion due to fictitious parts (Bruschi et al., 2015; De Montis et al
2017; Lega, 2004;). Oi varies, according to the difficulty that the fauna has in crossing the
transportation infrastructure (Bruschi et al., 2015): it is equal to: 0.30, for municipal and

© 2019, FedoaPress

G. Lombardini, A. De Montis, V. Serra
local roads, 0.50, for national and provincial roads, and 1.00, for national four (or more)
lane roads and railways. UFI obeys to the following equation
i n i n
¦S i ¦p i
UFI i 1
i 1
(2)
A i n
2 S ¦ Si
i 1
where Si stands for the extension in squared meters of the urban area, pi for the perimeter
in meters of the urban area, and A for the extension in squared meters of the LU area. The
first term of equation 2 quantifies the incidence of urbanized areas on the LU surface; the
second term is the ratio between the perimeter of the urban area and the circumference of
the equivalent circle (Battisti & Romano, 2007; De Montis et al., 2017; Romano & Zullo,
2013). These indicators have been used in various contexts, quantifying fragmentation in
natural parks (Bruschi et al., 2015) and in rural Spain and Italy (De Montis et al., 2017).
3 APPLICATION TO A CASE STUDY AND RESULTS

We use the GIS to perform our study, because it has been proved useful in spatial analysis
and in measuring landscape (habitat) fragmentation (De Montis et al., 2017; De Montis et
al., 2018). We use data freely available online (RAS, 2003, 2008; Geoportale Regione
Liguria, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2015). In order to apply the IFI, we implement a GIS and use
data in shapefile format.
Roads and railways layers have been imported in GIS environment as shapefile in polyline
format and measured excluding discontinuity traits, namely tunnels and bridges. Reference
years depend on the availability of data set for calculations.
IFI variation has been assessed in the time period 2003-2008, for Sardinia, and 2003-2010,
for Liguria. As for the UFI, the time periods selected are 2003-2008, for Sardinia, and 2009-
2015 for Liguria. We obtained the absolute values and average yearly variations reported in
Tab. 1.
Tab. 1 shows the results. As time periods vary for different regional spatial data sets, with
reference to IFI T0 refers to the year 2003 for both the regions and T1 to 2008 for Sardinia
and 2010 for Liguria; with respect to UFI, t0 means 2003 for Sardinia and 2009 for Liguria,
while t1 stands for 2008 for Sardinia and 2015 for Liguria.
As for the absolute values, the area with highest IFI is recorded for Coastal Liguria
municipalities (113331.5 in 2010), while the lowest one is obtained for Sardinian Coastal
Ogliastra municipalities (1018.23 in 2008). The lowest UFI value was recorded in Ogliastra
(0.30 in 2003), while the highest value was obtained in Coastal Liguria municipalities (12.80
in 2015).

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NAME OF THE LU IFIT0 IFIT1 UFIt0 UFIt1 ' IFI ' UFI
Imperia 938.84 7237.30 2.50 2.50 95.84 0.00

Savona 1862.46 13698.56 3.77 3.80 90.79% 0.13%
Genova 5483.06 17325.79 5.32 5.42 30.86% 0.31%
La Spezia 1723.29 9371.98 4.14 4.16 63.41% 0.08%
Coastal Liguria municipalities 32843.81 113331.5 12.62 12.80 35.01% 0.24%
Cagliari metro area 3005.56 3300.96 2.41 3.03 1.97% 5.15%
Coastal Cagliari metro area 2416.35 2439.87 2.12 2.64 0.19% 4.91%
municipalities
Ogliastra 1201.95 1135.36 0.30 0.34 -1.11% 2.67%
Coastal Ogliastra 1104.23 1018.65 0.42 0.49 -1.55% 3.33%
municipalities
Tab.1 LF in Liguria and Sardinia. IFI and UFI absolute values and average yearly change
In Fig. 1, we report a representation of the geographical data used in the analysis.
Fig. 1 On the left, urbanized areas and linear infrastructures of Liguria; on the right, fragmenting elements in
two case studies of Sardinia
As for the average annual growth rates, the highest average annual increases for IFI is
recorded in Imperia (95.84%), the lowest in Coastal Ogliastra municipalities (-1.55%). This
decrease is in counter trend, with respect to the general inclination of Italian coastal areas,
including Coastal Liguria municipalities (35.01%). As for the UFI, the highest annual
increase is recorded in Coastal Cagliari metro area municipalities (5.15%), Liguria’s areas
display negligible values.
4 CONCLUSIONS
In this work, we have studied LF due to settlements and transport infrastructure expansion,
by assessing its values and dynamics in space and time. In particular, we have applied a set

© 2019, FedoaPress

G. Lombardini, A. De Montis, V. Serra
of metrics to describe the dynamics of two LUs of Italy, in Liguria and Sardinia. We have
developed a comparative approach, applying two indicators, IFI and UFI, able to give us
information on the degree of fragmentation. We have found that the highest values are
found in the coastal and most populated areas. The work can offer indications to planners,
so that they can plan works that can limit the effects of fragmentation, the so-called
defragmentation works.
REFERENCES
Battisti, C., & Romano, B. (2007). Frammentazione e connettività. Dall'analisi ecologica alla
pianificazione ambientale. Torino: Città Studi. In Italian.
Biondi, M., Corridore, G., Romano, B., Tamburini, G. & Tetè, P. (2003). Evaluation and Planning Control
of the Ecosystem Fragmentation due to Urban Development. Paper presented at the 43rd Congress of
the European Regional Science Association: "Peripheries, Centres, and Spatial Development in the New
Europe", 27th - 30th August 2003, Jyväskylä, Finland, European Regional Science Association (ERSA),
Louvain-la-Neuve. https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/115900/1/ERSA2003_015.pdf.
Bissonette, J. A., & Adair, W. (2008). Restoring habitat permeability to roaded landscapes with
isometrically-scaled wildlife crossings.
Biological Conservation, 141(2), 482-488. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2007.10.019.
Bruschi, D., Garcia, D. A., Gugliermetti, F., & Cumo, F. (2015). Characterizing the fragmentation level of
Italian’s National Parks due to transportation infrastructures. Transportation Research Part D: Transport
and Environment, 36, 18-28. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2015.02.006.
De Montis, A., Martín, B., Ortega, E., Ledda, A., & Serra, V. (2017). Landscape fragmentation in
Mediterranean Europe: a comparative approach. Land Use Policy, 64, 83–94.
http://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2017.02.028.
De Montis, A., Ledda, A., Ortega, E., Martín, B., & Serra, V. (2018). Landscape planning and
defragmentation measures: an assessment of costs and critical issues. Land Use Policy, 72, 313-324.
http://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2017.12.068.
EEA, 2011. Landscape fragmentation in Europe. Joint EEA-FOEN report. European Environment Agency,
Copenhagen. http://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/landscape-fragmentation-in-europe.
Lega, P., 2004. La frammentazione infrastrutturale del territorio nella provincia di Piacenza Internal
Report n. 05/04 (Accessed April 20 2016) http://www2.provincia.pc.it/cartografico/cartografia/img/elab
tem/04 05.pdf.
RAS, (2003). Carta dell’uso del suolo

[Regional Land Cover Map RLCM]. http://www.sardegnageoportale.it/argomenti/cartedelsuolo.html.
RAS, (2008). Carta dell’uso del suolo

[Regional Land Cover Map RLCM]. http://www.sardegnageoportale.it/argomenti/cartedelsuolo.html.

© 2019, FedoaPress


Regione Liguria (2008) Carta dell’uso del suolo [https://geoportal.regione.liguria.it/]
Regione Liguria (2015) Carta dell’uso del suolo [https://geoportal.regione.liguria.it/]
Romano, B., Tamburini, G., 2001. Gli indicatori di frammentazione e di interferenza ambientale nella
pianificazione urbanistica. In: XXII Conferenza Italiana diScienze Regionali, Venezia, October 10–12.
Romano, B. (2002). Evaluation of urban fragmentation in the ecosystems. Paper presented at the
International Conference on Mountain Environment and Development (ICMED), October 15-19, 2002,
CHENGDU, Sichuan, China. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/238073076_Evaluation_
of_urban_fragmentation_in_the_ecosystems.
Romano, B., & Zullo, F. (2013). Valutazione della pressione insediativa. Indicatori e sperimentazioni di
soglie. In: Battisti, C., Conigliaro, M., Poeta., G. & Teofili, C., (eds.) Biodiversità, disturbi, minacce.
Udine: Editrice Universitaria Udinese, 170-177Borri, D., & Camarda, D. (2013). Modelling space
perception in urban planning: A cognitive AI-based approach. Studies in Computational Intelligence,
489, 3-9. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-00651-2_1
Scolozzi, R., Geneletti, D., 2012. Assessing habitat connectivity for land-useplanning: a method
integrating landscape graphs and Delphi survey. J. Environ.Plan Manag. 55 (6), 813–830.
WEB SITES
https://geoportal.regione.liguria.it/catalogo/mappe.html
AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Giampiero Lombardini. Architect and urban planner, PhD in urban planning Sapienza (University
ofRome), assistant professor Department of Architecture and Design of the Polytechnic School of the
University of Genoa. He gained research experience in the field of urban planning both locally and in
large areas. He has also carried out research in the field of environmental and landscape issues. His
writings concern planning tools, computerized processing of spatial data (GIS), strategic environmental
assessment and decision support systems.
Andrea De Montis. Civil engineer, Ph.D. in Urban planning Sapienza, University of Rome and Master
of Science in Economic and Planning, Northeastern University, Boston USA, he is associate professor in
rural development at the Department of Agriculture, University of Sassari. He is principle investigator of
a research project on Ecological networks and landscape planning: case studies in Sardinia funded by
Fondazione di Sardegna.
Vittorio Serra. Master’s degree in forestry and environmental system, University of Sassari, Phd
student in Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Cagliari. His research interests focus on
historic rural buildings, rural areas and landscapes, and landscape planning, landscape fragmentation
and defragmentation measures.

© 2019, FedoaPress

AREAS OF CONSIDERABLE
PUBLIC INTEREST, TERRITORIAL
COMMON GOODS AND
ECOSYSTEM SERVICES
AN APPLICATION CASE FOR
THE CITY OF CAGLIARI
MARZIA MORITTU, ALESSANDRO PLAISANT
Department of Architecture, Design and Urban

planning, University of Sassari, Italy
Department of Alghero
e-mail: marzia1993@hotmail.com
plaisant@uniss.it

Morittu, M. & Plaisant, A. (2019). Areas of considerable public interest, territorial common goods and ecosystem
services: an application case for the city of Cagliari. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature and
ecosystem services (pp. 86-97). Naples: FedOAPress. ISBN: 978-88-6887-054-6, doi: 10.6093/978-88-6887-
054.6
ABSTRACT
The areas of considerable public interest (Decreto legislativo 42/2004, Article 136), as a spatial
representation of landscape protection, are not circumscribable to a category of immediate
identification in an applicative manner. They are affected not only by acknowledged, interpretative
and representative inhomogeneities, but also management and operational ones. Against
this background, territorial common goods are a topic of debate and the object of numerous
interpretations that make it a whole from indefinite boundaries. This research is aimed to
summarize all the different definitions and applications on the areas of considerable public
interest and on the territorial common goods which are devoid of consolidated and recognized
identification and execution practices and, therefore, need some forms of governance and
management. An operational framework allows the definition of public policies in the field
of urban common goods, starting from the identificat ion of operational requirements and
relatives criteria and indicators. On the one hand, this is a cause for reflection on the concept of
“considerable public interest”, on the other hand, it highlights a useful path for governance or
management through the identification, representatio n and evaluation of potential public spaces
to be involved and connect, intended as territorial common goods. In this sense, they play an
essential role as a connective space for ecosystem services supply and driver for converting
the character of marginal areas and improve their living condition. To illustrate this, a recent
experience is presented here, concerning the potential of the connective spaces in the urban
renewal in a peripheral neighborhood of Cagliari, Italy.
KEYWORDS
Areas of Considerable Public Interest; Territorial Common Goods; Ecosystem Services; Urban
Regeneration
Areas of considerable public interest, territorial common goods and ecosystem services: an application case for Cagliari

1 INTERPRETATIVE-REPRESENTATIVE AND PARTICIPATORY-NON-

HOMOGENEITY ON THE TERRITORIAL COMMON GOODS
The areas of considerable public interest1, as environmental resources and territorial goods,
are affected by some problems in the national and regional legal frameworks, due to the
different criteria of interpretation, which deviate from a homogeneous reading of the
territory based on specific categories. In fact, several Italian regions have defined different
approaches in terms of methods of interpretation, representation and prescriptions for use.
Some of them, e.g. Emilia Romagna, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Lazio and Sardinia identify specific
areas, landscape systems, sub-areas or sub-zones etc. by the presence of identity elements
and features. Veneto is the only region that does not refer to specific places, while others,
such as Piedmont, Puglia and Basilicata refer to places only in terms of prescriptions for
types of interventions. As far as the representation is concerned, the identification of areas
or categories of interventions, with the exception of the Puglia, Basilicata, Sardinia and
Emilia Romagna regions, can’t be supported by cartography. Although present, the latter
has a technical nature, scarcely representative of the characteristic elements of the territory
and limited to the identification of the perimeter of the constraints, with the exception of
Emilia Romagna.
The Decreto Legislativo 42/2004 (hereinafter “Code”) brings out some elements of reflection
about the territorial goods and services that could not be verified in reality (e. g. to be
characterized by different degrees of interest, to be able to public belonging, to be destined
for the use of the community, etc.2). According to the Code, the process of recognition of
territorial goods and services is deficient in terms of an active participation of citizens. In
contrast, the Emilia Romagna Region (2015) foresees several participatory moments
throughout the whole process aimed at the definition of environmental quality objectives. In
the European context, Catalonia stands out for the central role of citizens in recognizing the
environmental values by the so called “Landscape catalogues”.

1
Article 136 of Decreto Legislativo 42/2004 “Codice dei beni culturali e del paesaggio” identifies these
four categories: a) "The immovable things that have conspicuous characters of natural beauty,
geological singularity or historical memory, including monumental trees"; b) "Villas, gardens and
parks, (...) that stand out for their uncommon beauty"; c) "The complexes of immovable things that
make up a characteristic aspect having aesthetic and traditional value, including the centers and
historical nucleuses"; d) "The panoramic beauties and also those points of view or belvedere,
accessible to the public, from which one can enjoy the spectacle of those beauties".
2
Reference: art. 2, c. 4.

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M. Morittu, A. Plaisant
2 OPERATIONAL DEVICE FOR MANAGEMENT: THE IDENTIFICATION,

REPRESENTATION AND EVALUATION OF TERRITORIAL COMMON
GOODS AND SERVICES
Starting from the critical issues emerged from this survey, the authors introduce an
operative device to explore and manage the potential of the territorial common goods and
services for provision of benefits. This device is aimed at highlighting the connections
between public spaces, practices and way of living, laying down some actions for urban
regeneration and recognizing their role as ecosystem services supply. It draws from the
literature, practices and tools and it is structured as follows: requirements-spatial
dimensions-quality criteria of the public space-criteria and indicators.
Fig. 1 The organizational structure on territorial common goods for the requirement of accessibility as an
example. Source: personal elaboration.
The requirements for identifying the territorial common goods are outlined in: identity,
accessibility, management and sharing, membership and contribution to supply ecosystem
services (see Fig. 2). Further sub-requirements help clarify and emphasize details.
The identity sub-requirements are structured as follows:
− “Recognizability” represents the degree of affection and the sense of belonging. The
territorial common goods are related to identity, culture, traditions of a territory and
are functional to the social life of a given community (Iaione, 2012). This implies that

© 2019, FedoaPress


the recognition by citizens of a given urban-architectural context as a common good is
essential to evaluate the degree of affection and the level of appreciation;
− “Unity of the context” refers to the identity of a place and it implies a sense of
belonging as soon as "The community embodies the ‘conscience of the place’ therefore
‘the awareness of the heritage value of the territorial common goods’ (...)" (Bonesio,
2012). The common goods are therefore “‘foundation and result’ of a process of
enhancing the territory (...) intended as (...) not merely a space but a ‘place’ (‘space
with distinctive characteristics’) and ‘place of places’, based on differences, on different
‘territorial values’". (Ferraresi, 2012).
Accessibility sub-requirements are:
− “Accessibility” implies equal access and direct use to places for everybody, by laying
down the potential usability of the good (Garau et al., 2014). It also fosters the
definition of community usability-oriented policies. Both physical and perceptual
accessibility can affect different levels. Nevertheless, Iaione (2012) states that urban
space as a common good "(...) is subject to the principle of universal access." since "...
everyone must have access to them and no one can claim exclusive demands (...)”
(Rodotà, 2012).
The management sub-requirements are organized as follows:
− “Direct participation”. The awareness of the uniqueness of a common good and its
sense of belonging and recognition can determine participatory moments triggered by
general willingness, management commitment and cooperation. This requirement is
the basis for getting involved in the common good3 through maintenance, care and
regeneration, considering that "(…) a ‘common good’ felt by the people is the result of
direct involvement, a convincing acceptance of responsibility for its conservation and
management" (Garau et al., 2014).
− “Sharing of strategies”. Ferraresi (2012) interprets a common good as a "(...) shared
good in which people lives by building it (...)". Basically, a common good acquires this
feature because of the fact that citizens recognize its functionality to individual and
collective well-being and, consequently, they decide to agree on its use and
management improvement or re-acquisition.
The membership sub-requirements are organized as follows:
− “Widespread ownership” (Rodotà, 2012). In this case we refer to the legal system of
belonging that characterizes the common goods and guarantees that they can be used

3
“One does not possess a common good, one participates in the common good” (Iaione, 2012).

© 2019, FedoaPress

as spaces and services for all, especially for local communities that share rights and
obligations (Carestiato, 2010).
− “Non-exclusive rights”. This requirement claims the collective use and denies the
intention to require exclusive rights of use4 since " common goods should focus
primarily on the idea that they are goods which everyone has the right to use (...)"
(Seppilli, 2012).
The contribution to supply ecosystem services sub-requirements are organized as follows:
− “Ecological-environmental functionality”. This sub-requirement refers to the
opportunities of a good to supply environmental services. At the design stage it implies
the maintenance or restoration of constitutive ecological functions, for example
through actions aimed at restoring ecological-environmental processes etc.
− “Socio-cultural functionality” is linked to the opportunity to offer socio-cultural services
and, therefore, new land uses and activities for enhance the effective capability of
people to use and benefit from places.
All these requirements pertain to different "spatial dimensions": affective, urban,
managerial/participatory and shared, perceived and concerning the construction of
ecosystem services.
According to the Place diagram5 (Project for Public Spaces, 2018), they are strictly related
to the criteria that a public space should have to be endowed with (see Fig. 2-diagram
below). For this purpose, they are divided in different typologies, contains several qualitative
and quantitative criteria and indicators able to operate following a multi-dimensional, multi-
scalar and multi-level approach.
For this purpose, recognizability, visibility, practicability, functionality, salubrity, safety etc.
along with support to ecosystems and environment become some of the essential qualities
and characteristics for public goods to attain and support decisionmakers by addressing the
interventions and their evaluation.

4
"(...) Their use belong (in full freedom and without demanding exclusive rights) to all citizens (...)”
(Garau et al., 2014).
5
https://www.pps.org/

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Fig. 2 Top diagram: requirements and sub-requirements for the identification of territorial common goods.
Bottom diagram: transition from generative requirements to spatial dimensions and quality criteria of
public space. Source: personal elaboration

© 2019, FedoaPress

3 OPERATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS: THE INTEGRATION OF THE

TERRITORIAL COMMON GOODS REQUIREMENTS AND INDICATORS
WITH THE ECOSYSTEM SERVICES PURPOSES
The ecosystem services approach allows us to reconsider the role of the areas of public
interest in relation to the mitigation of certain risk factors/problems in a peripheral
neighborhood of the city of Cagliari.
We have, therefore, looked at the interactions between different disciplinary fields,
concepts, projects and scales.
Note that the interaction between the concepts “considerable public interest”, “common
goods” and “ecosystem services” gains a further justification in the fact that they presents
common features and elements6 starting from the goals of the Millennium Ecosystem
Assessment (2005) and the requirements for identification of public goods. For example, the
sense of place (link 1.2), finds direct correspondence with the recognisability and both
converge in the requirement of identity (see ig. 3).
From this background, we describe the operating device to explore and manage the
potential of the system of connections at the different level of scale in the neighbouring
districts of S. Avendrace, Is Mirrionis and S. Michele in Cagliari, Sardinia, by highlighting the
operative contribution of actions, single and combined, to the fixed spatial dimension goals
according to the abovementioned requirements and criteria.
These districts are characterized by a mixed medium density fabric with low quality
buildings, lack of public spaces and several abandoned sites waiting for restoration. This
paper focuses the attention on the physical and functional accessibility and integration of
spaces, land uses and practices of use introduced in the study area of “considerable public
interest” of Tuvixeddu-Tuvumannu-Is Mirrionis located in the city of Cagliari, Sardinia.
Note that this area is endowed with important historical-environmental features of the
landscape system (the Santa Gilla Lagoon, the Hills of San Michele, Monte Claro and
Tuvixeddu-Tuvumannu, which houses one of the largest Punic necropolis, in the
Mediterranean basin. In this sense, the potential of urban regeneration coming from the
system of connecting the territorial common goods and services is strictly inherent to their
opportunity to supply ecosystem services (ES). However, this does not imply that all these
areas necessarily have a reference to ecosystem services but, in case of applications, they
present themselves as areas incorporated in the urban environment able to provide specific
categories of services at the different (metropolitan, urban and neighbourhood) scales.

6
Common requirements: construction of ecosystem services (socio-cultural and ecological
environmental functions), identity, accessibility and management and sharing.

© 2019, FedoaPress

4 CONSTITUENTS OF WELLBEING AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICES,

PUBLIC GOODS AND AREAS OF CONSIDERABLE PUBLIC INTEREST:
RETHINKING CROSS-CONNECTIONS FOR URBAN
The operating device to explore and manage the potential of the system of connections at
the different level of scale fosters the framework of scheduled interventions for the
Sant'Avendrace and Is Mirrionis districts in Cagliari, as a means of implementation of the
Extraordinary Program of intervention for urban redevelopment and security of the suburbs,
c.d. Bando Periferie7 and the ITI Is Mirrionis8.
The connections of the areas of considerable public interest define two project axes
(transversal connection paths) intercepting other public goods and determinants of well-
being. Among these:
− The first axis connect the Lagoon of Santa Gilla, a new large urban park located next
to the lagoon, equipped with sport, educational and leisure planned in the area of San
Paolo (Allotment B-Bando periferie), the social housing complex of Via Po (Allotment
C), the Hills of Tuvixeddu-Tuvumannu and the Park of Monte Claro;
− The second axis systematizes the different services planned by the ITI Is Mirrionis (the
civic market of Via Quirra, the Ciusa school of Via Meilogu, the Hangar as a community
center) between the Via Is Mirrionis and the Hill of San Michele.
The first axis is mainly part of the green corridor connecting the Santa Gilla Lagoon to the
Pond of Molentargius and restores the relations between the Hills of Tuvixeddu and
Tuvumannu through network of connective walkable spaces and then with the Park of
Monte Claro, thus contributing to revitalise those parts today ignored and fragmented.
Further measures concern a new system of public spaces which has the purpose of
organizing meeting points and rest areas between the new functions, services and territorial
common goods, continuous and pleasant to walk and bike.
The second axis designes as a system of connective public spaces, including the new
services and functions on which ITI Is Mirrionis actions are foreseen, to prevent the
episodic, punctual and fragmentary nature of extraordinary interventions. In this case, the
main intervention is designed with the aim of improving physical connections with the
introduction of new land uses, services and the reconfiguration of public spaces. In

7
“Programma straordinario di intervento per la riqualificazione urbana e la sicurezza delle periferie delle
città metropolitane e dei comuni capoluoghi di provincial” (Legge 208/2015). The project for
S.Avendrace neighbourhood ranked 23rd/120 with a proposal focused on new urban functions and
uses and their accessibility and connections.
8
Integrated territorial investments (delibera 26/6 - 2016), outlined for the neighbor districts of Is
Mirrionis and S. Michele.

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particular, the interventions concerning the Vie Quirra-Serbariu-Ciociaria and the Vie
Meilogu-Bugerru relate important services such as the local market and the square, the
Ciusa primary school and some interstitial area classified as S3 by the Town Plan. Thus the
market square and the school become two fundamental operational focuses to address the
design requirements. As well as the redesign of the system of connections with a main
corridor of Via Is Mirrionis with different functions and services, reconverted into safe and
inviting places to live in, walk and rest give new supply nourishment at the local and urban
scale, as the under-requirements of fairness of access and direct fruition point at.
5 CONCLUSIONS
The proposed device guides the definition of public policies in the field of territorial common
goods.
In an urban context where the “considerable public interest” areas are present, the
approach of the ES allows to go beyond the logic of demarcation of the goods (the Hill of
Tuvixeddu-Tuvumannu), to extend it to other environmental centres (the Hills of M. Claro
and St. Michele) by revealing their physical, perceptual and functional connections.
In order to avoid fragmentation, an integrated program of interventions carefully combined
to each other, operate at the local, urban and metropolitan scale. The actions proposed (for
illustrative purposes) show important connections at different scales and also involve
interstitial areas relevant to the functions of ecosystem services and to the components of
wellbeing. The project deals with physical connections also through slow mobility systems
which redirect the accessibility and the function of the common goods in a logic of
integration (Tuvixeddu-Tuvumannu Hill, public spaces, the marketplace, etc.). and ensure
fairness of access and direct fruition from different neighborhoods. Finally, the research
addresses some of the five questions raised by Haase (2017) about the difficulty of
understanding and applying the ES concept in an urban environment, the potential to
facilitate the diffusion of common goods linked to nature in the cities, the complementarity
to the infrastructure and the multiscalarity.
Multiscalarity is crucial for ES to be functional: it allows to reconnect territorial elements
fragmented by urban transformations, it guides the interventions within the city and
facilitate the integration between functions, environmental and perceptual elements. The
complementarity to the infrastructure is also necessary as it ensures the restoration of
environmental functions and pays attention to the components of well-being considered in
terms of access to resources, health and quality of life. In short, ecosystem services enter
fully into the discourse on territorial common goods and operate in a logic of integration,
complementarity and orientation to the city's project.

© 2019, FedoaPress

REFERENCES
Bonesio, L. (2012). La questione epistemologica e il linguaggio: territorio, luogo, paesaggio site of

Magnaghi (edited by). Il territorio bene comune, Firenze University Press, Firenze
Carestiato, N. (2010). La proprietà collettiva: un modello di economia solidale e sostenibile, site of

Cacciari (edited by). La società dei beni comuni. Una rassegna, Ediesse, Roma
D. Lgs 42/2004, “Codice dei beni culturali e del paesaggio”. URL:

https://www.beniculturali.it/mibac/multimedia/MiBAC/documents/1240240310779_codice2008.pdf
Ferraresi, G. (2012). Elementi per la definizione di un approccio territorialista al tema del “comune”, site
of Magnaghi (edited by). Il territorio bene comune, Firenze University Press, Firenze
Garau C., Mistretta P., Pintus S. (2014). Beni comuni dello spazio urbano, CUEC Editrice, Cagliari
https://www.pps.org/
Haase D., (2017). Gli ecosistemi urbani: i loro servizi e la pianificazione urbanistica. Riflessioni critiche
su alcune criticità, site of URBANISTICA n° 159 (gennaio-giugno 2017), INU edizioni Srl, Roma
Iaione C. (2012). Città e beni comuni, site of Arena, Iaione, L’Italia dei beni comuni, Carocci, Roma
ITI Is Mirionis. URL:

https://www.sardegnaprogrammazione.it/index.php?xsl=1384&s=334399&v=2&c=14759
Legge 208/2015, Bando per la presentazione di progetti per la predisposizione del Programma
straordinario di intervento per la riqualificazione urbana e la sicurezza delle periferie delle città
metropolitane e dei comuni capoluogo di provincia. URL: http://www.governo.it/sites/governo.it/
files/Bando_periferie_urbane.pdf
Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005). Ecosystems and human well-being, World Resources
Institute, Washington. URL: https://www.millenniumassessment.org/documents/document.356.aspx.pdf
Regione Emilia Romagna (2015). Linee guida per la disciplina d’uso e criteri di perimetrazione, immobili
ed aree di notevole interesse pubblico. URL: http://territorio.regione.emilia-romagna.it/paesaggio/studi-
analisi-e-approfondimenti-tematici/criteri-perimetraz
Rodotà S. (2012). Beni comuni: una strategia globale contro lo human divide”, site of Marella (edited
by). Oltre il pubblico e il privato, Ombre corte, Verona
Seppilli T., (2012). Sulla questione dei beni comuni: un contributo antropologico per la costruzione di
una strategia politica, site of Marella (edited by). Oltre il pubblico e il privato, Ombre corte, Verona
AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Marzia Morittu. Newly graduated student (December 2018) in "Planning and policies for the city, the
environment and the landscape" (LM-48) at the Department of Architecture, Design and Urban
Planning, Alghero, Italy (University of Sassari) with a thesis entitled "Areas of considerable public
interest and common assets such as the identification and planning of ecosystem services. An
application case for the city of Cagliari". In 2016 she graduated in "Urban Planning. Planning of the city,

© 2019, FedoaPress


territory, environment and landscape" (L-21) at the same university, discussing a thesis with the
following title: "Open landscapes in the Marghine. Territories to low density: the resources of the
territory as input for a local development process ". In 2018 she worked as a curricular trainee at the
office of the Sardinia Region "Service of landscape protection and surveillance of the provinces of
Sassari-Olbia Tempio" for the development of a useful methodology for the "vestizione" process
(elaboration of requirements and criteria for management) on areas declared to be of "Notable Public
Interest" by Article 136 of Decreto Legislativo 42/2004. Between 2017-18 she studied with the Erasmus
Plus program at the University of Girona, Spain where he acquired specific competences on the use of
the Arcmap program and knowledge on the themes of climate change (causes and effects on the
territory). In 2015 he collaborated as curricular internships (Erasmus traineeship program) at the studio
of Arriola & Fiol arquitectes, Barcelona, Spain.
Alessandro Plaisant. I am an associate professor of the Department of Architecture, Design and

Urban Planning, the University of Sassari, where I teach Urban Planning and Analysis of urban systems.
I held a Ph.D. at the University of Cagliari, after spending eight month as a fellow at the School of
Anthropology, Geography and Environmental Studies, the University of Melbourne, focusing my
research on decision-making processes in public policymaking, strategic planning, policies and
pluralism-oriented tools. I combine my research activities with higher education, international and
institutional cooperation activities, as director of the II level International Master’s Program “Advanced
Methods and Tools for Sustainable Planning”, developed in academic cooperation with Harbin Institute
of Technology and as scientific coordinator of the activities planned for the funded national call
“extraordinary Program of intervention for urban redevelopment and security of the metropolitan
suburbs”, specifically in Sant’Avendrace district, the Municipality of Cagliari (Sardinia, Italy). Among my
recent publications: Urban regeneration of peripheral areas: the critical role of the connective space in
an italian city. (Aa.Vv) Urban Design Journal, 2018; Risk Prevention and Management. A Multi-actor and
Knowledge-Based Approach in Low Density Territories (Aa.Vv.), Computational Science and its
Applications (ICCSA 2017), in Gervasi, O., Murgante, B. et. al. (Eds.), Springer (ISBN 978-3-319-62397-
9), Switzerland

© 2019, FedoaPress

A BOTTOM UP INITIATIVES
FOR BIODIVERSITY
ECOLOGIC REPRESENTATION FOR THE INNER
AREAS OF SARDINIA
GIUSEPPE ROCCASALVA
Department of Architecture and Design

Polytechnic of Turin, Italy
e-mail: giuseppe.roccasalva@polito.it
URL: www.polito.it

Roccasalva, G. (2019). A bottom up initiatives for biodiversity. Ecologic representation for the inner areas of
Sardinia. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature and ecosystem services (pp.98-110). Naples:
ABSTRACT
Since 1992 with the Rio Conference and more after 2010 with the start of Italian National
Strategy for Biodiversity (NSB), planning research and practices are trying to likewise analyze
and integrate biological diversity. Even though biodiversity plays an important role for all living
species and the loss of biological variety has also made ecosystems weaker in front of natural
disasters, it is still an hidden topic in public opinion and debates. This article discuss the limits
of the main normative framework about biodiversity with a focus about NSB central objectives.
Even though local administrations are involved by the consequences of biodiversity loss, they
are not aware about their responsibilities and NSB do not directly engaged them to propose
plans and policies. In this regards, a pilot study is outlined, describing a bottom up participative
initiative which has involved 6 inner areas of Sard inia on the themes of NSB. Several geographical
analyses were produced and a tentative analytic representation of biodiversity was set and
used in the inclusive participatory planning process. The article describe in methodological
term a ecologic representation (ecologic mosaic and graph analysis) and how it enabled 6 local
authorities to start the discussion on local planning perspectives with concern about biodiversity.
Finally, a serious of critical issues pertaining the case study are discussed to open the debate
for further development.
KEYWORDS
Biodiversity in Planning; National Strategy for Biodiversity; Ecologic Graph Analyses; Ecologic
Mosaic; Inner Area of Sardinia
Bottom up analyses for Biodiversity: a perspective for the inner areas of Sardinia

1 INTRODUCTION
Since 1992 at Rio de Janeiro Conference, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has
drafted the road map and the responsible coordinating bodies for defining in each countries
strategy for protecting biodiversity1.
So far, 193 countries signed CBD, promising to reduce the loss of biological diversity2 and
preserve the habitats both at local/regional and national level. However, despite decades of
efforts the global loss of biodiversity is increasing3, and very few and un-coherent initiatives
are dealing with this topic at a very local level.
There are comparative studies4 which have analyzed worldwide Local Biodiversity Strategies
and Action Plans (LBSAPs) as tools for integrating biodiversity issues locally, finding there is
not a consistent definition and use of biodiversity in planning practices. Typical planning tools
are limited in ability to address biodiversity.
There is a need to build analytic cross-disciplinary tools that facilitate cities and sub-national
governments in the integration and implementation of these decisions. With this background,
this article focuses on the main Italian normative framework in biodiversity (section 2) with a
critical description of the National Biodiversity Strategy (NSB) with respect to local planning
practices.
It is then outlined a pilot study interpreting the themes of NSB at local level (section 3),
describing a bottom up participative approach which has involved 6 inner areas of Sardinia. A
focus on the indicators and tools for analyzing biodiversity at local level is described (section
4). Several geographical analyses were produced and a tentative method for the management
of local natural assets was set. Finally, a serious of critical issues pertaining the case study
are discussed (section 5) to open the debate for further development.

1
Biodiversity or biological diversity is defined as the life richness on the earth planet. The number of
world living species is estimated between 4 to 100 million, only a part of them (from 1.5 to 1.8 million)
were scientifically observed while many plant, animals, invertebrates, fungi are unknown and less than
1% of bacteria has been cataloged (source ISPRA:topics)
2
It is estimated that 50 species disappear every day, which means that biodiversity decreases between
100 and 1000 times faster than the natural extinction time of the last 65 million years (source
ISPRA:topics)
3
The third Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO-3) indicates an overall failure to achieve biodiversity targets
and an increasing rate of decline in biodiversity (SCBD 2010)
4
A comparative study of 48 LBSAP in 17 Countries. Pierce J.R, Planning for biodiversity in a divided world,
Master thesis, Cornell University, 2015

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G. Roccasalva
2 DISCONNECTION BETWEEN RESEARCH AND PLANNING PRACTICES:

LIMITS OF THE NORMATIVE FRAMEWORK ABOUT BIODIVERSITY
Against a very vast amount of scientific studies, guidelines and books discussing biodiversity,
there are several normative steps which shows limits and opportunities for applied research
experiences. The transition between researches and planning practices for biodiversity needs
a reciprocal integration5; research experiments must make experience of the limits of legal
processes of local practices; cities practices must try to scale down research findings,
indicators and analytic methods for building a new institutional knowledge and capacity. 6
Several signals of disconnection between research and practices can be seen in the results of
the development of normative tools both at global, national and regional level.
In 2010, the Global Strategic Plan have set the world strategy for biodiversity, with 20
objectives to be reached within 2020 and 56 indicators to be monitored (known as Aichi
Biodiversity Targets). Unfortunately, the last Global Biodiversity Outlook made by UN reported
that most of Aichi Biodiversity goals will not be achieved for 2020 (only 5 indicators are on
track, while 33 indicators report low rated progress, 10 indicators show no progress, 5
indicators are getting worse than last outlook and 3 indicators have not been evaluated). It
has been estimated that only 17% of surface protection will be achieved compared to the
total world need7.
In 2015, in the context of the 2030 Agenda, UN General Assembly integrate biodiversity into
the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), bringing biodiversity into a more direct contact
with planning proposal and the expectation of European funded projects (Life,
Horizon2020...).
In this regards, Italian local Administrations have the chances to propose bottom up initiatives
which are also concern about biodiversity by working, for example, on renewable sources,
low carbon initiatives, nature based solutions for polluted soil and so on. However, this is only
a chance for local planning practices within a wide European objective, whose coordinating
plan is not defined and not visible at local level. At the national level, since 1994, Italy has
taken several steps towards a coherent approach to the theme of biodiversity8.

5
Niemela, J and Ossola, A., Urban Biodiversity - From Research to Practice. Routledge 2018
6
Nilsson, K., & Florgård, C., Ecological scientific knowledge in urban and land-use planning. In M.
McDonnell, A. Hahs, & J. Breuste (Eds.), Ecology of Cities and Towns: A Comparative Approach(pp.
549-556). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (2009)
7
Ciccarese, L., et al., La lunga storia della biodiversità, SCIRE (scienzainrete.it), 2018
8
Law n. 124, February 14, 1994, which ratifies the CDB signed in Rio de Janeiro on 5 June 1992.
DLGS (legislative decree) n. 267, December 30, 2010, which implements the EC-Directive 2009/145 on
conservation vegetable varieties.

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In 2010 Italian Ministry of Environment defined a coordinating policy with the adopting the
National Strategy for Biodiversity (NSB). From a the point of view of local practices and
researches several critical points rise up in the definition of the 3 objectives and the working
areas of NSB.
By 2020 NSB ask to protect diversity of species which implies to maintain and possibly restore
eco-services because they are supporting directly or indirectly all the living being. According
to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA), ecosystems services are divided in
supporting, provisioning, regulating and cultural services. If the definition of eco-services is
broadly accepted, it is rather difficult to make common and diffuse computation of them and
consequently to define a protection policy, especially at local level. For example, biodiversity
as cultural services, plays a "psychological role" which is difficult to be computed or inserted
in a local planning processes. How is it possible to make "visible" the quality of life which is
directly affected by ecosystem services . Is it possible to compute the "environmental
reputation" of a local territory in order to attract new tourism? 9
By 2020 NSB ask to reduce the impact of climate change on biodiversity, defining appropriate
adaptation measurements, mitigate their effects and increase the resilience of natural and
semi-natural ecosystems. This objective focus on the reduction of vulnerability of nature in
order to guarantee that ecosystems can better withstand - be resilient - to unforeseen
disturbances of climate change. The higher is the diversity of species the better is the resilience
of ecosystems towards climate changes. In this regards, the main focus is to understand how
to impact climate changes with mitigation policies and adaptation plans. However, Local
municipalities aren't often able to coop/counteract land vulnerability and hazards nor to face
the consequences of a natural disaster. Is it possible that sub-national public institutions
provide an integrated framework of information and funding for natural risks which let local
municipalities warned and responsible on how to start local adaptation policies?
By 2020 NSB ask to integrate biodiversity protection plans into economic policies as an
opportunity for new employment and social development, by strengthening the benefits of
ecosystem services and by assessing the costs of their loss. This objective try to bridge the

DPCM (Ministry of the Environment) March 5, 2010, which establishes the National Committee for
Biodiversity. 6 June 2011, which establishes the Joint Committee for Biodiversity, the National
Observatory for Biodiversity and the Consultation Table.
DPCM (Ministry of agriculture, food, forest, tourism policies) 6 July 2012, concerning the adoption of
national guidelines for in situ, on farm and ex situ conservation of plant, animal and microbial
biodiversity of agricultural interest.
9
Roccasalva G., "PRA Piani di Reputazione Ambientale: i dossier paesaggio per i territori interni della
Sardegna" In URBANISTICA DOSSIER Territori competitivi e progetti di reti / Competitive territories and
design of networks 013(2017), pp. 321-324.

© 2019, FedoaPress

G. Roccasalva
gap between the economic values and biologic values, making biodiversity's values "visible"
to all stakeholders, decision makers and investors. Here, the quantitative/qualitative
approaches of researches are the weak points and leave lots of spaces to discussions and
experiments. In general, biodiversity is difficult to be systematically quantified in economic
terms both globally and locally, even though there are generic reasoning, for example, that
the more a soil is able to purify water the less it will cost to provide clean water, or that the
presence of trees will increase the capacity to purify the air and reduce the welfare cost of
air-pollution dependent diseases, or that the more fertile a soil is the less fertilizers cost will
be spent. However, it is possible to give values to local planning practices that work on this
topic indirectly, for example, with the management of waste and recycling, with traffic
congestion policies, with management of urban and peri-urban public green spaces whose
costs are well known to public administrations.
Moreover, due to the cross-cutting themes which can regards biodiversity, the NSB was
divided in 15 working areas10, which were assigned a set of 10 indicators for assessing the
present state and a set of 30 indicators for monitoring the future impact. From a
methodological point of view, planning practices and researches have a distinct working area
which is loosely integrated. Periodic reports give the status of biodiversity but focusing mainly
on qualitative aspects: how many Plans and policies have integrated biodiversity, or how much
public investments have boosted protected areas, or how many research initiatives have
increased the knowledge of biodiversity in each working areas. In this regards, NSB does not
suggest a common evaluations methods, does not promote the integration with new
assessments methods among the disciplines and does not specifically encourage the Regions
to improve initiatives also at local level. Literature offers a variety of indicators11 and analytic
methods which are usually hardly comparable to one another, and have been developed and
used relatively independently of one another (müller and wiggering, 2004, 122).12
At the regional level, even before 2010, Italian Regions have adopted laws that define or
encourage coherent but different local strategies on biodiversity13. Regional laws were mainly

10
1. Species, habitats, landscape; 2. Protected areas; 3. Genetic resources; 4. Agriculture; 5. Forestry;
6. Inland water; 7. Marine environment; 8. Infrastructure and transport; 9. Urban areas; 10. Health;
11. Energy; 12. Tourism; 13. Research and innovation; 14. Education, information, communication and
participation; 15 Italy and biodiversity in the world
11
Müller F., Burkhard B., The indicator side of ecosystem services, in Ecosystem Services, Volume 1, Issue
1, July 2012, Pages 26-30
12
Ulrich Walz, Landscape Structure, Landscape Metrics and Biodiversity, Living Rev. Landscape Res., 5
(2011)
13
In chronologic order: Lazio (2000), Umbria (2001), Friuli Venezia Giulia (2002), Basilicata (2008)
"Protection of autochthonous genetic resources of agricultural interest; Marche (2003) "Protection of
animal and plant genetic resources of the Marche region"; Tuscany (2004), Emilia Romagna (2008)

© 2019, FedoaPress


dealing with specific work areas (agriculture, forestry, local breeds), trying to protect
autochthonous species but without an overall strategy for biodiversity and without any specific
commitment of local municipalities in dealing with these themes.
In synthesis, the development of normative tools for biodiversity have not succeeded in
leading the complex cros-disciplinary efforts in research and practices, have not demand
specific and integrated analytic methods and targets for the sub-national levels. Local
administrations are involved by the consequences of biodiversity loss but they are oftne not
aware about their responsibilities and NSB do not directly engaged them to propose plans and
policies.
3 A BOTTOM UP INITIATIVE FOR THE INNER AREAS OF SARDINIA

At the end of 2015, the Association BAI14 engaged 6 small and medium size municipalities of
the inner areas of Sardinia (Laconi, Masulla, Neoneli, Olzai, Orotelli e Sorradile) in order to
co-design a long-term strategic Plan. Initially, the work aimed at the submission to the Major
adapt then it became an applied research experience that tried to deal with complex topics at
a local level and with a participatory approach which included seminars with local practitioners,
workshop and conferences for discussing and disseminating the initial results.
All the work refers to boundaries broader than the local administrative limits, specifically 3
boarder homogeneous area (ATO of Barbagia, Barigadu, Alta Marmilla)15 encompassing the
areas with coherent or similar/connecting natural identities (see Fig. 1).
This pilot research experience focused on three main objectives:
− the development of guidelines for the management of public green spaces and proximity
farming. The pilot study provided a protocol (Green Guide) to lead the design and
maintenance of local urban and suburban green public spaces based on pre-established
sustainability criteria derived from the Millenium Ecosystem Assesment (MEA). This

"Protection and enhancement of the heritage of local breeds and varieties of agricultural, zootechnical
and forestry interest"; Piedmont (2009) "Consolidated text on the protection of natural areas and
biodiversity"; Liguria (2009) "Provisions on the protection and enhancement of biodiversity". And after
NSB: Puglia (2013), Sardinia (2014) "Rules on agriculture and rural development: agrobiodiversity,
collective mark, districts".
14
The author of this essay (Giuseppe Roccasalva) was the scientific coordinator for BAI of the pilot study.
BAI (Borghi Autentici d'Italia) is an association bringing together hundreds of small and medium-sized
municipalities all over Italy, working for building sustainable, fair local development models in order to
enhance local identities and preserve people and places.
15
ATO stands for "optimal territorial areas" which were identified by a regional law in 2005. These type
of boundaries were used in regional planning during the period between 2007-2013. The Regional
Landscape Plan (2006) define 27 zones which were not used cause these are referring mainly to the
coastal areas which are not covering the municipalities of the pilot study.

© 2019, FedoaPress

G. Roccasalva
protocol was also designed in accordance to national Law 10/2013 ("Rules for the
development of urban green spaces") and it aimed to considering each green urban
space as a part of a larger system where local actions can have a quantifiable impact on
the whole ecosystem and vice versa.
Fig. 1 The inner areas of sardinia (optimal areas) involved in the pilot study with highlighted the 6 leading
municipalities (source own)
− the protection and enhancement of local landscape in order to foresee possible ideas to
exploit in the touristic sector. It was carried out an interpretation of main elements of
the local landscape which were also depicted - both in a map and charts - with respect
to their spatial and quantitative distribution in order to highlight present
strength/weakness and future opportunities/threats of each element (see Fig. 2a). Four
types of landscape's elements were depicted: elements that have a significant role in
the processes of transformation (the structure of landscape); elements that represent
factors which distinguish a field from others (the character of landscape); specific
qualities and values which are typical elements of a landscape; critical elements of a
landscape which is corrupting the structure of the landscape. In general, the output of
these analyses had the role to easily show to local authorities the quantitative and
qualitative distribution of natural asset and the interaction with rural activities and the

© 2019, FedoaPress


urban settlements. It was possible to understand the neighboring status and presence
of specific elements (eg. garigue, forests, pastures, building fabric), comparing their
ecologic capacity and fragmentation in an extended area which connect local territories.
Without entering in the details of the results, it is important to say that this map tried to
draw attention to specific qualities (positive and negative) in order to enable an initial
discussion with local administrations.
Fig. 2 - One example of geographical survey of elements of local landscape (2a- left). One example of
geographical survey of territorial risks conditions, with focus on exposure, hazard and vulnerability (2b - right)

© 2019, FedoaPress

G. Roccasalva
− the development of geographical analyses as tools for setting policies for climate change
mitigation and adaptation. A set of geographical analyses tried to build an integrated
framework of "visible information" (static and interactive maps). In particular, main
aspects of natural risks were analyzed according to the definition of MEA. Thus, all the
municipalities were provided with an exposure/hazard/vulnerability map (see Fig. 2b).
These maps reported the current territorial and management conditions of natural risks
with a non-technical language. In alignment with international protocols on climate
change (IPCC), these geographical analyses will have the role to assist local
municipalities to coexist or cooperate with the potential issues or to counteract the
uncertainty of the problems encountered. In this regards, decision-makers can define
policies that goes from passive to proactive in relation to the capacity to contrast risks
in a short-long time perspective.
Together with the previous geographical surveys, the pilot study provided an integrated
"biodiversity analysis" which encompassed all neighboring municipalities and will be the focus
of the next paragraphs. This section has only outlined the main objectives and results of the
pilot study in order to give a fair picture of the extensive work and the role it had toward local
administrations. At the end of the study, the Green Guide, the maps and reports discussing
landscape and ecologic qualities were officially adopted by all the city councils involve in the
pilot study.
4 THE ECOLOGIC REPRESENTATION: HOW TO "SEE" BIODIVERSITY

Together with the previously described work, in accordance with the objectives of NSB, the
pilot study provided the 6 inner areas of Sardinia with a geographical representation of
ecologic features (ecologic mosaic of habitat's tiles) and their resilient/resistant capacity and
fragmentation conditions (ecologic graph). The graph representation is made of nodes and
arcs which allow local stakeholders to clearly see on a map:
− (nodes) the total amount of metastability of each habitat's tile, which is the capacity to
react to possible disturbances by keeping uniformity (resistant ecosystem) or recovering
uniformity (resilient ecosystem)
− (arc) the quantification of connections or internal fragmentation among different soils,
which are the flows of biologic energy between the tiles of an habitat
The graph can be represented in static and dynamic maps in accordance to the inclusive
design process of local stakeholder and to the planning needs. The use of the ecologic
representation in the pilot research experience was twofold:
− showing natural habitat's in order to monitor the resiliency of ecosystems

© 2019, FedoaPress


− understanding how internal fragmentation work against the conservation of biodiversity

More than the detailed results of the ecologic mosaic and graphs, it is important to focus on
the way this analytic approach was used in the co-design practices.
The decision makers, the experts of different disciplines had work together toward the
increase of ecosystem's resiliency and the management of fragmentation. Regarding
resiliency, it must be said that the computing of biodiversity was mainly defined as a ecologic
"quantity". Increasing local quantity of biodiversity could decrease the variety of qualities of
the whole analyzed area and consequently decrease the resiliency of an ecosystem. If, for
example, we do exchange tiles with small amount of species having rare qualities with bigger
tiles with larger but more common qualities, we lose the global ecologic variety.
Fig. 3 Ecologic graph analyses of optimal bourdary areas of 6 inner local municipalities of Sardinia.

© 2019, FedoaPress

G. Roccasalva
The representation adopted in the pilot study was often followed by a qualitative assessment
in order to make the biodiversity of all the inner areas the main target also while we were
discussing of local and specific planning interests. The ecologic representation had the role to
clearly shows quantities, qualities and spatial distribution/connections of each mosaic's tile.
In the general planning perspective of local stakeholders, the fragmentation phenomena was
often analyzed as the "geometrical subdivision" of previously continuous tiles into other
patches due to different design proposal (new urban sprawl/infrastructure, harvesting natural
resources, introducing new species, human activities).
This generic geometric definition of habitat fragmentation was the only one adopted during
the engagement process of the pilot study; however, it can be refined with other type of
expert analyses: the decrease of the total area of tiles, the reduction of the "edge effect"
between two tiles16, the segregation of one tile from others, the reduction of average
dimension of tiles of the whole habitat. Much of these analyses of fragmentation require a
diachronic survey of the land cover or a monitoring system that allow the analyses to detect
them.
The ecologic representations assist local stakeholder in providing suggestions and ideas that
were concern about the homogeneity/variety of ecologic assets (eg. reducing the boundaries
of new developments), the aesthetic value of areas dense with same ecologic element (eg.
olive or pomegranate groves), and also the economic potential of abandoned areas (eg.
touristic exploitation of areas with high biodiversity). The belief is that the sum of all
suggestions collected around the ecologic representation will boost new proposal or strategy
for sub-regional territorial development with a specific and new concern to the overall
landscape conditions, risk constrains and ecologic qualities.
5 CONSIDERATIONS: BIODIVERSITY IN LOCAL PLANNING

PERSPECTIVES
This article outlines a non-conventional applied research which has had a focus on
biodiversity, however, some critical considerations must be pointed out.
− Legally binding processes for biodiversity: there must be a legally binding national
regulation which empower local experiments as the one described in the article to work
over the local administrative boundaries of responsibility. In fact, even though all the
analyses were shared and legally adopted by local city Councils, these were loosely
implemented into local planning initiatives of the coming years. In this regards, a new

16
The variety of species declines at the border between two habitat and biodiversity is reduced

© 2019, FedoaPress


kind of Plan for detached but ecologically connected local administrations must be legally
demanded at local level.
− Integration of biodiversity in planning practices: even if the Directive of European Union
encourage planning sectors to integrate biodiversity in practices17 there are several bias
on this purpose. Local planning practices have time span which are different from the
ecologic changes (years vs decades/century). This means that Planning with respect to
biodiversity must consequently work with uncertainty. Planning mitigation or adaptation
initiatives can only contribute to improve the capacity of natural systems to be resilient
to climate changes but the consequences are unpredictable. In this regards, the pilot
study of the 6 inner area of Sardinia can enable decision makers to anticipate future
responsibilities beyond the political time limits and practices.
Ecologic methods integrated to planning are still under development. Most of the estimations
of biodiversity do not suite directly with planning purposes. The ecologic representation
described in the article is a trial which had the ability to communicate to a wide range of
experts and to give back to the municipalities a monitoring tool to be easily improved in the
future.
REFERENCES
Ciccarese, L., et al., (2018) "La lunga storia della biodiversità", SCIRE (scienzainrete.it)
Niemela, J and Ossola, A., Urban Biodiversity - From Research to Practice. Routledge 2018
Nilsson, K., & Florgård, C., Ecological scientific knowledge in urban and land-use planning. In M.
McDonnell, A. Hahs, & J. Breuste (Eds.), Ecology of Cities and Towns: A Comparative Approach(pp.
549-556). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (2009)
Müller F., Burkhard B., The indicator side of ecosystem services, in Ecosystem Services, Volume 1,
Issue 1, July 2012, Pages 26-30
Pierce J.R, Planning for biodiversity in a divided world, Master thesis, Cornell University, 2015
Roccasalva G., (2017) PRA Piani di Reputazione Ambientale: i dossier paesaggio per i territori interni
della Sardegna In URBANISTICA DOSSIER Territori competitivi e progetti di reti / Competitive
territories and design of networks 013, pp. 321-324.
Walz, U., Landscape Structure, Landscape Metrics and Biodiversity, Living Rev. Landscape Res., 5
(2011)

17
Member States shall endeavor...in their land-use planning and development policies and, in particular,
with a view to improving the ecological coherence ... to encourage the features of the landscape
which...are essential for the migration, dispersal and genetic exchange of wild species (Art. 10 Habitat
Directive 92/43/EEC)

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G. Roccasalva
AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Giuseppe Roccasalva. Since 2003, is research fellow and lecturer at Polytechnic of Turin where he
was engaged for multi-criteria analyses and development of urban and territorial projects,
commissioned by private/public stakeholders. He was invited speaker to scientific conferences and had
disseminated publication on assessment tools, multidimensional Gis analyses and processes of
participatory planning. He was editor and author of a book titled “Future Cities and Regions:
Simulation, Scenario and Visioning, Governance and Scale” which was published by Springer. In
addition, he is consultant for different public Authorities and municipalities working on strategic
projects, environmental and landscape assessment-design and European fund procurement. He is the
president of a joint landscape commission of four municipality in the area of Turin. He holds a Bachelor
in architecture and urban design, a Master in Spatial Planning with focus on built environment and a
PhD in Building Design. He had working and formative experience with Swedish Universities (CTH and
KTH) and has collaborated with Goteborg’s Town Planning Office (SBK), where he have worked in
order to develop a strategic plan for the Southern River Shore development. He was involved in
international cooperation on the basis of European projects (Horizon2020, Life+, Interreg, COST,
Creative Europe) and other national and bilateral projects.

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THE SOIL MATTER BETWEEN
ECO-SYSTEMIC PERFORMANCE
AND SPATIAL PLANNING IN
METROPOLITAN AREAS
*SAVERIO SANTANGELO
PAOLO DE PASCALI
ANNAMARIA BAGAINI
Department of Planning, Design and

Technology of Architecture
University of Sapienza, Italy
e-mail: saverio.santangelo@uniroma1.it
paolo.depascali@uniroma1.it
annamaria.bagaini@uniroma1.it
URL: https://web.uniroma1.it/pdta/

Santangelo, S., De Pascali, P., Bagaini, A., Musacchio, C. & Perrone, F. (2019). The soil matter between
eco-systemic performance and spatial planning in metropolitan areas. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.),
10.6093/978-88-6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
Although soil represents an essential resource for the sustainability of anthropic life, through
the provision of different and relevant “ecosystem services”, it does not emerge as an object
of effective protection and safeguard actions. It results considerably underestimated in space
policies while, when it is being considered, it app ears as a generating factor of conflicts between
instances of exploitation and safeguard requirements. The present paper focuses on the
phenomenal and regulatory aspects concerning the soil resource in metropolitan areas, where
the rate of “soil demand” is particularly relevant. Moreover, the recent establishment of the
“metropolitan cities” in the Italian institutional framework, in accordance with the law 07 April
2014 n. 56 “Provisions on metropolitan cities, provinces, union and merging municipalities”,
provides a new field of action and new – regulatory and strategic - planning tools for the
governance and safeguard of the soil resource, on which it seems appropriate to suggest a path
of investigation.
KEYWORDS
Soil Ecosystem Services; Land take / Soil Consumpti on; Metropolitan Areas; Spatial Planning
* The other authors are: Clara Musacchio, Francesca Perrone.
S. Santangelo, P. De Pascali, A. Bagaini et al.
1 SOIL, AN UNDERESTIMATED RESOURCE IN THE SPATIAL PLANNING

The following article seeks to systematize the researches carried out during the Phd program,1
regarding the issues of sustainability and its peculiarities in metropolitan areas.
Soil is one of the key elements from which most of the natural resources of our planet originate
and, on whose quality, and consistency depends the survival of living beings (Klaus, 2015). It
has been recognized as “primary good” since 19722 and, later, as a “resource to be
safeguarded” according to the European Commission drafts for sustainability and
environmental actions (CE, 2011, 2013). However, at European level, an unitarian strategy
for soil protection has not been achieved yet.
The soil value cannot be exclusively measured through a quantitative evaluation of the land
area amount but it results from the combination of structural, physical, chemical and biological
characteristics: as a basic factor of a complex “ecological-environmental infrastructure”
(Dominati, 2013), it is able to alter the functioning of the “biosphere system” (Zamprogno &
Cattaneo, 2012) and, in these terms, its subsistence becomes crucial for the environmental,
economic and socio-cultural life.
Along with the consequences of physical, chemical and biological degradation processes, the
main risks that derives from the loss of natural soil mainly concerns:
− the fragmentation of habitats and the reduction of the continuity of ecological corridors,
with the consequent decrease in biodiversity;
− the loss of sustainable agricultural production, due to a reduced and qualitatively poor
humus (on which the natural fertility of the soil depends) as well as its natural nutritional
elements;
− the loss of carbon storage capacity, considering that soil represents an important carbon
sink, second only to the oceans (EEA, 2015);
− the reduction of water retention, incurring in situations of hydrogeological risk (Pileri,
2015);
− the alteration of balances of some landscape conformations.

1
Doctoral degree in “Urban planning, design and architecture technology”, Curriculum “Territorial, urban
and landscape planning”, XXXI cycle, a.a. 2015-2018. Sapienza University of Rome - PDTA.
2
“Le sol est un des biens les plus précieux de l'humanité. […] Il est essentiel à la vie de l'homme en tant
que source de nourriture et de matières premières. Il est un élément fondamental de la biosphere et
contribue, avec la végétation et le climat, à régler le cycle hydrologique et à influencer la qualité des
eaux. […] il contient les traces de l'évolution de la terre et de ses êtres vivants et constitue par ailleurs
le support des paysages” (Conseil de l'Europe, 1972: art.1).

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The soil matter between eco-systemic performance and spatial planning in metropolitan areas

In this regard, recent studies (Dominati, 2013) have recognized and emphasized the specific
value of the soil in the production of eco-systemic support, supply and regulation services.
Nevertheless, the extent and importance of the benefits related to the soil protection are still
of little consideration in the disciplinary areas of spatial planning: a condition that is
attributable to the difficult of recognizing, on a scientific level, the distinctive qualities and
features of the soil, referred to specific geographical areas or periods of time (Calzolari et al.,
2015), as well as to the lack of organicity of the ongoing researches.
Furthermore, even where soil is the subject of targeted policies, technical and political
conflicts, between instances of exploitation and protection petitions, between the pursuit of
rapid consumption profits and long-term lasting benefits, compromise the achievement of
effective results (Glaesner, Helming & De Vries, 2014).
2 THE SOIL RESOURCE IN THE METROPOLITAN AREA

The “soil issue” is particularly relevant in metropolitan contexts, both because of the “soil
demand” produced in these high density/high diversity areas and for the emerging policies of
protection adopted in the renewed institutional framework realized by the Italian law 07 April
2014, n. 56, “Provisions on metropolitan cities, provinces, union and merging municipalities”.
The available researches for diagnostic and statistical purposes on metropolitan phenomenon
can be referred mainly to three approaches: the physical-morphological, the administrative
and the functional one (EC, 2012).
As regards the demographic and physical-morphological components, which are the most
relevant for the purposes of this study, the 14 Italian metropolitan cities cover the 17% of the
national territory (corresponding to around 50,000 km2) and involve 1,300 municipalities, 16%
of the total. In them 21 million inhabitants live, more than 30% of the Italian population and
over 50% of which resides in “belt” municipalities (ISTAT, 2017).
Moreover, in the 14 metropolitan cities, the percentage of urbanized areas from the 50s to
nowadays has more than tripled, with the conversion to urban uses of approximately 3,500
km2 of soil, while, as regards the population, it is recorded that between 1950 and 2001 in
the territory of the actual metropolitan cities there was an increase of 12 million people, while
in the decade 2001-2011 the population growth decreased, registering only 600,000 new
inhabitants (Fregolent et al., 2017).
The administrative aspect of the metropolitan areas constitutes the territorial expression of
the political structure and represents a framework for the implementation of policies
concerning the quality of life, socio-economic development and environmental protection. The
law of 7 April 2014, n. 56 defines the general institutional goals of metropolitan cities: “a
strategic development of the metropolitan territory; integrated promotion and management

© 2019, FedoaPress

of services, infrastructures and communication networks; management of institutional

relations associated to their level, including those with European cities and metropolitan areas”
(art. 1, co. 2).
Land use policies concern the new metropolitan institutions because, first of all, they require
a supra-municipal level of governance. Secondly, they involve the “new planning”, affecting,
on the one hand, strategic goals of sustainability as well as the aspects of mobility, “the
communication structures, the service and infrastructure networks”, namely themes of
territorial planning according to the provisions of law 56/2014 (art.1, co. 44, lett. b).
3 EFFECTS OF LAND TAKE ON SOIL QUALITY IN METROPOLITAN

AREAS
As far as has been mentioned, even in the presence of a less population growth than in the
past, critical conditions in the consideration and use of the soil resource remain conspicuously
consistent in metropolitan areas. The demand for land induced by anthropic pressure
(especially in terms of quality) and unsustainable development conditions are the two main
causes of soil consumption.
The processes of degradation of anthropogenic soil - due to building and infrastructural uses
(residence, services, activities, networks) and activities associated with them (excavation,
compacting, soil sealing, etc.) and the increasing amount of abandoned and disused areas -
has led to the loss of soil, the habitat fragmentation into a smaller patches of isolated and
heterogeneous areas that are increasingly less functional to ecological continuity (strong
environmental stress).
In Italy, between 2013 and 2015, the “functional ability” of about 35 hectares of land per day
was definitively lost, because of soil sealing. Recent studies (ISPRA, 2018) show how these
conditions occur especially in large cities and in neighboring municipalities. In fact, “more than
a fifth (21.4%, almost 5,000 km2) of artificial soil in Italy (2017), correspond to the area of
14 metropolitan cities” (Congedo et al., 2018a: 19) 3.
Under certain circumstances, artificial soil takes up more than 60% of the entire municipal
area, reaching peaks of 70% in smaller municipalities and 50% in outlying municipalities.

3
Metropolitan cities with the highest percentage of soil consumed are: Milan and Naples (> 30%); Rome
and Venice (10-15%); Bari, Bologna, Cagliari, Catania, Florence, Genoa, Messina, Palermo and Turin
(5-10%) (Congedo et al., 2018a: 22-23).

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METROPOLITAN CITY POPULATION (inhab.) LAND AREA (ha) SOIL CONSUMPTION (ha 2017)
Venice 853.552 247.300 36.487

Turin 2.269.120 682.700 59.595
Rome 4.355.725 536.300 72.481
Reggio Calabria 551.212 321.000 19.213
Palermo 1.260.193 500.900 29.277
Naples 3.101.002 117.900 39.896
Milan 3.234.658 157.600 50.384
Messina 631.297 326.600 21.237
Genoa 844.957 183.400 15.600
Florence 1.013.260 351.400 29.386
Catania 1.109.888 357.400 29.652
Cagliari 431.955 124.900 10.351
Bologna 1.011.291 370.200 34.645
Bari 1.257.520 386.300 38.104
Tab. 1 Population (inhab.), land area and consumed soil (ha) of 14 metropolitan cities
(Congedo et al., 2018a: 22)
Fig. 1 Soil consumption in Italy (ha) between 2016 and 2017, by type of municipality (Congedo et al., 2018a: 26)
METROPOLITAN CITY MAIN TYPES OF SOIL CONSUMED
Fig. 2 Main types of soil consumed (no. 3/4 for metropolitan areas) in metropolitan cities of Italy (%) between
2012 and 2017 (Congedo et al., 2018b: 47)

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4 STRATEGIC PLAN AND TERRITORIAL GENERAL PLAN SHARING LAND

TAKE MANAGEMENT
The final withdrawal, in 2014, of the European structural directive on soil protection4 and the
arrest at the Italian Senate of the D.d.L. 283/2016 for the “Containment of land consumption
and re-use of built land”, have generated, at different administrative levels, acclimate of
uncertainty in the management of land consumption and in the promotion of collaborative
and integrated actions.
Regional initiatives are quite heterogeneous and norms on land use management and soil
protection can essentially be found in:
− territorial policy and governance laws (Piedmont; Valle d’Aosta; Lombardy; Tuscany;
Umbria; Campania; Sardinia; Sicily; Liguria);
− urban regeneration and requalification laws (Lazio; Apulia; Calabria);
− targeted laws on land consumption soil control (Abruzzo; Emilia-Romagna; Friuli-Venezia
Giulia; Marche; Veneto) (ISPRA, 2018).
With respect to the regional normative framework, metropolitan bodies have undertaken
autonomous initiatives on reduction of soil consumption which are reflected, in the various
metropolitan statutes,5 as general sustainability objectives or, more incisively, as explicit
content of spatial planning (Giglioni, 2016).
With reference to the planning tools granted to metropolitan cities by law 56, it can be said
that the strategic plan undoubtedly plays a significant role in the promotion of essential
principles of sustainable development and in the institutional – administrative coordination for
the adoption of widespread artificialization control tools.
However, it is in the general territorial plan, through regulatory and operative actions, that a
semantic switch/enlargement from “territory” to “soil” can actually be realized. It is in the
ambit of this planning tool (more than in the strategic one), in fact, that strong regulatory
measures can be taken such as a radical distinction between urbanized, non-urbanized and
urbanizable spaces as well as the recognition of the value of natural soils in provision of
ecosystem services.

4
The decision was taken following the imposition of a “blocking minority”, composed by five of the main
Member States: Austria, France, Germany, Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
5
In the Italian institutional framework, the statutes have a decisive role with the respect to the allocation
of powers among institutional bodies, in the selection of the fundamental values as well as the general
principles and objectives that inspire and guide the governance of different institutional bodies (Vandelli,
2014).

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While awaiting the drafting of the future general territorial plans,6 two approaches can be
essentially recognized: one “structurally oriented”, able to specify regional directives, through
the production of constraints for local plans, in line with the sustainability objectives specified
in the strategic plans; the other, in line with the old, traditional provincial coordination plan,
weakly proactive and mostly analytical of land resources and properties.
The first ones are, evidently, appointed to perform a “strong” guarantee of land consumption
control and in this direction seem to be oriented the plans of Turin, Milan, Genoa, Bologna
and Naples: in their statutes the reduction of land consumption, variously declined, is indicated
as explicit content of the territorial planning act.
REFERENCES
Calzolari, C., Ungaro, F., Campeol, A.M., Filippi, N., Guermandi, M., Malucelli, F., Marchi, N., Staffilani,
F., & Tarocco, P., (2015). La valutazione dei servizi ecosistemici forniti dal suolo per la pianificazione
del territorio. In M., Marchetti and Mufanò, M. (Eds.), Recuperiamo terreno. Analisi e prospettive per
la gestione sostenibile della risorsa suolo. Milano, IT: FrancoAngeli, 138-150. ISBN: 9788891713858
CE (Ed., 2011). Tabella di marcia verso un’Europa efficiente nell’impiego delle risorse, COM (2011)
571. BE: Bruxelles.
CE (Ed., 2013). Settimo programma di azione per l’ambiente fino al 2020. Vivere bene entro i limiti del
nostro pianeta, 1386/2013/UE. BE: Bruxelles.
Congedo, L., Assennato, F., Bruno, R., Ciocci, C., De Fioravante, P., Di Leginio, M., Giuliani, C., Luti,
T., Marinosci, I., Milano, G., Pellegrino, P., Pranzo, S., Soraci, M., Strollo, A., Raudner, A., Trogu, D.,
& Munafò, M. (2018a). Il consumo di suolo e la crescita urbana. In ISPRA (Ed.), Consumo di suolo,
dinamiche territoriali e servizi ecosistemici, 288. Roma, IT: ISPRA, 37-50. ISBN: 9788844809027
Congedo, L., De Fioravante, P., Di Leginio, M., Iadanza, C., Marinosci, I., Pranzo, S., Strollo, A., Trigila,
A., & Munafò, M. (2018b). La distribuzione territoriale del consumo di suolo. In ISPRA (Ed.), Consumo
di suolo, dinamiche territoriali e servizi ecosistemici, 288. Roma, IT: ISPRA, 14-36. ISBN:
9788844809027
Conseil de l'Europe (1972). Charte européenne des sols. Strasbourg, FR.
Dominati, E.J. (2013). Natural capital and ecosystem services of soils. In J.R. Dymond (Ed.), Ecosystem
services in New Zealand – conditions and trends. Lincoln. Manawatu-Wanganui, NZ: Manaaki Whenua
Press, 132-142. doi: https://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/77039/1_11_
Dominati.pdf

6
All metropolitan cities have assumed their own provincial territorial coordination plans as general
territorial plans ex lege 56, while only the metropolitan city of Milan and the Metropolitan City of Genoa
have approved the Metropolitan Territorial Plan guidelines.

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EEA (Ed., 2015). European briefings – Land systems. The European environment – State and Outlook
2015 (SOER). Copenaghen, DK: European Environment Agency. doi: https://www.eea.europa.eu/
soer-2015/europe/ land#tab-based-on-indicators
EC (2012). Cities in Europe. The new OECD-EC definition, RF 01/2012. Regional and urban policies.
BE: Bruxelles. doi: http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/docgener/focus/2012_01_city.pdf.
Fregolent, L., Gastaldi, F. & Vettoretto, L. (2017). All’incrocio tra urban shrinkage, post-metropoli e
planetary urbanization. In A. Balducci, V. Fedeli and F. Curci (Eds.). Ripensare la questione urbana.
Regionalizzazione e scenari di innovazione. 77-105. Milan, IT: Guerini Associati.
Giglioni, F. (2016). La regolazione del consumo di suolo nelle prime esperienze delle città
metropolitane. Rapporto sulle città 2016. Le agende urbane delle città italiane. Urban@it, 2, 2-11. doi:
https://www.urbanit.it/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/3_BP_Giglioni_F.pdf
Glaesner, N., Helming K., & De Vries, W. (2014). Do current european policies prevent soil threats and
support soil functions?. Sustainability, 6, 9538-9563. doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/su6129538
ISPRA (2018). Consumo di suolo, dinamiche territoriali e servizi ecosistemici. 288. Roma, IT: ISPRA.
ISBN 9788844809027. doi: http://www.isprambiente.gov.it/it/pubblicazioni/rapporti/consumo-di-
suolo-dinamiche-territoriali-e-servizi-ecosistemici.-edizione-2018
ISTAT (2017). Forme, livelli e dinamiche dell’urbanizzazione. Istituto nazionale di statitstica . Roma, IT:
Streetlib. ISBN:9788845819162
Klaus, G. (2015). Soil – A Precious Natural Resource. International Year of Soils 2015. National
Research Programme Sustainable Use of Soil as a Resource – NRP 68. Bern, CHE: Federal Office for
the Environment – FOEN, Federal Office for Agriculture – FOAG, Federal Office for Spatial Development
– ARE, Swiss Confederation. doi: https://www.mnsoilscientist.org/soil.PDF
Pileri, P. (2015). Il valore sotto ai piedi. In L., Martinelli (Ed.). Le conseguenze del cemento. Perché
l’onda grigia cancella l’Italia? Protagonisti, trama e colpi di scena di un copione insostenibile. Milano,
IT: Altreconomia edizioni, 29-32. doi: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/292608073
Vandelli L. (2014). L’innovazione del governo locale alla prova: uno sguardo comparato agli Statuti
delle Città Metropolitane. Istituzioni del Federalismo. Gli statuti delle città metropolitane. Modelli a
confronto. Rivista di studi giuridici e politici, anno XXXV, n.s. Doi: https://www.regione.emilia-
romagna.it/affari_ist/Supplemento%20_2014/Vandelli.pdf
Zamprogno, L., & Cattaneo, T. (Eds., 2012). Suolo Bene Comune, dalla convenzione europea del
paesaggio al governo sostenibile del territorio. Milano, IT: Legambiente Lombardia Onlus. Doi:
http://lombardia.legambiente.it/sites/default/files/docs/quaderni_del_suolo-web_0.pdf
WEB SITES
https://www.eea.europa.eu/it/segnali/segnali-2015/articoli/il-suolo-e-il-cambiamento-climatico
https://www.tuttitalia.it/citta-metropolitane/popolazione/
https://www.wwf.it/consumo_del_suolo___avere_cura_della_natura_dei_territori.cfm

© 2019, FedoaPress


AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Saverio Santangelo. Associate professor in Urban Planning, PDTA Department, Sapienza University
of Rome. He carries out research on public action issues in urban planning, and on topics of strategic
planning, social housing, local sustainable development. Member of PhD Department board in
Planning, Design, Technology of Architecture. Scientific coordinator on behalf Sapienza, PDTA
Department, in the European funded project Interreg MED Coasting.
Paolo De Pascali. Full Professor in Urban Planning (ICAR 21), PDTA Department, Sapienza University
of Rome. Chair of Urban Regeneration and Urban Planning Fundamentals. Director of the II level
University Master Course URBAM (Urban planning in public administration). Since 1983 he is the
Director of research institutes, responsible for research & innovation projects in national and European
programs in the fields of energy and settlements. Currently, his studies mainly focus on the relevance
of energy-environmental factors in Urban plans to foster urban regeneration and local development.
Annamaria Bagaini. Urban and Environmental Planner, PhD in Planning, Design and Technology of
Architecture. She works on increasing awareness related to the relationship between Urban Planning
and energy turn, by a better integration between them, also provided by using new technologies and
smart tools, able to inform the decision-making process and enhance social inclusion in the energy
chain.
Clara Musacchio. Architect, PhD in urban and landscape planning. She usually works as development
planning and policy consultant for public administration and private players. She participated in
national and international research groups on planning itineraries for weak social categories. She
currently deals with large area planning, metropolitan cities and instruments for controlling and
rebalancing settlement expansion.
Francesca Perrone. Landscape planner. She received her Ph.D. in Planning, Design and Technology
of Architecture, Sapienza University of Rome. She got her post graduate degree in GEOinformation
and Geographic Information Systems, for systemic analysis of territory and geographic data. She
obtains the international certificate of Esri ArcGIS User. She has engaged in issues ranging from land
take control to soil ecosystem services. Her research interests focus on sustainable landscape planning,
territory management and soil ecosystem services.

© 2019, FedoaPress

KNOWLEDGE-BUILDING MODELS
FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING:
THE CASE STUDY OF BARI
STEFANIA SANTORO, DOMENICO CAMARDA

PASQUALE BALENA
Department of Civil, Environmental, Land,

Construction and Chemistry (DICATECh)
Polytechnic University of Bari, Italy
e-mail: stefania.santoro@poliba.it
domenico.camarda@poliba.it
pasquale.balena@poliba.it
URL: ww.poliba.it

Santoro S., Balena P. & Camarda D. (2019). Knowledge-building models for environmental planning: the case
study of Bari. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature and ecosystem services (pp. 120-129).
ABSTRACT
The concept of ecosystem services arises as a formal outcome of historical processes of
understanding and interpreting settlements as complex ecological systems. Because of a
straightforward, bottom-up demand for environment enhancement, that concept increasingly
occurs in discourses, in narratives, in the demands of common people, triggering a new urban
environmental awareness. This is now often arising spontaneously in the protocols of participatory
construction of plans, especially when planning for the future of complex environments such as
city areas. The present study tries to elicit reflec tions around the weight of ecosystem issues
in the case study of Bari (Italy), which is experie ncing an inclusive process of construction of
shared knowledge for the new master plan. Starting from an initial campaign of civic walks
along urban neighborhoods and a subsequent questionnaire-based survey on the community,
the paper carries out comparative analyses using problem-structuring methods, in order to
evaluate and reflect on community behaviors and expectations about ecosystem services.
KEYWORDS
Knowledge Modelling; Spatial Planning; Problem Stru cturing Methods
S. Santoro, D. Camarda, P. Balena
1 INTRODUCTION
In the so-called Italian season of third-generation plans following earlier post-war planning
experiences, issues of qualitative (as well as interstitially speculative) transformation of cities
appear, apparently in terms of urban facilities and services.
This type of approach is generally considered as extended until the 1980s, with some medium-
sized cities often cited as examples, such as Pavia, Pistoia, Arezzo.
This is also the period, however, of an irruption of the environmental question in scientific
debates. New reflections focus on the limits of dissipative growth especially within residential
settlements. What emerges is the need for progressively increased attention to natural
resources and their regeneration cycles, especially in urban areas. Some observers even deduce
from this circumstance an emerging fourth generation of spatial plans, contaminated by new
increasing socio-environmental operational programs, such as Agenda 21.
Certainly, a new awareness is growing around the need for closing natural cycles must close,
to avoid problems of liveability, health, consumption of ecological resources. Settlement areas
are increasingly considered, planned and managed as complex ecological systems and not as
simple territories to be transformed.
The hand of public administration and policymaking can do much in this framework, in its role
as a service provider to support the life and welfare of communities. By the new millennium,
the new and simple reading of this commitment is thus immediately turned into operationally
considering the role played by service places as also resource regenerators.
Also thanks to this simple, natural evolution, the new concept of ecosystem services arises, a
lexical outcome of a historical process of understanding and interpreting settlements as
complex ecological systems. It is therefore a formal name which corresponds to a
straightforward, bottom-up demand for environment enhancement. It increasingly occurs in
discourses, in narratives, in the demands of common people, triggering a new urban
environmental awareness. This is now arising spontaneously in the protocols of participatory
construction of plans, especially when planning the future of areas at environmental risk.
The present study starts from these considerations, trying to elicit reflections around the
weight of ecosystem instances along inclusive processes of cognitive planning, with the aim
of verifying their final policy enhancement. The work refers to the case study of Bari (Italy),
in which a multi-faceted process of construction of shared knowledge is in progress for the
preparation of the new urban plan of the city. After the present introduction, section 2 shows
a literature review about ES while section 3 presents the case study. Section 4 describes the
methodology applied and section 5 outlines and discusses the case study. Final remarks and
future developments close the paper (section 6).

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Knowledge-building models for environmental planning: the case study of Bari

2 ECOSYSTEM SERVICES RELEVANT BACKGROUND

Literature offers a large variety of Ecosystem Service (ES) definitions and classification
approaches (Binning et al., 2001; Boyd & Banzhaf, 2007; Landers & Nahlik, 2013; Millennium
Ecosystem Assessment - MEA, 2005; Wallace, 2007, 2008). However, there is general
agreement that human well-being is supported by the existence, processes, and outputs of
ES. According to MEA (2005), ES are “the benefits of nature to households, communities, and
economies”. Studies show that ES can develop neutral, synergic, and trade-off relationships
between households, communities, and economies at different scales (e.g. Howe et al.,
2014; Lee & Lautenbach, 2016). The comprehension of these relationships is crucial for
making more informed and sustainable decisions on economic, environmental and land use
policies and practices (Dennis & James, 2017; Holt et al., 2015; Vogdrup-Schmidt et al.,
2017).
In order to establish a common system necessary for ES incorporation into decision-making
and economic accounting systems, the Common International Classification of Ecosystem
Services (CICES) was issued. The CICES framework uses and classifies ES into provisioning
(e.g., food and fresh water), regulating and maintenance (e.g., water purification) and cultural
(e.g., recreation and aesthetics). In the present study, started from a thesis work at
Polytechnic University of Bari, the CICES framework has been synthetized, according to
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) into (i) Natural Resources: water, land, soil and air:
(ii) Drivers of change: policy, land use, climate, pollution; (iii) Benefits: economy, well-being,
food-water and materials and integrated into the methodology.More in detail, the
methodology is based on the combination of a Participatory Modeling Techniques (PMT)
analysis and Problem Structuring Methods (PSMs) in order to overcome some critical issues
of PMT and to understand the level of knowledge of citizens regarding ES, thanks to the
integration of a synthetic framework drafted by EPA.
3 THE CASE STUDY OF BARI

The capital of Apulia in Southern Italy, Bari city is extended over 117,38 km2 with 324,198
citizens. It is subdivided into five districts (Fig.1). In 2015 its Department of urban planning
opened a public channel to citizens at several levels, asking everyone to participate in the
drafting of the Master Plan of the city (PUG). The path was designed in different time steps,
performed between May and November 2016, through (i) nr.30 Urban front offices activated
in the Municipal Area, (ii) nr.9 Civic Walks (CWs) to single out peculiar aspects and features
of relevant areas and (iii) nr.5 Public Workshops to include citizens in the decision-making
process of PUG drafting.

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Fig. 1 Municipalities of Bari (Wikipedia 2014)
Starting from some considerations emerged during the CWs, in order to share new visions of
the places (Jones, 1990) between expert knowledge (scientists, institutional officers,
technicians) and non-expert knowledge (citizens), the aim of this study is to investigate about
the limits of the approach adopted by the Public Administration and to understand the level
of knowledge of citizens involved about ES. Section 4 describes the adopted methodology.
4 METHODOLOGY
The present study proposes an approach based on knowledge structuring to (i) overcome the
limits emerging during the involvement of citizens, and (ii) to investigate the level of citizens'
knowledge about ES.
Specifically, the reflection on CWs raised three critical issues: (i) numerical predominance of
considerations by expert knowledge on non-expert knowledge, (ii) the lack of information
structuring, broadly following narrative patterns, (iii) a small number of participants, never
exceeding 30 units.
In the present study, in order to overcome these limits, information emerged in narrative
patterns deriving from CWs has been recorded and formalized using ad-hoc structuring
platforms, particularly relevant to PSMs modelling area.
Specifically, a qualitative analysis of the information deriving from CWs was needed to build
Causal Loop Diagrams (CLDs) and semi-structured interviews (SSIs). CLDs was oriented to
build a problem framework (Homer & Oliva, 2001), whereas SSIs held a dual function of
validating CLDs and involving a more significant sample of citizens.

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Fig. 2 The developed methodology
The analysis led on one of the nine CWs will be described below, as an explicatory example.
4.1 PARTICIPATORY MODELLING EXERCISE: CIVIC WALK

CWs are an early and widespread instrument of citizens’ participation in the field of urban
policies in order to activate new forms of knowledge about the city (Jones, 1990). According
to literature analysis, CWs seem to ensure some important features: (i) the implementation
of de-professionalization visions, i.e., not only professionals shape the future of the districts;
(ii) a demystification of problems, turning territorial planning into real and concrete
perspectives, away from a virtual or mediatized knowledge; (iii) the democratization of
knowledge and decisions, as many citizens are directly involved in the process of reflection
and decision, especially those that represent an interest in the future of the districts (Jones,
1990).
Several examples are applied in different parts of the world (Fregolent et al., 2014).
The CW analyzed here has crossed areas coming from two planning seasons of the city of
Bari. The first one is the urban plan drafted by Calza-Bini and Piacentini characterized by a
traditional urban design (concentric and equidistant road links connected by radial roads with
tridents, the medians) that does not relate to the expanding Bari of the post-war years.
The second one is Quaroni's urban plan, characterized by the gigantism of roads and buildings
in view of demographic growth and city flows (report PUG, 2016).
During the CW analyzed, 22 citizens and 3 technicians were involved. The CW was focused
on three places: Alcide De Gasperi street (Place 1); Gandhi Mohandas street (Place 2); Mother
Teresa of Calcutta street (Place 3).
4.2 PROBLEM STRUCTURING METHOD: CAUSAL LOOP DIAGRAM

CLDs are a formal modelling tool of Group Model Building Technique. It aims at setting up a
process of mutual understanding of a problem situation between knowledge agents and
analysts, typically starting from storytelling, interviews, facts and narratives (Voinov et al.,

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2010). CLDs are used to identify key factors and the causal relationships between variables
(Binder et al., 2004). CLDs is symbolized by variables and links with polarity representing the
effect of one variable on another (Richardson, 1995).
In this work, CLDs were used to build a structured approach of problem situations deriving
from CWs. According to Basco-Carrera et al. (2017), an un-structured approach is
characterized by low degree of consensus and scientific certainty. The recording of
conversation emerging during CW were analyzed, dividing the key concepts to be transformed
into variables and then creating CLDs (Tab. 1).
QUOTES FROM CONVERSATION VARIABLES
The road suffers from an urban load unproportionate to what was designed Road size efficiency
It isn’t possible to enlarge the section road now, perhaps it would be
Traffic plan re- building
possible to think of alternative routes to decrease the traffic
Connection with ring
The traffic has changed especially with the grafts of the ring road
road
The road section is originally from the 1930s. The traffic has changed City development
Tab. 1 Quotes from expert knowledge translated into variables and relationships (CLD along Place 1)
From the CLD referring to Place 1, two main themes emerged: (i) excessive vehicular traffic
and (ii) the lack of public green spaces (Fig. 3a).
Specifically, on one hand, the road section is claimed to be unable to meet contemporary
mobility demands. On the other hand, the problem of lacking green public spaces is due to
intensive buildings and possibly worsened by the misappropriation of the few remaining areas
by some private owners. A re-building of the traffic plan for the management of vehicular
flows on the one hand, and the supervision by the Public Administration on the other, are the
solutions proposed by the expert knowledge in response to the issues raised.
The CLDs show the causes and the effects that these variables entail. Following the same
procedure, the other map has been built, in which the CLDs of Place 2 and 3 have been
aggregated referring to the same issues (Fig. 3b).The use of land, deriving from the reduction
of some road sections firstly conceived as urban highway and never completed, was a central
theme referring to the Place 2 and 3. Specifically, two suggestions have been proposed: (i)
urban gardens for community along the roads and (ii) the reorganization with partial
pedestrianization and bicycle path of the street to reduce the speed of traffic. The need to
expand public spaces, by redeveloping the underutilized areas, was claimed in a different part
of the district.

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Fig. 3 CLD referring to Place 1 (a), 2 and 3 (b)
4.3 PROBLEM STRUCTURING METHOD: SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEWS

SSIs are commonly used in policy research and are applicable to many research questions
(Barriball et al. 2004). They combine some structured, formalized questions with some
unstructured exploration. They are useful when dealing with complex systems, thanks to the
use of spontaneous approaches able to better explore, understand, clarify answers to
questions (Wilson, 2014).
In this context, SSIs have been carried out and submitted to citizens, retracing the same
places of the CWs, also aiming at checking the relevance and consistency of issue previously
raised by expert knowledge. SSIs have been structured in three sections: (i) citizen profiles;
(ii) mobility issues and (iii) public space issues.
Citizens could express own preferences on a Likert (1932) 1-5 scale of agreement and to
insert a free contribution on the actions to be addressed on the issues raised. A sample of 88
citizens, divided into 53 women and 35 men, aged between 35 and 50 years, were
interviewed.

CLDs building tried to overcome the limit relating the unstructured approach emerged during
CW. The information thus emerging was subsequently connected to ES (EPA) classes, so
making it possible to draw out considerations regarding the issues related to ES, by observing
Tab. 2.
It can be noted that the most common drivers of change are the Land Use and Policy. The
benefits related to Well-Being and Public Health are connected through cause-effect
relationships.

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NATURAL DRIVERS OF CHANGE BENEFITS

PLACE
RESOURCES Policy Land Use Well-being Pubblic Health
decrease traffic
traffic plan re- building
Municipality flow increase air
1
supervision quality
use of public green area areas for children
increase bicycle
path planning
LAND
increase
traffic plan re- building pedestrian route
planning decrease veichle
2/3
speed
decrease traffic
flow
increase citizen
urban gardens planning
well-being
Tab. 2 ES emerged from CW expert knowledge
The ‘traffic plan re-building’ variable emerged in all three Place. Referring to Place 1, it was
suggested to act on the traffic flow, through a study of vehicular flows, not being able to
physically modify the undersized road section. Referring to Place 2 and 3, the construction of
cycle paths, pedestrian route and urban gardens was suggested.
The latter seems to meet a dual function of reducing the road section and (consequently)
vehicle speed, while promoting sustainable mobility and equipping the district with urban
gardens. In terms of benefits, these actions induce an improvement in the well-being of
citizenship thanks to the presence of areas for leisure, a decrease in vehicular traffic with
more safety for pedestrians, an increase in health and clean air-related benefits.
The above statements have been submitted to citizens' opinion and degree of validation
through SSIs. On the one hand, this allowed a general validation by the citizens on the issues
emerged from expert knowledge, thus somehow balancing the preponderance of
interventions by expert knowledge.
On the other hand, it helped to bring out new issues such as waste management, the inclusion
of public lighting and the planting of new plant species. Variables have been relocated to
relevant ES categories (Tab. 3).
The issues emerged, which are added to those already known deriving from expert knowledge
are: the planting of new tree species in order to reduce the problems linked to allergies that
characterize children residing in Alcide De Gasperi street (Place 1); the strengthening of public
lighting at Place 2 in order to increase pedestrian safety and finally, at Place 3, the need of
improving the waste management system to guarantee adequate hygienic conditions of
spaces and healthiness of air.

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The validation of CLDs took place through the analysis of semi-structured interviews. The
preference of citizens in relation to questions have been analysed. For a sake of simplicity one
example is show “Corso Alcide De Gasperi is undersized” (Fig. 3a).
DRIVERS OF CHANGE BENEFITS

NATURAL
PLACE Pubblic
RESOURCES Policy Land Use Well-being
Health
planting of
decrease of
1 different tree
allergies
species
Land pedestrian
public lighting
security
2/3
waste neighborhood increase air
management cleaning quality
Tab. 3 ES emerged from semi- structured interviews by non-expert knowledge
48% of citizens involved expressed an agreement at Likert scale 4, whereas 34% of citizens
agreed at grade 5 (Fig. 4a). The majority of citizens involved acknowledges that Alcide De
Gasperi street is undersized. It is possible to summarize the results obtained from the
questionnaire through a histogram in which the abscissas represent the questions, and the
ordinates represent the average of citizens’ preference for each question (Fig. 4b).
Fig.4 Percentage of citizens’ agreement with the question n°1 (a); average of 88 citizens’ preferences on each
question of the semi- structured interviews (b)
5 CONCLUSION
The application of knowledge structuring models trough PSMs aims to challenge some limits of
participatory modelling technique and to investigate the level of citizens' knowledge about ES.
The study has brought about some general considerations, that can be synthesized as follows.
Firstly, CWs seem to be not completely able to lay out, analyse and understand issues and

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problem situations emerging along walking discourses. An integration offered by other

methods, such as extended SSIs, seems to be effectively integrative of the knowledge building
process, being also possible to involve a greater number of people.
Secondly, the concept of ES seems to be now somehow inherent in the culture of citizens. In
fact, virtually every action that emerged from CWs and SSIs can be assigned to a category of
ES. However, some limitations still appear, such as: (i) emerging ESs take into account only
the natural resource Land; (ii) the drivers used are only Policy and Land use and the benefits
arising are only related to Well-being and Public Health.
Interestingly, CLD seem to usefully integrate future-modelling activities -such as scenario-
building models. For example, they seem to be useful to investigate on the implications of
citizen potential decisions on areas, as well as to facilitate citizens' knowledge about ES and,
more broadly, to support the construction of collective futures. In this perspective, more work
will be devoted to check such issues on different case studies.
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FROM ECOSYSTEMS TO
ECOSYSTEM SERVICES
A SPATIAL METHODOLOGY APPLIED TO
A CASE STUDY IN SARDINIA
*MATILDE SCHIRRUa, SIMONA CANUa

LAURA SANTONAb
a
Agenzia Regionale per la Protezione
dell’Ambiente della Sardegna (ARPAS), Italy
e-mail: matildesschirru@gmail.com
scanu@arpa.sardegna.it
b
Regione Autonoma della Sardegna
Direzione Generale della Difesa
dell’Ambiente, Italy
e-mail: lsantona@regione.sardegna.it

Schirru M., Canu S., Santona L., Lai S. & Motroni A. (2019). From Ecosystems to Ecosystem Services: A
spatial methodology applied to a case study in Sardinia. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature
and ecosystem services (pp. 130-141). Naples: FedOAPress. ISBN: 978-88-6887-054-6, doi: 10.6093/978-88-
6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
Ecosystem services (ES) evaluation is the most reco mmended approach to assess and monitor
environmental health and quality of human life. A key role to ensure provision of ecosystem
benefits is played by protected areas and nature con servation projects worldwide. Natural
capital accounting includes ES evaluation in sustainable land management and planning, setting
the challenge to monitor ES over time and to update governance tools considering ES flows.
The MAES initiative by the European Environmental Agency suggests ecosystems as the proper
land units to evaluate, map and monitor related ES. Ecological Land Classification methodology
was applied to obtain Asinara island (Sardinia, Italy) Ecosystem Map within the activities of
GIREPAM project (INTERREG Program 2014-2020), aimed at integrating management policies
in marine protected areas and parks governance. An ES inventory was also implemented,
among others, through expert opinion survey, and carbon sequestration potential was estimated
and mapped. Preliminary results of potential ES all over Asinara island territory and carbon
sequestration mapping are presented, representing i mportant tools for Asinara National Park
future management planning and governance.
KEYWORDS
Ecosystem Services; Ecological Land Unit; Carbon Se questration; Asinara National Park
* The other authors are: Sabrina Lai, Andrea Motroni.
M. Schirru, S. Canu, L. Santona et al.
1 INTRODUCTION
The GIREPAM project, funded by the 2014-2020 INTERREG V-A Italy-France Maritime
Programme (http://interreg-maritime.eu/web/girepam), aims at sharing a Mediterranean
cross-border strategy for the integrated management of marine-coastal areas, focusing on
biodiversity protection and ecosystem services maintenance in protected areas and Natura
2000 sites. Among others, methodological tools have been proposed in order to assess, map
and evaluate ecosystem services (ES) according to Systems of Environmental and Economic
Accounting (SEEA).
In order to support Systems of National Accounting, the European Environmental Agency
(EEA) developed CICES – the Common International Classification of ES (Haynes-Yang &
Potschin, 2017).
ES are clustered in four categories according to the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA,
2003): provisioning (“all nutritional, non-nutritional material and energetic outputs from living
systems as well as abiotic outputs - including water-”), regulating (“all the ways in which living
organisms can mediate or moderate the environment that affects human health, safety or
comfort, together with abiotic equivalents”), cultural (“all the non-material, and normally non-
rival and non-consumptive, outputs of ecosystems - biotic and abiotic - that affect physical
and mental states of people”), supporting (“those that are necessary for the production of all
other ecosystem services, such as primary production, production of oxygen, and soil
formation). The latter, however, is not regarded as a group in the CICES taxonomy, which
regards as ES only those that are demanded and used by humans.
Natural capital can also be defined in spatially-explicit ways, through geographic instruments
which may help to analyze, assess, monitor and map homogeneous ecological patterns
together with related services (MAES, 2013; MAES, 2014).
The European initiative for Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems and their Services (MAES)
by EEA, aims at (i) mapping ecosystem, (ii) evaluating their conservation status; (iii) assessing
ES. In order to implement the 2020 EU Biodiversity Strategy, member states and European
Institutions implemented an Ecosystem map (MAES, 2016; Erhard et al., 2017) at the
continental level, based on Corine land cover (CLC), which clusters main terrestrial ecosystem
types, transitional waters and coastal areas in seven CLC classes.
European Nature Information System (EUNIS) was integrated with the CLC one, which led to
better defining and characterizing current ecosystem conditions, merging “ecosystem” and
“habitat” concepts, thus finding key indicators for mapping and assessing ecosystem
conditions (MAES, 2018). Several case studies have been recorded and published in the EEA
portal (https://biodiversity.europa.eu/maes/maes-digital-atlas) in order to implement National

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From Ecosystems to Ecosystem Services: a spatial methodology applied to a case study in Sardinia

Ecosystem Maps. In Italy, recent case studies in ecosystem mapping are based on the
integration of Ecological Land units (MAES sensu) with the Potential Vegetation series (Blasi
et al., 2014) as ecosystem quality facies; for local assessment (at regional, sub-regional, little
island scales), a first critical issue is represented by properly scaled data in order to implement
local land and nature conservation management policies (Blasi et al., 2017).
The objective of this work is to define an Ecosystem map for Asinara island, applying the
Ecological Land Unit (ELU) approach (Smiraglia et al., 2013) through spatial and reasoned
overlay of abiotic Land Facets and land cover maps.
Related potential ES, with particular reference to carbon stock map, are here presented as
preliminary results of the GIREPAM project for Asinara National Park.
2 CASE STUDY
Asinara island is 50 km2 in size and it extends from South-West to North-East to the North of
Sardinia, Italy (Fig. 1). The geology of the island is characterized by metamorphic rocks in the
north and granitic ones in the south. Asinara presents high cliffs on the western side, and
smoother sandy profiles in the eastern side facing Italy’s main land. Mean annual rainfall
amounts to 480 mm, average of annual temperature approximately being of 18°C (Carboni
et al., 2015). Following Rivas-Martinez et al.’s (2011) approach, Canu et al. (2014) described
six isobioclimates for the island. More than 50% of the island is characterized by Upper
thermomediterranean, upper dry, euoceanic strong, while 31% by Lower mesomediterranean,
lower subhumid, euoceanic strong. 8% of total territory presents an Upper
thermomediterranean, upper dry, semihyperoceanic weak bioclimate. Only 6,5% of total land
is characterized by Lower mesomediterranean, lower subhumid, euoceanic strong. The island
vegetation is characterized by typical Mediterranean maquis with some more degraded areas.
Endemic flora has been described by Bocchieri and Filigheddu (2008) and explored
exhaustively by Pisanu et al. (2014) and Drissen et al. (2019). Populated by a rural community
until expulsion in 1885, the environment of the island was next largely affected by the
presence of an agricultural penal colony (Forteleoni & Gazale, 2008; Gutierrez et al., 1998).
The subsequent abandonment of farming activities previously carried out by prisoners in the
early ‘70s led to land degradation due to overgrazing by cattle and other rewilded animals
and frequent forest fires across the island, as summarized also by Mantilla-Contreras et al.
(2018). In 1997 Asinara National Park was established turning the island into a great important
biodiversity hotspot, due to the presence of several rare, threatened, endemic marine and
terrestrial habitat and species.

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Fig. 1 Asinara island
3 ECOSYSTEM MAP: MATERIALS AND METHODS

Asinara’s ecosystem map was obtained following the “Ecological Land Classification” (ELC)
framework by Smiraglia et al. (2013), who identify ecological homogeneous areas of abiotic
drivers, based on land facets which greatly influence biotic distribution such as vegetation
series potential and ecological processes (Blasi et al., 2014; Blasi et al., 2017). Bioclimatic,
lithology and landform geographic information layers were overlaid in order to obtain a Land
Facet Map (LFM). Asinara climate has been classified using Sardinia Bioclimatic Map (Canu et
al., 2014), while lithological map has been produced at a 1:10,000 scale. Phytoclimatic
heterogeneity depends not only on bioclimate and lithology but strongly on the wide altitudinal
gradient of the island, which can reach quite high altitudes (Punta Scomunica, 408 m a.s.l, in
the northern part, and Punta Maestra Fornelli, 265 m a.s.l.) within a short distance from the

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coast. Landform map has been implemented using a Digital Elevation Model for Sardinia island
(resolution 10m x 10m), based on Topographic Position Index based on a 10-class landform
classification. A Land Facet Map of 44 hierarchical classes was obtained (Fig. 2) and combined
with an updated land use map of Asinara (Fig. 3) in order to produce an Ecosystem Map with
188 Ecological Land Units.
Fig. 2 Bioclimates, lithology, landform and land facet map of Asinara
Fig. 3 From land facet and land use combination to the Ecosystem Map of Asinara

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4 PRELIMINARY RESULTS
4.1 POTENTIAL ECOSYSTEM SERVICES

Qualitative evaluation of Potential ES for Asinara island was carried out through an expert
opinion questionnaire submitted to a group of Asinara National Park members, nature
conservation academics and socioecological experts.
SECTION CLASS
Characteristics of living systems that enable education and training

Characteristics of living systems that enable aesthetic experiences
Cultural
Characteristics of living systems that enable scientific investigation or the creation of

traditional ecological knowledge
Characteristics of living systems that are resonant in terms of culture or heritage
Elements of living systems that have symbolic meaning
Elements of living systems used for entertainment or representation
Characteristics or features of living systems that have an existence value
Decomposition and fixing processes and their effect on soil quality
Seed dispersal
Regulation & Maintenance
Bio-remediation by micro-organisms, algae, plants, and animals

Biotic
Disease control
Visual screening
Control of erosion rates
Fire protection
Hydrological cycle and water flow regulation (Including flood control, and coastal
protection)
Regulation of temperature and humidity, including ventilation and transpiration
Regulation of the chemical condition of freshwaters by living processes
Maintaining nursery populations and habitats (including gene pool protection)
Pollination (or ‘gamete’ dispersal in a marine context)
Seeds, spores and other plant materials collected for maintaining or establishing a
visio
ning
Pro
population
Animal material collected for the purposes of maintaining or establishing a population
Tab. 1 Biotic classes of CICES (ver.5.1) as perceived by expert opinion as Asinara potential ecosystem services
Firstly, experts were asked to identify CICES ES classes for Asinara ecosystems, following the
same approach used in other studies of ES assessment of Protected Areas (Gaglioppa &

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Marino, 2016; Manolaki & Vogiatzakis, 2017). Moreover, a value ranging 0 to 5 for each ES
class was assigned. A participatory approach and discussion with National Park entrepreneurs
was carried out in order to assess their perception of real and potential ES, and results were
mapped in order to make them available to further support future Asinara Park management
policies. In the following table a list of ES evaluated by experts is shown. 33 CICES Classes
for Asinara, out of the 65 listed by Haynes-Yang and Potschin (2017), were identified and
valued (Tab. 1; Tab. 2). Biotic ES are those perceived as most important for the island,
provisioning and maintenance classes are the most redundant ones but both cultural biotic
and abiotic ES represent an interesting field of natural protected values to be explored,
analyzed, conserved.
4.2 CARBON STOCK POTENTIAL

Carbon (C) monitoring is important to quantify carbon dioxide and C compounds amount
produced by human activities. In C balance accountability, incrementing carbon sink capacity
of terrestrial pools is crucial at the local, regional and global scale, to accomplish obligations
stemming from the Kyoto protocol.
Among ES, C sequestration recorded in a given time period and referred to a specific land
use/land cover change, has become not only a key indicator (MAES, 2018) to track
conservation status of ecosystems but also a climate change policy tool for adaptation and
mitigation strategies.
A map of Asinara carbon stock as derived from ELU ecosystem classification is presented,
using C data available in scientific literature for comparable land uses. Forest carbon
estimation follows the approach of the IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas
Inventories (IPCC, 2006), which identifies “gain-loss” and “stock-difference” methods,
designed respectively to estimate changes in carbon content and in biomass growth in a fixed
time interval (e.g. two forest inventories). In this study, 2018 C stock is estimated to be the
yearly mean value of C stock in Asinara island.
C stock was evaluated in 4 different pools of living vegetation: above ground biomass (ABGB),
below ground biomass (BGB), litter and Soil Organic Carbon (SOC), following IPCC (2006). In
order to estimate biomass carbon content, IPCC suggests considering 0.5 g of C per 1 g/cm3
of biomass volume (dry weight), expressed in tons of C/hectare when estimated values are
reported in a map. Land uses related to artificial surfaces, wetlands, bare rocks, open spaces
with no vegetation, beaches are not considered. Olive groves land use class, due to the small
size and restricted number of plants, has been treated as an evolution of Mediterranean
maquis.

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SECTION CLASS
Natural, abiotic characteristics of nature that enable intellectual interactions

Natural, abiotic characteristics of nature that enable spiritual, symbolic and other
interactions
Cultural
Natural, abiotic characteristics of nature that enable active or passive physical and
experiential interactions
Natural, abiotic characteristics or features of nature that have either an existence,
option or bequest value
Abiotic
Dilution by freshwater and marine ecosystems

Maintenance
Regulation &
Mediation by other chemical or physical means (e.g. via Filtration, sequestration,

storage or accumulation)
Maintenance and regulation by inorganic natural chemical and physical processes
Mediation of nuisances by abiotic structures or processes
Wind energy
Provisioning
Solar energy
Ground (and subsurface) water for drinking
Ground water (and subsurface) used as a material (non-drinking purposes)
Tab. 2 Abiotic classes of CICES (ver.5.1) as perceived by expert opinion as
Asinara potential ecosystem services
Above ground biomass C potential for forest (Quercus ilex) has been evaluated considering
tree phytomass allometric equation by Tabacchi et al. (2011), taking as tree variables for
biomass: a) mean Diameter Breast Height (DBH) 20 cm; b) mean plant Height 8 m; c) mean
density of 150 trees/Ha. Above ground biomasses C for Mediterranean maquis, sparsely
vegetation areas, moors and shrublands have been evaluated as vegetation types at different
recolonization degree (Sirca et al., 2016). Sclerophyllus vegetation (garrigue, sparsely
vegetated areas and 5-40% of bare soil) was here considered as Cistus monspeliensis
dominant land cover (sensu Stadmann, 2016). Since Cistus monspeliensis represents 33% of
total cover of low recolonization degree, only this portion of Mediterranean maquis C stock
was considered. In order to determine Natural grasslands C stock, 2017 Agristat data for
unproductive grassland in North Sardinia were used (Agri.istat.it).
Below ground biomass (BGB) has been estimated using the Root/Shoot coefficient ratio
applied to Above ground biomass C (ABGB) amount, referring to Quercus ilex (Hildell, Candell,
1985), to Mediterranean Maquis and Cistus monspeliensis (Bianchi et al., 2005) values. For
natural grassland another Root/Shoot coefficient for open grasslands in temperate climates
was used, as suggested by IPCC (2006).

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In order to estimate Soil Organic Carbon (SOC), the 2005 National Inventory of Forest Carbon
data (Gasparini et al., 2013) has been used for Quercus ilex forest, while local data for bare
soils or areas temporarily uncovered by vegetation have been applied to the other categories.
Zero value in SOC has been assigned to natural grasslands. For Litter data, weighted C content
data related to areas at different recolonization degree were found in Sirca et al. (2016). Data
for each pool are presented in Tab. 3.
LAND USE ABGB BGB LITTER SOC

(tons C/ha) (tons C/ha) (tons C/ha) (tons C/ha)
Forest (Quercus ilex woods) 15 7.5 2.8 2.4

Mediterranean maquis 24.02 25.23 1.5 19.88
Garrigue 2.25 1.14 1.5 6.99
Sparsely vegetation areas 7.04 7.39 1.5 21.18
Natural grasslands 1.65 4.62 0 0
Tab. 3 Mean of potential C stock per hectare in main land uses of Asinara island
5 DISCUSSION AND FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS

The GIS approach here presented, and the resulting high-resolution Ecosystem Map,
represents an innovative tool for land management plans and policies, due to spatial resolution
and the lack of data at the local scale.
ELC allowed to classify ecosystems at the local scale using the Asinara island as a case study.
Potential ES evaluation and mapping was possible using CICES classification potential ES
classes. Only C stock was estimated for the territory of Asinara National Park deriving data
and information from the literature. Data show that, in our case study, Mediterranean maquis
contributes to C storages more than the remaining land covers. Further investigation on other
ES will be useful to Asinara National Park administration for land use planning in mid- and
long-term scenarios, hence supporting land management policies, such as restoration of
natural vegetation series and habitats.
Experts’ opinions offered a preliminary assessment of potential ES in the island, and the
perceived weakness/strength among different ES classes was recorded. A more advanced and
thorough analysis of preliminary results and the implementation of participatory approaches
involving a wider target group of Asinara end-users will help build a more complete inventory
of ES profile. Cultural features (archaeological, historical, spiritual, etc.) have not been taken
into account at this level of investigation but they will be considered particularly if different
ES scenarios might lead to conflicting goals and policies.

© 2019, FedoaPress

Fig. 4 Carbon stock potential in the Asinara island
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http://interreg-maritime.eu/web/girepam

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https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/mapping-europes-ecosystems
http://clima.meteoam.it/Clino61-90.php
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AUTHORS’ PROFILES
Matilde Schirru. PhD, rural geographer and environmental consultant for Private and Public
institutions, e.g. ARPAS for Autonomous Region of Sardinia in GIREPAM project.
Simona Canu. An environmental scientist, Simona Canu is expert in advanced GIS analysis. She is
currently an officer at Environmental Protection Agency of Sardinia (ARPAS), Department for Sassari
and Gallura. Her main fields of interest are Environmental Impact Assessments and Strategic
Environmental Assessment.
Laura Santona. An Agronomist, Laura Santona is Research Doctor in Agricultural, Forest and Food
Sciences (Italy, 2006). She is currently an officer at the Regional Administration of Sardinia,
Department for the Environment, Division for Nature Protection and Forestry Policies.
Sabrina Lai. A Civil engineer, Sabrina Lai is Research Doctor in Land Engineering (Italy, 2009), and
MSc in International Planning and Development (UK, 2008). She is currently an officer at the Regional
Administration of Sardinia, Department for the Environment, Division for Nature Protection and
Forestry Policies.
Andrea Motroni. Doctor research in Agrometorology (2001), his main fields of interests are climate
change, desertification and environmental education. He is currently an officer at the Environmental
Protection Agency of Sardinia, Department for Meteorology and Climatology.

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ORGANIZE THE MANAGEMENT OF
PROTECTED AREAS ACCORDING
TO AN OPTIMAL FRAMEWORK
AICHA BOUREDJI
Department of Corsica
University of Corsica, France
e-mail: aichabouredji@yahoo.fr

Bouredji, A. (2019). Organize the management of protected areas according to an optimal framework. In C.
Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature and ecosystem services (pp. 142-151). Naples: FedOAPress.
ISBN: 978-88-6887-054-6, doi: 10.6093/978-88-6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
Protected areas are more than ever asked to intervene on the current climate situation. Faced
with global changes, these protection tools are questioned by public policies about their contact
with the field. Thus, the return to their evolution over time and the analysis of their way of
managing space are the concerns that are constantly growing. Given current realities, it is wise
for decision-makers to adapt by reviewing their management tools. This approach is realized
from the moment when the constraints that come up frequently are clearly spread out. The
operating mode must be refreshing and must be reinvented. This article provides an experience
to recycle one of the best-known management tools and optimize it to help management.
Through a field study, a semantic analysis and a tho rough research, a proposal to help the
management of protected areas is generated. The goal is to demonstrate an idea of adaptation
and optimization of existing tools. At the end of this analysis, a ready-to-use tool is made
available to natural environment managers to help t hem be more efficient.
KEYWORDS
Management Tools; Efficiency; Protected Areas; Objec tives
Organize the management of protected areas according to an optimal framework

1 INTRODUCTION
The geographical image of protected spaces in the world is growing and literature evokes its
brilliance as described by Dudley (2008). These protection areas have lasted so long
because they have a positive impact on the environment. Peach et al (2019) when analyzing
the utility of these spaces in the face of climate change have joined the opinion of Hannah
et al (2007) and Virkkala et al (2014) on the benefits that these areas provide. Today, their
effectiveness needs to be questioned: the report by Worboys and Trzyna (2019) discusses
management systems and emphasizes the need for a focus on tools. The authors note a
collective awareness.
To achieve their development strategies, protected areas are highly regulated. They are
framed by specific objectives that allow them to operate in harmony with environmental
requirements. For example, Ervin (2003) analyzed the case of four protected areas in
different countries; its conclusions announce negative consequences on the quality of
management. To know the causes, we must look at the elements that hinder the
achievement of strategies. Thus, the idea is to look at the pressures on the management
structure. This can be defined in two types of constraints: time and variation of legal status.
First, the time constraint is the biggest challenge facing managers. It has a non-derisory
weight in protection strategies. The temporal system is the parameter that connects the
environment to the movements of society and the economy that remain; it is also one of the
witnesses of quality management. Homogenization of interventions is an ongoing challenge.
In his analysis of integrated management, Gourlay (2010) questioned temporal adaptation.
The time of realization required by the actions wavers between short and long-term
combinations; in addition to the volatility of policies and regulations. The work of Gullison
and Hardner (2018) has resulted in similar reflections. During their investigation to evaluate
the variables that have the greatest impact on the quality of management, and they
demonstrated the role of the time effect. To achieve a certain level of conservation, the
natural space must evolve to deliver results.
Secondly, the influence of the legal status which states the type of protected area and its
objectives of creation. Protected areas can take different statutory forms. If we take the
French example, twelve areas share the territory. Some have a greater responsibility than
others and a different mode of operation. For example, according to the French Agency for
Biodiversity, there are ten national parks in 2017 and nine marine natural parks in 2018.
Also, 51 regional parks (Baron and Lajarge, 2016, p.163) and more than 343 reserves
according to the line of 2017 of the Reserves Naturelles de France network. In addition to
7580 sites classified and registered according to the declarations of 2018 of the Regional

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A. Bouredji
Direction of the Environment. The intervention areas reach 3108, natural areas have 18583
sites and biological reserves 251 sites. With 672 biotope protection areas, 1758 Natura 2000
sites, 700 sites of the Conservatoire du Littoral. In addition to the recent creation of fisheries
conservation areas. These figures show the dimensions that the same territory can muster.
Thus, in addition to variation at various scales, protected areas may have different
objectives and different operating environments. This impacts the management and it
distances the possibilities of connection between the sites.
Finally, being aware of such constraints, it is possible to remedy the lack of time by using
good tools. Faced with the diversity of the statutes, a harmonization of the objectives is a
way of connecting the protected areas in a territory. Thus, managers will work
simultaneously and can exchange experiences. The work proposed in this document is an
experience of optimizing a management tool with an experience-based approach. In an
adaptation perspective, this approach leads to a homogenization tool for better efficiency.
The goal is to connect protected areas and facilitate management and environmental
assessment. Therefore, a common list of long-term objectives is proposed at the end of this
work, reusable according to the needs.
2 METHOD
In order to produce a working tool to optimize management practices, a study was
conducted. It was done according to the following method: the choice of a type of protected
area; the selection of a management tool for analysis and cross-breeding and the
production of a model tool. The analysis was carried out on the French case as a result of
the availability of documentation and data. France is particularly concerned about the
ecological transition and is suitable for the experiment. Therefore, by identifying the types
of protected areas, their objectives and their management process that the framework of
application has been continued. This initiative required the analysis of the legal texts of
ranking of sites.
For this, parameters have been set following a bibliographic search and the following
information has been extracted: year of creation, size, legislator instructions, type of
management tools, duration of intervention, quality assessment. These variables were
transcribed to select the type of protected area for this study.
The five selection parameters are:
− priority by seniority: the type of protected area must be old enough to trace the
evolution over time. The study is established at the level of the most experienced
areas in terms of management;

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− good spatial distribution: we aim for sites that are geographically well distributed
throughout the study area. The goal is to focus on types of protected areas with high
coverage; it is the way to reach diversified ecosystems;
− under regulatory standards: the study must be done on areas with a creation decree
clarifying all the necessary modalities for their management. This serves to set the
choice of the tool to analyze;
− use of common management tools: the analytical work requires the presence of
precise tools common between all the selected sites,
− sites under quality control: subject to assessments of the quality of their management,
the selected areas have the obligation to improve the quality of their intervention.
Hence the interest of offering them a way to readjust their work.
Thus, these criteria have led us to areas of type "nature reserves" which have a triumphal
seniority. They also have a fairly developed geographical coverage throughout the country.
In terms of management, they have strong creation decrees with clearly identified
management instructions. They rely on a solid management tool "management plan" to plan
their actions in the short, medium and long term. Nature reserves have extensive
environmental management experience and bilateral impact at the regional and national
levels. The treatment of protected areas gives us access to a wide range of data since most
management documents are open to consultation. At the same time, it was a question of
taking the example of a management tool necessary for the running of operations on the
site. We are interested in the management plans that represent the basic management tool.
Where setting the long-term goals is the first step. As Yaffee (1999) and Bioret (2003) point
out: “The definition of the management objectives is an opportunity for the manager to lead
a global reflection allowing in particular to specify the role that can play the reserve.” (P.73).
It was therefore interesting to analyze this management tool and to cross-check the long-
term objectives of a sample of official documents.
The choice of objectives remains an ongoing challenge in conservation areas as revealed by
Jantke's (2019) work. It highlights the fact that assessments of protected area networks
reflect a negative relationship between the achievement of set objectives and expansion in
space. This finding is also shared by other authors such as Venter et al (2014); Klein et al
(2015); McGowan and Possingham (2015); Kuempel, Chauvenet and Possingham (2016).
This article proposes a list of objectives to help managers initiate planning. Since this step is
very important for effective management as stated by Gullison (2018).
This study materialized through the analysis of more than seventy-seven management plans
and the treatment of a batch of several long-term objectives validated in nature reserves.
The method of analysis is based on the classification of the titles of the objectives under

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A. Bouredji
different categories. At the end of the ranking, the list is stopped gradually and the
components of each of them are represented in order of priority in the form of a Pareto
diagram. Indeed, in order to collect priority crossing points in the database, the Pareto chart
provides the expected order of priority of the objectives.
3 RESULTS
Since not all protected areas manage to produce management plans (despite their
obligation), the selection of a random sample was made on the sites that own them. A
batch of 77 documents was considered sufficient enough for our experience. As a result,
more than 658 long-term goals were analyzed.
Where 511 of them were selected, for the remaining 22% were discarded being very
specific objectives to status quo sites.
3.1 CATEGORIZATION OF LONG-TERM GOALS

Following the cross-fertilization of the information drawn from the management plans, eight
categories of objectives were identified:
− conservation and maintenance objectives. At 29% of the total population, the nature
reserves take ownership of two conservation targets. The initial results of the analysis
show ten targets for conservation objectives. These are: 1)Habitats; 2)The species;
3)The patrimony; 4)Biological Diversity; 5)Landscape aspect; 6)Conservation state;
7)Offsite backgrounds; 8)Water quality; 9)Wealth reserve; 10)Partnerships; 11)Bird
populations; 12)Biological connection. In equal parts, habitats and species are the
main targets of the long-term objectives. They are primarily the focus of conservation
strategies. Heritage and biodiversity are targets that then occupy an important position
and return frequently in most lists. These four targets accumulate a percentage of
97% of the workforce in this category. In total, over 150 objectives have been
identified where landscape conservation and state of conservation are non-priority
targets. In addition to other targets that are also more marginal ;
− organizational and development objectives. The issue of nature reserves is also to
establish a continuous monitoring exercise on knowledge. This is done through the
realization of scientific studies of discoveries and diagnoses. These are the following:
1)Knowledge; 2)Communication; 3)Biodiversity; 4)Operation; 5)Information;
6)Extension of the site; 7)Practice. The dominant objectives in this category are
twofold and are those that target the development of scientific knowledge and those
that aim to communicate the results to more than 85% of the workforce. Then, at

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smaller slices, the non-priority objectives concerning: the valorization of biodiversity,
the development of the functionality of the reserve, the collection of information in all
its forms (use, frequentation). Also, those who emphasize the motivation of an
adaptability of the size of the site (positive dimensional change) and the improvement
of synergistic practices. A total of 108 objectives were classified under this category;
− insurance and guarantee objectives. Managers have obligations related to the
conservation policy. Steps are necessary for proper functioning to form objectives.
Crossing the various lists allowed to cumulate 81 objectives dedicated to this kind of
missions. As shown the results, several targets appeared about these concerns:
1)Optimal management; 2)Administration; 3)Regulation; 4)Reception; 5)Integrity; 6)
Pedagogy. The projection of insurance objectives is fairly homogeneous and
management optimization objectives take precedence in this category. Managers
organize themselves by setting efficiency limits and assign great importance to
administrative tasks. At the same time, the respect of the regulations is very present in
this category. The potentiality of reception of certain species imposes the presence of
specific objectives (objectives favoring wintering). Also, the non-modification of places
is taken into account through integrity and pedagogical transmission;
− control and awareness objectives. 37 objectives of management of the tourist
frequentation and the control of the flows were identified. This is a non-negligible
proportion where nature reserves attempt to regulate these practices. Also, 38
awareness objectives are identified to encourage respect for the environment. They
aim at public awareness, users and professionals: 1)Awareness and 2)attendance. The
results show the distribution of targets for long-term goals of this type with 75 goals
cumulated here. The two types of objectives do not have the same scope, but together
they target the establishment of a nature-friendly environment. The flow of visitors
flows through the awareness phase that allows users to better respect the site;
− objectives of dissemination and popularization. Communication is a convenient way to
highlight the actions that staff are performing. The sites share results with the general
public and disseminate various information to enhance the effects of site management.
Targets in this category point to the six : 1)Integrity; 2)Naturel reserve effect;
3)Observatory; 4)Sociocultural; 5)Scientific; 6)Protection. The main target of these 34
goals set to promote communication and make the reserve a place of local socio-
economic exchange. In addition, other objectives are present about the reserve effect
and the positioning of the site as a heritage observatory and overall interpretation
scheme;

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A. Bouredji
− objectives of participation in the event. Here, 27 objectives share targets in this

category: 1)Development; 2)Exchange; 3)Feature; 4)Policy. The analysis of this type
of objectives has demonstrated a broad fixation on local and national development
missions, even international. This type of target is the means for reserves to contribute
to the growth of the territory in which it is planted. Also, knowledge exchange
objectives are also chosen for the same purpose of development. The first two targets
are the ones that are prioritized under this category;
− measurement and evaluation objectives. Nature reserve managers are also entering an
audit phase. This evaluation step allows them to arbitrate their actions by consulting
the results of the analyzes. The two targets of measurement and evaluation objectives:
1)State of conservation and 2)management and evolution of management issues.
Largely in this category, objectives that focus on the supervision of biological sites and
structures take precedence. The state of conservation of habitats is the biggest
concern in this category at 75%. Planned goals to control agent actions by verifying
compatibilities between program and achievements are non-proprietary;
− incentive and support objectives. In one goal of sustainability, the managers aim to
promote the extension of the sites and the optimal exploitation of the places. Thus,
they choose objectives to encourage local ownership. They support the transformation
of places into a research laboratory and venture into ambitions for sustainable
development. The targets of incentive and support objectives of French nature
reserves are: 1)Local ownership ; 2)Research laboratory ; 3)Sustainable development.
Under this latter category, only local ownership is retained as a significant objective
with a workforce of 72%. The other two are non-priority.
In addition to these eight categories, a few other varied objectives have been identified at
9% of the total proportion. These titles concern landscape quality, diversification of activities
and some specific orientations of biodiversity. It is useless to spread this minority since it is
very marginalized. At the end of this analysis, all the long-term priority objectives are
cataloged to constitute the planned management assistance tool.
In the Fig. 1, which summarizes the analysis, they are mentioned in red the priority targets
that the long-term objectives must aim in the management documents. The rest of the
targets are certainly interesting and deserve a lot of interest, but only after determining the
priority objectives. Generally, nine targets are on the horizon and more than thirteen are
secondary. It is now clear that management documents of French nature reserves target, in
priority, concern: awareness, Attendance, knowledge, habitats, species, patrimony, optimal
management, administration and integrity.

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It is therefore appropriate to talk about the impacts of these protected areas on
environmental education, the direction of human flows and the contribution to the
development of scientific knowledge. They positively impact the territory and contribute,
with excellence, to their development.
Fig. 1 Long-term priority targets of objectives determined by nature reserves
3.2 TOWARDS A LIST OF HOMOGENIZED LONG-TERM OBJECTIVES

Through this analysis, interesting results made it possible to see the organization of
objectives. Crossing the 511 objectives anchored the eight categories to structure a list of
management assistance. Using a tool such as the predefined list of long-term objectives,
policy makers can facilitate the preparation of management documents.
The goal here is to propose a standard and common enumeration that can help in any
writing of a list of long-term goals. This classification demonstrates that there may be
several themes that determine the targets. Under these themes several headings are
recommended to guide managers. To better manage time and organize work, a common list
of long-term objectives is proposed in Tab. 1 below.
Finally, the previously identified categories intersect in a single list to form this tool to help
manage protected areas. It is clear that the list proposed here is not exhaustive and can be
widened according to the needs of the site. The idea is to make the writing exercise fluid

© 2019, FedoaPress

A. Bouredji
and homogeneous. Given the great similarities observed in the trees of the management
plans, the future use of this tool promises the connectivity of practices and the coherence of
actions.
HOMOGENIZED LONG-TERM OBJECTIVE LIST
Type of objective The targets Recommended titles
CONSERVATION Habitats Conserve habitats
AND MAINTENANCE Species Keep the species
Patrimony Preserve the patrimony.
Biological diversity To perpetuate biological diversity
ORGANIZATION AND Scientific knowledge Deepen scientific knowledge and develop research
DEVELOPMENT Communication Organize the communication
INSURANCE AND Optimal management Optimize management and operation.
GUARANTEE Administration Guarantee the administrative functioning
Regulation Enforce regulations
Reception Manage the attendance of the protected site
Integrity Guarantee the integrity of the reserve
Pedagogy Ensure the educational vocation
CONTROL AND Attendance Manage attendance
AWARENESS Sensitization Sensitize the general public
DIFFUSION AND The integration Transform the site into a local socio-economic tool
EXTENSION that supports integration
The effect reserves Highlight the interest of the protected site
Observatory Promote the site as a patrimony observatory
PARTICIPATION IN Development Consolidate local and national (even international)
THE EVENT development
To exchanges Contribute to the exchange of knowledge and
experiences
MEASUREMENT AND State of conservation Evaluate the state of conservation
EVALUATION
INCENTIVE AND Local approval Encourage local ownership and appropriation of the
SUPPORT protected site
Tab. 1 The homogenized long-term objective list to help management
REFERENCES
Baron, N. & Lajarge, R. (2016). Les parcs naturels régionaux: des territoires en expériences. Editions
Quae.
Bioret, F. (2003). L'élaboration des plans de gestion des réserves naturelles, bien plus qu'un simple
exercice de style. Le courrier de l'environnement de l'INRA, 48(48), 71-76. hal-01200462
Dudley, N. (2008). Lignes directrices pour l'application des catégories de gestion aux aires
protégées. (IUCN).
Ervin, J. (2003). Rapid assessment of protected area management effectiveness in four

countries. BioScience, 53(9), 833-841.

© 2019, FedoaPress


doi: https://doi.org/10.1641/0006-3568(2003)053[0833:RAOPAM]2.0.CO;2
Gourlay, F. (2010). La gestion intégrée des zones côtières: Deux paradigmes pour penser le temps
et l'espace: le durable et le local. Annales de Bretagne et des pays de l'Ouest , 117(3), 161-169.
doi : 10.4000/abpo.1832
Gullison, R. E., & Hardner, J. (2018). Progress and challenges in consolidating the management of
Amazonian protected areas and indigenous territories. Conservation Biology, 32(5), 1020-1030. doi:
https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.13122
Hannah, L., Midgley, G., Andelman, S., Araújo, M., Hughes, G., Martinez Meyer, E., Pearson,
R., Williams, P. (2007). Protected area needs in a changing climate. Frontiers in Ecology and the
Environment, 5(3), 131-138. doi: https://doi.org/10.1890/1540-9295(2007)5[131:PANIAC]2.0.CO;2
Jantke, K., Kuempel, C. D., McGowan, J., Chauvenet, A. L., & Possingham, H. P. (2019). Metrics for
evaluating representation target achievement in protected area networks. Diversity and
Distributions, 25(2), 170-175. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/ddi.12853
Klein, C. J., Brown, C. J., Halpern, B. S., Segan, D. B., McGowan, J., Beger, M., & Watson, J. E.
M. (2015). Shortfalls in the global protected area network at representing marine
biodiversity. Scientific Reports, 5, 17539. doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/srep17539
Kuempel, C. D., Chauvenet, A. L. M., & Possingham, H. P. (2016). Equitable representation of

ecoregions is slowly improving despite strategic planning shortfalls. Conservation Letters, 9(6),422-
428. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12298
McGowan, J., & Possingham, H. P. (2015). Submission to the commonwealth marine reserves
review. Technical Report, ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions, The University of
Queensland.
Peach, M. A., Cohen, J. B., Frair, J. L., Zuckerberg, B., Sullivan, P., Porter, W. F., & Lang, C. (2019).
Value of protected areas to avian persistence across 20 years of climate and land use
change. Conservation Biology, 33(2), 423-433. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.13205
Venter, O., Fuller, R. A., Segan, D. B., Carwardine, J., Brooks, T., Butchart, S. H. M., Di Marco, M.,
Iwamura, T., Joseph, L., O'Grady, D., Possingham, H. P., Rondinini, C., J. Smith, R., Vente, M.,
Watson, J. E. M. (2014). Targeting global protected area expansion for imperiled biodiversity. PLoS
Biology, 12(6),7. doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001891
Yaffee, S. L. (1999). Three faces of ecosystem management. Conservation Biology, 13(4), 713-725.
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Worboys, G. L., & Trzyna, T. (2019). Gestion des aires protégées.
AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Aicha Bouredji, Ph.D. student and Temporary Attached of teaching and Research at the University
of Corsica. In the research laboratory UMR CNRS 6240 LISA her research interests include:
ecological economics, assessment of management of protected areas and treatment of ecosystem
services.

© 2019, FedoaPress

A METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH
TO BUILD A PLANNING
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT
FRAMEWORK IN THE CONTEXT OF
MARINE PROTECTED AREAS
IGNAZIO CANNAS, DANIELA RUGGERI

e-mail: i.cannas@outlook.it
daniela-ruggeri@hotmail.it

Cannas, I. & Ruggeri, D. (2019). A methodological approach to build a planning environmental assessment
framework in the context of marine protected areas. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature
6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
In the last years, issues concerning the environmental protection of marine-coastal protected
areas have become a crucial part in policies related to coasts and sea. In Italy, marine protected
areas are established by the laws n. 979 of 1982 an d n. 394 of 1991, through a ministerial
decree where the areas to be protected are named an d defined, and objectives and protection
disciplines for marine ecosystems are declared. Mar ine protected areas need to be managed
through regulations based on institutional goals aiming at preserving the biodiversity of the
marine ecosystem, and promoting the use of natural resources, also through experiences based
on sustainable development. The regulation of marine protected areas often overlaps with
additional levels of protection coming from planning and management tools referring to different
regulatory tools (e.g. the overlap of marine protec ted areas with the sites of the Natura 2000
network) and, sometimes, to different territorial contexts. This overlap requires a holistic system
to integrate all planning issues of the environment and the territory. This condition entails the
creation of a cognitive level taking into account relations of the marine-coastal context with
the surrounding territorial systems, with particular regard to transition boundaries. Approaches
should be able to support territorial policies concerning interactions between human and nature
dimensions. This paper proposes a study concerning the definition of a methodology structure to
build an analytical-cognitive environmental framework to be integrated into planning processes
related to marine protected areas.
KEYWORDS
Environmental Assessment; Protected Areas; Spatial Planning
A methodological approach to build a planning environmental assessment framework in the context of marine…

1 INTRODUCTION
In coastal landscape, high-value areas are often affected by high anthropic pressure (Benoit
& Comeau, 2005). The implementation of systemic approaches to improve the development
and practice of territorial policies, aimed at the peaceful coexistence of human and nature
dimensions, is crucial in planning. In marine-coastal contexts, the need for socio-economic
development and environmental protection requires to balance conservation and
development practices, taking into account natural and cultural factors.
Since the year 1960, critical processes causing the degradation of natural capital in marine-
coastal contexts were already known: the persistent extension of coastal urbanization, the
pollution of coastal marine waters, the artificialization of beach areas and wetlands, and the
consumption of land agriculture, the abandonment of rural areas and settled inland areas
(Salizzoni, 2012).
The marine environment constitutes a precious heritage that can support marine ecosystem
services demand (Rosales, 2018). The preservation of marine ecosystems should be
supported by the implementation of thematic strategies.
The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (Directive 2008/56/EC establishing a framework
for community action in the field of marine environmental policy) suggests implementing in
protected areas ecosystem-based approaches to manage human activities that may induce
impact on the marine environment. In order to guarantee the sustainable use of marine
goods and services for future generations, pressures caused by human activities should be
contained within compatible levels of “good environmental conditions” and the ability of
marine ecosystems to cope with human-induced changes.
In this paper, the authors suggest the definition of a methodology aimed at implementing
an environmental cognitive framework as a crucial point to integrate planning processes in
marine-coastal areas with particular reference to marine protected areas. Currently, this
methodology has been implemented in the context of the definition of the regulation of the
Marine Protected Area of “Tavolara-Punta Coda Cavallo”, in Sardinia (Italy), characterised by
the overlapping of some Natura 2000 sites.
This cognitive framework enables to include environmental, cultural and socio-economic
aspects, by implementing an environmental assessment aimed at defining environmental
sustainability objectives oriented both to the protection and the conservation of natural
heritage, and cultural, social and scientific development. This conceptual scheme can
effectively and dynamically address a holistic planning process characterized by
management paradigms towards responsible uses of resources.

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I. Cannas, D. Ruggeri
2 THE METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH TO DEFINE AN ENVIRONMENTAL

ASSESSMENT FRAMEWORK
The safeguard of marine protected areas is an important issue in several scientific types of
research (Douvere & Ehler, 2009; Garmendia et al., 2017; Hogg et al., 2018; Paltriguera et
al., 2018) and policies to protect coasts and sea.
Rules of protected areas often overlap with additional planning and management tools
established by different regulations set defined by different protection levels and objectives
(e.g. marine protected areas may overlap with sites of the Natura 2000 network and/or
regional or national parks). Therefore, this overlapping determines that a holistic system is
required to integrate environmental issues into spatial planning, through a knowledge
framework taking into account the interaction between the marine context and the coastal
context, with particular regards to the transition boundaries, combining, in turn, the local
protection with widespread protection. In these contexts, integrated management should be
designed to simple logic of protection and conservation, in order to assume a complex
structure where the implementation of all phases activates a set of competencies, requiring
moments of continuous control and arrangements in the definition of the methods to
implement strategies (Addis et al., 2011).
In order to support the governance in this integration of overlapping rules in spatial
planning, a framework of the environmental state, aimed at defining environmental
sustainability objectives, is strictly required. The methodological proposal concerns the
implementation of a framework where the environmental dimension is disaggregated and
expressed by the knowledge of a detailed environmental assessment analysis, that consists
in examining, qualitatively and/or quantitatively, a set of environmental elements
representing a series of information on the state of natural resources and pressures exerted
by anthropic and/or productive factors. In this way, environmental criticalities may be
detected, and peculiarities of the context can be highlighted.
2.1 THE STRUCTURE OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS

The environmental analysis proposed in this paper consists of a hierarchical structure (Fig.
1): the environmental elements are identified in the context to be analysed; in turn, the
complexity of these elements is divided into specific themes; further, these themes are
subdivided into quantifiable or qualifiable specific aspects to be evaluated by proper
indicators.

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Fig. 1 The hierarchical structure of the environmental analysis. Source: elaboration of the authors
The environmental analysis, therefore, represents a tool able to make understandable

complex phenomena not immediately perceptible. It can be structured by specific analysis
forms, one for each environmental element of the context.
These analysis forms provide a synoptic framework of the environmental state, by reading
the environment through a rational analysis of the context (SWOT1 analysis), in order to
address the definition of objectives concerning the environmental sustainability by including
key sustainability criteria2.

1
Acronym of: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats.
2
For example, the key sustainability criteria as defined in “A Handbook on Environmental Assessment
of Regional Development Plans and EU Structural Funds programmes” of the European Commission,
available at: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/archives/eia/sea-guidelines/handbook.htm.

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The declination of the environmental elements

A given environmental dimension may be subdivided into several environmental elements
which are specifically chosen by analysing the complex system of the context. ISPRA
(2017a, 2017b) suggests useful ways to implement a proper environmental analysis by
using specific set of environmental elements and their indicators in spatial planning fields.
Specifically, in a marine protected area, significative environmental elements, that should
involve all main terrestrial and marine characteristics of the complex context, can be
resumed as following: air; water; flora, fauna and biodiversity; soil and marine
geomorphology; landscape; settlement structure; waste; touristic, recreational and
educational activities; fishing and other productive activities; marine and terrestrial mobility
and accessibility; energy and noise. In turn, the environmental elements can be
characterized in a more detailed analytical framework, as shown in Tab.1.
Environmental Themes Aspects Indicators

elements
Air Air quality Pollution Pollutant value (e.g. NOx, COx, Sox, O3, …)
sources
Weather and Temperature Average temperature trends
climate
Air temperature
conditions
Solar radiation
Isohyets
Relative humidity
Atmospheric pressure
Wind Main directions
Intensity
Water Marine waters Hygienic and Bathing quality sampling
bathing
Transparency
conditions
Temperature
Salinity
Levels of dissolved contaminants (e.g. P,
PO43-, N, NOx, NH3, SiO4, …)
Main directions of waves
Average wave height
Sea conditions
Colifecal bacteria
Surface waters Natural sources Sources number
and
Physical, Quality parameters (ph, O2, turbidity,
groundwaters
chemical and conductivity, ...)

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elements
hygienic Chlorophyll and phytoplankton
conditions
Levels of dissolved contaminants (e.g. P,
PO43-, N, NOx, NH3, SiO4, …)
Colifecal bacteria
Water supply Physical and Quality parameters (ph, O2, turbidity,
network chemical conductivity, ...)
conditions of
drinking water
Wastewater Purification plant (number and general
treatments characteristics)
Flora, fauna and Habitats of Marine and Number of marine and transition habitat
biodiversity community transition and submerged caves
interest habitats and Total surface of marine and transition
submerged habitat and submerged caves
caves Number of priority marine and transition
habitat and submerged caves
Total surface of priority marine and
transition habitat and submerged caves
Maps of marine habitat
Maps of marine-benthic biocenosis
Terrestrial Number of terrestrial habitats
habitats
Total surface of terrestrial habitats
Number of priority terrestrial habitats
Total surface of priority terrestrial habitats
Maps of terrestrial habitats
Species of Flora of Number of species
community and community
Number of priority species
conservation interest
interest Other floristic Number of other floristic species
species
Number of other floristic endemic species
Fauna of Number of species
community
Number of priority species
interest
Other faunistic Number of other fauna species
species
Number of other fauna endemic species
Soil and marine Geologic and Terrestrial Geological and geomorphological maps
geomorphology geomorphologic geology and
characterization geomorphology
Marine geology Geological and geomorphological maps
and
geomorphology
Active and Coastal erosion
potential
Hydraulic hazard and risk

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elements
phenomena of Landslide hazard and risk
coastal erosion
and
hydrogeological
instability
Bathymetry Maps
Land use and Land use and Maps and surface of land use and land
cover land cover cover
inventory
Landscape Characterization Identity heritage Maps and numbers of elements
of identity and
Landscape Maps and numbers of landscape elements
landscape
heritage
heritage Maps and numbers of cultural elements
Characterization Natural areas Maps and surface
of
Seminatural Maps and surface
environmental
areas
landscape
Areas for Maps and surface
heritage
agroforestry use
Environmental Maps, surface and number of punctual
landscape elements
heritage
Submarine Natural Maps and number
landscape elements
Historic-cultural Maps and number
elements
Settlement Administrative- Buildings and Maps of building distribution
structure territorial administrative
characterization characterisation
Zoning of the Zoning maps
marine
protected area
Forecast of the Maps of littoral activities
coastal plan
Properties and Maps and surface of permissions
concessions
Socio-economic Demography Population density
characterization
Resident population
Population trend
Economy Income
Employment rate
Unemployment rate
Youth unemployment rate
Waste Production Produced waste Total undifferentiated waste produced
Total urban waste produced
Abandoned Typology
waste

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elements
Collection Management of Collection plant and their services
the marine
Number and distribution of eco-centres
context
Boating services
Management of Number and distribution of eco-centres
the terrestrial
Services typology
context
Touristic, Hospitality Hospitality Number and typology of hospitality
recreational and activities activities
educational Touristic flow Touristic flow trend
activities
Attractiveness Services Number and typology of tourist services
(e.g. diving, …)
Number of hygienic services in the beaches
Areas equipped for dogs
Organisation of Number of InfoPoint
cultural,
Number, typology and period
educational and
sport events
Fishing and Fishing activities Local fishing Typology of fish caught
other productive
Number of boats used for fishing activities
activities
Linked industry (e.g. business volume,
number of employees, …)
Catch distribution in the supply chain
Distribution and typology of fishing pressure
Sport and Number of sport and recreational events
recreational
Typology of sport and recreational events
fishing
Typology and number authorisations
Distribution and typology of fishing pressure
Other productive Agriculture and Characterization of land units by agricultural
activities breeding use
Characterization of agricultural units by type
of farming
Other sectors Characterization by sectors and employees
in local units
Marine and Terrestrial Vehicle presence Quantity and typology
terrestrial mobility and
Paths Distribution, type and characteristics of
mobility and accessibility
footpaths and driveways
accessibility
Accessibility Distribution, typology and characteristics
services
Marine mobility Vehicle presence Quantity and typology
and accessibility
Sailing routes Distribution, typology and characteristics of
allowed routes
Boating and Distribution, typology and characteristics
accessibility
services

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elements
Passenger Number of access
transport
Energy and Energy Energy supply Production
noise and
Consumption
consumption
Noise Noise sources Emissions localisation and intensity
Tab. 1 The environmental elements of the context in marine protected areas declined in themes, aspects and
indicators. Source: elaboration of the authors
2.2 THE ANALYSIS FORMS

An analysis form for each environmental element is filled in a proper way (as shown in Tab.
2). The purpose of the analysis form is to recapitulate in a schematic way all information
found in the environmental context, in order to refer a SWOT analysis. The integration of
key sustainability criteria addresses the definition of environmental sustainability objectives
with proper reference to the analysed environmental element. The analysis form is
organised into sections as specified as following. The introductory section qualitatively
describes the environmental element, declaring all themes to be analysed in the complexity
of the context. Afterward, for each theme, specific aspects are identified in reference to the
environmental element; they quantify or qualify the analysis through proper indicators.
These indicators can be useful tools communicating environmental issues. They have the
function to simplify complex environmental issues and to make measurable environmental
and policy progress (Stanners et al., 2007). These identified indicators can be used,
subsequently, also as an analytical basis for the definition of a further environmental
monitoring plan.
2.3 THE DEFINITION OF ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY OBJECTIVES

Effective and positive integration of environmental issues into planning processes,
promoting the environment as a vehicle for development, provides a declination of
sustainability according to its three “fundamental pillars” (Karrer & Fidanza, 2010). The
model of sustainability that predominates thinking is composed of the social, economic, and
environmental pillars (Stanners et al., 2007). The objectives of environmental sustainability
are the key to the integration of environmental sustainability issues into the planning
processes. The definition of the objectives for each environmental element follows the flow
chart of Fig. 2. Firstly, once the framework of the environmental analysis is completed, the
context is characterised by the SWOT analysis, that means that the context can be read

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through its criticalities, endogenous and exogenous (weaknesses and threats), and its
peculiarities, also endogenous and exogenous (strengths and opportunities). In this way, a
preliminary strategy which, by mitigating the risks, through strengths and opportunities, can
solve any weaknesses.
Environmental element h
[This is a general section where the environmental element is qualitatively described with reference
to the planning context; the themes of the environmental element are declared, and, for each theme,
specific aspects and their proper indicators are shown]
Theme i
[This is the specific section to describe each theme related to the environmental element]
Aspect j
[This is the section to describe each aspect of the theme of the environmental element]
Indicator k
[This is the section where the indicators describe, in a qualitative and/or quantitative way, each
aspect of the theme of the environmental element, specifying source and reference period of data]
SWOT analysis
Strengths Weaknesses
x … x …
x … x …
Opportunities Threats
x … x …
x … x …
Environmental sustainability objectives Key sustainability criteria

ES_Ob_1 - … x …
… x …
ES_Ob_n - …
Tab. 2 The structure of the environmental analysis form of the environmental elements.
Source: elaboration of the authors
However, this strategy is contextualised by the concepts of sustainability by using the key
sustainability criteria; the strategy is stated through one or more sustainability objectives.
These defined objectives can address the decision-making process towards sustainable and
effective planning.

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Fig. 2 The flow diagram for the definition of environmental sustainability objectives.
Source: elaboration of the authors
3 CONCLUSIONS
The presence of marine protected areas brings, in the territory, benefits from the socio-
economic point of view (Rosales, 2018). However, in the world, biodiversity in the marine-
coastal systems is in continuous decline as a result of uncoordinated and unsustainable
human activities (Douvere & Ehler, 2009). Planning approaches of marine-coastal contexts,
characterised by overlapping government tools and different levels of protection, have to be
effectively addressed towards environmental sustainability objectives, through operative
paradigms, characterising decision-making processes and integrating it with management
aimed at the responsible use of resources. In this paper, the crucial importance of the
environmental analysis framework is highlighted, including the physical, chemical,
ecological, cultural, socio-economic and development aspects, and aimed at the contextual
formulation of environmental sustainability objectives. In particular, the proposed
methodology to assess a marine context is proposed by the implementation of a knowledge
framework declined in environmental elements, themes, aspects and indicators.
This implementation of basic knowledge, organised in an environmental analysis framework,
in addition of a preliminary planning phase, supports the assessment of the environmental
effects, eventually determined by the implementation of the planning system, by defining
environmental sustainability objectives.
The proposed evaluation scheme aims to ensure that human activities are compatible with
sustainable development, respecting the regenerative capacities of ecosystems and
resources, safeguarding biodiversity and a socio-economic growth perspective.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The study is proposed in the research project under the Convention between the DICAAR
and the Autonomous Region of Sardinia, Department of Defense of the Environment, aimed
at achieving the objectives of the project "GIREPAM Integrated Management of Ecological
Networks through Parks and Protected Marine Areas" funded under the INTERREG Maritime
Program Italy-France Maritime 2014-2020, Axis II, Scientific coordinator: Corrado Zoppi.
This paper is the result of the research of the authors, who have jointly collaborated in its
conception and drafting.
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(Eds.), Sustainability Indicators: A Scientific Assessment. SCOPE Reports, 67:127-145. Washington, DC,
USA: Island Press. ISBN 1597266280
AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Ignazio Cannas, environmental engineer specialized in spatial planning, PhD in Civil Engineering and
Architecture, University of Cagliari. Currently, he is a research fellow at the Department of Civil and
Environmental Engineering and Architecture of the University of Cagliari. His research focuses on
ecological networks into spatial planning, in particular, the implementation of ecological corridors in the
Natura 2000 Network. His research interests concern spatial planning, strategic environmental
assessment, environmental issues and GIS.
Daniela Ruggeri, environmental engineer specialized in spatial planning, PhD in Civil Engineering and
Architecture, University of Cagliari. Currently, he is a research fellow at the Department of Civil and
Environmental Engineering and Architecture of the University of Cagliari. Her research focuses on
ecosystem services into spatial planning, in particular, the water purification in the Natura 2000
Network. Her research interests concern spatial planning, strategic environmental assessment and
environmental issues in planning.

© 2019, FedoaPress

AN EXPERIMENTAL
METHODOLOGY FOR THE
MANAGEMENT OF MARINE
PROTECTED AREAS
MADDALENA FLORIS, FEDERICA ISOLA

CHETI PIRA

e-mail: maddalena.floris@unica.it
federica.isola@unica.it; chetipira@unica.it

Floris, M., Isola, F. & Pira, C. (2019). An experimental methodology for the management of Marine Protected
Areas. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature and ecosystem services (pp. 165-175). Naples:
ABSTRACT
Sustainability poses several important questions concerning the knowledge and interpretation
of the coastal area. This means that management and planning instruments are required in
order to balance trade-offs between environmental conservation and economy grow. The use
and protection of the coastal areas have a dual relationship: the use has an environmental
impact on the coastal system and the protection limits the coastal system use. Therefore,
the environmental systems need conceptual models which are able to join the ecological
sensitivity with the anthropic pressure. The methodological approach proposed here aims to
provide the definition of an experimental protocol i n order to integrate the protection and the
management plans for coastal natural heritage. This study describes the results of the research
experiments carried out on the experimental protoco l application for developing the Marine
Protected Area Regulations of the “Isola dell’Asina ra” and “Tavolara - Punta Coda Cavallo”. This
planning approach should support the integration of decision-making procedures to achieve
inclusiveness, interactivity, and repeatability of the planning processes.
KEYWORDS
Integrated Management; Natura 2000 Sites; Marine Protected Areas; Planning
M. Floris, F. Isola, C. Pira
1 INTRODUCTION
Marine coastal ecosystems represent an important resource for both the environment
(Norse, 1993; Parsons, 1992) and the economy. On the one hand, management and
conservation are necessary requirements/prerequisites to support ecological and economic
values (Potts et al., 2014). Sustainable coastal and marine tourism development is essential
to maintain high-quality marine water, great biodiversity and a healthy ecosystem
(European Commission, 2015). However, marine biodiversity is threatened by species
overexploitation, habitat destruction, environmental changes and increasing pollution of
marine waters (Smith et al., 1999). Indeed, industrial tourism may involve the degradation
of the coastal ecosystem (Marinho, 2018). New management strategies are needed to
promote sustainable resource use so that coastal and marine areas would be included in
larger strategies of coastal planning based on the integrated approach to coastal
management (Cicin-Sainm & Belfiore, 2005). This approach was formalized by the
Integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) Protocol. The Protocol defines integrated
coastal management not only as a continuous and dynamic process but also as a process to
promote sustainability, development, and protection of coastal and marine resources (Cicin-
Sain et al., 2000).
Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are recognized as an effective tool for the management and
improvement of marine ecosystems (European Commission, 2015). According to the World
Conservation Union (IUCN), a protected area is defined as “an area of land and/or sea
especially dedicated to the protection and maintenance of biological diversity, and of natural
and associated cultural resources, and managed through legal or other effective means”. In
terms of integrated management, the initiatives concerning the Protocol must be unified
with those implemented by the MPAs.
The European Environment Agency Report1 defines three different types of European
protected areas: Natura 2000 marine sites, MPAs designated at the Regional Maritime
Conventions and the individual national MPAs. Frequently, these areas overlap in terms of
administrative limits and in terms of multiple regulations (European Commission, 2015).
Referring to the national Italian context, there are two protection regulation levels of the
MPAs. The first level is represented by the Ministerial Decree, under the Laws n. 979 of
1982 and n. 394 of 1991. According to the Ministerial Decree, the MPA institution is
characterized by significant environmental, historical, archaeological and cultural value of

1
http://www.eea.europa.eu/soer-2015/europe/marine-and-coastal

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An experimental methodology for the management of marine protected areas

the marine site. However, the primary role of the MPAs is biodiversity conservation by
means of sustainable management of the territory (Kelleher, 1999).
These territories are geographically delimited marine and coastal systems. With respect to
the environmental values they are legally subject to different levels of protection: the A
Zones to the integral reserve, the B Zones to general reserve and the C Zones to partial
reserve (Marino, 2011).
The second level of protection is the management plans of the Natura 2000 (N2K) network,
these sites often overlap the MPAs. In particular, the N2K network is composed of Sites of
Community Importance (SCIs), destined to become Special Areas of Conservation (SACs)
and Special Protection Areas (SPAs). This network represents marine and terrestrial system
areas to safeguard biodiversity through natural, semi-natural habitats, wild flora and fauna
conservation.
However, this stratified framework, composed of different environmental protection
regulations, represents an obstacle to the management of the territory. In other words, this
overlapping of the regulatory and management instruments brings about a fragmentation of
administrative responsibility. One of the most significant impacts of this fragmentation is the
negative effects on environmental protection.
This study shows the innovative and multidisciplinary approach used to overcome the
current fragmentation of the system regulation related to the context of the MPA "Isola
dell'Asinara".
The study is articulated in five sections. The second section describes the context,
regulatory and management instrument related to the case study. The third section shows
the methodological approach to the analysis and the assessment of the objectives refers to
a Logical Framework (LF) in order to develop the MPA Regulation (MPAR). The outcomes
derived from those methodologies are presented in the fourth section. The concluding
section presents some suggestions based on the results and proposes some reflections
related to planning policies in the coastal and marine areas.
2 CASE STUDY: CONTEXT, REGULATORY AND MANAGEMENT

INSTRUMENTS
This study focuses on “Isola dell’Asinara” MPA, in the north-west region of Sardinia in Italy,
extending about 108 square kilometres around the “Asinara” National Park. The island had
been a maximum-security prison for many years until in 2002 the Italian Ministry of the
Environment and of the Land Protection instituted a National Park and the MPA. Both of
them include two Natura 2000 sites, the Special Protection Areas (SPA) “ITB010001 Isola

© 2019, FedoaPress

Asinara” and the Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) “ITB010082 Isola dell’Asinara”.
Moreover, there is a third site SPA “ITB013011 Isola Piana di Porto Torres” outside the limits
of the AMP and the Park, as Fig. 1 shows.
Fig. 1 The study area
Planning and policy include a wide range of regulatory and management instruments: the
Regulation of MPA (MPAR), the Management plan (MPs) of the Natura 2000 sites, the
Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) Protocol and the Standardized Management
Interventions effective in marine protected areas (SIEA) Project.

© 2019, FedoaPress


3 METHODOLOGY
An incremental and inclusive method to integrate the conservation measures regarding the
regulatory and management instruments into the MPARs are proposed. This article focuses
on a technical procedure, Experimental Protocol (EP), which draws its inspiration from the
SEA, to improve decision making and to foster sustainable use of the marine environment.
The methodological approach, based on sustainable development and environmental
protection of the marine ecosystem, can be described with a double evaluation carried out
with progressive steps and continuous feedback compared to previous measures to
implement the drafting of the MPARs.
3.1 FIRST EVALUATION: A LOGICAL FRAMEWORK

The first evaluation can be schematized in a LF organized on four levels to identify the
conceptual relationships between aims inferred by the territorial context, policy landscape,
and Regulation actions.
The first level can be identified as the sustainability objectives inferred by SWOT analysis;
this consist in a qualitative examination that helps in understanding the environment status
by means of the environmental components referred to the territorial context (Kajanus et
al., 2012). The second objectives level were identified by analyzing regional, provincial and
local plans and programs which could have a potential effect on the MPA.
The third level can be identified as the structural part of the EP, this is certainly fundamental
in the definition and implementation of MPs. The specific objectives, inferred by the different
protection instruments of the MPA: the MPAs for N2K, the ICZM Protocol and the SIEA
Project, represent the objectives of MPA Regulation. The last level of the LF represents the
operability of the MPAR. The actions were identified within the different protection
instruments of the MPA and from the implications of the SWOT analysis in order to
implement the LF into the definition of MPAR. These actions provide a framework for the
second evaluation of the EP.
Fig. 2 The Logical Framework

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3.2 SECOND EVALUATION: A REGULATION UPDATING

The second evaluation consists of the examination of the current RAMPs in order to define
the actions for the LF and is characterized by two levels.
This evaluation is a crucial phase to improve the RAMP; through an integrated approach, the
indications of the current planning system in the context of the MPA and the rules will be
applied. Specifically, the methodological approach to develop RAMP "Isola dell’Asinara" is
based on a double order of coherence evaluation in order to implement the phase to apply
the EP. The first level consists of the evaluation of actions through the articles of the
Regulation in force. The second level consists of the comparison between the Regulation in
force and the recently approved Regulations in other MPAs of the Sardinia Region. The
criteria of the first level of assessment are based on the consistency of the actions EP with
respect to the articles of the Regulation in force. The model is based on evaluation results
represented by three different colors, which are associated with some proposed changes, as
follows:
− if the action is fully integrated within the analyzed standard, then the article of the
Regulation, does not change (in green);
− if the action is partially integrated or some aspects are not exhaustive, the article of
the Regulation is modified (in yellow);
− if the action or the subject of the action are not integrated in the Regulation in force,
the inclusion of new articles or its integrations are applied (in red).
TITLE
REGULATION FIRST LEVEL OF EVALUATION SECOND LEVEL REGULATION

IN FORCE OF EVALUATION UPDATING
paragraph action evaluation observations article of recently MPARs proposal
article/action evaluation paragraph
article/action updating
Tab. 1 Double order of evaluation
4 FINDINGS
The final output of this empirical work is a proposal to improve MPAR of the “Isola
dell’Asinara” MPA; actions Regulation and recently MPARs contribute to this implementation.
The EP approach proposes to update the MPAR has an important effect on its organization
system. In general, the base structure of Regulation (titles) remained unchanged,
improvement regards articles, paragraph, and letters; for simplicity, in this section, only the
articles are discussed. Regulation has been increased by 13 articles (from 30 to 43)

© 2019, FedoaPress


interesting all titles. Tab. 2 shows the comparison between the glossary MPAR in force and
MPAR updating.
The integration can be divided into two categories: the first one includes the articles that
are totally new; indeed, this subject is not including in the recent MPARs. The second
category complies the "Isola dell'Asinara" Regulation in force with recently MPARs. In
particular, article 4 “Biodiversity protection”, article 5 “Land protection”, article 9 “Inter-
institutional collaboration”, article 38 ”Risk assessment” are included under the first category
and article 43 “Referral rules”. Article 4 is related to conservation action by SIEA Project and
N2K sites, emphasize the protection measures of the Regulation in order to improve the
conservation performance management. Article 5 meets the needs of the SIEA Project and
environmental analysis on soil protection. Article 9 introduces the cooperation concept
according to the ICZM Protocol targets. The article 38, according to the N2K direction,
integrated the prevention, mitigation, and adaptation concepts in order to limit the
consequences of environmental emergencies. The article 43 stems to avoid a regulatory
gap. On the contrary, following articles are included under the second category: articles 11
”Regulation of Maritime domain“, article 12 ” Regulation of Posidonia banquette“, article 13
“Regulation of waste water drains”, article 20 “Regulation of sea-watching activities”, article
25 “Regulation of rental, lease or occasional rental of boating activities”, article 26
“Regulation of whale-watching activities”, article 30 “Regulation of sport, play, recreation
events”, article 31 ” Regulation of educational and naturalistic divulgation activities“. In
particular, article 11 meets the needs of ICZM Protocol and conservation action by N2K
sites. Article 12 introduces the concept of policy management in order to promote the
benefice from Posidonia. Article 13 addresses the problem of waste complying in the SIEA
Project and N2K requirements. Article 20 defines, according to the conservation measures
by N2K, the policy management to avoid negative impacts resulting from Sea-watching
activities. In particular, article 21 and 25 complies recently MPARs concerning pleasure
boating activities. Article 26 define measures for cetacean protection according to the N2K
sites actions and the SIEA Project. Article 30 and 31 meets the needs of environmental
analysis in order to reduce human pressures.
5 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

The outcomes of the Protocol allow for the objective proposed in the introductory section to
be achieved. The innovative and multidisciplinary approach proposed has allowed the
research group to overcome the current fragmented management territory and to define a
new paradigm to create integrated environment policies.

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CURRENT MPAR PROPOSAL TO UPDATE THE RMPA
Title I Title I
General provisions General provisions
Article 1 Application Article 1 Application
Article 2 Definitions Article 2 Definitions
Article 3 Aims, boundaries and not permitted Article 3 Aims, boundaries and not permitted
activities in the Marine Protected Area activities in the Marine Protected Area
Article 4 Biodiversity protection
Article 5 Coastal areas protection
Title II Title II
Organization of Marine Protected Area Organization of Marine Protected Area
Article 4 Management of Marine Protected Area Article 6 Management of Marine Protected Area
Article 5 Authority responsible for the Marine Article 7 Authority responsible for the Marine
Protected Area Protected Area
Article 6 Reserve commission Article 8 Reserve commission
Article 9 Inter-institutional collaboration
Title III Title III
Specific provisions and conditions for Specific provisions and conditions for
permitted permitted
activities Activities
Article 7 Zoning and activities permitted in the Article 10 Zoning and activities permitted in the
different zones of the Marine Protected Area different zones of the Marine Protected Area
Article 11 State-owned marine areas
Article 12 Posidonia oceanica
Article 13 Water and waste discharges
Article 8 Relief and surveillance activities Article 14 Relief and surveillance activities
Article 9 Scientific research activities Article 15 Scientific research activities
Article 10 Professional photographic, Article 16 Professional photographic,
cinematographic and television shooting cinematographic and television shooting
Article 11 Bathing activities Article 17 Bathing activities
Article 12 Scuba diving and freediving Article 18 Scuba diving and freediving
Article 13 Underwater guided tour and diving Article 19 Underwater guided tour and diving
instructions instructions
Article 20 Sea-watching activities
Article 14 Recreational boating Article 21 Recreational boating
Article 15 Mooring activities Article 22 Mooring activities
Article 16 Anchoring activities Article 23 Anchoring activities
Article 17 Passenger transport, sailing charter and Article 24 Passenger transport, sailing charter and
guided tour guided tour
Article 25 Pleasure boats rental
Article 26 Whale-watching activities
Article 18 Professional fishing activities Article 27 Professional fishing activities

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Article 19 Sport fishing Article 28 Sport fishing
Article 20 Recreational fishing activities Article 29 Recreational fishing activities
Article 30 Sport and recreational events
Article 31 Education and information activities
Title IV Title IV
Provisions for authorizatization procedures Provisions for authorizatization procedures
Article 21 Application Article 32 Application
Article 22 Application for authorization Article 33 Application for authorization
Article 23 Mandatory documents Article 34 Mandatory documents
Article 24 Procedure for examining the Article 35 Procedure for examining the applications
applications for authorization for authorization
Article 25 Criteria for assessing the applications for Article 36 Criteria for assessing the applications for
authorization authorization
Article 26 Autorizzation and administrative fee Article 37 Autorizzation and administrative fee
TITOLO IV Title IV
Final provisions Final provisions
Article 38 Risk assessment
Article 27 Monitoring and updating Article 39 Monitoring and updating
Article 28 Surveillance Article 40 Surveillance
Article 29 Publicity Article 41 Publicity
Article 30 Penalties Article 42 Penalties
Article 43 Referral rules
Tab. 2 Comparison between current MPAR and proposal to update the MPAR
In a fragile context such as coastal and marine, the empirical approach of the protocol
allows a balance to be found between environmental protection and social-economic
impacts. In addition to the fragmentation, a range of critical aspects of the current process
of drawing up Regulations and Plans in the coastal marine areas have emerged. The first
criticality is due to the overlapping of skills. In particular, this applies to the RAMPs approved
by the MATTM and the MPAs for the N2K sites which are drawn up by the municipalities and
approved by the regions. In this framework, the protocol aims to integrate the different
policies and recommendations and overcome the gap due to the overlapping of skills. In
particular, one of the merits of this experimental procedure is the cooperation process
between the different entities in charge and stakeholders. The second criticality is the lack
of a system of operational objectives that allow defining actions to deal with the
environmental and socio-economic territory problems. This criticality of the RMPs is covered
by Annual Regulations which lay down detailed rules and conditions for exercising the
activities currently permitted in the AMP. In this framework, the protocol does not
completely overcome this gap. In other words, due to the complexity or nature of some

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subjects, it is particularly appropriate to tackle them in the Annual Regulations. According to

the European Directive 2001/42/EC, the SEA shall be applied to plans and programs which
are likely to have significant environmental effects. For this reason, for the update of the
MPAR the EP was used. This protocol is inspired by the principles and methodology of the
SEA in order to include environment objectives in the decision making.
The environmental objectives, the objectives of the second level, the specific objectives and
actions defined in order to update the MPAR were outlined in the LF. An important
implication of the results of this empirical procedure for future research could be the
definition of the guidelines. For example, the systematic application of the EP could change
the regulation and planning of the protected areas. In particular, this concerns the areas
characterized by the overlapping of different regulatory regimes which are characterized by
multiple management instruments. This application could optimize the biodiversity value and
foster development of sustainable tourism, with significant benefits for both human well-
being and economic output.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Maddalena Floris gratefully acknowledges Sardinia Regional Government for the financial
support of her PhD scholarship. (P.O.R. Sardegna F.S.E. Operational Program of the
training, Thematic goal 10, Priority of investment 10ii.)
Maddalena Floris, Federica Isola and Cheti Pira have made substantial contributions to the
study’s conception, background and design remarks. Sections 1 and 2 are by Cheti Pira. The
Section 3, 4 and 5 are by Maddalena Floris and Federica Isola.
REFERENCES
Cicin-Sain, B. & Belfiore, S. (2005). Linking marine protected areas to integrated coastal and ocean
management: A review of theory and practice”. Ocean & Coastal Management, 48(11-12), 847-868.
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Cicin-Sain, B., Knecht, R. W., Vallega, A. & Harakunarak, A. (2000). Education and training in
Integrated Coastal Management: lessons from the international arena, Ocean & Coastal Management,
43(4-5), 291-330. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0964-5691(00)00030-2.
European Commission (2015), Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council
on the progress in establishing marine protected areas (as required by Article 21 of the Marine Strategy
Framework Directive 2008/56/EC). http://ec.europa.eu/environment/marine/eu-coast-and-marine-
policy/implementation/pdf/marine_protected_areas.pdf.
Kajanus, M., Leskinen, P., Kurttila M. & Kangas, J. (2012). Making use of MCDs methods in SWOT
analysis: lessons learnt in strategic natural resources management. Forest Policy and Economics, 20, 1-

© 2019, FedoaPress


9. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2012.03.005.
Kelleher, G. (1999). Guidelines for Marine Protected Areas. Gland, Switzerland & Cambridge, UK: IUCN.
ISBN: 2-8317-0505-3.
Marinho, I. (2018). The plastic age. Harmful effects and solutions. Current conservation, 12(2), 11-13.
Marino, D. (2011). Le aree marine protette italiane. Stato, politiche, governance. Milano: FrancoAngeli
Edizioni. ISBN: 9788856836806.
Norse, E. A. (1993). Global Marine Biological Diversity: a strategy for building conservation into decision
making. Washington: Island Press. ISBN-10: 1559632569, ISBN-13: 978-1559632560.
Parsons, T.R. (1992). Biological coastal communities: productivity and impacts, in Coastal systems
studies and sustainable development. UNESCO Technical Papers in Marine Science, 64, 27-37.
Potts, T., Burdon, D., Jackson, E., Atkins, J., Saunders, J., Hastings, E. & Langmead, O. (2014). Do
marine protected areas deliver flows of ecosystem services to support human welfare? Marine Policy,
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AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Maddalena Floris, graduated in Architecture at the University of Cagliari, Italy (2013). She is currently
a graduate student in the doctoral program in Civil Engineering and Architecture at the University of
Cagliari. Her research areas are sustainable urban and regional planning, and environmental policy-
making.
Federica Isola, building engineer, is Research Doctor in Environmental Sciences and Engineering
(Italy, 2012). She is currently a research fellow at the Department of Civil and Environmental
Engineering and Architecture of the University of Cagliari.
Cheti Pira, environmental engineer, is Research Doctor in Land Engineering (Italy, 2012). She is
currently a research fellow at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Architecture

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MARINE FORESTS (FUCALES,
OCHROPHYTA) IN A LOW
IMPACTED MEDITERRANEAN
COASTAL AREA: CURRENT
KNOWLEDGE AND FUTURE
PERSPECTIVES
*DANIELE GRECHa, LUCA FALLATIb

SIMONE FARINAa
a
IMC - International Marine Centre, Italy
e-mail: d.grech@fondazioneimc.it
Daniele Grech
URL: https://www.fondazioneimc.it/
b
Department of Earth and Environmental
Sciences - DISAT
Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, Italy
e-mail: l.fallati@campus.unimib.it

Grech, D., Fallati, L., Farina S., Cabana, D. & Guala, I. (2019). Marine Forests (Fucales, Ochrophyta) in a low
impacted Mediterranean coastal area: current knowledge and future perspectives. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi
(Eds.), Planning, nature and ecosystem services (pp. 176-184). Naples: FedOAPress. ISBN: 978-88-6887-054-
6, doi: 10.6093/978-88-6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
Mediterranean seascapes are currently facing massiv e changes, with the disappearance of
sensitive species responding to local anthropogenic disturbances and global climate changes.
Mapping and monitoring of marine habitats are crucial tools for highlighting the occurrence of
community shift that should be taken into account in coastal management and the implementation
of conservation measures. Proper reference baselines are generally lacking, especially for marine
forests of brown macroalgae (Fucales, Ochrophyta). They are considered among the most
important marine ecosystem-engineers, forming extended stands comparable to land forests.
They increase three-dimensional complexity and spatial heterogeneity of rocky bottoms, thus
providing directly or indirectly substrate, refuge, shelter and food for a lot of animal and plant
species at different life history stages. Despite their ecological importance, sensitiveness to
anthropogenic disturbances and conservation interes t, in the Sinis Peninsula (Western Sardinia,
Italy), Fucales are historically understudied compa red to other Mediterranean areas. A review
of historical records and current research has been performed in order to shed light on the gaps
in our knowledge and to discuss future possibilities for their management and conservation.
KEYWORDS
Sinis Peninsula (Sardinia, Italy); Cystoseira; Habi tat Conservation; Coastal Ecosystems; Cutting-
edge Technology
* The other authors are: David Cabana, Ivan Guala.
D. Grech, L. Fallati, S. Farina et al.
1 INTRODUCTION
In the last decades, Mediterranean seascapes have faced massive changes. Responding to
local anthropogenic disturbances and global climate changes, many sensitive species are in
decline throughout the basin with some reported cases of local extinction (Thibaut et al.,
2015 and references therein). Mapping and monitoring of marine habitats are crucial tools
for highlighting the occurring community shift and should be taken into account in coastal
management and for the implementation of conservation measures. The lack of proper
reference baselines in marine ecosystems is rather common and generally leads to the so
called ‘Shifting Baseline Syndrome’ (Pauly, 1995) which is hampering the proper assessment
of the status of an ecosystem. In vegetated sub-littoral systems, the best-known dramatic
change is the shift from complex, three-dimensional forests of brown macroalgae (Fucales,
Ochrophyta) to turf species. Fucales are considered among the most important marine
ecosystem-engineers, forming extended stands comparable to land forests, increasing
three-dimensional complexity and spatial heterogeneity of rocky bottoms, thus providing
substrate for many other algae and refuge, shelter and food for a lot of species at different
life history stages. Reference baselines of marine forests have been described along the
most frequented and investigated study areas of the Mediterranean Sea, where the first
marine biological stations were located (Ercegovic, 1952; Funk, 1927, 1955; Sauvageau,
1912). Conversely, suitable studies on marine macroalgae in remote areas (or those not
easily accessible from the mainland), have been historically complex or absent. This is the
case of the Sinis Peninsula, located along the western coast of Sardinia (Italy), an area
historically far from both mainstream access and the scientific community. Thus, this area is
rarely taken into account by phycological research. At the beginning of the 1900s, the entire
Sardinian population was comparable to that of Naples (Italy) (among the biggest cities in
Europe, with 600,000 inhabitants). Here the Prussian Zoologist Felix Anton Dohrn founded
the visionary project of the ‘Stazione Zoologica di Napoli’ in 1872. This is a marine station
which has hosted thousands of international researchers since its institution. In the following
years, other marine stations (i.e. in Banyuls, Roscoff, Endoume, Split, and Rovinj) would be
settled close to populated coastlines, where many researchers worked year after year in the
continuous study of marine algal flora and fauna. The algal vegetation of the Western
Mediterranean was initially studied by dredging near these marine biology research centers.
These studies built important baselines for marine ecology, allowing in recent times for the
comparison of historical records with current ones and evidencing the abrupt changes
(Grech, 2017; Thibaut et al., 2015).

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Marine forest (fucales, ochrophyta) in a low impacted Mediterranean coastal area: current knowledge …

The Sinis Peninsula is currently one of the less densely populated coastal area of Sardinia.
Because of the non-negligible pressure of fisheries (Vandeperre et al., 2008), it cannot be
considered a pristine area. However, it could be assumed to be low impacted seascape, at
least for benthic communities of the intertidal zone. Here, in 1988, the International Marine
Centre (IMC) was founded in Torregrande (Oristano, Italy). The aim of this study is to
review all the past records concerning the marine forests and to summarize recent findings
and achievements. Given the presence of the ‘Penisola del Sinis - Isola di Mal di Ventre’
Marine Protected Area (MPA), these findings should serve as baseline for future
management and conservation perspectives of these communities.
2 METHODOLOGY
A review on Cystoseira and Sargassum has been conducted for the Sinis Peninsula and the
Gulf of Oristano. A frequent problem while studying fucalean forests is the lack of data with
enough taxonomic resolution. Therefore, also grey literature as well as peer-reviewed
journals was considered for this study. Records have been collected and a geodatabase has
been developed (including all the historical and current information) on the basis of past
experience of FuCart DB (Fucales Cartography DataBase; Grech, 2017).
3 RESULTS
The first historical records of marine forests in Sardinia are relatively few and sparse,
consisting of algal lists (Barbey, 1884). Here, the record of C. amentacea in Capo Mannu is
the oldest one for the study area. Other historical records for the Sinis Peninsula were
published more than 100 years later and are spotted (Cossu et al., 1992; Gueneau et al.,
1992; Sales, 2010) with some of them doubtful. Cossu et al., (1992) reported 18 fucalean
species (15 Cystoseira spp. and 3 Sargassum spp.) in Sardinia. Cormaci et al., (2005)
afterwards reported the rare C. squarrosa in Castelsardo (Northern Sardinia) that is the only
place in the Western Mediterranean Sea (another one is in Sicily) where populations of this
species are known to occur. In the study area, C. barbata was reported by Addis et al.,
(2004) and Casu et al., (2006) in ‘Penisola del Sinis - Isola di Mal di Ventre’ MPA.
Nonetheless, based on this study we contemplate the possibility that this may be a
misidentification of a late summer habitus of C. amentacea, which is rather abundant in the
area. This uncertainty about the records is also exacerbated by the lack of abundant
Herbaria vouchers and samples collection of the area, and by a lack of clear and
unequivocal reported sites of presence (GPS coordinates, pictures in references) that could
be examined and resurveyed by specialists after decades, i.e. as was properly done by

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Cormaci et al., (2005). Moreover, if C. barbata is present in the study area it is considered
rare, since we have only collected stranded specimens until now in two sites in the Gulf of
Oristano (Mare Morto and Mistras). The most likely source of this species is close to the
mouth of the wetland system in the gulf. However, we cannot exclude surface drifting of
detached thallus from sites outside the study area. C. foeniculacea and C. compressa have
also been reported in the lagoons of Santa Giusta (Magni et al., 2008) and Curru de S’Ittiri
(Provincia di Oristano, 2013), respectively. Their occurrence should be confirmed and
checked along the complex wetland systems. The only proper reference baseline of this
study area (concerning upper sublittoral species) is the cartography of littoral and upper-
sublittoral rocky-shore communities, performed by applying the CARLIT method in 2008
(Guala et al., 2010). Although it is not entirely appropriate to consider this work as a
historical baseline, it represents the starting point for our studies, at least for the upper
subtidal species. In addition, some punctual records on the lower subtidal species have been
reported by ENEA (1990), in the framework of the feasibility study of “Penisola del Sinis -
Isola Mal di Ventre” MPA. Nevertheless, it is worth stressing that after Guala et al., (2010),
no other studies were performed in the area. Recently, within the GIREPAM project
(Integrated Management of Ecological Networks through Parks and Marine Areas,
Programme Interreg Maritime Italy-France 2014-20, http://interreg-maritime.eu/), surveys
on habitats 1120 (Posidonia beds) and 1170 (Reefs) have been carried out in the MPA to
assess possible disturbances from anthropic activities and to define management guidelines.
These activities lead to the re-implementation of the CARLIT method during the year 2018
(Grech et al., 2019) and confirmed the high stability of the index after 10 years, testifying
even today by a high ecological quality of the upper sublittoral habitats of the Sinis
Peninsula, with continuous lush forests of the most sensitive species C. amentacea and C.
crinita. As an integration of the CARLIT index, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) were tested
in 2018 (Grech et al., 2019) to map the shallow communities and to compute Cystoseira
species coverage along the study area.
All the information reviewed and recent achievements are represented in Fig. 1. Moreover,
detailed surveys have recently been conducted and the distribution of rare species such as
C. algeriensis has been mapped extensively along the coastline. Additionally, recently new
records have been reported (Grech, 2019). On the basis of this review, along the Sinis
Peninsula, 8 taxa of Cystoseira have been reported in the upper sublittoral fringe, namely:
C. algeriensis, C. amentacea, C. barbata (stranded), C. brachycarpa, C. compressa var.
compressa, C. compressa var. pustulata, C. crinita, C. sp.. Below the water mark 7 taxa are
reported: C. algeriensis, C. brachycarpa, C. crinita, C. foeniculacea, C. montagnei, C.
usneoides, C. zosteroides. Overall, 12 taxa occur, 4 of them are Mediterranean endemism.

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Fig. 1 Marine Forests of the study area. Bathymetry up to a depth of 45 m is represented on the map,
with a step of 5 meters (Brambilla et al., 2019). Methodological CARLIT communities
(e.g. C. amentacea 5 to 1) are based on Guala et al., (2010)

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Further study on marine forests is currently underway within the project ‘Amelioration by
Benthic habitat-formers under Climate Change’ (ABC2; Bulleri et al., 2018) in order to
understand the extent to which marine belts and forests can reduce environmental stress,
regulate and maintain associated benthic assemblages, through the establishment of a
network of experimental setups along Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts of Europe (Bulleri
et al., 2018). Data logging is currently in progress (Fig. 2).
Fig. 2. Amelioration by Benthic habitat-formers under Climate Change (ABC2) set-up (A), Temperature/Light
logging data (B) detail of Hobo data logger and plaster clods for water motion assessment (C)
4 DISCUSSION
Although most marine forests are under protection within the framework of international
agreements (Berne Convention, 1979, Barcelona Convention, 1995; Habitats Directive,

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1992) fucalean species are currently not effectively protected on a Mediterranean scale, not
even within marine reserve zones. Moreover, there is a lack of knowledge about their
distribution, due to the paucity of continuous and widespread data. This contribution sheds
light on the marine forests of the Sinis Peninsula and the Gulf of Oristano. Here, the upper
subtidal species do not seem to be threatened by local stressors, although some of them
(e.g. human trampling) may be increasing in recent years and should be quantified in
future. The deep species, on the other hand, are quite vulnerable to fisheries: the branched
species can be detached by fishing gears (i.e. trammel nets) that could be one of the main
factors of decline (Grech, 2017; Thibaut et al., 2015). The study area, although scarcely
studied from an algological point of view, is characterized by a high biodiversity of marine
forest (Grech et al., 2019) and deserves further study. Deep species distribution data is
lacking in the study areas as in most of the deep Mediterranean habitats (Ballesteros et al.,
2009; Capdevila et al., 2016). Moreover, there is paucity of information on how climate
change could potentially affect marine forests and how they can cope with these stressors.
Recent studies suggested that climate change could influence some critical steps of their life
cycle and a create susceptibility of marine forests to climate change, forecasting that up to
94% of originally suitable areas could be lost (Buonomo et al., 2017). Marine forests display
clear signs of regression that are still not clearly understood across their distribution range
(Thibaut et al., 2015). The risk of losing these forests before gaining awareness about them
and their extension is high. There is an urgent need for a detailed mapping all along the
Mediterranean Sea. The putatively low local human impact in the study area makes the Sinis
Peninsula the ideal candidate to represent a natural laboratory for testing the response of
marine forests facing climate change. Therefore, the current research addressed at
improving knowledge of distribution, extent, status of these forests and the environmental
variables (e.g. temperature, light, water motion) affected by climate change, is crucial. The
area, with its high abundance of very sensitive species, can be useful for the scientific
community as a source of reproductive stages for in situ and ex situ pilot restoration
projects of degraded habitats, which are recently becoming more common along the
Mediterranean Sea (Falace et al., 2018). In-depth knowledge of natural systems and
increased awareness of the ecosystem services they provide are crucial for an effective
integrated management of coastal and marine areas aimed at reducing biodiversity loss and
ecosystem degradation. As for marine forests, an effective tool can be represented by
dissemination and outreach activities through participatory methodologies, e.g. Citizen
Science projects (Grech & Buia, 2017) aimed at marine forest reporting
(https://www.facebook.com/ProgettoFucales/; http://www.progetto-fucales.it/) and/or to
their decline. Reconstructing historical baselines engaging citizens through Local Ecological

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Knowledge (LEK) and Citizen Science is feasible in highly populated zones (i.e. Grech &
Buia, 2017) with many stakeholders (e.g. the sharing of old and current photos from
underwater photographers), strongly engaged with marine research institute activities. In
the context of Sardinia, this approach is still in its infancy and seems complex at the
moment, especially because the area is scarcely populated, with relatively low touristic influx
and fishermen are generally not prone to collaboration and cooperation.
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WEB SITES
http://interreg-maritime.eu/web/girepam/-/fondazione-imc-e-girepam-al-festival-della-scienza-di-
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AUTHORS’ PROFILES
Daniele Grech is a marine biologist and environmental researcher focused on coastal ecology, in the
fields of research and monitoring of Mediterranean priority habitats (Posidonia oceanica, Coralligenous
assemblage, Fucales marine forests). At present, he has been involved in a range of projects aiming to
assess the conservation of marine ecosystems and the management of marine resources through direct
in situ observation and cartographic tools, with emphasis on not destructive sampling methods. He also
has experience in fishing technology (by-catch assessment, turtle excluder devices – TEDs) and artificial
barrier monitoring. He is currently working as a research fellow at the IMC - International Marine
Centre, Oristano (Italy) on the conservation of coastal ecosystems and the management of marine bio-
resources with expertise in macroalgae, invertebrates, fish identification and ecology.
Luca Fallati is a PhD student at Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca - Department of Earth and
Environmental Sciences - DISAT, Italy. He uses remote sensing techniques, including Unmanned Aerial
Vehicles (drones), photogrammetric techniques and GIS technology for the mapping of benthic systems
and environmental and land-use management.

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BOTTLENECKS IN FULLY
IMPLEMENTING THE NATURA
2000 NETWORK IN ITALY
AN ANALYSIS OF PROCESSES LEADING
TO THE DESIGNATION OF SPECIAL
AREAS OF CONSERVATION
SABRINA LAI
Assessorato della Difesa dell’Ambiente

Regione Autonoma della Sardegna, Italy
e-mail: slai@regione.sardegna.it

Lai, S. (2019). Bottlenecks in fully implementing the Natura 2000 network. An analysis of processes leading
to the designation of Special Areas of Conservation in Italy. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature
6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
Biodiversity protection in the European Union has i ts legal foundations in two directives (Directive
92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992, the so-called “Habitats Directive”, and Directive 2009/147/EC, the
so-called “Birds Directive”), which establish an in ternational, coordinated network of protected
areas known as “Natura 2000”. In this article, the implementation of the network is qualitatively
analyzed by looking at the processes whereby Special Areas of Conservation are currently
being designated in Italy, following a preliminary and required establishment of site-specific
conservation measures which can optionally be included within appropriate management plans.
Through a thorough documental analysis, four topics were examined as follows: integration of
conservation measures in ordinary spatial plans; institutions and tiers of government involved in
the management and planning of Natura 2000 sites; stakeholders’ inclusion in the identification
of conservation measures; nature and role of conservation measures in the Italian planning
framework. The key outcome of the analysis is that processes greatly differ among regions, and
a variety of approaches, more or less scientific and technocratic, more or less democratic and
inclusive, emerge.
KEYWORDS
Natura 2000 Network; Natural Protected Areas; Environmental Planning
S. Lai
1 INTRODUCTION
Within the European Union (EU), two main pillars underpin policies aiming at preserving
biodiversity and halting biodiversity loss. First, the EU Biodiversity Strategy, which envisions
biodiversity and ecosystem services “protected, valued and appropriately restored” by 2050
in the EU and aims at halting biodiversity loss and the degradation of ecosystems by 2020
(European Commission, 2011). Second, a legal framework whose main pillars are Directive
92/43/EEC (“Habitats Directive”) and Directive 2009/147/EC (“Birds Directive”, codified
version of Directive 79/409/EEC). The two directives establish a strict protection regime for
wildlife and natural and seminatural habitats, and a coordinated network of terrestrial and
marine protected areas that should ensure biodiversity maintenance or restoration at a
favorable conservation status.
This network, which stretches over an impressive 800,000 km2 inland (i.e., more than 18.2%
of the European Union in size) and over 530,000 km2 of sea waters (European Environmental
Agency, 2018), is termed “Natura 2000 network” and comprises Sites of Community
Importance (SCIs), Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) and Special Protection Areas (SPAs).
It is regarded as one of the most prominent international networks of protected areas
(Lockwood, 2006; Kukkala, 2016) and as a successful example of spatial policies aiming at
preserving biodiversity (Popescu et al., 2014). As argued by Rauschmayer et al. (2009), the
effectiveness of biodiversity conservation policies can be assessed either by evaluating their
outcomes or by analyzing their definition or implementation processes. As for the first type of
assessment methods, numerous studies assess Natura 2000 performances by looking at
species’ and habitats’ conservation status improvements since the establishment of the
network with reference to specific areas, species, or taxa.
As for the second type, because of the environmental and social consequences of the
establishment of such a widespread network, the implementation of the Habitats Directive
has been the subject of a number of interdisciplinary studies, focusing on site designations
and the establishment of the network (Alphandéry & Fortier, 2001; Haumont, 2003),
management (Enengel et al., 2014), conflicts (Bryan, 2012; Gallo et al., 2018) concerning the
definition and implementation of conservation measures required by the Directive, and
participation processes (Beunen et al., 2013; Cent et al., 2014). Several studies, among the
latter group, regard plan-making processes as the way forward to mitigate conflicts
(Kamphorst at al., 2017; Krott et al., 2000) and the optimal tool to include stakeholders’
participation in setting conservation goals and defining conservation measures at the site level
(Alphandéry & Fortier, 2001; Paavola, 2004; Rauschmayer et al., 2009; Young et al., 2013);
inclusive planning processes are thus regarded as a proper counterbalance to the purely

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Bottlenecks in fully implementing the Natura 2000 network in Italy

technical process that led to selection and designation of Natura 2000 sites. In fact, the
Habitats Directive requires that SCIs (which must be identified by member states on scientific
grounds only) must be designated as SACs within six years from their establishment. A SAC
designation process must be preceded with the establishment of site-specific conservation
measures, which may involve appropriate site-specific management plans while also taking
account of socio-cultural-economic requirements. So far, a very limited number of studies
have analyzed institutional processes leading to the establishment of conservation measures
(optionally including plan-making processes); among these, Gil et al.’s (2011), Kovacs et al.’s
(2017), Cortina and Boggia’s (2014). Building upon the above literature, this study aims at
identifying governance and inclusion processes in the management of the Italian Natura 2000
network, by scrutinizing the ongoing process whereby SACs are being designated through an
analysis of official documents that establish Natura 2000 conservation measures (hereinafter,
CMs) or approve management plans (hereinafter, MPs).
The following section introduces the case study and provides the reader with some
information on Natura 2000 in Italy and a brief presentation of the roles played by the various
tiers of government involved in the designation process. In the third section, the results of
the analysis are summarized, while in the fourth section the results are discussed and
perspectives for future research are presented.
2 MATERIALS AND METHODS
2.1. CASE STUDY: THE NATURA 2000 NETWORK IN ITALY

Natura 2000 network in Italy stretches over approximately 19% of the national territory, while
its marine area amounts to nearly 7,000 km2 (European Environmental Agency, 2018). The
national network is currently comprised of 2,613 sites, of which 2,335 are SCIs designated
under the Habitats Directive; as of September 2018, only 82% SCIs for which the six-year
deadline for their designation as SACs has expired had been established as SACs. The
preliminary selection of Natura 2000 sites in Italy was carried out between 1994 and 1998 by
the Ministry for the Environment, supported by scientific societies (Postiglione, 2006); Regions
and the Autonomous Provinces of Trento and Bolzano were involved, as well (Amirante, 2003).
On purely scientific bases, around 2,800 sites (Blasi, 1998) were identified, which led to
conflicts and oppositions, both from stakeholders and local authorities (Neven et al., 2005)
which felt excluded from the process. In April 2000, the Minister for the Environment issued
a decree that approved two lists:

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S. Lai
− the first list of SPAs, for which the State identification is sufficient to formally designate
the sites;
− the preliminary list of proposed SCIs to be forwarded to the European Commission for
the next designation steps.
The lists of SCIs for the Alpine and Continental biogeographic regions were adopted by the
European Commission in 2004, whereas the list for the Mediterranean region was adopted in
2006. Starting from these dates, each Member state had to define the necessary CMs so as
to designate the SCIs as SACs within six years from the lists being adopted. In Italy, the State
(with which the responsibility for implementing the Habitats Directive lies) delegated the
definition and approval of both CMs and MPs to its 19 regions and 2 autonomous provinces,
while retaining control over SAC designation. Roles and responsibilities concerning the
implementation of the Habitats Directive in Italy are therefore structured into three levels:
first, the European Commission, which adopts the lists of SCIs; second, the State, which
proposes the lists of SCIs to the European Commission and designates the SACs; third, the
regions and autonomous provinces, which must define and approve CMs and MPs as a
prerequisite to the SACs designation, and are responsible for the management of the sites.
2.2 METHODOLOGY
Official documents on the ongoing SACs designation process were retrieved from the website
of the Italian Ministry for the Environment and Land and Sea Protection in June 2018. Many
of the official acts were only available as scanned documents, hence text mining techniques
could not be applied. Therefore, each single official act (i.e., at the state level: ministerial
decrees concerning SAC’s designations; at the regional/provincial level: regional deliberations
or decrees approving site-specific CMs or MPs) was examined in order to retrieve information
on the following items:
− institution in charge of defining CMs and MPs;
− stakeholders’ involvement (if any) in the definition of CMs and MPs;
− implications on spatial planning (at the urban or regional level) entailed by CMs and MPs.
3 RESULTS
The SAC designation process, still ongoing in Italy, started in 2013 for sites belonging to the
Aosta Valley region, and, as of today, has not started yet in Campania. Moreover, SACs in
Abruzzo, Veneto and Emilia Romagna were designated after June 2018 (respectively, July
2018, December 2018, March 2019), when the document analysis was performed, hence the
results here presented concern the remaining 15 regions and two autonomous provinces

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(Trento and Bolzano) in Trentino-South Tirol. Because of space constraints, quantitative and
qualitative results are not extensively presented in this article, but only summarized in Fig. 1,
which provides, for each region: total number of SACs designated as of June 2018; progress
towards designation completion; whether MPs or CMs (or both) were approved; type of
institution responsible for MP or CM preparation (their approval always lies with the region,
or with the autonomous province in case of Trentino South Tirol); type of participation
processes implemented, if any; whether any planning implication is entailed by MPs or CMs.
Fig. 1 SAC designation process in Italy. (Author’s elaboration on data retrieved from
ftp://ftp.minambiente.it/PNM/Natura2000/Materiale%20Designazione%20ZSC in June 2018)

A first outcome of the analysis is that striking differences exist among Italian regions as to
the role they play in the SAC designation process, the consideration of socio-cultural-economic
requirements invoked by the Habitats Directive, the very same nature and function of CMs
and MPs. First, as for the type of tool, six regions have made use of both CMs and MPs; seven
have approved only CMs and four only MPs.
This is consistent with the Habitats Directive: while site-specific CMs are mandatory, they can
optionally be integrated within MPs. Contrary to what happens in other EU member states,
where MPs are compulsory (Beunen & Van Asche, 2013; Bouwma et al., 2008; Evans, 2012;
Ferranti et al., 2010; Neven et al., 2005), Italy has retained the optional character envisioned
in the directive. Moreover, the analysis of official documents suggests an interpretation quite
different to that offered by Ferranti et al. (2010), who argue that most Italian regions chose
to integrate Natura 2000 measures within other development plans, rather than preparing ad

© 2019, FedoaPress

S. Lai
hoc, site-specific MPs. Indeed, official acts record only a very few instances in which CMs were
integrated in sectoral or territorial plans other than MPs; when such integration occurs, it is
restricted to plans for natural protected areas (national parks or nature reserves) or to marine
protected areas’ regulations only.
This extremely low level of integration is most likely due to the limited consideration of nature
and biodiversity within territorial plans, which in turns is linked to low awareness of the role
played by biodiversity to sustain natural processes required for human life and development,
and to widespread perception of conflicts between biodiversity preservation and socio-
economic growth.
In this regards, current debates on ecosystem services provided by protected areas (Castro
et al., 2014; Bastian et al., 2013), on their inclusion within planning processes (de Groot et
al., 2010; Geneletti, 2013; Gómez-Baggethun & Barton, 2013), on the ecosystem approach
to spatial planning (Vasishth, 2008; Yigitcanlar & Teriman, 2014) are promising research
fields. Second, as for institutional tiers of government involved in managing and planning
Natura 2000 sites, both the European Commission’s and member states’ competences are
clearly defined in the Habitats Directive with reference to site identification and SAC
designation. However, in Italy the state has devolved a number of competences (e.g., site
management, surveillance, monitoring) to regions and autonomous provinces, leaving room
for interpretations that differ across regions. For instance, while some regions have retained
their planning and decisional role granted by the state (in that they have not only approved,
but also defined CMs and prepared MPs), others have delegated this task to lower tiers of
government; closer to local communities, the latter are probably considered as the most
appropriate level to take account of social and economic needs and expectations. Further
research is therefore needed so as to investigate whether the (higher or lower) level of
government makes any difference in regard to CM and MP effectiveness, by looking at whether
the choice of institutional level impacts on habitats’ and species’ conservation status, and,
ultimately, on the integrity of the Natura 2000 network.
Third, participation in the establishment of CMs and MPs greatly varies among regions, both
for categories of institutional actors and stakeholders involved, and for types of processes
carried out and their timing.
For two regions (Calabria and Sicily) official acts do not mention any participatory or
consultative process; for two further regions (Tuscany and Aosta Valley) official acts suggest
that consultation was restricted to institutions only. For the remaining regions, documented
participatory processes were indeed carried out and took different forms, among which
consultation after adoption is the most common, while truly participative processes (for
instance including the forestry or farming sector, or environmental associations, or hunting

© 2019, FedoaPress


associations), which can in principle result in agreed-upon conservation measures, are rarer.
In this article, only the documented development of participatory processes was analyzed,
without further investigating their effectiveness in shaping CMs and MPs.
Two recent works (De Meo et al., 2016; Paletto et al., 2017) attempt to assess participatory
processes Natura 2000 planning and management in some Italian regions by looking at
inclusiveness, democracy, and conflicts on the basis of surveys of a small group of
stakeholders; the authors conclude that participation often took the form of mere information,
that only in a few regions did participation allow planners to integrate local knowledge within
MPs, and, finally, that only selected stakeholder categories were involved. Further research
could therefore complement the documental analysis here carried out with a territorially
systematic survey of stakeholders involved in participatory processes concerning CMs and
MPs, so as to assess the effectiveness of such processes by comparing stakeholders’
perceptions with the outcomes of the official, documental, narrative. Finally, implications on
spatial and territorial planning only emerge in a limited number of regions.
In the Autonomous Province of Bolzano CMs are subject to the local planning law, similarly to
what happens in Friuli Venezia Giulia, where, in addition, the official acts approving CMs state
that, in case of differences or contradictions, CMs prevail over land use plans and regulations.
In such cases, CMs (and MPs as well) are regarded as territorial planning tools. Conversely,
Basilicata Region’s official acts explicitly state that MPs are not subject to either the Strategic
Environmental Assessment under Directive 2001/42/EC, because they are not regarded by
the regional administration as territorial plans, or the Appropriate Assessment under the
Habitats Directive, because only aimed at preserving habitats and species.
To the contrary, an Appropriate Assessment and a Strategic Environmental Assessment (which
also provides a framework for structured stakeholders’ participation) must be carried out, in
Sardinia, for each MP because MPs comprise not only conservation measures, but also
material and non-material interventions aiming, for instance, at enhancing local assets and
resources, or at supporting local sustainable economies. Such differences concerning the very
essence of CMs and MPs (as well as their binding or non-binding character) signal that an in-
depth analysis of administrative and urban planning laws is required, possibly leading to a
unified (national) legal framework across the regions. Ferranti et al. (2014) argue that nature
conservation in the EU has historically evolved following a cycle: from initial technocracy
(concerning, for instance, site designations only on scientific ground) to limited inclusiveness
(e.g., farmers or hunters) in the management of the sites, to wider inclusiveness (e.g. tourism
businesses), back to technocracy in the current phase (e.g., environmental economists, due
to emphasis on natural capital, ecosystem services, and economic value of biodiversity), hence
again marginalizing local communities.

© 2019, FedoaPress

S. Lai
The fragmented and varied Italian experience concerning SAC designation suggests that,
rather than a sequence of historical phases, the coexistence of various approaches, some
more technocratic and some more democratic and inclusive, can be observed depending on
the region.
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AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Sabrina Lai is a civil engineer, Sabrina Lai is Research Doctor in Land Engineering (Italy, 2009), and
Administration of Sardinia, Department for the Environment, Division for Nature Protection.

© 2019, FedoaPress

URBAN PRESSURE SCENARIO ON
THE PROTECTED AREAS SYSTEMS
THE CASE STUDY OF TEATINA ADRIATIC COAST
ALESSANDRO MARUCCI, LORENA FIORINI

CARMEN ULISSE
Department of Civil, Construction-Architectural

and Environmental Engineering (DICEAA)
University of L’Aquila, Italy
e-mail: alessandro.marucci@univaq.it
lorena.fiorini@univaq.it, carmen.ulisse@libero.it
URL: http://diceaa.univaq.it/en/

Marucci, A., Fiorini, L. & Ulisse, C. (2019). Urban pressure scenario on the protected areas systems: the case
study of Teatina Adriatic coast. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature and ecosystem services (pp.
212-224). Naples: FedOAPress. ISBN: 978-88-6887-054-6, doi: 10.6093/978-88-6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
In recent years, land planning has been increasingly oriented towards the integration of the
environmental issues into the prospects for territorial development. In a historical and cultural
context where the perception of the protected areas has changed, they are no longer understood
as “islands of biodiversity” to be preserved from the aggression of urban development, but as
sinks for ecosystem services indispensable for local populations and therefore as opportunities
for Sustainable Development. The actions through which all this could be done are several
and these should not be linked to simple protection, through regulatory constraints, but they
must be the expression of more proactive activities, such as the planning and design of Green
and Blue Infrastructures. An interesting challenge is to investigate if the local administrations
are able to transpose these new concepts and to harmonize them with the existing legislation,
considering that the innovative drive compared to the green and blue infrastructure is opposed
to the incompleteness condition of the consolidated environmental policies. Therefore, one
of the main aims of this work was to analyze the interaction between local planning and the
overarching one, in relation to the future establis hment of the Costa Teatina National Park
(CTNP). This research evaluated how the municipalit ies plan examined could interact with the
actual network of protected areas in terms of urban occlusion and whether the new National
Park could take on the role of coordinator of future development prospects.
KEYWORDS
Urban Pressure; Coast Monitoring; Integrated Management; Land Planning
Urban pressure scenario on the protected areas system

1 INTRODUCTION
This work aims to analyze the interaction between local and superordinate planning (Ciabò,
2010), in relation to the establishment of the new Costa Teatina National Park (CTNP). Taking
into consideration the Municipal Planning Instruments (MPIs) of the individual municipalities
and their current state of implementation, their potential for residual transformation and the
roles that the National Park could fill in a complex and delicate territorial context was examined
(Romano & Zullo, 2014; Sargolini, 2010).
Moreover, the residual urban potentialities, contained in the considered MPIs, have been
analysed for evaluate the future development of the territory in terms of transformations. This
aspect is increasingly fundamental for implementing sustainable planning processes that must
be applied according to the international environmental policies (EEA, 2010; European
Commission, 2012; European Commission, 2016; United Nations, 2015). The study was
conducted taking into account the presence of different levels of protection and the complexity
that determine the area of the study.
2 STUDY AREA
The study area, located in the Adriatic Coast of the Abruzzo Region, was identified as a group
of 8 municipalities (Ortona, San Vito Chietino, Rocca San Giovanni, Fossacesia, Torino di
Sangro, Casalbordino, Vasto and San Salvo) that have part of their territory within the
boundaries of the future establishment of the Costa Teatina National Park (Fig.1).
Fig. 1 Location map of the study area

© 2019, FedoaPress

A. Marucci, L. Fiorini, C. Ulisse
Tab. 1 shows the general features of these municipalities and it highlights than almost half of
the whole surface considered (about 309 ha) is composed only of the municipalities of Ortona
and Vasto (about 142 ha). In addition, the 8 municipalities analyzed are characterized by a
different demographic consistency: Ortona, San Salvo and Vasto are medium-large
municipalities, with population between 20,000 and 40,000 units, while the other 5
municipalities are medium-small, with a population in the range of 2,000 – 6,000 units (ISTAT,
2018).
Although, especially in the summer period, in these coastal areas there is a high population
fluctuation linked precisely to tourism activities. This is a phenomenon that the administrations
must not neglect for good governance of the territory. The last data in table (Tab.1) concerns
population density which is also very varied, with values ranging from 1024.62 inh/kmq (San
Salvo) to 97.91 inh/kmq (Torino di Sangro).
MUNICIPALITIES TOTAL AREA (kmq) INHABITANTS (2018) POPULATION DENSITY

(inh/kmq)
Ortona 70.88 23034 324.97
San Vito Chietino 17.00 5246 308.59
Rocca San Giovanni 21.70 2322 107.00
Fossacesia 30.14 6345 210.52
Torino di Sangro 32.12 3145 97.91
Casalbordino 46.02 6046 131.38
Vasto 71.35 41496 581.58
San Salvo 19.70 20185 1024.62
Tab. 1 General features of the considered municipalities
Tourism, as already mentioned, has an important role for this area. However, from the socio-
economic point of view, the presence of industrial areas such as commercial ports in the
Ortona and Vasto municipalities should not be neglected. The first port, in fact, is the largest
in Abruzzo and also plays a central role in the naval industry, while the second is a commercial
port where many types of goods arrive, including biodiesel, diesel and various vegetable oils.
2.1 THE PROTECTED AREAS SYSTEMS

Another aspect concerns the environmental value of these territories (Fig.2), which was
central to the research conducted. Actually, in this area there are 6 Regional Nature Reserves
(Tab.2), with a total extension of about 1,080 ha, and 6 Sites of Community Interest (Tab.3),
with a total extension of about 3.312 ha. The proposal for the establishment of the CTNP
must therefore be inserted in this context that appears to be complex from various points of

© 2019, FedoaPress


view, such as environmental, social, urban and economical. The Costa Teatina National Park
was planned by the law n.93 of 23 March 2001 (article 8, paragraph 3) even if, after 18 years,
it is not in force because the founding process is not finished. With the creation of the Park,
the Nature Reserves will be abolished with a relative decision-making power to the ministerial
body.
CODE PROTECTED AREA SURFACE (ha) MUNICIPALITIES
EUAP1206 Ripari di Giobbe 35 Ortona

EUAP1205 Punta dell’acquabella 28 Ortona
EUAP1204 Grotta delle farfalle 510 San Vito Chietino, Rocca San Giovanni
EUAP1165 Lecceta di Torino di Sangro 164.69 Torino di Sangro
EUAP1090 Punta Aderci 285 Vasto
EUAP1207 Marina di Vasto 57 Vasto
Tab. 2 Protected areas included in the boundaries of the CTNP
CODE NAME SURFACE (ha) MUNICIPALITIES
IT7140106 Fosso delle farfalle (sublitorale 793 San Vito Chietino, Rocca San
chietino) Giovanni
IT7140107 Lecceta litoranea di Torino di 553 Fossacesia, Torino di Sangro
Sangro e foce del Fiume
Sangro
IT7140111 Boschi ripariali sul Fiume 596 Torino di Sangro, Villalfonsina,
Osento Casalbordino
IT7140108 Punta Aderci-Punta della 317 Vasto
Penna
IT7140109 Marina di Vasto 57 Vasto
IT7140127 Fiume Trigno (medio e basso 996 San Salvo, Celenza sul Trigno,
corso) Cupello, Dogliola,
Fresagrandinaria, Lentella, Tufillo
Tab. 3 Sites of Community Interest included in the boundaries of the CTNP
Furthermore, the subdivision inside the Park given the variety of elements present in it, both
environmental and anthropic, was organized as following:
− ZONE 1: area of significant naturalistic, landscape and historical-cultural interest with
limited or non-existent degree of anthropization;
− ZONE 2: area of naturalistic, landscape and historical-cultural value with greater degree
of anthropization;
− ZONE 3: area with a high degree of anthropization.
Starting from these databases, it was necessary to standardize the type of areas present in
the individual MPIs, for the composition of the unique shapefile. Inside this database a new

© 2019, FedoaPress

field called "Hom_zone” has been introduced in which the zones have been recalled such as
the “homogeneous areas” of the Italian Ministerial Decree n.1444/1968 (A, B, C, D and F) and
another zone “Q” which represents a kind of class that contains everything that does not
belong to the other areas.
Fig. 2 The Costa Teatina National Park boundaries and the protected areas system
MUNICIPALITIES YEAR TYPE OF DATA TIS WEB SITES

Ortona 1994 RASTER (.pdf) unavailable
San Vito Chietino 2002 VECTOR (.shp) http://sit.sangroaventino.it/
Rocca San Giovanni 2011 RASTER (.pdf) unavailable
Fossacesia 1998 RASTER (.pdf) http://sit.sangroaventino.it/
Torino di Sangro 2016 RASTER (.pdf) unavailable
Casalbordino 2018 RASTER (.pdf) http://sit.trignosinello.it/
Vasto 2013 RASTER (.tif) http://sit.trignosinello.it/
San Salvo 2002 RASTER (.pdf) http://sit.trignosinello.it/
Tab. 4 MPIs different format

© 2019, FedoaPress


In addition to the unification and standardization of the type of zone, it was necessary to
make choices on the set of urban indicators most useful to describe the scenarios of the urban
potential transformations.
This standardization of the data was a fundamental step for the evaluating the state of
implementation of the plans was carried out through a comparative analysis of the already
transformed soils and of the areas still free, to evaluate the residual capacity of the plans. It
was therefore possible to estimate how many and what kind of surfaces (B, C, D or F) are still
really available among the forecasts of the plan and therefore evaluate the residual capacity
of the plans, with the use of ISPRA dataset about the land use change (ISPRA, 2018) beyond
the unique dataset obtained by this mosaicking of the MPIs. And a further check was carried
out through a Google Earth photo-interpretation (Fig.3). Moreover, zones F have been
previously selected in order to remove all the areas not coherent with the conversion of the
soils, such as areas of road respect, green areas, parks and reserves.
In this way it was possible to divide the areas into:
− free Urban Areas (FUA);
− saturated Urban Areas (SUA);
− partially Saturated Urban Areas (PSUA), which were further classified according to the
actual saturation value in the 30%, 50% or 80% ranges.
4 RESULTS
The mosaicking of the municipal planning instruments (MPIs) of the Costa Teatina has
produced an interesting diagnostic analysis of the potential urban settlements. The diagrams
(Fig.4) represent the transformative scenarios of each Municipality.
The light grey area of the graph is the representation of the potential of the MPIs, if it were
completely implemented, while the dark grey internal area indicates the parts of the Plan
already built, therefore the state of art. In order to make a qualitative comparison between
the results obtained for all the municipalities considered, the values in the radar graphs are
expressed on a logarithmic scale (Fig.4).
It is possible to divide the MPIs into two large groups: those adopted before 2002 and those
after 2011; the first group, in particular, includes Ortona (1994), Fossacesia (1998), San Vito
Chietino and San Salvo (both 2002).
The comparative analysis of the results highlights repetitive trends in the planning dynamics
of this area: a good saturation of homogeneous areas B and a very low saturation of
homogeneous areas C. So it follows that the expectations of local planning some twenty years
ago have been disregarded. Furthermore, it is evident that these areas have not been

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attractive both in terms of residency and in terms of attractiveness for external investments;
with the exception of Ortona, Vasto and San Salvo but only for the productive areas.
Fig. 3 Google Earth photo-interpretation

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Fig. 4 Diagrams of the transformative scenarios
Moreover, the MPIs after 2011 can be defined as "new generation plans" because they have
been in force for less than a decade or have been drawn up in recent years. In this case, the
low degree of saturation of the same is certainly due to their recent adoption and therefore
not yet able to express their compliance with the socio-economic development trends of the
territory.
In this case, their low degree of saturation is certainly due to their recent adoption and
consequently to their incomplete expression of the socio-economic development trends of the
territory.
The general results obtained highlight how the local administrations prefer a broad planning
which leaves room to all the possibilities of development in a non-selective way, not taking
into account the territorial dynamics and the demographic flows. The tendency therefore is to
allocate all possible territories to future urban development, regardless of the demographic
and socio-economic dynamics that can be established. This is because the MPIs are not
dynamic government instruments, and then hardly resilient.
It must be considered, however, that a considerable reorganization of homogeneous areas in
a more sustainable and effective development scenario would significantly alter the system of
land rents. This condition is therefore an impediment to the changing of approach in territorial
planning.

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MPIs
TYPE FUA PSUA PSUA PSUA SUA FUA Tot MPI SI (%)
30% 50% 80% AREA
B 39 98 85 68 615 290 905 67.99
C 259 59 13 14 54 345 400 13.61
D 244 222 71 170 206 707 913 22.60
F 378 63 41 16 319 499 818 38.98
Tot (ha) 919 443 210 269 1194 1841 3035 39.35
SCIs BUFFER 1 KM
30% 50% 80% AREA
B 10 50 27 13 65 100 165 39.37
C 92 8 2 1 4 102 106 3.42
D 162 48 24 47 81 282 363 22.37
F 127 37 23 9 96 196 292 32.87
Tot (ha) 391 143 76 70 246 680 926 26.55
CTNP BUFFER 1 KM
30% 50% 80% AREA
B 20 71 53 34 325 178 503 64.57
C 165 42 4 12 27 224 251 10.84
D 169 83 46 55 132 353 485 27.23
F 145 18 13 8 185 184 369 50.12
Tot (ha) 499 214 117 110 669 939 1608 41.62
Tab. 5 Table of results obtained for the entire MPIs mosaicking,

the SCIs buffer of 1 km and the CTNP buffer of 1 km
A system based on private property and linked to land rents determines a conflict as regards
an integrated management of the territory and natural heritage, for example related with the
Natura 2000 Network and the of the CTNP (Angel et al., 2012; Bennet & Saunders, 2010;
Girvetz et al., 2008; Irwin & Bockstael 2007).
The CTNP concerned 8 different Municipalities and is subject to differential pressures and
behaviours with respect to individual local realities.

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Tab. 5 shows the value of saturation index (SI) obtained for the all homogeneous areas
belonging of: the entire MPIs mosaicking, the SCIs buffer of 1 km and the CTNP buffer of 1
km. Considering the SCIs buffer of 1 km, the saturation index (SI) is about 26,5% and, in
particular, the free urban areas (FUA) are about 680 hectares (three times the current areas).
Fig. 5 Maps of potential isolation of the SCIs by the MPIs
Moreover, the particular location of these areas causes a condition of potential isolation of the
SCIs by the MPIs (Fig.5). In the same way, the value of the SI is about 41,6% for the CTNP
buffer of 1 km, with a potential of around 939 hectares, which has not yet been realized.
The results obtained shown that the CTNP is planned in a territorial context characterized by
a still very high urban transformation potential.
This fact, however, is in contrast with the main objective of the park, which is to connect the
existing system of protected areas, present on the territory of the Theatine coast. Therefore,
the sustainability of the actions on these territories and the integration between the various
planning levels is not a shared strategy but is determined by the sensitivity of each MPIs.

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5 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

In this work, the residual urban potentialities of each Municipalities have been analyzed,
highlighting how much they are oversized compared to the current needs and how they take
into account the forecasts of the previous local planning instruments. From the analysis
developed it is shown that the interaction, between the municipal planning instruments and
the CTNP proposed Plan, has contradictory aspects with the real objective of protection and
safeguard of the identified protected area.
All of this is in disagreement with the declared policy orientation and planning strategies of
the various Administrations involved that have signed the zonal proposal of the
aforementioned Park Plan. The MPIs have a total amount of transformable areas of around
1841 hectares, which corresponds to a residual urban potentiality of around 61%. In
particular, within the boundary of the CTNP, these areas are around 545 ha and they
correspond 30 % of the total free urban areas (FUA Tot).
Examining both the transformable areas present within the boundary and those falling within
a 1 kilometer buffer from the perimeter, it turned out that the existing protected areas and
the proposed Park are surrounded by areas potentially subject to transformation of a
residential and productive type. From the draft of the Park degree it is foreseen, as well as by
the Law n.394/91, that its realization will cause the abolition of the existing Regional Reserves
with the transfer of power to the Ministry for Environment, Land and Sea Protection.
Moreover, in the articles of the safeguard measures relating to the authorization regime (from
Art. 6 to Art. 9), it showed that in the CTNP territory all the provisions, contained in the actual
MPIs, are reserved until the entry into force of the CTNP Plan.
The MPIs examined are prior to the Park Plan, so it is clear that the scenarios expected are
probably achievable. In conclusion, even if the CTNP is perceived as an opportunity and a
model for the development and relaunching of the territory by local communities, in reality
this may not be the most suitable, or at least, the most necessary planning instrument in this
area. The analysis of the MPIs highlighted a composite situation where a common feature is
the lack of opportunities and possibilities for the development of the territory in terms of
transformations and industrializations. In particular, the large surfaces of C, D and F zones
are still almost completely unexpressed.
Therefore, it is believed that it would be appropriate to reorganize the local planning tools
with a single device capable of reading, analyzing and interpreting the real needs and
possibilities of the Costa Teatina growth, before identifying in the CTNP the most suitable
structure for the promotion of the territory.

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REFERENCES
Angel, S., Parent, J. & Civco, D. (2012). The fragmentation of urban landscapes: Global evidence of a
key attribute of the spatial structure of cities, 1990 2000. Environment and Urbanization (pp. 249–
283). DOI: 10.1177/0956247811433536
Bennett, A.F. & Saunders, D.A (2010). Habitat fragmentation and landscape change. Conservation
Biology for All (pp. 88–106). Oxford University Press.
Ciabò, S. (2010). Reti ecologiche nella esperienza della pianificazione a diverse scale. Pianificazione
comunale: il Piano di Atri. In F. Ferroni, B. Romano (Eds.), Biodiversità, consumo di suolo e reti
ecologiche. La conservazione della natura nel governo del territorio. (pp. 207-218). WWF Italia,
Ministero dell’Università e della Ricerca Scientifica. Cogecstre.
EEA (2010). Assessing biodiversity in Europe — the 2010 report. EEA. ISSN 1725-9177
European Commission (2012). Orientamenti in materia di buone pratiche per limitare, mitigare e
compensare l’impermeabilizzazione del suolo. CE. doi:10.2779/81286
European Commission (2016). Future brief: no net land take by 2050? CE 14, 62. doi:10.2779/537195
Girvetz, E.H., Thorne, J.H., Berry, A.M., Jaeger, J.A.G. (2008). Integration of landscape fragmentation
analysis into regional planning: a statewide multi-scale case study from California. USA. Landscape
and Urban Planning. 86(3-4):205–218. DOI: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2008.02.007
Irwin, E.G., Bockstael, N.E. (2007). The evolution of urban sprawl: evidence of spatial heterogeneity
and increasing land fragmentation. PNAS (pp. 20672–20677). http://dx.doi.org/10.1073
/pnas.0705527105.
ISPRA (2018). Consumo di suolo, dinamiche territoriali e servizi ecosistemici. Rapporti 288/2018. ISBN:
978-88-448-0902-7
Nolè G., Murgante B., Calamita G., Lanorte A., Lasaponara R. (2014). Evaluation of urban sprawl from
space using open source technologies. Ecological Informatics. DOI 10.1016/j.ecoinf.2014.05.005.
Romano B., Zullo F. (2014). The urban transformation of Italy’s Adriatic Coast Strip: fifty years of
unsustainability. Land Use Policy (pp. 26–36).
Sargolini, M., (2010). Adriatic urban sprawl and environmental continuity. In S. Lardon, E. Marraccini,
E. Bonari (Eds.), Agricultural management in peri-urban areas (pp. 86-93). Pisa, IT: Felici Editore srl.
United Nations (2015). Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
United Nations. A/RES/70/1. sustainabledevelopment.un.org
Zullo, F., Ciabò, S., Fiorini, L., Marucci, A., Olivieri, S., Perrazzitti, S., & Romano, B. (2015). Multilevel
planning regional management. A GIS Platform Structure. In C. Gambardella (Eds.), Heritage and
Technology Mind Knowledge Experience Le Vie dei Mercanti _ XIII Forum Internazionale Di Studi (pp.
363-371). Naples, IT: La Scuola di Pitagora srl. ISBN: 9788865424162

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WEB SITES
http://fossacesia.gov.it; www.casalbordino.gov.it/; www.comuneortona.ch.it/: www.comunerocca

sangiovanni.gov.it/; www.comunesanvitochietino.gov.it/; www.comune.torinodisangro.ch.it/;
www.comune.sansalvo.gov.it/; www.comune.vasto.ch.it/; www.isprambiente.gov.it/it;
www.minambiente.it/; www.pcn.minambiente.it/; www.istat.it
NOMENCLATURE
CTNP = Costa Teatina National Park

ISPRA = Italian Institute for protection and environmental research
ISTAT = Italian Institute of statistics
MPI = Municipal planning instrument
TIS = Territorial Information System
AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Alessandro Marucci, is a researcher in urban planning at the Department of Civil, Construction-

Architectural and Environmental Engineering (DICEAA) - University of L’Aquila. He was graduated in
Environmental Science in 2006 and he worked in ecological planning, environmental valuation and GIS
techniques. He is author of various papers and other scientific publications.
Lorena Fiorini, Ph.D. in Civil, Construction-Architectural and Environmental Engineering with the
thesis in land planning “Land take in Italy: models and trajectories”. She is an Environmental Engineer
with experience in Land Planning. Currently, she is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Department of
Civil, Construction-Architectural and Environmental Engineering (University of L'Aquila) and her
research mainly concerns land use change, sustainable development, environmental assessment
techniques and GIS techniques for territorial analysis.
Carmen Ulisse, is doing a Master Degree in Environmental Engineering at the University of L’Aquila.

© 2019, FedoaPress

POSIDONIA BANQUETTES ON
THE MEDITERRANEAN BEACHES:
TO WHAT EXTENT DO LOCAL
ADMINISTRATORS’ AND USERS’
PERCEPTIONS CORRESPOND?
PAOLO MOSSONEa, IVAN GUALAa

SIMONE SIMEONEb
a
IMC - International Marine Centre, Italy
e-mail: direzione@fondazioneimc.it
URL: https://www.fondazioneimc.it/
b
IAS - Istituto per lo studio degli impatti
Antropici e Sostenibilità
in ambiente marino - C.N.R., Italy
e-mail: simone.simeone@cnr.it
URL: http://marinedata.cnr.it/

Mossone, P., Guala, I. & Simeone, S. (2019). Posidonia banquettes on the Mediterranean beaches: to what extent
do local administrators’ and users’ perceptions correspond? In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature
6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
In the Mediterranean Sea, the removal of P. oceanica leaf litter (banquettes) from beaches
is often required by the stakeholders for mainly aesthetic reasons, despite the key role that
seagrasses play in the coastal environment and the ecosystem services they provide. Since
removal operations can have a sedimentological, geomorphological and ecological impact, the
POSBEMED project analyzed the possible strategies for the management of banquettes and
beach systems. The present study aims to analyze perception and expectations of beachgoers
and public and private stakeholders in relation to the presence and removal of banquettes from
the beaches. The opinions of those who use the beach for recreational purposes, those who
exploit the beach economically and those responsible for managing it were all considered on
the questionnaires. A cost-benefit appraisal was car ried out to assess the value attributed by
beachgoers to banquettes as an integral part of a natural beach as well as the loss of value that
the community suffers following a decision to leave the beach in its natural state. Results showed
that the public strategies for beach management and banquette removal are mainly made in
response to tourists’ requests, usually mediated by economic operators. However, differences in
perception have been detected between stakeholders and beachgoers, both in attitude towards
the presence of banquettes on the beach and the evaluation of the impact generated by this
presence. The economic analysis, considering only the hedonic use of a natural beach, indicates
that the cost resulting from the loss of tourists i s higher than the benefit perceived by the
tourist. For the economists, this paradox raises the issue of the limits of using methods based
on individual preferences for the evaluation of public goods, such as environmental ones.
KEYWORDS
Environmental Management; Sustainable Tourism; Posi donia Oceanica; Ecosystem Services
P. Mossone, I. Guala, S. Simeone
1 INTRODUCTION
Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile is the most widespread seagrass species of the Mediterranean
Sea (Duarte, 2004) where it forms wide meadows all along the coasts. P. oceanica loses its
leaves in autumn (Romero et al., 1992) and the leaf litter can be found along the shores
carried by waves and currents (De Falco et al., 2008). P. oceanica cast litter may form wedge
structures, which range from a few centimeters to several meters thick, called banquettes.
Similarly to sediment berms, banquettes can be considered features resulting from the
accumulation of seagrass litter and sediments at the extreme landward area of wave influence.
Short (1999) defined analogous seagrass beach-cast litter along Australian coastline as
‘seagrass berm’. Harvesting of beach-cast litter can be carried out for biomass exploitation
(Kirkman & Kendrik, 1997) and to improve the recreational use of beaches for tourism
(Ochieng & Erftemeijer, 1999). In the Mediterranean Sea the removal operations are often
required by the stakeholder mainly for aesthetic reasons. The majority of banquettes is
removed for ‘beach cleaning’ with heavy machinery (De Falco et al., 2008; Mossbauer et al.,
2012). Several studies were conducted on the possible impacts of the removal of banquettes,
from the sedimentological, geomorphological and ecological points of view (De Falco, 2012;
De Falco, 2013; Guala et al., 2006; Simeone & Simeone,). At the present time “two main
questions” remain unsolved: “Is the perception of banquette by beachgoers negative?” and
“How should the administration manage the banquette?”
POSBEMED (Sustainable management of Posidonia-beaches systems in the Mediterranean
region) is a project developed within the Interreg Med Programme, with the aim of analyzing
the problems arising from the presence of seagrass banquettes on Mediterranean beaches
along with possible strategies for their management. In particular, POSBEMED has considered
the current policies and practices for the management of Mediterranean beaches, the potential
conflicts and opportunities, (even embodying perceptions and expectations of stakeholders),
in order to address a shared and integrated management of these systems, potentially
applicable throughout the Mediterranean (Mossone et al., 2018; Otero et al., 2018). Since the
management of banquettes and beach systems cannot ignore the increase in awareness of
the ecosystem services that this natural capital can provide, filling the gaps of knowledge
could help refine objectives of public action in the governance and planning of coastal marine
areas and make management more effective and powerful in the future.
Whereas the POSBEMED project was designed to answer the two aforementioned questions,
this work mainly focuses on the analysis of perception and expectations of beachgoers and
public and private stakeholders in relation to the presence of banquettes. A part of the
research is addressed to cost-benefit appraisal (CBA) related to the presence of seagrass

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Posidonia Banquettes on the Mediterranean beaches: to what extend do local administrators’ and users’ perceptions…

banquettes on the beaches. It is not a matter of evaluating the cost of their removal, which
should also be considered a very important element of evaluation for management purposes.
The specific objective is to assess and contrast both the value attributed by beachgoers to
banquettes as an integral part of a natural beach, and the loss of value that the community
undergoes following the decision not to remove the banquettes, (thus leaving the beach in a
state of naturalness).
Some elements of valuation have been compared, considering the opinions of those who use
the beach for recreational purposes, those who exploit the beach economically and those who
manage it, in order to derive possible strategies for sustainable management both from an
environmental and economic point of view.
2 METHODOLOGY
Two surveys were conducted, one for beachgoers and the other one for public and private
stakeholders. The survey addressed to the beachgoers aims to analyze their perception and
attitude towards the presence of banquets. The survey addressed to public and private
stakeholders aims at assessing their expectations in relation to the behavior and choices of
tourists. Both surveys were conducted in Mediterranean seaside resorts in Sardinia, the Italian
peninsula, France, Spain, Greece and Cyprus.
Two questionnaires were created. The one for beachgoers was divided between tourists and
local users. The other one, addressed to public and private stakeholders, was divided between
the representatives of local administrations and economic operators in the tourism sector. For
the beachgoers’ survey, 200 interviews were collected for each area. For the stakeholders’
survey, 20 representatives of Local Government Administrations (LGAs) and 40 tour operators
(TOs, including beach services and accommodation facilities) were interviewed for each area.
Part of the research was intended to provide basic data for the assessment of seagrass
banquettes as an environmental good. Therefore, in order to attribute an economic value to
the seagrass banquettes, it was necessary to refer to the ecosystem services they provide
and, consequently, to investigate the economic value of the service, rather than the good
itself. For this purpose, the method of the contingent valuation was used. Despite awareness
of the limits often highlighted in critiques of this methodology (Diamond & Hausman, 1994),
it is the most widely-used method for 'capturing' total economic value, including the values
of use and of non-use (Carson et al., 2001),
It is necessary to take into account the complex and subjective nature of the concept of value
(Small et al., 2017), and of the objective difficulties encountered in trying to adopt a
homogeneous approach to dealing with the concepts of economic, ecological (de Groot et al.,
2010) and socio-cultural value.

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Specifically, the method of contingent valuation consists in requiring consumers to express

their willingness, through interviews or questionnaires, to pay (WTP) in all cases where there
is no real market for the use of an asset, as in the case of public goods.
The aim of the economic analysis is above all to simulate a demand curve for an environmental
good, generally understood as a non-market good. The construction of the demand curve is
obtained starting from the distribution of the number of people willing to pay each price, by
interpolating the data by means of a logarithmic regression, which is more appropriate than
a linear regression (Sellar et al., 1986).
The area under the curve in the interval between the minimum price and the maximum price
constitutes the WTP (Randall & Stall, 1980).
Once the value of the WTP has been calculated, this value is multiplied by the conversion
factor between the sample and the population, computed on the basis of the carrying capacity
of the beaches, in order to compare in a homogeneous way the costs and benefits in
conditions of full employment of the beach as a resource.
A section of the beachgoers’ questionnaire was reserved for the collection of economic data.
To make it comparable with the value of the benefits which emerged from the contingent
assessment, the cost of the presence of seagrass banquettes was obtained by calculating the
loss of tourists compared to the same conditions of full employment, and then multiplying this
value by the average daily expenditure of the tourist and dividing the result for the total
surface of the sampled beaches.
3 RESULTS
The analysis of the sample of beachgoers shows a fairly large negative perception (Fig. 1),
even if it does not constitute the majority. Those who have a negative perception of the
presence of banquettes amount to 41%, those who have a positive perception amount to
26%, those that are neutral amount to 33%.
It is worth to note that, for managerial purposes, those with a positive attitude and those who
are indifferent can be considered as a single category, as neither of them requires the removal
of the banquettes.
A very similar percentage (43%) to those who have shown a negative attitude, claim to choose
a beach based on the absence of seagrass banquettes. Therefore, even among those who are
"indifferent" there is still a small percentage (2%) of individuals who, if they have the
possibility, choose a beach without seagrass banquettes.

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Fig. 1 Perception of presence of banquettes: an overview
Among the beachgoers who claim to consider the presence of seagrass banquettes as a
negative choice factor, as many as 56% are local users, while 44% are tourists.
The data examined only for tourists and broken down by nation show that Greece contributes
significantly to the overall negative result, with 71% of tourists declaring that the presence of
seagrass banquettes is a negative choice factor. In all other countries the same figure is
between 34% and 39%. The perception of LGAs and TOs in relation to the influence of
banquettes on tourists is very similar, to the point of hypothesizing that the two classes tend
to influence each other. Since local administrations have few opportunities for contact with
tourists, it seems more likely that their perception is influenced by that of TOs, rather than
vice versa. To confirm this, the survey conducted on the LGA shows that the public strategies
for beach management and seagrass banquette removal are mainly made in response to
tourists' requests (Fig. 2), likely mediated by economic operators. The comparative data in
Fig. 3 show the differences in perception between public and private stakeholders on the one
hand and beachgoers on the other, regarding their attitudes towards the presence on the
beach of seagrass banquettes, and regarding the evaluation of the impact generated by this
presence.
In Fig. 3, chart A shows a negative attitude of the stakeholders with respect to beachgoers,
while chart B shows an evident disconnect between stakeholders and beachgoers on how the
impact of the presence of seagrass banquettes on tourism is perceived.

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Fig. 2 Drivers of LGA management strategies on banquettes
Fig. 3 Differences in perceptions and expectations between beachgoers and stakeholders
By means of the contingent valuation a demand curve has been constructed that expresses,
given a certain range of prices, how much the interviewed beachgoers would be willing to pay
in order to enjoy a beach in its natural state for recreational purposes, without having the
banquettes removed. Without considering any costs avoided for the removal and disposal of
the banquettes, or any costs of beach nourishment in the case of erosion, we set ourselves
the task of isolating the only benefit perceived by beachgoers; the hedonic use of a natural
beach. Thus, the benefit isolated through the WTP can be considered as the 'value of
naturalness' granted by the consumer to the environmental good enjoyed. The total WTP of
the sample was obtained through the discrete value method, and was subsequently multiplied

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by the conversion factor and divided by the total surface of the sampled beaches, obtaining
a benefit per m2 equal to 2.08 euros.
VARIABLES Values
Sample (willing) 475

Population (willing) 236.968
Conversion factor 498,88
Sample WTP 16,099.00€
Population WTP 8,031,496.59€
2
Economic benefit per m 2.08€
Tab. 1 Benefit of the presence of seagrass banquette per m2
Similarly, we can reason for the assessment of the cost determined by the presence of the
banquettes on the beaches. Since the survey on the perception of beachgoers shows that
43% of the sample excludes the beach from their choices if "cluttered" by the presence of the
banquettes, the loss of tourists can be considered a good indicator of the costs associated
with the presence of banquettes. On the contrary, resignation by the resident beachgoers
cannot be considered a cost, if we adopt the simplified hypothesis that local consumption
simply takes other forms but does not vary in amounts.
VARIABLES Values
Per capita daily spending 101.42€

Tourists loss 112,067.63€
Total economic loss 11,365.899.54€
2
Economic loss per m 2.95€
Tab. 2 Cost of the presence of seagrass banquette per m2
As a result, considered from the sole point of view of the hedonic consumer, the cost resulting
from the loss of tourists due to the decision to leave the beach in a state of naturalness, is
higher than the benefit perceived by the tourist.

The full results of the two surveys are reported in Mossone et al. (2018). Here we summarized
part of the results in order to emphasize the need to develop appropriate communication and
marketing strategies in order to increase the acceptance by tourists and tour operators of the
presence of banquettes on Mediterranean beaches. The presence of the P. oceanica

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banquettes on Mediterranean beaches generates rather different opinions, depending on the

point of view from which it is considered. The beach, intended as an environmental good,
tends to be considered by both public and private stakeholders as a factor in the service of
local income production, based on the exploitation of only hedonic ecosystem services. As a
consequence, beach management policies of local administrations are mainly influenced by
their perception of tourists' requests. Once again it is highlighted how a short-term, narrow-
minded CBA approach can be misleading for policymakers (Turner et al., 2007). The evidence
of the coincidence of the opinions of LGAs and TOs can be explained by the fact that LGAs do
not have direct contact with tourists, but rather rely on the perception of TOs.
This also explains the radicalization of the evaluations by the stakeholders of the impacts on
tourism of the presence of the banquettes, compared to the evaluations of the tourists
themselves. Public responsibilities for coastal protection from erosive phenomena often
conflict with this situation. Therefore, the LGAs often found themselves between two fires; on
one side are the tourists who request the removal of the banquettes, and on the other is the
increasingly restrictive legislation issued by the institutions responsible for environmental
protection, aimed at regulating the removal of banquettes from the beaches.
The CBA, limited to hedonic function alone, confronts us with the consideration that the
management choices of public goods cannot be based exclusively on an evaluation of
individual choices. This shows not only the failure of the market in the management of public
goods, but also the failure of the contingent valuation as a methodology based on the analysis
of individual preferences (Mossone, 2019). The survey did not include the analysis of cultural
variables, but the cases highlighted by the disaggregated analysis of data from Greece and
Sardinia suggest that part of the negative reactions of tourists to the presence of seagrass
banquettes can be induced by the type of communication present in tourism marketing in
those areas: the tendency is to advertise the white sandy beaches typical of the “Caribbean
type”.
This hypothesis, to be verified, could put marketing communication and cultural training of
the hedonic users of ecosystem services at the center of the sustainable management of
environmental goods. The results, as part of the POSBEMED project output, are perfectly
aligned with the specific objectives of the GIREPAM project (Integrated Management of
Ecological Networks through Parks and Marine Areas, Programme Interreg Maritime Italy-
France 2014-20). They contribute to: (i) improve the conservation status and enhancement
of coastal marine areas and to direct public accessibility to the natural supply; (ii) improve the
effectiveness of public action in the governance and planning of coastal marine areas; (iii)
increase awareness of the economic value of natural capital and encourage "green & blue"
growth. Therefore, their capitalization is recommended through their integration in the

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development of a joint strategy for the sustainable management of the beaches with seagrass
banquettes in the Mediterranean countries.
The findings provide key elements for developing more effective and powerful management
strategies, both from an environmental and an economic point of view, and suggest rethinking
and broadening the objectives of public action in the governance and planning of coastal
marine areas.
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De Falco, G., Simeone, S., & Baroli, M. (2008). Management of beach-cast Posidonia oceanica seagrass
in the island of Sardinia (Italy, western Mediterranean). Journal of Coastal Research, 24, 69-75.
de Groot, R. S., Alkemade, R., Braat, L., Hein, L., & Willemen, L. (2010). Callenges in integrating the
concept of ecosystem services and values in landscape planning, management and decision making.
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Diamond, P. A., & Hausman, J. A. (1994). Contingent Valuation: is some number better than no
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WEB SITES
https://posbemed.interreg-med.eu/; http://interreg-maritime.eu/web/girepam
AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Paolo Mossone, is an economist specialized in the field of local development and sustainability. After
a long career as a project manager and consultant for companies and public administrations, he is
currently the managing director of the Foundation IMC International Marine Centre, a research center
of the Science and Technology Park of Sardinia
Ivan Guala, is a marine ecologist specialized in ecological research on conservation of benthic

ecosystems and the management of marine bio-resources. He works on ecological indicators for
evaluating the ecological status of the marine environment, priority habitats and species of
conservation interest, feasibility studies, management measures and monitoring protocols to test the
effectiveness of marine protected areas. He is currently the coordinator of Coastal Ecosystems &
Biodiversity research area at the IMC - International Marine Centre, Oristano (Italy).
Simone Simeone, is a researcher of the Italian National Research Council (CNR), he realizes several
studies on the impact of the removal of P. oceanica banquettes from sandy beaches. Furthermore his
research activities are also addressed on the beach morphodynamics, sedimentology and coastal
geomorphology, including the adaptation of the coastal system to the climate change.

© 2019, FedoaPress

THE ECOSYSTEM SERVICES
CASCADE PERSPECTIVE IN
PRACTICE: A FRAMEWORK FOR
COST-BENEFITS ANALYSIS IN
*CHIARA PAOLIab, PAOLO POVEROab

GIORGIO FANCIULLIc
a
DISTAV, Department for Earth, Environment
and Life Sciences, University of Genoa, Italy
e-mail: chiara.paoli@unige.it,povero@unige.it
b
CONISMA, Consorzio Nazionale
Interuniversitario per le Scienze del Mare, Italy
c
Portofino Marine Protected Area, Italy
e-mail: direttore@portofinoamp.it

Paoli, C. Povero, P. Fanciulli, G. ... & Vallo, P. (2019). The ecosysstem services cascade perspective in
practice: a framework for cost-benefits analysis in marine protected areas. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.),
10.6093/978-88-6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
This study represents a first effort to synthesise biophysical, ecologic information with economic
measures. The principal aim is to fill the gap betwe en ecology and economy and provide to
territorial managers an operational tool able to assess both environmental and economic
sustainability in marine protected areas (MPA). At this purpose a specific framework to assess
natural capital value and to obtain a modified budget of MPA has been applied to Portofino MPA.
The framework has been developed in the context of the EAMPA (Environmental Accounting in
Marine Protected Areas) italian national project. T he natural capital of Portofino MPA amounts
to 4.18E+18 sej (equal to over 4 millions em€) if only benthic organisms are considered and
to 9.80E+18 sej (equal to over 10 millions em€) if also fishes are included in the assessment.
The modified balance here proposed includes both fina ncial and biophysical/environmental
fluxes. Benefits are significantly greater than costs, assuring that the MPA is able to maintain
itself profitably. The results represent one of the first operationalization of the ecosystem
theory and, in particular, of the ecosystem services cascade since the framework includes the
assessment of the natural capital and the ES and the benefits it generates.
KEYWORDS
Natural Capital; MPA Management, Ecological Economi c Budget; Sustainability
* The other authors are: Vittorio Gazale, Patrizio Scarpellini, Martina Armenio, Valentina Cappanera, Barbara
Cavalletti, Matteo Corsi, Giulia Dapueto, Costanza Di Fabio, Elena Lagomarsino, Ilaria Lavarello, Francesco
Massa, Lorenzo Merotto, Daniela Minetti, Martina Pozzi, Paola Ramassa, Ilaria Rigo, Claudio Valerani, Sara
Venturini, Paolo Vassallo.
C. Paoli, P. Povero, G. Fanciulli et al.
1 INTRODUCTION
The TEEB initiative (Ring, 2010) calls for a change to the current economic paradigm and
encourages the integration between the ecosystems and human activities. TEEB distillates all
recent findings by defining Ecosystem Services (ES) as the direct and indirect contributions of
ecosystems to human well-being and by creating the so-called “ecosystem services cascade”.
The cascade is the pathway from ecosystem structure and processes to human well-being, a
framework where the ES are the link that joins ecosystems with economics. Even if ecology
and economics have failed, until today, to standardize the definition and measurement of ES,
several initiatives and policies demand for their assessment (Maes et al., 2013, 2016). This
paper seeks to answer the call for the implementation of accounting, reporting and mapping
systems focused on ecosystems and ES. A framework integrating economic and ecological
accounts and representing the interactions between the environmental and the human
domains, according to the cascade theory, is here proposed (Edens & Hein, 2013). Some
postulates were taken into account. First, the ES cascade highlights that our economies are
constrained by the availability of natural capital (NC) stocks originating the ecosystem services
flows (Sukhdev et al., 2010). NC is composed by all biophysical elements and it is an economic
metaphor for the limited stocks of physical and biological resources (Costanza & Daly, 1992).
Manufactured capital encompasses material goods generated through economic activity and
technological change (UNU-IHDP and UNEP, 2012). Under the perspective of strong
sustainability, NC is irreplaceable with manufactured capital (de Groot et al., 2002, 2012).
Second, it is important to point out the difference between financial and environmental
accounting. Financial accounting is mainly designed to convey information to external
shareholders and financial authorities by means of standardized procedures that generate
comparable data. The main goal of financial accounting is to assess the actual economic
performance of the company or institution in accordance with in national laws and
international accounting standards (Jasch, 2003). On the contrary, the core part of
environmental accounting are material flow budgets. These budgets are realised through the
quantification of material and energy flows within a defined system boundary and expressed
in physical units. Some authors developed biophysical evaluation methods, complementary to
the preferences' based assessments of natural resources (Jørgensen, 2010; Muller &
Burkhard, 2012; Odum, 1996; Wackernagel et al., 1999). Biophysical approaches, based on
the measurement of physical features, have been identified by several economists as a basis
for valuation exercises (de Groot et al., 2012). Biophysical methods usually use a cost of
production approach or the so-called donor-side perspective. If we consider nature as a
system it can be described with a simple input-state-output representation (Pulselli et al.,

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The ecosystem services cascade perspective in practice: a framework for cost-benefits…

2011). A user-side approach focuses on outputs and on the identification of users that exploit
them. The ES theory is a typical user-side approach (Costanza et al., 1997; TEEB, 2010) based
on an anthropocentric viewpoint (de Groot et al., 2002) while biophysical methods are
founded on the assessment of inputs and then can be classified “donor-side” approaches. To
gain a real sustainability, integrating both economic and environmental approaches, it is
fundamental to connect the two (donor/user) sides of the coin in order to set up efficient
management strategies.
2 METHODOLOGY
2.1 THE EAMPA PROJECT

Haines-Young, Potschin (2011) proposed the first formulation of the cascade, later modified
by Spangenberg et al. (2014) to highlight the feedback from socio-economic system on
ecosystem. This feedback is due to impacts generated by ES fruition but also to management
strategies (Fig. 1). From biophysical components the functions potentially useful for mankind
are originated. Ecosystem functions represent the potential to generate ES from NC stock and
they exist independently from humans’ behaviour (TEEB, 2010). When humans find some
utilities in a function, this function enters the ES domain. From ES fruition, benefits are
originated.
Fig. 1 A schematic representation of the ecosystem services cascade (Spangenberg et al., 2014)
Based on these theoretical foundations, in 2013, the Italian Ministry of the Environment and
Protection of Land and Sea financed the Environmental Accounting in Marine Protected Areas
(EAMPA) project. EAMPA is a 4-years research programme based on the implementation of

© 2019, FedoaPress

an environmental accounting system in all Italian Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). The main
goal of such a system is the calculation of the ecological and economic value of the MPAs,
with particular reference to the ES generated in each protected area (Franzese et al., 2015).
The programme foresees the achievement of a standardized assessment of NC as well as
environmental costs and benefits in all protected areas by means of two complementary
pathways and six operational phases (Fig. 2, Tab.1). The detailed methodology for EAMPA
project realisation is described in Franzese et al. (2015) and Vassallo et al. (2017). Here its
application to the specific case of Portofino MPA is presented.
Fig. 2 Flowchart of the EAMPA project: environmental and economic research pathways
2.2 PORTOFINO MPA

The Portofino MPA was established in 1999 in the north-western part of Italy, Liguria Region,
with a law from the Department of the Environment.
It occupies 363 ha and is widely recognised as a high natural value area, worldwide known
for its emerged and submerged landscape as well as for the rich biodiversity the MPA hosts
with endemisms and endangered species. The MPA of Portofino is included in the European
Natura 2000 Network as Site of Community Importance (SCI IT1332674: Fondali monte di
Portofino). Since 2005 the Portofino MPA is a SPAMI (Specially Protected Area of
Mediterranean Interest) according to the decision of the RAC/SPA Office (UNEP, 2005).
Within the MPA many activities such as diving, fishing and also recreational boating are carried
out and regulated with different protection levels, from more severe in A zone to less severe

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in C zone. Anyway the access into the MPA is forbidden to the ships longer than 24 meters.
Nevertheless activities, mainly tourism oriented, are very common and pressure on local
environment is very high: for instance recreational boating reaches even 200 units per days
(Venturini et al., 2016) and diving activities count over 30’000 annual dives. The ES considered
and evaluated were selected among CICES scheme (Haines-Young & Potschin, 2011) and
listed within the National Account for the NC of the Italian ministry and in particular (Comitato
Capitale Naturale, 2018): 1) bathing tourism 2) pleasure boating 3) recreational diving 4)
recreational fishing 5) commercial fishing.
PHASE ACTIVITY DESCRIPTION ECOLOGICAL PATHWAY ECONOMIC PATHWAY

CALCULATION METHOD CALCULATION METHOD
0 Data gathering: analysis
of existing data and new
data collection
1 Assessment of the Emergy analysis (Odum,
ecological value of the 1996; Vassallo et al., 2017;
MPAs by means of emergy Paoli et al., 2018)
analysis
2 Identification of Haines-Young & Potschin,
ecosystem functions and 2011
services
3 Assessment of Emergy analysis (Odum, Carbon footprint with social
environmental and 1996) cost of carbon (Visintin et al.,
economic costs and 2016)
environmental impacts
4 Assessment of Willingness to pay, financial
environmental and statement analysis, (Visintin et
economic benefits al., 2016)
5 Overall costs-benefits
balance
6 Implementation of an Franzese et al., 2015
operational GIS platform
Tab. 1 Main steps of the EAMPA project and calculation methods employed
for the fulfillment of the different project
In order to complete all project phases different activities for data collection and processing
have been realised:
− inventory of MPA’s biocoenosis, their surfaces and their biomasses host through the
analysis of previously realised studies about benthos and demersal fishes (Guidetti et
al., 2011);
− questionnaires and interviews campaigns for data gathering about users flows’
quantification, users habits and expenses, users and economic operators resources’
consumption;
− bettering of authorisation system for ES fruition by users and economic operators;

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− inventory of resources consumed, detailed revenues and expenditure of the MPA itself;
− creation of a specific data management system and a website for the rationalisation of
previous described data (biological data, questionnaires, authorisations) and project
results.
All gathered information has been used to obtain the results of different phases through the
calculation methods listed in Tab.1. In particular:
− biological data in Phase 1 to assess the NC: all resources required to generate the
biomass stocked in the MPA were converted in emergy units. The final unit of measure
for NC evaluation are emergy-euros (em€) namely the emergy biophysical units
translated in money equivalent by means of appropriate conversion factors (Vassallo et
al., 2017);
− information from questionnaires addressed to bathing, boating, diving and recreational
fishing users were combined with those collected through interviews to economic
operators of the corresponding ES to obtain cost and benefits from these sectors.
Specifically costs were represented by resources consumed per presence (e.g. fuels,
food) translated in em€ while benefits were represented by WTP and the expenses per
presence (in euros). These data have been employed for Phase 3 and 4;
− estimate of users flows, to be multiplied by per presence estimates, have been obtained
combing data from questionnaires about users behaviour with the number of
authorisations;
− interviews to professional fishermen have led to the balance of the sector. Costs were
represented by resources consumed (e.g. fuels, materials) in emergy units, catches,
costs and revenues from the sector (Phase 3 and 4).
All these results have been summed up to the MPA financial report in order to obtain a new
and modified balance able to take into account also the effort made by nature to assure the
fruition of ES by users and highlight the monetary benefits activated on the local territory
through the ES fruition provided by the MPA.

Three main results have been obtained from the application of the framework: 1) the value
of NC in Portofino MPA 2) the evaluation about self-maintenance capacity of MPA’s habitats
3) the modified MPA budget.The value of the MPA NC has been calculated, by emergy, in
biophysical units, later translated in monetary equivalent (Tab. 2 and Fig. 2). Habitats with
values higher than 6 €/m2 occupy the 19% of surface but sum up to the 51% of value. More
in detail, habitats with values in the top range (9-18 €/m2), coralligenous and caves, represent

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hot spots in A and B zones where the protection level is more severe: they occupy the 5% of
MPA surface representing the 20% of NC value. Habitats in the 6-9€/m2 range (P. oceanica
on soft bottom and on rocks) occupy the 14% of surface mainly in the C shallow zone
contributing to the overall NC value for the 31%. The 66% of the MPA surface hosts low value
habitats (<2 €/m2) composing overall the 22% of the Portofino MPA value. Comparing
resources generated by autotrophs and those consumed by heterotrophs the capacity of
habitats to maintain themselves has been assessed. High value habitats are mainly deficit
areas, filled by other habitats, concentrating biomass and requiring great productivity fluxes.
These habitats are concentrated in a limited surface but their sustenance is assured by the
presence of low value, surplus areas, able not only to self-maintain but also to export
resources, located in the surroundings (within or outside the MPA).
BENTHOS BENTHOS AND FISHES

BIOPHYSICAL UNITS MONETARY BIOPHYSICAL MONETARY
UNITS UNITS UNITS
sej em€ sej em€
Overall value 4.18E+18 4.34 million 9.80E+18 10.20 million
Value per unit area 1.15E+12 1.20 2.70E+12 2.81
(m2)
Tab. 2 NC values for Portofino MPA
The modified budget of the MPA takes into account four main components that are: 1)
environmental benefits from the fruition of MPA ecosystem services 2) revenues: all monetary
inputs from national and local administrations and from MPA activities (e.g. licences, sales) 3)
environmental and biophysical costs generated by users and MPA management: impacts
calculated on the environment calculated with carbon footprint and resources consumptions
assessed with emergy 4) expenditures from financial budget. Portofino MPA returns to
economy over 11 million of euros generating 68’480 €/ha of environmental benefits and
32’321 €/ha of net benefit. Benefits are 1.8 times greater than costs and are mainly due to
environmental benefits (97%). The greatest benefit items are: indirect impact on economy
(93% of benefits) and tourism and recreation (7%). Analogously, environmental costs
compose the 94% of total costs, with pleasure boating (39%) and diving (36%) being the
main contributions. This latter result means that those services are the more critical in term
of drawback on the environment, requiring, then, a special effort by the AMP to reduce the
impact and the use of resources that they provoke. Even if benefits are greater than costs it
must be highlighted that user-side and anthropic benefits are accounted only according to
economic and market approaches. It will be necessary, as further elaboration, to include in
the budget the benefits generated to the environment and likely depending on the MPA
protection regime.

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These benefits are represented by the increase in NC stock and environmental function
provisioning associated with MPA management.
Fig. 3 Maps of a) habitats and b)natural capital in Portofino MPA

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BENEFITS € COSTS €
ENVIRONMENTAL 24’856’843 ENVIRONMENTAL COSTS 13’129’430
BENEFITS
Food production 37’174 MPA institutional activity 90’591
Erosion control n.d. Artisanal fishing 79’976
Nursery n.d. Recreational fishing 119’108
Climate regulation 7’348 Recreational boating 5’126’476
Tourism and recreation 1’756’294 Diving 4’680’290
Indirect impact on 23’056’027 Bathing 3’032’989
economy
Scientific activity (188264)
Educational activity (81904)
REVENUES 843’156 EXPENDITURES 838’738
Routine revenues 617’539 Routine expenditures 653’875
Capital revenues 124’725 Capital expenditures 83’971
Reallocation of funds 100’892 Reallocation of funds 100’892
TOTAL BENEFITS 25’699’999 TOTAL COSTS 13’968’167
NET BENEFIT 11’731’831
4 CONCLUSION
This study is a first effort to synthesise biophysical information with economic measures.
This approach helps overcoming the gap between ecology and economy and provides to
territorial managers an operational tool assuring the achievement of environmental and
economic sustainability. A specific framework to assess NC value and to obtain a
modified budget of MPA has been applied to Portofino MPA. Here, benefits are
significantly greater than costs, assuring that the MPA maintains itself profitably.
Nonetheless, to guarantee that the ecologic and economic components are managed in
a sustainable way, two parallel budgets should be realised, to have a net benefit in both
of them. The proposed scheme needs then the inclusion of biophysical benefits to be
directly compared with biophysical costs.
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AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Chiara Paoli started her researches in 2005 developing a study aimed at identifying a methodology
for administrations and managers to address the choice of sustainable management techniques of
water cycle. During 2006 in the context of Alain Vatrican price she realised a research about sustainable
management of marinas. In 2010 she got a PhD in Environmental science at the University of Genova
performing a study about the development of an integrated methodology for coastal zone sustainability
and ecosystem services valuation with system approach. From 2010 to today she had post-doc
contracts and grants at the University of Genova in the field of sustainability analysis, ecological
economics and natural capital and ecosystem services evaluation. She is author of 28 international
scientific publications
Paolo Povero is Associate Professor of Ecology at the Department of Earth, Environment and Life
Sciences (DISTAV) of the University of Genoa. He currently teaches Biological Oceanography, Marine
environment monitoring course, and Ecology (degree in Sea Sciences, degree in Naval Engineering,
TPAL degree). He was a member of the teaching board of the PhD in Marine Sciences of the University
of Genoa and a PhD in Polar Sciences from the University of Siena. He has participated and participates,
as a researcher and / or scientific director, in numerous national and international projects in South
America, the Arctic, Antarctica, the Mediterranean, the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. He developed
researches concerning topics related to oceanography and marine ecology with particular reference to
the study of the trophodynamic relationships between the pelagic and benthic compartment. He is
also involved in the analysis of environmental historical series and marine ecosystems in relation to
climate change and the study, design and development of technologies for oceanographic research
and information systems for environmental data management. On these topics he has published
numerous papers in national and international scientific journals. As part of the PNRA since 2004 he
is the national coordinator of the LTER project - Marine Observatory of the Protected Area of Baia
Terra Nova (Ross Sea, Antarctica) and responsible for the LTER Ligurian Sea site. He is a member of
the Scientific Committee of the Ligurian District for Marine Technologies (DLTM). Delegate of the
Rector in the Assembly of the Management Consortium of the Marine Protected Area of the Portofino
Promontory.
Giorgio Fanciulli graduated in Marine Biology and he based his activity on fishing and biology working
in acquaculture sector for 25 years. Then in 2005 he became the Director of Portofino Marine Protected
Area and a lecturer in acquaculture at the University of Genoa from 2005 to 2013.
Vittorio Gazale born in Sassari on September 23, 1960, he graduated in Natural Sciences with a
specialization in Systemic Ecology at the University of Paris VI and in Ecosystem Management at
Battelle Ocean Sciences, Duxbury - MA (USA). He participated to various courses organized by the
italian Ministry for the Environment and the Protection of the Territory and the Sea addressed to
Directors and Managers of Protected Areas. From 2000 to 2010 he was Professor of Conservation of
Nature at the University of Sassari. He is the Director of the Marine Protected Area of Asinara and he
was Director of the Regional Natural Park of Porto Conte; Director of the La Maddalena Archipelago
National Park; Director of the Marine Protected Area of Capo Caccia. He has coordinated several
international projects under, for instance, the following financing programmes: Interreg, Equal,
Horizon, Life Nature and Po Marittimo, on the topics of nature’s conservation. He is the author of over
100 publications, including scientific papers and educational publications on the issues of the
environment, protected areas and the conservation of biodiversity in the Mediterranean and Sardinia.
Patrizio Scarpellini graduated in Engineering in 1988. He was technical director of Consorzio di

bonifica Padule Fucecchio, consultant for Portovenere Regional Park Director of the Montemarcello
Magra Regional park and he is currently Director of Cinque Terre National Park.

© 2019, FedoaPress


Martina Armeniowas graduated in Sea Sciences at the Genoa University in 2016with the following
dissertation: Application of the Delta-GAM Method for the Estimation of the Abundance of Stenella
coeruleoalba in the Ligurian Sea. Currently research fellow at the DISTAV of the Genoa University.
Valentina Cappanera graduated in Environmental Marine Sciences, she has been working in
Portofino Marine Protected Area since 2006, focusing on the management of the coast and the
evaluation of the impact of human activities, specially referred to small scale fishery and diving. In
recent years she specialized in the management and coordination of European projects with particular
reference to the LIFE, InterregMed and COSME programs. She is also a diving instructor and Chief of
Ziguele Cooperative since 2016.
Barbara Cavalletti is an associate professor of Public Finance at the University of Genova, she has
been teaching Environmental Economics since 1995 both at undergraduate and graduate level within
the School of Economics and the School of Mathematics, Physics and Natural Science. Since 2008, she
has been a full member of various PhD Programmes in Economics and Public Finance both at the
University of Pavia and at the University of Genova; she has been supervising several PhD Thesis and
has been member of PhD Defence Commitees. Since 1988, she has been member of various research
teams within different research projects financed both at national and international level and scientific
supervisor of 3 European project on environmental valuation and accounting and biodiversity
conservation.
Matteo Corsi graduated in Economics in 2003 from the University of Genoa, Italy. Between 2006 and
2012 he worked as project consultant and project manager for Italian NGOs working on socio-
economic and environmental planning projects. Since 2007 he has been a consultant for research
institutions (Plan Urbanisme Construction Architecture-PUCA, University of Genoa, Liguria Ricerche
S.p.A.). Between 2013 and 2015 he held the position of research fellow at the Department of
Economics of the University of Genoa working on research projects in social statistics. Between 2015
and 2016 he was a research fellow at the Department of Political and Social Sciences of the University
of Pavia working on a research project on multidimensional methods to measure well-being. He was
a PhD student at the Department of Economics of the University of Genoa between 2015 and 2018
(PhD Dissertation planned for May 2019). Since December 2018 he is research fellow at the
Department of Economics of the University of Genoa, working on a research project on quasi-orderings
and partial orderings applications to environmental and social sciences. He has published papers on
social statistics and public economics on internationl journals, among which Social Indicators Research,
Environment and Planning: B, Papers in Regional Science.
Giulia Dapueto graduated in Marine Science in 2014 and took a PhD in Sciences and Technologies
for the Environment and the Territory (Marine Science curriculum) on the research “Environmental
spatial decision support system for the management of ecosystem services in marine coastal areas”,
both at the University of Genoa (Italy). Now she collaborates with the Italian Inter-university
Consortium for Marine Science (CoNISMa), in particular with the Genoa’s department. She is
specialised in spatial analysis; marine environmental data collection and statistical processing;
environmental accounting; computerization, management, analysis and publication via web of data
and model implementation through information system that integrates the skills of (geo)database
management system, software GIS and webGIS and content management system. She had been
involved in different national (EAMPA, RIMA, LTER) and international project (FP7-IDREMM, FP7-
SCHEMA, INTERREG GIREPAM, INTERREG NEPTUNE).
Costanza Di Fabio is a research fellow in financial accounting at the Department of Economics and
Business Studies (DIEC) of the University of Genoa. She is lecturer in ‘Business Administration and
Accounting’ at the Department of Law (DDG) of the same University and has experience in post-
graduate teaching. She is currently involved in national and European research projects mainly focused
on environmental accounting and corporate performance and she has recently been auditor of reports
based on the GRSI format (UCID). In 2017, she completed the Ph.D. in Business Administration and
Management cum laude at the University of Pisa (Italy) and, during the Ph.D., she spent a visiting
period at the ESSEC Business School (Paris). She got the master’s degree in Administration, Finance

© 2019, FedoaPress

and Control from the University of Genoa. Her research interests include international financial
accounting, financial communication and environmental accounting. She has been ad-hoc reviewer for
national and international academic journals. Some of her papers have been published in national and
international peer-reviewed journals, some are currently under review.
Elena Lagomarsino research fellow at the Department of Economics at the University of Genoa since
2017, she was a awarded a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Heriot Watt in Edinburgh in
2018. Her research interests include applied econometrics, production function analysis, and
environmental economics. She worked research assistant for the Centre of Energy Policy at the
University of Strathclyde and contributed in the compilation of the British Petroleum Annual Report in
2015 and 2016. She is actively participating to three European funded projects on environmental
themes. She has experience in academic teaching at an undergraduate level.
Ilaria Lavarello got a degree in Environmental Science at the University of Genoa (Italy) in 2006.
During 2007 she worked for the MAC project in collaboration with Dip.Te.Ris University of Genoa,
CIRSA University of Bologna, DiSmar Polytechnic University of Marche and Cinque Terre National Park.
Using underwater sampling techniques, she has been involved in organisms census and monitoring of
the coastal marine environment by sports divers.Between December 2007 and January 2009 became
the guide of the Cinque Terre National Park and from May 2005 to April 2007 she played the role of
diving guide within the Marine Protected Area of Portofino. Until January 2012 she has collaborated
with the Cinque Terre National Park and Marine Protected Area of the Cinque Terre at Riomaggiore
(SP) in the scientific field, where the main tasks are coordination and management of scientific
research, environmental education, monitoring of the marine environment, support to universities and
research institutions for data collection by scuba diving. Between July 2011 and December 2011 she
was a collaborator of the Leonardo-Irta Institute for the implementation of the strategic project Med
Pan North in the Cinque Terre Marine Protected Area for the transnational cooperation programme
MED 2007-2013, carrying out assistance at the WAP for innovative aspects of the management of
MPA, development of a monitoring system and specific tools for management of NATURA 2000 sites
including a management plan for the SCI, study of planning and implementation of diving routes. From
March 2013 acts as a collaborator for cataloging and monitoring aimed at conservation and valorization
of the Marine Protected Area at the National Park of the Cinque Terre - Marine Protected Area of the
Cinque Terre.
Francesco Massa is a post-doc researcher since 2014 at DISTAV (University of Genoa). Since 2005,
he has been involved in different studies about information technology connected to the marine
environmental science and he has developed a marine information system for environmental data
management (MACISTE). In particular he is skilled about geodatabase, remote sensing, GIS and
WEBGIS, OGC and INSPIRE standards, geoservices (WMS/WFS/WCS) , Sensors Web (SWE/SOS) and
oceanographic instruments (CTD, ADCP) and he is trained to the marine environmental sampling
activities . Moreover he is ROV pilot. In 2014 he obtained a PhD in Marine Science. Main interests are
the use of new technology in real-time in situ environmental data acquisition with oceanography
instruments (CTD, ADCP) and vehicles (AUV/ROV), the development of new sensors for environmental
monitoring and data sharing. He had been involved in different national (TYRRMOUNTS09, MIUR
RIMA, MIUR-SIR Project BioMount, EAMPA ) and international project (FP7-IDREMM, FP7-SCHEMA,
INTERREG GIREPAM project).
Lorenzo Merotto graduated in Marine Sciences in 2014 with a thesis on environmental-friendly anti-
fouling paints developed at the Genoa CNR-ISMAR laboratories, after a short working period in the
sames and at the Genoa Aquarium he started working as a scientific technician in Portofino Marine
Protected Area in 2017.He worked on the evaluation of the effects of climate change within Portofino
MPA, and on the execution of monitoring activity such visual census, mortality assessment of benthic
organisms and landings of the Small Scale Fisheries. He has experience in Interreg-Med, Interegg-
Marittimo, Life projects.
Daniela Minettil graduated in Natural Sciences in 1986 she is now a full time official in the Parks and
Biodiversity Department of Regione Liguria from 2016. She is involved in impact assessment,

© 2019, FedoaPress


management plans, monitoring, coordination of the territorial managers, coordination with the Ministry
of the Environment, ISPRA and the European Commission, in-depth analysis and projects, ecosystem
services and green economy in protected areas and in general on development sustainable,
governance processes with local operators, collaborations and community projects in the
environmental field in parks and protected areas and in general for the Department, research funds
and design, management and facilitation of access to funds for parks and for the managing bodies,
budget and physical reporting and project finance, member of the committee for coordinating
international planning of valleys on EU funds, of the table of the International Convention of the SAPE
ALPS Eusalp, international international Ramoge, of the working group for the UNESCO Application of
Alps of the Sea. Previously director of Regione Liguria environmental agency and full-time official at
the Departement for technical environmental staff of Regione Liguria.
Martina Pozzi graduated in Environmental Studies at the University of Genoa, where she finished
the bachelor degree in December 2013. In Genoa, she also graduated a master degree in Marine
Sciences in December 2015. She has been working as math and science teacher in a middle school
since September 2016 and, in the meantime, she is collaborating with Conisma (National Consortium
of Italian Universities for the Sea Sciences) in the environmental data processing and management
field, as well as the natural capital and ecosystem service evaluation field.
Paola Ramassa is an associate professor of Accounting with research and teaching experience in:
academic teaching (undergraduate, PhD, and MBA), professional training, post-graduate supervision
and examination, participation in international and national research programs. Scientific director of
research projects funded by private companies and audit firms; reviewer for several academic journals;
member of international and national accounting academic associations, member of the editorial board
of “Financial Reporting” (peer-reviewed journal). Academic publications including, among others, 16
articles in peer-reviewed journals; 15 book chapters; 1 book.
Ilaria Rigo bachelor’s degree in Science and Tecnology for the Environment and Territory at Milan
Bicocca University (Italy), during February 2016. She graduated in Marine Science at Genoa university
for master in September 2018, I am now a phD student, dealing with evaluation of natural capital and
ecosystem services provided along the Ligurian coast. Doctorate aim is to identify distribution of
ecosystem services, quantify and find any possible external forcing.
Claudio Valerani got a degree in Environmental Toxicology at University of Milan in 2003. During
years 1998 and 1999 he was a chemical analyst in sampling, control and environmental protection
procedures at Creation et Parfurm s.r.l. From 1999 to 2001 he was an analyst employed in a laboratory
of pharmaceutical chemical analysis in the Quality Control of sterile antibiotics at ACS Dobfar S.p.A. In
2003 he carried out chemical and environmental analyses on board of an oceanographic boat for the
Agenzia Regionale Protezione Ambiente Toscana. From 2005 to 2013 he was responsible for the service
at sea for the Cooperative, in agreement with the Park Authority of the Cinque Terre, within the AMP:
management and management of nautical means, implementation of environmental protection
projects (ecological boat), coordination and preparation of services of surveillance and information.
Since 2013, he has been driver of boats belonging to the Park Authority, in order to prepare and carry
out sea service of the WAP, territory valorization, operational coordination of technical-scientific and
environmental protection projects, management of nautical means, surveillance service and
environmental monitoring of the AMP. He is responsible for assessing both direct and indirect aspects
of anthropic pressure within the AMP, aimed at carrying out the actions of control and information,
monitoring the environmental status, prevention of violations of environmental regulations, support in
civil protection operations, fire prevention and first rescue at sea.
Sara Venturini graduated in Marine Environmental Sciences with Master of University Specialization
in "Marine Environmental Excellence: management, protection and sustainable use (EAM 2009)",
awarded by the University of Genoa. Since 2009 he is part of the technical scientific staff of Portofino
MPA.

© 2019, FedoaPress

Paolo Vassallo got a degree in Environmental Science (specialization in Marine Environment) at the
University of Genoa (Italy) in 2002, discussing a thesis about “analysis of the energetic fluxes in benthic
marine environments by means of holistic indicators”. During 2003 he signed a three months contract
with Department of Physics of the University of Genoa and he had a grant in ‘Applied Ecology’ at the
University of Genoa for the application of Exergy and Ascendency to benthic marine environments.
From 2004 and 2007 he was PhD student in Environmental science at the University of Genoa while
from 2007 to 2009 he signed a two year post-doc grant at the University of Genoa for the analysis of
sustainability of coastal zone. From 2009 to 2012 I collaborated with Giardini Botanici Hanbury, to
carry out the SUMFLOWER LIFE project. In 2010 he held the chair of “Environmental evaluation” at
the University of Genoa. Since June 2013 he is assistant professor in ecology at the the Department
for the study of Land, Environment and Health at the University of Genoa where he held the chairs of
“Coastal Zone Management” and “Evaluation and management of the Environment”. The main
research interests are: 1) ecosystem health assessment by means of whole system analyses (e.g.
network and exergy analysis); 2) sustainability evaluation of products, services and territories (e.g.
ecological footprint, emergy analysis); 3) ecosystem functions and services evaluation; 4) ecosystem
modelling and spatial ecology. He is author of more than 40 international scientific publications and
participated to more than 40 international scientific conferences

© 2019, FedoaPress

THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE
ASSESSMENT OF POLICY
CONSISTENCY AND COHERENCE
TO THE DEFINITION OF THE
LEGISLATIVE PROVISIONS OF
THE EXAMPLES OF THE REGULATIONS OF
“TAVOLARA - PUNTA CODA CAVALLO” AND
“ISOLA DELL’ASINARA”
SALVATORE PINNA, FRANCESCA LECCIS

Department of Civil, Environmental Engineering
and Architecture
e-mail: pinna.salvatore@unica.it
francescaleccis@unica
URL: www.unica.it

Pinna, S. & Leccis, F. (2019). The contribution of policy consistency and coherence to the definition of the
legislative provisions of marine protected areas. The examples of the regulations of “Tavolara - Punta Coda
Cavallo” and “Isola dell’Asinara”. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature and ecosystem services
(pp. 251-259). Naples: FedOAPress. ISBN: 978-88-6887-054-6, doi: 10.6093/978-88-6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
Nowadays, Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in Italy fa ce the serious challenge of managing
complex territories, where socio-economic interests and nature protection are intimately related
at any level. Therefore, spaces cannot be conceived as independent and isolated units, instead
a holistic territory government, which organically integrates the numerous planning instruments
and governance strategies, is urgently needed. An important example of this approach is the
integration of Nature 2000 conservation measures into MPA regulations, as requested by the
Italian Ministry of Environment, Land and Sea Prote ction. With this aim in view, the research
team of the Department of Civil, Environmental Engi neering and Architecture (in Italian:
Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile, Ambientale e Arc hitettura, DICAAR), in collaboration with two
MPA authorities in Italy, is currently writing the new respective Regulations, which integrate the
conservation measures of Nature 2000 areas that ove rlap the respective MPA territories. The
complexity of the process requests the definition of an appropriate Experimental Procedure (in
Italian Protocollo Sperimentale, PS) to adequately include environmental and socio-economic
aspects into the regulations. The DICAAR research is part of the GIREPAM project, whose
goal is to define a strategy for an integrated manag ement able to identify efficient actions for
the management and development of Mediterranean mar itime and coastal areas. This paper
presents the contribution of one of the PS phases, namely the assessment of policy consistency
and coherence, to the definition of the legislative provisions of the two Italian MPAs.
KEYWORDS
Marine Protected Areas; Policy Consistency and Cohe rence; Integrated Management
S. Pinna, F. Leccis
1 INTRODUCTION
Over five decades, marine areas have been provided with protection through a piecemeal
legislation, which adopts separate sectoral polices unable to coherently integrate the different
sectors (Boyes & Elliot, 2014). Today, there is a need for a harmonisation of local, regional,
national and international management tools in force (Ibid.). In order to address this need,
the research team of the Department of Civil, Environmental Engineering and Architecture (in
Italian: Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile, Ambientale e Architettura, DICAAR) proposes a
pioneering approach to integrate the conservation measures, identified by Natura 2000
network for Special Protection Areas (SPAs), Sites of Community Importance (SCIs) and
Special Areas of Conservation (SCAs), as well as the provisions determined by the Integrated
Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) protocol and by the Standardised Actions for the Effective
Management of MPAs (ISEA) project into the prospective Regulations of the MPAs of “Tavolara
– Punta Coda Cavallo” and “Isola dell’Asinara”. Due to the complexity of the task, an
Experimental Procedure (in Italian Protocollo Sperimentale, PS) has been defined in order to
adequately include environmental, economic and social aspects of the areas into the new
Regulations. This paper focuses on a specific component of the aforementioned PS, consisting
in analysing the contents and objectives of Plans and Programmes in force in the MPAs at the
regional, provincial and local level.The study illustrates the role of the assessment of the policy
consistency and coherence in the definition of the new MPA regulations, demonstrating an
effective enrichment of the legislative provisions that are being drafted with significant
elements related to the environmental, social and economic sectorial policies, thus achieving
a holistic territorial management, able to efficaciously address the need for an integration
among the various sectoral policies, as largely reported in the literature (Boyes & Elliot, 2014;
Clark et al., 2000; Gurrutxaga San Vicente & Lozano Valencia, 2009; Kelleher, 1999).
The paper is structured into the following six paragraphs: the introduction, the legislative
framework in force, the case studies in Italy, the assessment of policy consistency and
coherence in the logical framework, the result discussion and the conclusion.
2 THE LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK IN FORCE

The legislative framework for MPAs is constituted by a wide range of treaties, conventions,
agreements, directives and laws, aiming at protecting and safeguarding biodiversity. Among
these, the UN Convention on Biological Biodiversity (CBD) in 1993 first introduced the need
of conservation of biological diversity and its sustainable use (United Nations, 1992) through
a legally-binding treaty to date ratified by 193 Parties (United Nations, n.d.). Since then, the

© 2019, FedoaPress

The contribution of the assessment of policy consistency and coherence to the definition of the legislative provisions…

Parties have been meeting every two years to both monitor the impact of adopted measures
and to update the treaty, by setting priorities and committing to work plans. At the tenth
meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the CBD, held in Japan in 2010,
governments agreed to the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020. This plan is articulated
into the 20 Aichi Biodiversity Targets, of which the eleventh aims at conserving “through
effectively and equitably managed, ecologically representative and well-connected systems of
protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures” at least 10% of
coastal and marine areas by 2020 (CBD, 2010.). This objective is fully specified in the Report
of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, which promotes the “establishment of
marine protected areas consistent with international law and based on scientific information,
including representative networks by 2012 and time/area closures for the protection of
nursery grounds and periods, proper coastal land use and watershed planning and the
integration of marine and coastal areas management into key sectors” (United Nations, 2002).
In Italy, designation and management of MPAs are regulated by the laws no. 979/1982 and
no. 394/1991. In particular, the former determines that MPAs include marine environments
constituted by waters, seabeds and coastlines particularly relevant for marine and coastal
flora and fauna due to their natural, geomorphological, physical and biochemical
characteristics, and for scientific, ecological, cultural and economic importance.
Simultaneously, the latter forbids activities that might compromise environmental protection.
Consistently with these intentions and proposals, the Marine Strategy Framework Directive
(MSFD, 2008/56/EC) highlights the importance of networking marine protected areas and the
SACs designated under the “Habitats Directive” (92/43/EEC) and SPAs designated under the
“Birds Directive” (79/409/EEC) to achieve a “good environmental status” (EC, 2008).
Moreover, given the coexistence of a large variety of activities that pursue contrasting
interests, Maritime Spatial planning (MSP) is considered the most appropriate process “to
promote sustainable development and to identify the utilisation of maritime space for different
sea uses as well as to manage spatial uses and conflicts in marine areas”, while preserving
the living environment, dealing with the fragility of marine and littoral ecosystems and
preventing coastal erosion (EU, 2014). Nevertheless, many of the legislative instruments
implemented to date lack of orderliness and consistency, because they neither are mutually
complementary nor establish synergy with the other planning tools in force (Gurrutxaga San
Vicente & Lozano Valencia, 2009). This results in fragmentation, spatial isolation and
functional independence of protected areas, which exposes them to the consequences of
habitat alteration and destruction, pollution and overfishing that might occur outside their
boundaries (Clark et al., 2000), because substances and forcing factors are efficiently
transmitted throughout the highly connected marine system (Kelleher, 1999). In order to

© 2019, FedoaPress

S. Pinna, F. Leccis
encourage maritime planning processes to adequately consider the interactions among land,
sea and human activities, the European Union (EU, 2014) issued the Directive 2014/89/EU,
which promotes consultation and coordination among Member States in order to achieve
effective cross-border cooperation, and funded numerous projects for the integrated
management of Mediterranean resources (EU. n.d.).
3 THE CASE STUDIES IN ITALY

An example of cross-border cooperation is the Interreg Maritime Italy-France Programme, in
which the GIREPAM project has been developed with the aim to improve and innovate
management tools of marine-coastal areas, coherently with a holistic territory vision in the
attempt of balancing the interests related to the numerous activities with marine preservation
and protection. Among the various activities of the GIREPAM project, a key role is played by
the definition of a PS aiming at formulating new appropriate Regulations for the management
and control of the MPAs named “Tavolara – Punta Coda Cavallo” and “Isola dell’Asinara”
located in Northern-Eastern and Northern-Western Sardinia, respectively, as shown in Fig. 1
and in Fig. 2.
Fig.1 (left) Map of “Tavolara – Punta Coda Cavallo” MPA - Fig. 2 (right) Map of “Isola dell’Asinara” MPA
Various Natura 2000 sites partially overlap with the two MPA territories. In particular, the MPA
“Tavolara – Punta Coda Cavallo” overlaps with the SPA “ITB013019 Isole del Nord-Est tra
Capo Ceraso e Stagno di San Teodoro” and the SCI “ITB010010 Isola di Tavolara, Molara e
Molarotto”, while the MPA “Isola dell’Asinara” overlaps with the SPAs “ITB010001 Isola
Asinara” and “ITB013011 Isola Piana di Porto Torres”, and with the SAC “ITB010082 Isola
dell’Asinara”. According to the art. 2, subs. 3 and the art. 3, subs. 4 of the Decree of the
Ministry of Environment, Land and Sea Protection (In Italian Ministero per l’Ambiente e la
Tutela del Territorio e del Mare, MATTM), published on 17th October 2007, the management
of the Natura 2000 sites is in charge to MPAs. Consistently, the MATTM demanded the
integration of Natura 2000 conservation measures into MPA Regulations, in order to efficiently

© 2019, FedoaPress


manage the area. In order to fulfil this objective, the research team of the DICAAR of the
University of Cagliari, within the framework of the GIREPAM projects and in cooperation with
the two MPA authorities, is writing the respective new Regulations which integrate the
conservation measures of the SPAs, SCIs and SACs that overlap the MPA territories, as well
as the provisions determined by the ICZM protocol and by the ISEA project. Due to the
complexity of the task, a PS has been defined in order to adequately include environmental,
economic and social aspects of the areas into the new Regulations. The PS defines a set of
suggestions, objectives and rules that improve and complete the Regulations in force, thus
integrating Nature 2000 conservation measures and promoting inter-institutional cooperation
among the MPA authorities, the DICAAR group, local authorities, associations, economic
operators and local stakeholders. A key component of the aforementioned PS is the
assessment of policy consistency and coherence, which allows to enrich the new Regulations
through the objectives drawn from the various plans and programmes, in force at the regional,
provincial and local level.
4 THE ASSESSMENT OF POLICY CONSISTENCY AND COHERENCE IN

THE LOGICAL FRAMEWORK
The assessment of policy consistency and coherence consists in analysing the contents and
objectives of Plans and Programmes in force in the MPAs at the regional, provincial and local
level to identify and evaluate interactions among these and the new Regulations (RAS, 2010).
In particular, the objectives relevant for the MPAs are drawn from each Plan or Programme
and subsequently compared to each other to overcome redundancies and conflicts that might
arise. Eventually, a set of objectives are drafted, and they are allocated in a logical framework,
in between the objectives drawn from the sustainability-oriented analysis and those drawn
from the analysis of the legislative instruments in force in the MPAs and in the relative Natura
2000 sites (Tab. 1).
SUSTAINABILITY-ORIENTED POLICY OBJECTIVES FROM ACTIONS
OBJECTIVES CONSISTENCY AND THE LEGISLATIVE
COHERENCE FRAMEWORK IN
OBJECTIVES FORCE
Objective 1 Objective 1 Objective 1 Action 1
Action k
Objective j Action 1
Action k
Objective i Objective 1 Action 1
Action k
Objective j Action 1
Action k
Tab. 1 The structure of the Logical Framework

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S. Pinna, F. Leccis
According to this scheme, articulated into four levels, each element is simultaneously
objective, whose fulfilment is pursued through the elements of the lower level, and means to
achieve an objective of the upper level, so that its configuration is organised “from the general
(aims) to the particular (actions)” (Bianco, 2007). In other words, in the logical framework
objectives are connected through a “cause-effect relationship, according to which actions
conduct to results, results conduct to the aims, and the aims contribute to the achievement
of the general objectives” (Bonifazi & Giannetti, 2014).
Subsequently, it is verified whether the actions are already included in the Regulations in force
or, in case they are not, either a new article is formulated or new subsections are added to
the existing articles. The examples in the following section will illustrate the connection
between actions and the articles of the new Regulations.
5 RESULT DISCUSSION
This section presents two examples, where the methodology previously illustrated is applied.
In particular, Tab.2 shows an excerpt of the logical framework related to the “Landscape”
component of the case study of the MPA “Tavolara – Punta Coda Cavallo”.
SUSTAINABILITY- POLICY CONSISTENCY OBJECTIVE FROM THE ACTION

ORIENTED AND COHERENCE LEGISLATIVE
OBJECTIVE OBJECTIVE FRAMEWORK IN FORCE
To preserve and to To preserve and to To safeguard coastal and To adopt adequate
promote natural and innovate landscape dune systems from measures to
human landscape perceptions through erosion. rehabilitate dunes and
heritage of the functionality recovery bars (protection,
territory, and to and enhancement of signage and
regulate its fruition forestry, pre-forestry, maintenance).
in order to protect its littoral and dune
characteristics. systems.
Tab. 2 Excerpt of the logical framework of the “Landscape” component of the MPA of
“Tavolara – Punta Coda Cavallo”
Tab. 2 shows the double role of the objective drawn from the policy consistency and
coherence as illustrated by Bianco (2007) and Bonifazi and Giannetti (2014).On the one hand,
it is the means to pursue the sustainability-oriented objective, on the other hand its fulfilment
is ensured through the objective drawn from the legislative framework in force, which is in
turn pursued through the associated action. Indeed, the aim of preserving and promoting
landscape heritage, expressed in the sustainability-oriented objective, is better defined in the
policy consistency and coherence objective with specific reference to forestry, pre-forestry,
littoral and dune systems. The objective drawn from the legislative framework in force only
focuses on the last two environments listed in the objective of the upper level, namely the

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littoral and the dune system. Finally, adequate measures to rehabilitate dunes and bars are
formulated in the last column. In the Regulation in force, no article implements the measures
provided for in the action, so that the new subsection 7 of the article 11, which concerns
public maritime domain regulation, includes provisions related to coastal rehabilitation, as
follows: “in accordance with the MPA authority and the MATTM, it is possible to realise
eradication interventions, environmental and habitat restoration, creation of detached
breakwaters and anti-trawling artificial reefs, dune-system recovery and beach replenishment,
designed in an environment-friendly way”. Similarly, Tab. 3 shows an excerpt of the logical
framework related to the “Water” component of the case study of the MPA “Isola dell’Asinara”,
confirming the double role of the objectives drawn from the policy consistency and coherence
identified by Bianco (2007) and Bonifazi and Giannetti (2014).
SUSTAINABILITY- POLICY CONSISTENCY OBJECTIVE FROM THE ACTION

ORIENTED AND COHERENCE LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORK
OBJECTIVE OBJECTIVE IN FORCE
To improve sea and To introduce a rule to To preserve water To introduce a rule
surface water prevent or reduce biochemical characteristics concerning wastewater
quality and to polluting discharge into and hydrocarbons
promote cautious both surface waters discharge into the sea.
management of the and groundwaters to
water resource. protect and improve
water quality.
Tab. 3 Excerpt of the logical framework of the “Water” component of the MPA of “Isola dell’Asinara”
In this example, the aim of improving sea and surface water quality, expressed in the
sustainability-oriented objective, is better defined in the policy consistency and coherence
objective with specific reference to polluting discharge into both surface waters and
groundwaters to protect and improve water quality. The objective drawn from the legislative
framework in force focuses on the preservation of water biochemical characteristics, pursued
through the introduction of rules concerning wastewater and hydrocarbons discharge into the
sea, as stated in the related actions. In the Regulation in force, no article implements the
measures provided for in the action, so that the new subsection 3 of the article 13, which
regulates wastewater discharge and waste management, includes provisions related to
wastewater and hydrocarbons discharge into the sea, as follows:
“It is strictly forbidden to discharge into the sea:
− naval raw sewage and any toxic and polluting substances, as well as any kind of solid or
liquid waste. Discharge of wastewater must be in compliance with the dispositions of the
“Naval Waste Collection and Management Plan – Olbia, Golfo Aranci and Porto Torres
Harbours”;
− hydrocarbons, in compliance with the dispositions of the Law no. 438/1982”.

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S. Pinna, F. Leccis
6 CONCLUSIONS
The paper shows the potential of the pioneering approach elaborated by the DICAAR research
group of the University of Cagliari in defining new MPA regulations able to adequately
integrate Natura 2000 conservation measures and the provisions determined by the ICZM
protocol and by the ISEA project, thus addressing the need of a holistic approach highlighted
in the literature (Boyes & Elliot, 2014; Clark et al., 2000; Gurrutxaga San Vicente & Lozano
Valencia, 2009; Kelleher, 1999). In particular, the strategic role of the assessment of policy
consistency and coherence in enriching the legislative provisions that are being drafted with
significant elements related to the environmental, social and economic sectorial policies is
illustrated. The logical framework allows to easily visualise the relationships among the
sustainability-oriented objectives, the policy consistency and coherence objectives and the
objectives of the legislative framework in force according to the model illustrated by Bianco
(2007) and Bonifazi and Giannetti (2014), so that a set of actions are consistently formulated.
These actions are subsequently compared to the regulations in force, in order to identify any
potential integration needed. As shown by the two examples, this process often results in
writing new articles or new subsections in existing articles, concerning crucial environmental
or socio-economic aspects that were not considered by the regulations in force. In addition,
a strong connection between the actions allocated in the logical framework and the legislative
provisions of the new regulations is highlighted, thus demonstrating that an efficient
integration of different sectorial policies into a comprehensive regulation provides an
instrument that ensures the necessary holistic management of the area to effectively face
current biodiversity loss. Therefore, the pioneering approach here defined represents an
effective procedure, which can be applied in other similar contexts, where the integration of
various sectoral policies in a comprehensive legislative instrument is needed in order to
promote sustainable development, to manage spatial uses and conflicts in marine areas, while
preserving the living environment.
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Convegno annuale della Società Italiana di Scienza Politica, Catania, 20-22 settembre.
Bonifazi, A., Giannetti, A. (2014). Finanziare l'impresa con i fondi europei, Wolters Kluwer Edizioni,
Milano.
Boyes, S.J., and Elliott, M. (2014). Marine legislation – The ultimate ‘horrendogram’: International law,
European directives & national implementation. Marine Pollution Bulletin. 86, 39-47.

© 2019, FedoaPress


CBD (2010). Aichi Biodiversity Targets. Retrieved February 20, 2019, from
https://www.cbd.int/sp/targets/.
Clark, J. R., Salm, R. V., Siirila, E. (2000). Marine and coastal protected areas: a guide for planners
and managers. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.
EC (2008). Directive 2008/56/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 2008 on
establishing a framework for community action in the field of marine environmental policy (Marine
Strategy Framework Directive). Off. J L. 2008; 164:0019 [25/06/2008].
EU (2014). Directive 2014/89/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 2014 on
establishing a framework for maritime spatial planning. Off. J L. 2014; 257:0135 [28/08/2014].
EU (n.d.). Interreg Marittimo-IT FR-Marittime, Progetti. Retrieved February 21, 2019, from
http://interreg-maritime.eu/it/progetti/progetti-finanziati
Gurrutxaga San Vicente, M., and Lozano Valencia, P. (2009). La integración de la conectividad
ecológica en los instrumentos de ordenación y planificación territorial: una revisión. Boletín de la A.G.E.
49, 45-66.
Kelleher, G. (1999). Guidelines for marine protected areas. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge,
UK.
RAS (Regione Autonoma della Sardegna) (2010). Linee Guida per la Valutazione Ambientale Strategica
dei Piani Urbanistici Comunali. Retrieved February 22, 2019, from http://www.sardegnaambiente.
it/documenti /18_183_20100826093332.pdf.
United Nations (1992). Convention on Biological Diversity.
United Nations (2002). Report of the World Summit on Sustainable Development. Retrieved February
20, 2019, from http://www.un-documents.net/aconf199-20.pdf.
United Nations (n.d.). International Day for Biological Diversity 22 May. Retrieved February 20, 2019,
from http://www.un.org/en/events/biodiversityday/convention.shtml.
AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Salvatore Pinna is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Department of Civil and Environmental
Engineering and Architecture at the University of Cagliari, where he is currently involved in the
GIREPAM project. He graduated in 2012 in Environmental Engineering at the University of Cagliari and
he did an MSc in Project Planning for Rural Development and Sustainable Management at the
Polytechnic University of Madrid. His areas of interest and research are in sustainable urban and
regional planning, which he formalised in his PhD (2017) on the role of Alternative Food Networks in
conserving agricultural landscape in Italy and Spain.
Francesca Leccis is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Department of Civil and Environmental
Engineering and Architecture at the University of Cagliari, where she is currently involved in the
GIREPAM project. She graduated in 2012 in Architecture at the University of Cagliari and she did an
MSc in International Real Estate and Planning at the University College of London. Her areas of interest
and research are in sustainable urban and regional planning, which she formalised in her PhD (2017)
on the impacts of urban regeneration policies implemented in London, Rome and Cagliari

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PASSIVE ACOUSTICS TO
MONITOR FLAGSHIP SPECIES
NEAR BOAT TRAFFIC IN THE
UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE
NATURAL RESERVE OF SCANDOLA
*MARION POUPARDab, MAXENCE FERRARIac

JAN SCHLÜTERa
a
Toulon University, Aix-Marseille University
CNRS, LIS, DYNI team
e-mail: poupardmarion@gmail.com
b
Laboratoire d’Ecologie des hydrosystèmes
naturels & anthropisés
CNRS
c
LAMFA, Université de Picardie Jules Verne
CNRS

Poupard, M., Ferrari, M. … & Glotin, H. (2019). Passive acoustics to monitor flagship species near boat traffic
in the Unesco World Heritage natural Reserve of Scandola. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature
6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
The Natural Reserve of Scandola (Corsica, north-wes tern Mediterranean) has been a protected
area since 1975, with a well-enforced management system. The increase in recreational activities
in Corsica threatens iconic species such as the Osp rey (Pandion haliaetus), the conservation of
which within the reserve has been one of the main g oals for more than 40 years. Within the no-
take area, fishing, diving and mooring are strictly forbidden, but a large number of tourist boats
come to visit the reserve. The goal of this study is to develop a method to record and monitor
marine traffic, close to a nesting site of the ospre y, using both terrestrial and marine recording
devices. The first set up is a classic microphone se t up on the Scandola cliff close to an osprey
nest. An automatic algorithm of detection of bird calls was designed to assess the general
presence of the birds over time. The marine device is composed of three underwater antennas,
with four hydrophones each, that have been set up in the Bay of Elbu. We show the capability to
assess boat trajectories according to their noise emissions. The monitoring of noise emissions in
the presence of endangered species is essential for an effective management within the Natural
Reserve of Scandola. These methods and devices are designed to be used by MPA managers
and are applicable to other areas.
KEYWORDS
Boat Traffic; Flagship Species; Bird Detection; Passive Acoustic Tracking
* The other authors are: Patrick Astruch, Thomas Schohn, Elodie Rouanet, Adrien Goujard, Adrien Lyonnet,
Pascale Giraudet, Valentin Barchasz, Valentin Giès, Paul Best, Jean-Marie Dominici, Thierry Lengagne, Thierry
Soriano, Hervé Glotin.
Passive acoustics to monitor flagship species near boat traffic in the UNESCO world heritage natural reserve…

1 INTRODUCTION
Marine Protected Areas with a high level of protection and conservation are time-honoured
and effective tools whose benefits have been proven over many decades within the
Mediterranean Sea (Boudouresque et al., 2005; Harmelin-Vivien et 2008) and worldwide
(Edgar et al., 2014). The increase in tourism activities (Davenport and Davenport, 2006) and
Global Change directly threaten the conservation status of coastal ecosystems and
communities (Hoegh-Guldberg & Bruno, 2010). New management plans for MPAs must take
into account these changes as a major priority, aiming at the implementation and the control
of sustainable human activities within their areas. The Natural Reserve of Scandola (Corsica,
France) was established in 1975. It is made up of a 70-ha no-take area (NTA) where fishing,
diving and mooring are prohibited, and a 680-ha partial reserve (PR), where artisanal fishing
and mooring are allowed but restricted. All activities within the terrestrial part of the reserve
are prohibited. Since 1987, the reserve is part of the UNESCO world heritage. The
conservation and the exceptional topography of Scandola marine and coastal areas have led
to the maintenance and the growth of protected and heritage taxa considered as flagship
species: (i) the osprey Pandion haliaetus (Monti et al., 2018), (ii) fish assemblages,
represented by the dusky grouper Epinephelus marginatus and the brown meagre Sciaena
umbra, both protected under French law, (iii) a virtually pristine Posidonia oceanica meadow
hosting one of the densest populations of the Fan mussel Pinna nobilis (Butler et al., 1993),
(iv) widespread assemblages of the perennial fucales Cystoseira spp., constituting a climax
association of sublittoral Mediterranean reefs (Hereu et 2008). Over the last decade,
marine traffic within the Natural Reserve of Scandola has strongly increased, according to the
local manager. The typology of visiting boats has evolved from mainly large slow ships to
numerous smaller high-speed boats, allowing more visits per boat and per day. The park
manager fears the impact of this increasing activity on the more vulnerable communities
within the reserve, including the osprey population and fish assemblages. Both the impact
and intensity of the noise produced by this traffic within the reserve are unknown. The decline
of the osprey population has already been evidenced (Monti et 2018) and linked with
ecotourism activities. The related impact of the increase in boat traffic is one of the hypotheses
highlighted. However, quantitative data are missing to confirm this or otherwise. In addition,
a decline in fish assemblage abundance within the no-take area has been highlighted by local
managers and unpublished data, particularly the populations of E. marginatus and S. umbra
(M. Harmelin-Vivien comm. pers.). As the reserve is managed with well-enforced protection,
the hypothesis of a possible impact of poaching cannot be considered as likely. Diseases

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M. Poupard, M. Ferrari, J. Schluter et al.
affecting coastal marine species are known to cause potential high mortality. The dusky
grouper among other species is currently affected in other areas within the north-western
Mediterranean Sea by a nodavirus (Kara et 2014). This phenomenon is assumed to be
linked with the warming of the Mediterranean Sea and could probably affect north-western
Mediterranean populations of dusky grouper. One last plausible hypothesis that might explain
this supposed decline in fish assemblages of the shallow rocky reefs within the NTA, is a
vertical or horizontal migration of the most vulnerable demersal and pelagic fish species (i)
out of the NTA, or (ii) to greater depth (i.e. below 20 m depth). This migration could be the
consequence of the increase in the related boat traffic noise. To date, few studies have
focused on monitoring the impact of boat traffic noise on coastal fish assemblages (González
Correa et al., 2019). More knowledge is available about the impact on marine mammals. The
aim of our work is to provide an innovative method to survey the intensity and the impact of
traffic noise on vulnerable communities within the Natural Reserve of Scandola. Both aerial
and underwater acoustic devices were used. The methods used are described hereafter as
well as their possible implementation in other areas. This project can help the tourism industry
to monitor their acoustic impact on the areas which are the habitat of local coastal birds
(osprey Pandion haliaetus, Least concern according to the IUCN red list; BirdLife International,
2016) and marine communities within the Scandola area. For this purpose, measuring the
emitted sound levels both underwater and in the air is relevant.
2 MATERIAL AND METHODS
2.1 STUDY AREA

The Natural Reserve of Scandola (Corsica, France) was set up in 1975. It is constituted of a
70-ha no-take area (NTA) where fishing, diving and mooring are prohibited, and a 680-ha
partial reserve (PR), where artisanal fishing and mooring are allowed but restricted. All
activities within the terrestrial part of the reserve are prohibited. Since 1987, the reserve is
part of the UNESCO world heritage. Underwater devices were installed at three sites located
off the Marina d’Elbu (-36 m depth), off the Calanque d’Imbutu (-36 m depth), and close to
the Orgues islet (-20 m) (Fig. 1).
2.2 AERIAL ANTENNA

Recordings were made in April and August 2018 with a Zoom‫ ט‬H1 in stereophony within a
site combining high boat traffic and the presence of an osprey nest. These two periods were
chosen to match anthropogenic presence with the presence of the Osprey couple at nesting

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period (April) and during a high frequentation period (August). The recordings were made in
stereo with a sampling frequency of 44 100 Hz. The system was placed on a small natural
platform on the cliff. A total of 80 GB of recording has been thus constituted to date.
2.3 SUBMARINE ANTENNA

We used the high-resolution sound card JASON (Fig. 1), designed by the SMIoT (Scientific
Microsystems for Internet of Things) platform (Fourniol et 2018). It enables the recording
of 5 uncompressed channels with a sampling rate (SR) of up to 2 MHz and a resolution of 16
bits. Here, we recorded at 400 kHz x 4 channels, 16 bits, to specify the localization of the
sources using a small antenna aperture (70 cm maximum). The hydrophones are the SQ24
(cut-off near 60 kHz). We built and placed three JASON antennas with four hydrophones each
(Fig. 1). In the present paper, the station analysed is situated within the Bay of Elbu, by -36
m (Fig. 1), with a thermocline between 20 and 25 m depth and a 20 C° water temperature.
The direction of the axis from Hydrophone 1 to Hydrophone 3 is 340°. The distances measured
on site between the Hydrophones (in cm) are: d(1 to 2) = 46.0; d(1 to 3) = 71.8; d(2 to 3)
= 40.3. Recordings were made in April and August 2018.
This device enables the calculation of the trajectory of a detected boat, as described in the
results section.
Fig. 1: Top: The JASON sound card (SMIoT), 5 x 2 MHz sampling rate at 16 bits resolution, placed in the tube
(bottom left). Location of the Natural Reserve of Scandola (bottom right),
the antennas (black circles) and the aerial microphone (white circle).
The no-take area is represented in black stripes, the partial reserve in grey stripes

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3 DATA ANALYSIS
3.1 AERIAL MONITORING

We designed an automatic acoustic event extractor (inspired from Lasseck, 2014). The main
steps of the algorithm are: (i) calculate the spectrogram (time frequency representation) of
the recording; (ii) calculate a binary image by breaking the median by frequency band and
time slice. If the value of a pixel is greater than K (K = 3 times the median + 3 times the
standard deviation of its row, and 3 times the median + 3 times the standard deviation of its
column), then the pixel is set to 1, otherwise to 0; (iii) apply a "closing" filter for each pixel
and "dilation" to remove the noise; (iv) label all the pixels connected to each other and remove
the isolated pixels; (v) delimitation by corresponding rectangular area of interest. This
algorithm enhances and separates bird acoustic emissions even in loud background noise (Fig.
2). It allows to extract the time-frequency patterns of the birds, in order to learn an automatic
classifier later on. We also provide bird detections using the algorithm of Grill and Schlüter
(2017) (Fig. 2).
In this first study, we simply estimate boat noise by the energy of the audio signal after
applying a bandpass filter centred at 50 Hz (Fig. 2). Different examples were analysed and
listened to manually in order to verify the detectors (Fig. 2): periods a, b and c contain only
boat noise and no birds, period d contains only birds, and period e contains both birds and
boats.
This step confirms that both the bird detector and our boat detection proxy seem to provide
reasonable results. As a first attempt to examine if and how birds are influenced by the
presence of boats, we calculated the Pearson correlation coefficient (linear correlation only)
between bird call detection probabilities and the low-frequency intensity level (in dB). The
coefficient was -0.01 (with a p-value of 3.58e-28), so there was no correlation between our
simple boat noise estimate and the bird detector.
The next steps will be to differentiate the different sources, ospreys and others, to
automatically calculate the number of acoustically active individuals in the ecosystem, to
classify the species, and to correlate the vocalizations and their shapes with the related
anthropic pressures on a much larger set of recordings.
3.2 MONITORING OF THE BOAT TRAFFIC

Trajectories of boats were defined using the following steps: (i) estimation of the Time Delay
of Arrival (TDoA; Fig. 3) of each event from the cross-correlation between the pairs of the
four channels, (ii) and reconstruction of the 3D positions with a nonlinear solver (Giraudet et

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al., 2006; Glotin et al., 2008; Poupard et al., 2019). Here, we simply compute the Longitude
and Latitude of the boat, as we already know its altitude (i.e. sea surface).
We show in Fig. 3 that the antenna is monitoring the boat traffic, enabling the description of
a boat's displacement at the surface. These moves can then be correlated to the noise
measurements, which, for example, would provide a basis to give recommendations to the
driver to minimize engine acceleration near the birds' nests.
Fig. 2: (Top) : Three-second of raw signal of Osprey’s calls. (Middle): The acoustic event detection as
time/frequency patches. Osprey calls are clearly extracted, between 2 kHz and 4 kHz. (Bottom): Analysis of 4
hours of the 20th of August 2018. Sound intensity level around 50 Hz, representing boat noise; and the
probability of bird detection (Grill & Schlüter, 2017). (a,b,c) show presence of boat noise without birds, (d)
shows bird calls without boat noise and (e) bird calls with boat noise. (a-e) where confirmed manually by
listening to the recordings

We have designed a low-cost, efficient tool to help MPAs managers to assess the noise of
human activities on coastal and marine ecosystems and consequences on related communities
such as the osprey within the Natural Reserve of Scandola. This approach has great potential.
For the first time, a 4-channel high sampling rate is available and has been implemented in a
natural reserve.

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Fig. 3: From top to bottom: The time frequency representation of the boat noise, and the Time Delay of Arrival
to each hydrophone. Recording samples at : http://sabiod.univ-tln.fr/scandola_ 2018/20180809_ 080548UTC
_V03OS30.ogg. The computed positions of a boat over nearly 2 minutes, from the TDoA, by 10-second step (X
is Northing, Y Easting, Z=0, in meter), showing the stationary position of the boat, the moves and accelerations
done in order to have the boat stable in front of the area of tourism interest
It has been possible to install an aerial microphone and hydrophones, but not in a less or
unfrequented area such as e.g. Caletta (Galeria, north of the Scandola area). We have shown
evidence of the boat noise emissions. Several behavioural changes have been studied in
marine mammals exposed to such sound pollution.

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One of the main sources of pollution studied is boat traffic. For bottlenose dolphins, for
example, the presence of vessels entailed longer inter-breath intervals, and quicker changes
of heading, speed, and smaller inter-animal distances (National Marine Fisheries Service,
2016; Nowacek, 2001).
Those behaviours demonstrate that the animals are trying to avoid the vessels. It is crucial to
acknowledge that in that area of Sarasota bay (Florida, USA), vessels are encountered at an
average interval of 6 minutes during daytime. The dolphins' 'natural' activities are thus heavily
disturbed. This might also be the case in the Scandola area for other communities such as
coastal fish assemblages. The boats’ noise emissions have also been recorded both in the air
and underwater. The calls of the ospreys will be assessed with simple counting of the call
over time (Fig. 2). This temporal pattern will be correlated with the boat noise, assessing how
the ospreys are affected. More refined analyses are in progress to search for variations of the
emission of the calls linked with the abundance, the noise level, and the localisation of boats.
The underwater soundscape will also be analysed and correlated with the fish assemblage
assessment processed by visual census within the frame of the same project (Astruch et al.,
2018). A future research will be realize with recordings on all the year in order to compare
noise during high season and low season. Moreover, climate change is now one of the most
severely impacting factors affecting coastal and marine ecosystems. A well-designed
ecosystem-based management system is necessary to enhance the maintenance and the
resilience of ecosystems and the quality of related communities. Degraded ecosystems are
known to be more vulnerable against impacting factors: (i) non-native species invasion, (ii)
human impact (e.g. trawling, anchoring, dredging, pollution, etc.), (iii) mass mortality events
linked to the warming of the Mediterranean Sea (Garrabou et al., 2009; Lejeusne et al., 2010).
In this context, Marine Protected Areas remain more than ever essential tools that need to be
extended and/or better enforced in order to (i) maintain the quality of coastal and marine
areas, (ii) enhance their resilience and (iii) provide related ecosystem services. The control of
the noise emissions from human activities must be considered as one of the main issues for
managers and stakeholders, particularly within MPAs.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work was made possible thanks to the invaluable assistance of the management team of
the Natural Reserve of Scandola. We first thank M. Asch (LAMFA) for his help as PhD co-
supervisor for M. Ferrari. This study was carried out within the framework of the GIREPAM
project, funded by the European Union (Marittimo project). We also thank the Direction
Générale de l'Armement and the Région Hauts-de-France. We thank Michael Paul for proof-
reading the text.

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AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Marion Poupard is currently a Phd student supervised by Hervé Glotin, Thierry Soriano and Thierry
Lengagne on "Embedded classification of acoustic landscapes incorporating ecosystem data:
applications in land and marine watch". Marion has a Master degree "Gestion de l'environnement et
écologie littorale ". His Master's internship was a bioacoustic data mining on dolphin whistles and
estimation of data using the t-SNE method or clustering. http://sabiod.univ-tln.fr/workspace/poupard/
Maxence Ferrari is currently a Phd student supervised by Hervé Glotin and Mark Ash on "Study of
bio-inspired sonar based on modelisation of a complete chain of emission propagation reception.
Validation on sperm whales ". Maxence has a Master degree at "Ecole Centrale de Lille.

© 2019, FedoaPress

Jan Schlüter is spending a postdoc year at the University of Toulon, at LIS lab, as part of the DYNI
group. He works on Convolutional neural networks and deep learning, acoustic sequence labeling and
event detection, weakly-labeled data and multiple-instance learning, differentiable time-frequency
representations.
Patrick Astruch is a research engineer at GIS Posidonie (Marseille, France; NGO working on applied
research on marine ecology), he is focused on the monitoring and the understanding of the functioning
of marine and coastal ecosystems within the Mediterranean.
Thomas Schohn study engineer in Marine Ecology at GIS Posidonie (Marseille, France; NGO working
on applied research on marine ecology), he works on statistical treatment, data base management
and GIS to carry out projects about monitoring of the impact of human activities on marine ecosystems.
Elodie Rouanet is a research engineer at GIS Posidonie, she is working on marine ecosystem
monitoring. In the frame of this project, she has contributed to field activities and data sampling
strategy.
Adrien Goujard study engineer in marine ecology at GIS Posidonie, he developped data management
et GIS tools to study Mediterranean ecosystems. He has participated to the whole sampling strategy
of the project.
Adrien Lyonnet, Civic Service Volunteer at GIS Posidonie, he has contributed to the field activities
related to this project.
Pascale Giraudet is a professor of Biology and neurophysiology at the University of Toulon. She
works on signal processing, neural representation of olfactory scenes (http://giraudet.univ-tln.fr/) in
the LIS laboratory.
Valentin Barchasz works as engineer on Electronics, digital electronic and analog electronic. He
works for the SmioT platform and the design of the sound card.
Valentin Gies is a professor of electronic and robotic, specialist of Multi-Signal Data Acquisition
System and Kalman filter (http://www.vgies.com/). He is a part of the SmioT platform, who built the
sound card acquisition.
Paul Best is a PhD student in computer sciences. While getting his engineering diploma at ECE Paris,
he specialized in applied information technologies, at first for web development, and co-founded PIPLE
SAS. He then turned into and specialized in machine learning and data sciences, first applied to music
composition at IRCAM, and then to bioacoustics (current PhD).
Jean-Marie Dominici is the manager of the Natural Reserve of Scandola (Corsica, France), he has
brought his experience and knowledge of the study area context.
Thierry Lengagne, CNRS researcher at Lyon 1 University, a specialist in communication systems in

animals, Thierry Lengagne conducts research in fundamental research to study, for example, the
processes involved in training couples in amphibians, as well as the vocal organization of animals,
tropical bird communities or interspecific communication among European passerines.
Hervé Glotin is Professor of Computer Sciences, specialist in Data Sciences and Machine Learning at
UMR CNRS LIS, Toulon University. He heads the Scaled Acoustic Biodiversity Project,
http://sabiod.org, and EADM MADICS CNRS action. He is honorary member of the Institut Universitaire
de France for outstanding research. http://glotin.univ-tln.fr

© 2019, FedoaPress

USE OF ECOLOGICAL INDICES TO
ASSESS THE HEALTH STATUS OF
POSIDONIA OCEANICA MEADOWS
IN EASTERN LIGURIA
INFLUENCE OF ECOLOGICAL STATUS

ON NATURAL CAPITAL
*ILARIA RIGO, MONICA MONTEFALCONE

CARLA MORRI
Department of Earth, Environment

and Life Sciences
University of Genoa, Italy
e-mail: ilaria.rigo@edu.unige.it
montefalcone@dipteris.unige.it
morric@dispteris.unige.it

Rigo, I., Montefalcone, M., Morri C., ... & Paoli, C. (2019). Use of ecological indices to assess the health
status of Posidonia oceanica meadows in Eastern Liguria. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature
6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile is an endemic Mediterranean seagrass and a key species of coastal
marine ecosystems listed among the priority habitats in the European Directive 92/43 / EEC.
P. oceanica is a good biological indicator to define the quality of coastal marine ecosystem,
because its high sensitivity to environmental condi tions changes. The aim of this study is 1) to
investigate if the health status of some P.oceanica meadows located in different sites influences
the ability of the system to stock natural capital and 2) to quantify changes in natural capital
value in both biophysical and monetary terms. Healt h status of five different meadows along
Liguria coast was evaluated by means of different indicators such as: Conservation Index,
Substitution Index, Phase Shift Index and Posidonia Rapid Easy Index. Natural capital has been
assessed through emergy analysis, a biophysical approach able to account the resources directly
and indirectly used up to reach a certain product or mantain a system. Results showed that
healthier meadows are located in marine protected areas or far from main sources of anthropic
pressures and that higher values of natural capital is stored in healthy seagrass.
KEYWORDS
Posidonia Oceanica; East of Liguria; Ecological Ind ices; Natural Capital
* The other authors are: Carlo Nike Bianchi, Alice Oprandi, Paolo Vassallo, Chiara Paoli.
I. Rigo, M. Montefalcone, C. Morri et al.
1 INTRODUCTION
In the Mediterranean Sea more than two thirds of the coastline is now urbanized. The huge
edification causes anthropogenic pressures that generate changes in coastal ecosystems and
that could represent a serious threat for natural environment (Montefalcone et al., 2009).
Good coastal management practices, even on a local scale, may lead to restoration of natural
conditions and, in turn, increase resistance and resilience of marine habitats. The Water
Framework Directive (WFD) and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) are the
European umbrella regulations for water systems (Van Hoey et al., 2010). In this context, it
is a challenge for the scientific community to translate directives principles into operational
approaches and to make people aware about the consequences of human activities on marine
habitats. Specifically, the main goal of the MSFD is to achieve Good Environmental Status
(GES) of EU marine waters by 2020 with the aiming at a sustainable exploitation of marine
resources, ensuring their continuity for future generations. Costanza and Daly (1992)
presented the concept of natural capital that includes land, air, water, sea and ecosystems
therein. The term ecosystem goods and services (ES hereinafter) refers, instead, to the
benefits that populations derive, directly or indirectly, from ecosystem functions (Costanza et
al., 1997; MEA, 2005). A tight link exists between ES provision and natural capital (NC
hereinafter), since only if NC is preserved intact the supply of services in the future and at the
current level can be guaranteed (De Groot et al., 2012). The goal is then to achieve GES so
that the provision of ES to human population is maintained in the long run. In the last decades
the link between ecosystems and human economy became manifest (Vassallo at al., 2017).
As a consequence a growing interest for the assessment of ecosystems’value, particularly in
ES theory. Efforts were then addressed to the monetisation of ecosystems but also to employ
their evaluation to 1) raise general public awareness and to 2) address decisional processes
by means of new instruments for policy makers (Beaumont et al., 2008; Brown et al., 2001;
Costanza et al., 1997; Odum, 2000). In this context, among marine habitats, seagrasses are
considered of main concern since they are able to provide key ES. Moreover to assess the
environmental health status, European Community requires use of biological indicators, which
allow an ecological characterization of the system, together with chemical-physical analysis.
In this context, Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile is recognised as a bioindicator to study
environmental quality (Ferrat et al., 2003). The aim of this study is then to evaluate how the
conservation status of meadows affects NC value. To this end, an estimate of P.oceanica
health state was carried out in five P.oceanica meadows along the eastern Ligurian coast.
We calculated a set of ecological descriptors and indices able to assess current state of
meadows. The Conservation Index (CI), and Phase Shift Index (PSI) were calculated to get

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Use of ecological indices to assess the health status of Posidonia Oceanica meadows in eastern Liguria

information about disturbance events and potential recovery ability, evaluating the presence
of dead matte and the appearance of substitutes (Cymodocea nodosa and Caulerpa spp.).
Besides, Posidonia Rapid Easy Index (PREI), an integrated index composed by five different
descriptors, was calculated to determine the ecological status of water as required by the
WFD. NC value was calculated by means of emergy analysis, following Vassallo et al. (2017).
Emergy is a methodology able to quantify solar energy directly and indirectly necessary to
generate and maintain a system and its functioning. It is thus a donor-side estimate of the
value of a system measured as production cost in terms of the resources investment.
2 METHODOLOGY
Study area is located along the eastern Ligurian coast, between cities of Genoa and La Spezia.
Analysed meadows are located in Camogli, Punta Pedale, Prelo - San Michele di Pagana,
Framura and Monterosso (Fig. 1).
Fig. 1 Study sites along East Liguria
The data gathering was carried out by scuba diving (two transects perpendicular to coast in
each site) in the period between May and October 2017. From the lower limit of each meadow,
every 10 m, we recorded data about depth and about the percentage of surface covered by
live Posidonia oceanica, dead matte, sand, rock and any substitutes (Cymodocea nodosa,
Caulerpa prolifera, Caulerpa taxifolia and Caulerpa cylindracea). Contemporarly information
about depth and type of the lower limit were collected. Furthermore, leaf density was
recorded by means of a 40 x 40 cm2 quadrat where the number of shoots was counted (9
replications at 15 m, following the ISPRA (Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca
Ambientale) protocol (www.isprambiente.gov.it/it). Finally, in each transect, 18 orthotropic
(vertical) rhizomes were taken in three not contiguous zones. Laboratory activities consisted

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of phenological analyses, lepidocronological analyses and study of associated foliar epiphytes.

Phenological analysis was carried out using standardized method (Buia et al., 2004; Giraud,
1977). On each harvested shoot, we obtained leaf number (n_ leaves/shoot), leaf width (cm)
and leaf length (cm), necessary to calculate the leaf area for shoot (cm2 shoot-1). Leaf
biomass, as grams of dry weight, was estimated after incubation at 70 °C for 48 h.
Lepidocronological analysis is a retrospective technique that consists of studying leaves life
cycles of seagrass P. oceanica, that allows to define the age of meadows, through the
thickness of slivers, and the environmental variability within which it develops. All data
collected from the lepidocronological analysis were then examined to obtain the biomass over
year, both in terms of rhizome lengthening and leaf production. Epiphytic biomass was taken
from each adult and intermediate leaf using the grating method, dried in a stove and weighted
separately. Foliar epiphytes are early warning indicators capable of responding to changes in
the water column (Giovannetti et al., 2010): an increase in their quantity is linked to a
decrease in environmental quality. Data collected were used to calculate P. oceanica
descriptors at different levels: individual, population and community. Descriptors were used
to obtain ecological indices, such as: CI (Moreno et al., 2001) which compares the cover of
alive P. oceanica to dead matte; SI (Montefalcone et al., 2007) which identifies substitutes;
PSI (Montefalcone et al., 2009) that measure level of ecosystem change due to regression;
PREI (Gobert et al., 2009) that calculates the ecological quality ratio which includes EQR’
expressed in the following formula:
Indices estimating the health status of meadows are reported in Tab. 1 together with their
calculation formulae and reference values. Calculated values of these indices have been then
classified in accord with five quality classes (UNEP-MAP-RAC/SPA, 2015) providing information
on the health status of the system. The status is classified as: high, good, moderate, poor,
bad (Directive 200/60/EC). Furthermore, in order to get the value of meadow’s natural capital,
emergy analysis was applied. This approach is able to to assess the effort made by natural
system (measured as resources, space and time invested) to produce biomass stock. Emergy
analysis is a quantitative analysis that standardizes the amount of different resources types
in a common unit of measure: solar energy (Brown & Herendeen, 1996), so its units is solar
emergy Joules (sej). If the emergy flow required for a process is higher, the amount of solar
energy it "consumes" and the environmental cost to maintain it are great.In this work emergy
analysis was applied according to the methodology described by Vassallo et al. (2017).

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Total emergy value of natural capital of P.oceanica meadows was finally converted to
monetary units by using the emergy-to-money ratio.
FORMULA REFERENCE VALUES

High Good Moderate Poor Bad
CI 0.9 0.7-0.9 0.5-0.7 0.3-0.5 <0.3
SI <0.1 0.1-0.25 0.25-0.4 0.4-0.7 0.7
PSI PSI = {[(1-CI) · 1] + (SICn · 2) + <0.08 0.08-0.16 0.16-0.25 0.25-0.5 0.5
(SICp · 3) + (SICt · 4) + (SICr · 5)}/6
PREI 1-0.775 0.774- 0.549- 0.324- <0.100-
0.550 0.325 0.100 0
Tab. 1 Ecological indices formulas and UNEP-MAP-RAC/SPA reference classes
At the end, it was assessed how much of NC been stored in the below-ground component
rather than in the above-ground to underline which component holds a greater part of the
capital. The whole information flow stemming from field and laboratory activities and leading
to data analyses is summarized in Fig. 2.
Fig. 2 The phases for the development of the study
3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Tab. 2 shows indices and natural capital values obtained for the five meadows and analysis
according to identified quality classes. All sites reported a good state of health as no one falls
into a status considered “poor” or “bad”; specifically CI denoted a particularly high ecological
status for sites of Framura and Monterosso, where, according to the classification in literature
(Montefalcone et al., 2009), there is a state of conservation ranging from good to very good.
“Good” values were also recorded in Camogli. Only Punta Pedale and Prelo-S.Michele
meadows reported a "moderate" conservation status. All investigated seagrasses had PSI
values lower than 0.08 that describe an "high" ecological status according to the classification

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reported in the literature (Montefalcone et al., 2009). Therefore PSI seems to be more
effective in recording differences in meadows health status and to be then less descriptive.
Finally, PREI had highest values at Framura: that is the only site recording a "high" ecological
status according to the classification of Gobert et al. (2009). “Good" values have been
identified at Camogli and Monterosso; instead lower quality of P.oceanica meadows has been
reported for stations of Punta Pedale and Prelo-San Michele, where the ecological status is
"moderate". The lower limit is regressive in all stations, exception of Framura, where the
excellent state of the lower limit is probably linked to the greater distance from sources of
anthropic impact. This is also the case for Camogli and Monterosso transects, located within
the protected marine areas of Portofino and Cinque Terre, where many human activities, such
as anchorages, diving and fishing, are forbidden. Also the analysis of variance (ANOVA) on
epiphytic biomass values (mg ps cm-2) showed significant differences between sites (p <
0.01) placed within controlled or urbanized areas. The Tukey test showed that epiphytes were
significantly greater at Punta Pedale where transect 1 reported an average biomass of 0.44
mg cm-2 and transect 2 showed 0.69 mg cm-2, instead of all the other sites with average
values around 0.20 mg cm-2. Natural capital resulted positively correlated (n=10, p=0.9) with
better ecological status and the highest natural capital value was found in transect T2 of
Framura. On the contrary, results identified Punta Pedale and Prelo-S.Michele as meadows
with lowest natural capital values. Moreover, it turned out that 65% of natural capital
calculated is represented by the below underground part of seagrasses and only 35% instead
by the foliar component. Rhizomes tend to grow more slowly, storing biomass for a longer
period of time. Therefore considering biomass data and age of rhizomes for emergy evaluation
leads to increase capital value.
CI PSI PREI NATURAL CAPITAL
(sej m-2)
CAMOGLI T1 0.87 good 0.02 high 0.66 good 2.31E+12
T2 0.83 good 0.03 high 0.67 good 2.96E+12
PUNTA PEDALE T1 0.70 moderate 0.05 high 0.52 moderate 1.33E+12
T2 0.88 good 0.02 high 0.50 moderate 2.85E+12
PRELO-S.MICHELE T1 0.59 moderate 0.07 high 0.54 moderate 3.20E+12
T2 0.54 moderate 0.08 high 0.53 moderate 1.81E+12
FRAMURA T1 0.88 good 0.02 high 0.72 good 3.36E+12
T2 0.99 high 0.00 high 0.78 high 3.97E+12
MONTEROSSO T1 0.99 high 0.01 high 0.62 good 2.76E+12
T2 0.89 good 0.02 high 0.62 good 2.75E+12
Tab. 2 Values obtained from calculation of indices and natural capital

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3.1 CONCLUSION
Landscape descriptors (CI, PSI) and the PREI index values were consistent reporting better
health state for Framura, Monterosso and Camogli meadows, and worse for Punta Pedale and
Prelo-S. Michele. This is probably due to the greater anthropic influence on these meadows,
due to coastal urbanization and tourist pressure during the summer period and to the absence
of protection measures. In particular, bay of Prelo, at the beginning of the 20th century, was
subjected to the presence of a system of catenaries for mooring small pleasure boats, which
still forms an underwater network on the seabed colonized by P. oceanica (Montefalcone et
al., 2006). The status of Prelo-S.Michele and Punta Pedale meadows is also confirmed at
community level by the biomass epiphytic measurement, which shows above-average values.
As leaf epiphytes are early warning indicators able to react more quickly than other descriptors
to changes in water column (Giovannetti et al., 2010), it is assumed that an increase of their
quantity is linked to a decrease of environmental quality. It could be due to pollutants carried
by currents from the nearby river and by discharges of many boats that stop in bays during
the summer period. Using CI as a synthetic measure of the conservation status of P.oceanica
is effective for investigated seagrasses, where observed areas characterized by dead matte
represent mainly human-induced impacts (Peirano & Bianchi, 1997). Natural capital
evaluation, used as tool to summarize system’s complexity, have reported higher values for
meadows of Framura, Camogli and Monterosso and lower values for bays of Punta Pedale and
Prelo San Michele. So the ability of ecosystems to store natural capital and in turn to provide
ecosystem services resulted influenced by meadows ecological status confirming how human
disturbance on ecosystems may hamper the functioning of the system and thus reducing the
benefits humans may obtain in terms of ecosystem services provisioning.
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Magni, P., Muxika, I., Reiss, H., Schröder, A., Zettler, M.L. (2010). The use of benthic indicators in
Europe: from the Water Framework Directive to the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. Marine
Pollution Bulletin, 60, 2187 - 2196. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2010.09.015
Vassallo, P., Paoli, C., Buonocore, E., Franzese, P.P., Russo, G.F., Povero, P. (2017). Assessing the
value of natural capital in marine protected areas: A biophysical and trophodynamic environmental
accounting model. Ecological modelling, 13-16. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2017.03.013
AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Ilaria Rigo, Bachelor’s degree in Science and Tecnology for the Environment and Territory at Milan
Bicocca University (Italy), during February 2016. Graduated in Marine Science at Genoa University for
master in September 2018, I am now a phD student in Marine Ecology at the Department of the Earth,
Environment and Life Science (DiSTAV) at the University of Genoa, dealing with evaluation of natural
capital and ecosystem services provided along the Ligurian coast. Doctorate aim is to identify
distribution of ecosystem services, quantify and find any possible external forcings.
Monica Montefalcone is a researcher in Ecology (BIO07) at the Department of the Earth,

Environment and Life Science (DiSTAV) at the University of Genoa (Italy) and a professor of Tropical
Marine Ecology, of Scientific Diving and of Managing Marine Biodiversity. She started to study
seagrasses in 1999, she took her PhD in 2007 on Posidonia oceanica ecology, and today she is working
in the field of applied research on coastal marine environment, which includes monitoring,
characterization, cartography, biodiversity assessment and evaluation of ecological status and changes
over time of coastal habitats, such as seagrasses, rocky reefs and coralligenous, submerged caves,
and coral reefs. She is member of several scientific societies, and recently she has been working as a
scientific consultant of the RAC-SPA (Regional Activity Centre for Specially Protected Areas).
Carla Morri teaches Ecology and Seascape Ecology at the University of Genoa, School of Science.
Has research experience in taxonomy, faunistics and ecology of hydrozoans and scleractinian corals.
Synecology of the marine benthos. SCUBA survey methods. Semiotics and diagnostics of underwater
seascape. Most familiar ecosystems are submarine caves, rocky reefs, coral reefs, seagrass meadows,
lagoons and shallow-water hydrothermal vents. Academic Editor of Mediterranean Marine Sciences
and Diversity. More than 300 scientific papers published, including four books and several book
chapters. Her papers are frequently cited by other authors, allowing for an H-index of 47 (Google
Scholar). Her research touched at various aspects of the ecology of coastal marine and transitional
environments, focusing on three main research topics, strictly interconnected: ecology of marine
Cnidaria; biodiversity of the marine benthos; biological zonation along ecological gradients.
Carlo Nike Bianchi is Professor of Ecology at the University of Genoa, Faculty of Sciences. Has
research experience on biodiversity, bionomics, mapping and biogeography of the marine coastal
environment. Special topics include benthic community structure, gradient analysis, bioconstruction,

© 2019, FedoaPress

effects of climate change on marine ecosystems, ecological complexity, and macroecology.

Taxonomical and ecological expertise on serpulid polychaetes and other (sessile) macro-organisms,
and reef fish. Most familiar field techniques are visual censuses and photographic surveys by scuba
diving. Experience in univariate and multivariate biodiversity data analysis. Academic editor of the
following scientific journals: Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UK; Marine Biodiversity
Records; Marine Ecology; Mediterranean Marine Science; Public Library of Science (PLoS) One. More
than 400 scientific papers published. His papers are frequently cited by other authors, determining a
value of H-index equal to 53 (Google Scholar). His research is essentially transdisciplinary within the
Marine Environmental Sciences, but deals principally with four major themes: Mediterranean Sea
biodiversity; ecosystem change; anthropogenic impact on the coastal zone; methods for the
characterisation of communities and seascapes.
Alice Oprandi is a PhD student in Marine Ecology at the Department of the Earth, Environment and
Life Science (DiSTAV) at the University of Genoa (Italy) under the supervision of Carlo Nike Bianchi
and Monica Montefalcone. She works on coastal marine ecosystems, in particular, regarding the
change and conservation of P. oceanica meadows, coralligenous reef and tropical coral reefs. She got
the bachelor degree in Environmental Science (specialization management and conservation of the
marine environment) in 2010 and the master degree in Marine Science at the University of Genoa
during June 2013 with an experimental thesis titled “Status of Posidonia oceanica meadows between
Capo Vado and Capo Noli: diachronic analysis and influence of hydrodynamic constrains through the
application of a predictive model”.
Paolo Vassallo got a degree in Environmental Science (specialization in Marine Environment) at the
University of Genoa (Italy) in 2002, discussing a thesis about “analysis of the energetic fluxes in benthic
marine environments by means of holistic indicators”. During 2003 he signed a three months contract
with Department of Physics of the University of Genoa and he had a grant in ‘Applied Ecology’ at the
University of Genoa for the application of Exergy and Ascendency to benthic marine environments.
From 2004 and 2007 he was PhD student in Environmental science at the University of Genoa while
from 2007 to 2009 he signed a two year post-doc grant at the University of Genoa for the analysis of
sustainability of coastal zone. From 2009 to 2012 I collaborated with Giardini Botanici Hanbury, to
carry out the SUMFLOWER LIFE project. In 2010 he held the chair of “Environmental evaluation” at
the University of Genoa. Since June 2013 he is assistant professor in ecology at the the Department
for the study of Land, Environment and Health at the University of Genoa where he held the chairs of
“Coastal Zone Management” and “Evaluation and management of the Environment”. The main
research interests are: 1) ecosystem health assessment by means of whole system analyses (e.g.
network and exergy analysis); 2) sustainability evaluation of products, services and territories (e.g.
ecological footprint, emergy analysis); 3) ecosystem functions and services evaluation; 4) ecosystem
modelling and spatial ecology. He is author of more than 40 international scientific publications and
participated to more than 40 international scientific conferences.
Chiara Paoli got a five years degree in Environmental Science at the University of Genoa (Italy)
during April 2005, with an experimental thesis about “environmental sustainability analysis of water
cycle” of Genova province. The study was aimed at identifying a methodology for administrations and
managers to adress the choice of sustainable management techniques of water cycle.During 2006 she
realised a research about sustainable management of marinas and she collaborated with the Univesity
of Genova as external expert. In 2010 she had a PhD student in Environmental sciences at the
University of Genova with a study about the development of an integrated methodology for coastal
zone sustainability and ecosystem services valuation. From 2010 to 2012 she signed a two year post-
doc grant at the University of Genova for the analysis of sustainability of coastal zone. During 2013
she collaborated with Giardini Botanici Hanbury, a regional protected area, to carry out a European
project (SUMFLOWER) founded under the LIFE founding scheme. At present she is a post-doc at the
University of Genova and her main topic are coastal zone sustainability and management, marine
protected areas management, natural capital and ecosystem services biophysical and economic
evaluation, ecological economics in general, system analyses applied to sustainability, system ecology.

© 2019, FedoaPress

COASTAL GOVERNANCE
AND PLANNING AGREEMENTS
FOR INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT
OF MARINE PROTECTED AREAS
IN UE COASTING PROJECT
*SAVERIO SANTANGELOa
PAOLO DE PASCALIa, MARIA TERESA CUTRÌb
a
PDTA Department, Sapienza
University of Rome, Italy
Interreg MED Coasting
e-mail: saverio.santangelo@uniroma1.it
URL: https://web.uniroma1.it/pdta/
b
Interreg MED Coasting
e-mail: mariateresa.cutri@gmail.com

Santangelo, S., De Pascali, P., Cutrì, M. T., Pozzi, C. & Bagaini, A. (2019). Coastal governance and planning
agreements for integrated management of marine protected areas in UE Coasting project. In C. Gargiulo &
C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature and ecosystem services (pp. 281-291). Naples: FedOAPress. ISBN: 978-88-
6887-054-6, doi: 10.6093/978-88-6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
The paper starts within the framework of the Interreg MED project Coasting, Coastal Integrated
Governance for Sustainable Tourism. Coasting aims at increasing the sustainability of coastal
tourism in the UE Med Countries, implementing appro aches based on governance among
public and private actors involved in the management of tourism development processes. The
marine protected areas (MPA) in coastal areas, befo re having any tourist objectives, are a key
environmental element to be protected and enhanced. In this paper, starting from the Contrat
de baie of Marseille (CdB)- which is the key refere nce in the overall Coasting approach to
integrated management of coastal areas -, the MPA within the Parc national des Calanques is
investigated. Both the CdB and the Parc carry out a ctions with results on the MPA management.
The CdB action aims at improving water quality both on the terrestrial and marine contexts,
form an ecological point of view. Otherwise, the Parc action is more directly related to uses
regulation. As result, the MPA is object of the joint action of the two actors in terms of integrated
management within the framework of a wider governance that interests the whole area of the
Communauté Urbaine of Marseille. In addition to exa mine the multilevel governance approach
of the CdB, and its specific related tools in terms of planning agreements (Contrat de rivière in
France, and River Contracts in Italy), the paper investigates the relation between the CdB and
the management actions implemented in the MPA of the Parc national des Calanques.
KEYWORDS
Coastal Governance; Coasting; Contrat de Baie; Marine Protected Areas Planning Agreements
* The other authors are: Carolina Pozzi, Annamaria Bagaini.
S. Santangelo, P. De Pascali, M.T. Cutri et al.
1 INTRODUCTION
This paper constitutes a significant step in a research path whose initial input has been the
achievement of funding within the EU Interreg MED Programme at the end of 2017, related
to the Coasting project (Coastal Integrated Governance for Sustainable Tourism)1. The
concrete start of the project, in the first half of 2018, motivated us to present a research
project on these topics, in parallel with Coasting, also within Sapienza University. The research
is now in the initial phase of development.
In the framework of Input aCAdemy 2019, this paper aims to discuss some Coasting topics
related to the Call, with the perspectives of the research path development.
The intersection between the problems of Coasting and those inherent to marine protected
areas was considered, in fact, since the area of the first reference at the base of this European
project (the bay of Marseille)2 is the marine protected area (MPA) of the Parc national des
Calanques (PdC). We also considered this situation to be of some interest with respect to the
possible mix of conditions and factors that, in coastal areas, can interfere with the presence
of a marine protected area. In this case, in fact, the MPA:
− it is located in a metropolitan and touristically attractive area (Marseille / Provence), the
subject of an important series of interventions in ecological and environmental terms
(Contrat de Baie);
− it is part of a park (terrestrial-marine), itself an object of tourist use;
− and, as such, it is itself the object of tourist use (obviously regulated).
Therefore, considering these aspects in relation to the hypothesis that a good sustainability
of coastal tourism can be obtained with approaches and tools of collective action governance
(planning agreements), as is the Contrat de Baie of Marseille, the research question arises in
these terms: how the problems of a marine protected area are inserted into an instrument of
integrated environmental governance of a wider urbanized territory in which the same MPA
falls (Contrat de Baie); and how effective planning agreements with an environmental value

1
Sapienza University of Rome is partner in the Coasting project, with a research group of PDTA
Department. Funded in the end of 2017, the project was initially coordinated by P. De Pascali. From
2018 S. Santangelo is the responsible for its implementation. The group, including internal and external
members of Sapienza PDTA, is composed also of M.T. Cutrì, P. Nicolarea, C. Pozzi, M. Prati. The project
involves in its consortium 9 partners from 6 EU-Countries. https://coasting.interreg-med.eu.
2
This is the area covered by the Contrat de Baie, which includes the Communauté urbaine of Marseille
Provence Metropole and other municipalities of Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropole (which is a partner of
the Coasting project).

© 2019, FedoaPress

Coastal governance and planning agreements for integrated management of marine protected areas in UE…

of a voluntary-contractual nature, such as the CdB or the CdF3, can include and contribute to
addressing the sustainability issues of coastal tourism (and, consequently, protecting marine
sensitive areas when present in the interested territories).
2 INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT OF MARINE PROTECTED AREAS IN

COMPLEX ENVIROMENTS
The Coasting approach draws on the experience of tools for the implementation of
environmental policies and for the management of coastal and marine areas - the Coast/River
Contracts -, as the basis for the achievement of the overall sustainability objectives, and
specifically, related to coastal tourism. In this framework the primary reference, the Marseille
CdB, is an important experience related to integrated management tools implementation, that
covers the vast territory of the bay.
We will recognise marine protected areas (MPA) considering the only requirement that they
are under protection and addressed by integrated management. In this perspective, the case
study of the CdB - and specifically the MPA of the Parc national des Calanques which is part
of the Contract intervention area - appeared to be representative, considering the different
institutional and technical responsibilities and competencies involved in managing the MPA
and the Parc.
Firstly, the area interested by the CdB is a vast territory, beyond the limits of the Communauté
Urbaine Marseille Provence Metropole (CU MPM), intensely urbanized for the central third of
its coast. Secondly, this area is the marine zone of the entire Marseille agglomeration and of
its inland, and that therefore it is under pressure of the impacts deriving from uses and
activities affecting its territory, both of land and maritime. Finally, the third qualifying aspect
- and the first motivation of the proposed case study - is the presence, as already mentioned,
of the MPA in the PdC, that is a relevant stakeholder involved in the CdB. Moreover, the
interested part of sea is significantly extended, and only partly falls within the marine area
covered by the CdB, reaching the limit of the French territorial waters for a front width of
about 32 nautical miles. It is important to highlight that for its terrestrial part, the Parc consists
of the peri-urban territory on the hinterland of Marseille, thus confirming the variety of
environmental characteristics and urbanization of the context.
The overall framework of this marine area is therefore extremely complex. As well as the
different levels of administrative and political, economic-financial and technical management
of the area, starting with the highest level, Aix-Marseille-Provence Metropole, one of the 14

3
Contratti di fiume (River Contracts).

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French metropoles, to the cœur, both marine and terrestrial, of the Parc. Thus, the presence
of plans, programs and actions related to the different interested territories, is various and
articulated; consequently, also in relation to the strong administrative structure, this could
suggest that management of this area is complicated.
3 ON THE NATURE AND RISKS OF GOVERNANCE

In this perspective, the CdB - being a voluntary multilevel governance tool defined as
«fédérateur des démarches contractuelles existantes» - should have a point in its favour. A
governance approach that would have the ambitious task of harmonizing and integrating the
pre-existing Contracts and projects and their related objectives4. In this framework, it is
possible to understand the CdB as the attempt to overcome the difficulties in the
implementation of the different Contracts activated at lower levels and characterized by more
sectorial approaches; the attempt to achieve the fundamental integration of complex
problems related to land-marine management.
In this sense, we are talking about integrated management in the CdB and therefore of
processes, formal acts and interventions that also involve the MPA and the PdC of which it is
a part.
The CdB is today in the middle of the implementation process (see the scheme on page 1).
In order to have initial elements of judgment on its results, also with regard to the presence
and management of the MPA, it will be necessary to wait at least two years. Meanwhile, both
in the general terms of the research path presented here and with regard to the repercussions
in the Coasting context, it seems appropriate to immediately consider some methodological
issues, with respect to which to evaluate the results. The reference is to some so-called
"illusions", that need attention, in the ICZM context, particularly in some experiences matured
up to the early 2000s, detected in general and, in particular, in the Francophone context (Billé,
2006). The first illusion concerns the conception of environmental management as a
coordination problem; it is «l’illusion du tour de table comme solution à tous les problèmes».
In short, «la recherche consensuelle de coordination par la concertation sous-estime en fait
les antagonismes bien réels entre acteurs et usages "non coordonnés", les différences
d'intérêts et de représentations» (Billé, 2006), and, more generally, «placer un problème dans

4
The CdB includes: (i) Contrat d’agglomération aiming at improving the functioning of the sanitation
system of the Marseille agglomeration and the quality of the aquatic environment; (ii) Contrat de Rivière
de l 'Huveaune aiming at meeting the objectives of the SDAGE (Schéma Directeur d' Aménagement et
de Gestion des Eaux) concerning the quality of the aquatic environments of the river basin, of the
Huveaune river; (iii) Opération Calypso aiming at enacting actions to prevent the pollution deriving of
the port.

© 2019, FedoaPress


un cadre collectif ne suffit pas à en faire une préoccupation de tous» (Mermet, 1992)5. The
fact that contributes to this illusion, especially in environmental management, is that
consensual approaches are appreciated, in the medium term, by almost all the actors involved,
and therefore also by environmental actors because they, on average, find themselves in a
relationship of weakness with respect to the other actors (Mermet, 1998)6, and are therefore
convinced that they can better achieve their goals in this way than by explicitly addressing
conflicts (Billé, 2006). In the continuation of the research, we intend to investigate from this
point of view how we arrived at the definition and regulation of the MPA of the PdC, which is
mentioned in the following paragraph.
A second illusion is the "positivist" illusion, that is the consideration of scientific knowledge as
«condition nécessaire et suffisante à une bonne gestion des zones côtières» (Billé, 2006). In
this sense, it is also possible that this last illusion interests the same concept of governance,
especially when it is simply borrowed from the culture of business management and the
corporate technique theory, authoritatively validated and assumed as recognized and shared
technical know-how (Deneault, 2013). Among other things, this illusion is present, in some
ways also according to obvious juridical profiles, also in the relations between (public)
government of the economy and the market, where "governance" «legitimizes and favours a
direct and priority interlocution between [public] administrative apparatus and market» that
somehow transcends «the traditional canons of representative democracy». If it is not a true
renunciation of the government of the economy, it is certainly «a sort of downsizing of a
portion of [political] discretion in favour of a technical (but not neutral) management of
significant economic interests» (Iacovone, 2010).
4 ELEMENTS AND CHARACTERISTICTS OF THE PARC DES CALANQUES

AND THE CONTRAT DE BAIE
The Parc national des Calanques was established on April 18th 2012, according to the law of
April 14th 2006 which provides a governance with local key actors and partnerships between
different levels of administration and territorial areas. The law also foresees the articulation
between the protection of the coeur of the parks and développement durable of the
surrounding zones; the reference operational tool is a new document, the Charte. The area
of the Parc – terrestrial and marine – is extended for almost 1,600 km2. Although the Parc is
explicitly defined as «à la fois terrestre, marin et périurbain», most of the surface is actually

5
Quoted in Billé.
6
Quoted in Billé.

© 2019, FedoaPress

marine (141,500 ha). This area is divided according to two categories and two use/protection
rules: a coeur marin of 43,500 ha; an Aire Maritime Adjacente (AMA) of 98,000 ha (Fig.1).
Fig. 1 Protection levels of Parc areas (http://www.calanques-parcnational.fr/en)
The terrestrial part of the Parc completely borders with the coastline of the coeur marin, this
means that between coeur marin and coeur terrestre there is a straight and continuous
relationship. Moreover, AMA interfaces with the normal coastal area, and also acts as a filter
between coeur marin and the sea. The coeur marin is the 27.5% of the total Parc surface.
Within this area, a part of around 10% is divided in sub-zones with restrictions or prohibitions
of use7; and for some narrow and deep bays, also boats access restrictions is applied. In
detail, the sub-zones of the coeur with specific limitations are extended for almost 4,000 ha,
2.8% of the entire marine area of the Parc. But, the greater part of the coeur (39,500 ha)
and the AMA (98,000) has less severe and rigorous restrictions.
In the context of the CdB, the objectives and actions mainly concern the improvement and
recovery of the ecological-environmental quality of water, both terrestrial and marine; specific
reference is made to the six coastal «masses of water», that represent the marine area
included in the CdB and to the eleven waterways that flow into the bay from the inland. The

7
(i) Zone de non prélèvement pour la pêche professionnelle et de loisirs; (ii) Zone de protection renforcée
- pêche réglementée; (iii) Accès maritime aux Calanques: navire supérieur à 20m hors tout interdit sauf
dérogataire; (iv) Accès maritime aux Calanques: embarcation inférieure à 20m uniquement; (v) Accès
maritime aux Calanques: embarcation à moteur interdite.

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SDAGE establishes the time limits (2015, 2021 and 2027) within which to reach a «bon état»
of the waters (Fig. 2).
Fig. 2 Terms of “bon état” objective of the SDAGE(http://www.marseille-provence.fr/index.php/competences/

developpement-urbain/developpement-durable/le-contrat-de-baie)
Three of the six «masses of water» are part of the marine coeur. Therefore, the actions planned
aiming at the protection, improvement and recovery of waters in this areas are of two types:
related to the terrestrial part of the Parc in the framework of the CdB; and related to the use
restriction of the areas in the context of the Parc. In this perspective, the mutual and integrated
action of CdB and Parc national des Calanques should reduce both the impacts of the
metropolitan context and those caused specifically by marine, beach and coastal areas uses.
The CdB was already contemplated during the phase of the establishment of the Parc in 2012,
announced as already in discussion among the stakeholders and then signed in 2015.
Moreover, the CdB was already clearly related to the short and medium-term Parc
management strategy, first of all as regards the converging objectives of improving and
restoring the ecological quality and functionality of marine waters. To this end, an inter-
municipal management structure that involved all the stakeholders of the river basin was
envisaged; an integrated project of upstream intervention to improve the water quality of the
Huveaune and its tributaries, considering that the marine area of the Parc as the ending
component of the water system. Water quality issues, addressed through partnerships on the
whole bassin versant, is the key argument in the action of both the Parc and the CdB, and
therefore is the need for an integrated governance among the actors involved. Since the river

© 2019, FedoaPress

basin is significantly larger than the territory of the local government community (CU MPM),
the territorial area of the CdB is in fact the most important governance/partnership space also
for the ecological future of the marine area of Parc.
This is one of the main topic addressed by marine protected areas management; the active
commitment of territorial public bodies to carry out effective actions for the ecological and
environmental quality of marine waters. However, the central matter is the integrated
terrestrial-marine approach, as in this case is the relation between the MPA of the Parc and
the river basin of the Huveaune.
In this perspective, the operational tools coherent with the general approach and the
management objectives that the Parc has adopted, in particular for its marine area, are:
− Contrat de rivière for the Huveaune river basin, to effectively manage and reduce the
contribution of agricultural, domestic and industrial pollutants or those of meteoric origin
that are poured into its waters, as well as to restore good ecological functioning and its
role in the trame bleue;
− Contrat de baie at the level of the Marseille bay, to improve the quality of marine waters
and environments.
These are the two tools, mentioned at the beginning of this paper, on which the Coasting
project draws. Therefore, the main theme of the project are the planning agreements, the
contracts among key actors interested in sustainability of coastal tourism issues.
5 COASTAL GOVERNANCE AND SUSTAINABLE TOURISM: FIRST

CONSIDERATIONS
Coasting represents an ongoing experience of multilevel governance instruments application
for sustainable tourism within the Mediterranean context. In this perspective the central
objective of the project is to enhance the effectiveness of planning agreement tools,
capitalizing the Contrat de Baie of Marseille experience, in particular with regard to its more
relevant contents.
Coasting results will be the adaptation of the tool more specifically for sustainable and
responsible coastal tourism development, and the mainstreaming of this instrument at
regional level within the partners’ territories.
The three main objectives of the Contrat de Baie of Marseille are: i) reducing marine pollution;
ii) preserving the ecological quality of the coasts; iii) organizing a territorial governance
through the active participation of stakeholders.
Throughout the elaboration of the Contrat de Baie, 70 different key local stakeholders
interested in aquatic, coastal and marine environments have been mobilized. This multilevel

© 2019, FedoaPress


and multi-sectoral dynamic made possible the development of a shared diagnosis, the
definition of common issues and objectives, and the co-construction of the action program to
achieve the objectives of the SDAGE.
Therefore, tourism is to a limited extent and only indirectly the object of the Contrat de Baie
[CdB]. What indications can come then from the governance approach and from the CdB tool?
Can this model be effective in being and implementing strategic paths that are useful for
increasing the sustainability of coastal tourism and, consequently, for protecting sensitive
marine areas when present in the areas concerned? To a certain extent, inside the CdB, the
Parc des Calanques achieves this, limited to its perimeter, in both terrestrial and marine areas
(Cfr. the Charte du Parc national des Calanques). However, considering the ecological-
environmental objectives and the territorial scope of the CdB of both the terrestrial and aquatic
environment, it certainly cannot suffice.
In theory - although with the awareness of the inherent risks in the illusions above, but without
taking them into account in this circumstance - the CdB model, as an integrated environmental
governance model, should then directly include with at least equal dignity and weight the
different problems of tourism, the regulation of uses and the limitation of impacts, as far as
the entire territory of its competence is concerned. However, for what has been said above
regarding the risks of "illusions" in the ICZM context, this perspective appears problematic.
Indeed, the nature of the objectives and the juxtaposition of the interests in the field, in
particular in complex areas such as that of the CdB of Marseille, require a more explicit
explanation of the conflicts and consequent decisional methods, less consensual and of
greater environmental effectiveness over time. This perspective acquires further necessity,
then, if we also consider the urbanizing effects of coastal tourism, due to «the "inherently"
urbanizing nature of tourism development in the traditional coastal resort context» (Clavé &
Wilson, 2017). Therefore, emerges that the priorities of interests of a certain community
should be clear, whose expression can only be political and cultural. In many ways it would
still seem necessary to resort to the "old" spatial planning, thanks to which a tourism aimed
at sensitive areas from an environmental point of view (marine protected areas, Znieff,
sensible marine habitats), and inherent to landscape and social and cultural aspects, could
better rely on already urbanized parts of that territory (this is the case of the CU MPM), with
environmental and economic advantages also regarding the use of accommodation, services
and transport.
The experience of the Parc national des Calanques, with regard to its protected areas, both
terrestrial and marine, addresses the theme of sustainable tourism starting from the objective
of finding the right balance between the development of tourism and leisure activities and
environmental protection. And it does so, considering that a tourisme durable should:

© 2019, FedoaPress

− respect, maintain and enhance the natural, cultural and social resources of the territory
at long term;
− be integrated in processes that assume as responsible elements of production and
consumption patterns, as well as equally distributed socio-economic advantages for the
population that lives, works or stays in these spaces;
− promote and support integrated organization and management of resources, as well as
the participation of local actors, in order to coordinate their use with the needs and
capacities of the territory.
In situations of this type, therefore, it seems legitimate to ask what the chances are of
achieving significant environmental protection results starting from governance tools, and if
the approaches and tools typical of traditional physical planning, of a strictly regulatory nature,
are not yet useful. In the case of Marseilles, for example, it would seem appropriate to focus
on the recognition of precise roles of cities, territories (including small towns), tourist
attraction areas and priority protection areas, as is the case in the marine protected area in
the Parc des Calanques.
In the attempt of defining a common methodology to be implemented during Coasting and
then further widespread at Med level, the first task of the project has been to collect and
systematized good practices related on coastal governance and sustainable tourism
management. Other good practices, in the future development of research, will be
investigated according to the perspective proposed here.
REFERENCES
Billé, R. (2006). Gestion intégrée des zones côtières: quatre illusions bien ancrées. Vertigo, 7(3).
doi:10.4000/vertigo.1555 https://journals.openedition.org/vertigo/1555?lang=en#article-1555
Clavé, S. A., Wilson J. (2017). The evolution of coastal tourism destinations: a path plasticity
perspective on tourism urbanization. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 25 (1), 96-112.
doi:10.1080/09669582.2016.1177063
Communauté urbaine Marseille Provence Métropole, Ville de Marseille, Agence de l'eau Rhône
Méditerranée Corse, Agence d’urbanisme de l’agglomération marseillaise (2015). Contrat de Baie de
la métropole marseillaise – Dossier définitif, Programme d’actions. Annexes http://www.marseille-
provence.fr/index.php/competences/developpement-urbain/developpement-durable/le-contrat-de-
baie
Deneault, A. (2013). Gouvernance. Le management totalitaire, Lux Éditeur. Italian eds Governance. Il
management totalitario. Neri Vicenza: Pozza Editore, 2018. ISBN-10: 8854515817

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Iacovone, G. (2010). Lineamenti della pianificazione strategica. Bari: Cacucci Editori. ISBN:
10:8884229391
WEB SITES
https://coasting.interreg-med.eu
http://www.marseille-provence.fr/index.php/competences/developpement-urbain/developpement-
durable/le-contrat-de-baie
AUTHORS’ PROFILE
Paolo De Pascali is a full Professor in Urban Planning (ICAR 21), PDTA Department, Sapienza
University of Rome. Chair of Urban Regeneration and Urban Planning Fundamentals. Director of the II
level University Master Course URBAM (Urban planning in public administration). Since 1983 he is the
Saverio Santangelo is an associate professor in Urban Planning, PDTA Department, Sapienza

University of Rome. He carries out research on public action issues in urban planning, and on topics
of strategic planning, social housing, local sustainable development. Member of PhD Department board
in Planning, Design, Technology of Architecture. Scientific coordinator on behalf Sapienza, PDTA
Annamaria Bagaini, urban and Environmental Planner, PhD in Planning, Design and Technology of
chain.
Maria Teresa Cutrì, architect, PhD in Architectural design. Her research interests focus on modern
architecture and landscape. She is among the founding members of the Center for Studies on the
Modern, which gathers the legacy of the Observatory on the modern, Sapienza University of Rome,
continuing its research and project direction. Currently, she is involved in some European projects.
Carolina Pozzi, architect. In 2014 she earned a Master degree in Architecture at Sapienza University
of Rome. She collaborates with Italian and Maltese companies, working on the fields of EU-funded
projects and territorial planning. Technical assistance for PDTA Department in the Interreg MED
Coasting project.

© 2019, FedoaPress

INNOVATIVE MANAGEMENT
TOOLS TO SURVEY BOAT
TRAFFIC AND ANCHORING
ACTIVITIES WITHIN A MARINE
PROTECTED AREA
*THOMAS SCHOHN, PATRICK ASTRUCH

ELODIE ROUANET
GIS Posidonie, Mediterranean Insiture of

Oceanography (MIO), University of Aix-
Marseille, Marseille, France
e-mail: thomas.schohn@univ-amu.fr
URL: https://gisposidonie.osupytheas.fr/

Schohn, T., Astruch, P., Rouanet, E., … & Nerini, D. (2019). Innovative management tools to survey boat traffic
and anchoring activities within a Marine Protected Area. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature
6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
Recreational boating is a major outdoor activity which is very popular in the Mediterranean Sea.
One of the main pressures on habitat generated by this activity is anchoring. MPA managers
need tools to assess annual frequentation rates and related pressures on their most sensitive
marine ecosystems. Methods were tested in the Natural Reserve of Scandola (Corsica, north-
western Mediterranean), to monitor anchoring activities in the Bay of Elbu, using a 10-minute
Self-Activating Photographic Device (SAPD) and a Ge ographic Information System (GIS) to
localize every observed boat. A total of 827 boats were observed anchoring from April to July
2018, with a peak of 49 boats in July. Wind and time statistically influence daily anchoring rates.
Rigid inflatable boats are the most frequently obser ved type of craft (49%). To reduce the GIS
processing time, which is highly time-consuming, we proposed simplifying the data acquisition
and reducing the processing time to smooth the daily anchoring frequentation using quadratic
rules. This method enables a 90% reduction of the i mage processing time, with only 12 images
to be analysed per day.
KEYWORDS
MPA; Survey; Anchoring; Self-Activating Photographi c Device; Geographical Information System
* The other authors are: Adrien Goujard, Chloé Jehl, Lisa Dossmann, Jean-Marie Dominici, Laurence Le
Diréach, David Nerini.
Innovative management tools to survey boat traffic and anchoring activities within a marine protected area

1 INTRODUCTION
Marine and coastal ecosystems provide many services that contribute to human needs and
well-being (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005). These features partly explain the
massive increase in the coastal urbanisation since the 19th century. At the same time, coastal
tourism has steadily increased, particularly since the 1950s (Davenport & Davenport, 2006).
Recreational boating is a major outdoor activity, which is very popular in the Mediterranean
Sea, particularly in areas of high environmental value (Venturini et al., 2018). These
increasingly widespread activities may be the source of conflicts of interest and disturbance
for coastal and marine ecosystems (Deter et al., 2017).
Well-enforced Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) have for decades proved to be effective
conservation tools for maintaining or enhancing marine biodiversity (Browman et al., 2004;
Boudouresque et al., 2005). The maintenance of good quality in coastal and marine
ecosystems by means of MPAs enhances the ecosystem services (Pascal et al., 2018).
Recreational uses are also constantly on the increase within protected areas (Monti et al.,
2018; Widmer & Underwood, 2004), enabling people to enjoy outstanding sites, landscapes
and wildlife. These activities can serve a useful purpose for educating users but are potentially
harmful for ecosystems if not properly controlled (Das & Chatterjee, 2015). Ecotourism and
recreational boating have strongly increased within the Natural Reserve of Scandola (Corsica,
France) over the last decade (Tavernier & Dominici, 2014). One of the main pressures
generated by these driving forces is anchoring on Posidonia oceanica seagrass meadows. P.
oceanica meadows, which constitute a key ecosystem but are vulnerable, suffer in particular
from mechanical damage caused by anchors (Ganteaume et al., 2005; La Manna et al., 2015;
Lloret et al., 2008).
The degree of damage is dependent on the size and the type of anchor used by boats (Milazzo
et al., 2004). Within the Natural Reserve of Scandola, in the bay of Elbu, it has been shown
that the structure of P. oceanica meadows relative to hydrodynamic conditions is highly
vulnerable to anchoring (Astruch et al., 2008). MPA managers need to survey the typology of
the frequentation within their area in order to determine the most appropriate management
system. Long-term monitoring is expensive and time-consuming. An automated system could
thus provide an appropriate solution for managers. Already used for wildlife monitoring with
camera traps (Jumeau et al.,2017), photography or video-based methods have also been used
to monitor human frequentation in MPAs (Bonhomme et al., 2013; Corre et al., 2012; Miller
et al., 2017).
In this study, our aim was to assess the frequentation by boats within the Natural Reserve of
Scandola with regard to both anchoring activities and boat traffic, relying on an automatic

© 2019, FedoaPress

T. Schohn, P. Astruch, E. Rouanet et al.
data acquisition protocol. Trends over time and quantitative information will highlight the
current frequentation rates within the Reserve. Then, we propose a method for simplifying
the data acquisition and reducing the processing time for assessment of the daily anchoring
frequentation rate.
2 METODOLOGY
2.1 STUDY SITE

The Natural Reserve of Scandola (42°22’N, 8°33’E) is a marine and terrestrial reserve, located
in the north-west of Corsica Island (France), between Galeria and Porto (Fig. 1). It was set
up in 1975 and has had UNESCO world heritage status since 1987. It is constituted of a 70-
ha no-take area where fishing, diving and mooring are prohibited, and a 680-ha partial
reserve, where artisanal fishing and mooring are allowed but restricted. All activities within
the terrestrial part of the reserve are prohibited.
Fig. 1 Localization of the marine part of the Natural Reserve of Scandola. Gray hatch: recreational fishing and
diving are prohibited; Black hatch: no-take area. The grey point corresponds to the position of the SAPD on the
rocky headland of Elbu
2.2 TEMPORAL FREQUENTATION ASSESSMENT

Boat frequentation the Natural Reserve of Scandola was assessed using a Self-Activating
Photographic Device (SAPD). The SAPD is a reflex camera (Canon® EOS 200D, 10 mm fish-
eye lens) designed to take still photographs every ten minutes from 6 AM to 9 PM using a 10-
minute intervalometer to automatically switch cameras on. The SAPD was positioned on the

© 2019, FedoaPress


rocky headland of Elbu, allowing the monitoring of anchoring in both Marina d’Elbu and inlet
of Imbutu, two of the most frequented sites within the Reserve (Fig. 1). Image processing
was carried out on the Geographic Information System (GIS) (ArcGis 10.6®). Each boat in
each picture was digitalized as one vector layer. The factors integrated in the attribute table
are as follows: boat ID, type of boat (indeterminate, motor boat, rigid inflatable boat,
catamaran, motor catamaran or sailboat), its motion (moving or stationary), and whether it
is beaching (Yes or No). A boat is considered as anchored when observed in two consecutive
pictures at the same location, and a residence time (duration of anchoring period) can be
estimated. Data acquisition was started on April 4th and ended on July 31st 2018,
corresponding to 8 975 pictures. In total, 227 hours of digitalization on GIS were necessary.
2.3 STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

We fitted a generalized linear model (GLM) for anchoring with Negative Binomial error
distribution to test the effect of wind (‘No’ if daily wind speed 5 m.s-1; ‘Yes’ if daily wind
speed > 5 m.s-1), day types (holiday; weekday; weekend) and month (April, May, June, July).
Response variables were modelled for dependence on predictor variables using the model
selection method based on the Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC) (Schwarz, 1978).
2.4 ESTIMATION OF THE DAILY FREQUENTATION USING LOW-FREQUENCY

OBSERVATIONS
The detection and counting of the boats in every picture are time-consuming tasks performed
manually. It was necessary to reduce the number of pictures per day. Two questions arise:
how many pictures are required to provide a good estimation of the daily frequentation? When
should the pictures be taken during the day? The use of numerical integration techniques will
help to answer these questions. Let us consider a given day where the number of boats is
counted in a sequence of hourly images. The boats are not distinguished from one image to
the other and what is of interest is the overall estimation of the daily frequentation at a given
site. We dispose of a set of couples composed by the time when the picture was taken and
an associated number of boats. If there are no missing data and if the picture shooting times
are equally spaced, it is possible to provide a raw estimate of the daily frequentation (number
of boats.h-1.d-1) by straightforwardly computing the mean number of boats over the day.
Starting from the set of available observations, the concept is here to construct a smooth
curve that fits the data by a non-parametric regression (Simonoff, 1996). An estimate of the
mean hourly frequentation can then be computed, being proportional to the surface area
below the curve (the integral). This area can be computed using classical numerical methods

© 2019, FedoaPress

(Simpson, trapezoidal rule) with reasonably good accuracy. It is also possible to approximately
estimate by using a simple sum of well-suited rectangle surfaces, with the so-called
quadrature rule (Gautschi, 2004). A given quadrature rule implies the choice of quadrature
points which give the times at which a picture must be taken to give a good approximation of
the daily frequentation. Obviously, it is expected that the number of pictures may be as small
as possible. Here, the data set is restrained at the June and July counts, to keep a reasonable
number of boats a day necessary for daily modelling. Statistical tests and estimating daily
frequentation using low-frequency observations have been done with R statistical language
(R Core Team, 2018).
3 RESULTS
3.1 FREQUENTATION
A total of 5 560 boats were counted in the Bay of Elbu, including 827 anchored boats. Overall
frequentation is weak until June and increases strongly in July, with a peak of 430 boats on
27th July. The anchoring curve is the same shape as that of the overall frequentation, with a
marked increase in anchoring during the last ten days of June, with a maximum on 19th July
with 49 boats (Fig. 2). Rigid inflatable (RI) boats (43 %), sailboats (26 %) and motor boats
(18 %) are mainly observed. Sailboat users remained anchored 2h51 on average. Residence
time of ‘Motor boat’ and ‘RI boat’ are respectively 2h11 and 1h11.

Fig. 2 Daily anchoring frequentation over time. Bank holidays are represented in red, weekdays in yellow and
weekends in blue. Red crosses are windy day (speed > 5 m.s -1). Grey area corresponds to a no data period
The most parsimonious model to study the daily anchoring only includes WIND and MONTH
variables and their interaction (BIC = 461), TYPES OF DAY is not significant. The terms of
reference are ‘no wind’ and ‘July’. Each monthly frequentation rate is significantly lower than
the July frequentation rate (negative coefficients, Tab. 1).

© 2019, FedoaPress


Wind has a negative effect on the frequentation, but terms of interaction show that
frequentation is higher on June windy days than July windy days (for the same wind speed
and direction).
Estimated coefficients (± s.e.) z-value P
Intercept 3.19 (0.12) 27.26 ***

WIND (yes) - 2.28 (0.60) - 3.81 ***
MONTH (April) - 2.91 (0.43) - 6.72 ***
MONTH (May) - 2.13 (0.27) - 7.97 ***
MONTH (June) - 1.27 (0.17) - 7.28 ***
WIND (yes) x MONTH (April) 3.60 (1.00) 3.57 ***
WIND (yes) x MONTH (May) NA NA NA
WIND (yes) x MONTH (June) 1.89 (0.73) 2.57 *
* (P 0.05); ** (P 0.01); *** (P 0.001)
Tab. 1 Parameter estimates relative to the best model (BIC) for the response variable Frequentation using a
Negative Binomial error distribution
3.2 ESTIMATING DAILY FREQUENTATION USING LOW-FREQUENCY

OBSERVATIONS
Daily frequentation estimation quality increase with the number of quadrature points in order
to compute the required surface area below the frequentation curve. In this example, only
curves with at least 7 boats in a picture have been conserved (19 days from June to July
2018). The absolute deviation measures the absolute value of the difference between the
quadrature approximation and the integral computed by a trapezoidal rule. In this sample of
curves, taking 12 pictures per day is enough (1% error) to get an accurate estimation of the
daily frequentation.
Taking only 5 pictures would also be appropriate if a higher absolute error is accepted. Once
a quadrature rule has been chosen, it is interesting to see when pictures must be taken. The
shooting time of a picture is provided by the position of the quadrature points (blue points,
Fig. 3) will lead to almost the same frequentation estimation as using the whole dataset. We
traced the pattern of the average hourly frequentation per day over the summer season, using
both estimations based on empirical means and on numerical integrals.
Results show a reasonably good accuracy of the estimations using only 12 pictures per day
and enable monitoring of the increase in frequentation over the study period. The estimation
method enables the reduction by 90% of the number of pictures to be analysed.

© 2019, FedoaPress


Previous management goals of MPAs since the 1970s, such as those of the Natural Reserve
of Scandola, were mainly focused on the conservation of heritage and threatened species
(Boudouresque et al., 2005). The increase in tourism activities corresponds to activities of
economic importance that cannot be ignored in current MPA management plans, despite the
related impact on coastal and marine ecosystems. Managers must consider those activities
and their impact and determine a balance taking into account both ecosystems functioning
and conservation and sustainable human activities. This ecological sustainability is essential
for economic activities which rely on the provision of the ecosystem services that its
conservation enables.
Fig. 3 Pattern of the daytime frequentation on 26th July 2018. The red curve is a non-parametric regression. Blue
points represent shooting time of the 12 pictures selected for the daily estimation
The SAPD method is appropriate for the acquisition of continuous data over a long period,
especially during windy periods, during which on board counts are not possible. Anchoring
increases in June and is at its highest in July. The type of day does not have a significant
effect on the daily frequentation. Results show that the site is more frequented by tourists
than local inhabitants, who work during the week and use the Reserve area during the
weekend. Tourist frequentation is characterized by the expansion of the proportion of RI boats
during July. This increase in the number of these small craft could result from day rentals of
boats around the Scandola area (Life LINDA, 2008), which corresponds to short-time
anchoring users whose behavior pattern is to visit several sites within the MPA. The more
seriously harmful impact on the Posidonia meadows can be related to the anchoring of larger

© 2019, FedoaPress


boats (i.e. over 20 m length). Digitalization of pictures is time-consuming: it took 227 hours
to process 8 975 photos, including 156 hours for July data. This protocol allows a very accurate
analysis of the temporal daytime frequentation, and fine scale spatial results using GIS.
Results of this work have enabled us to reduce the number of pictures to estimate an hourly
average daily frequentation rate, while conserving good accuracy. This reduction could affect
more significantly the results of spatial assessment or residence time estimation but is a good
alternative for assessment of the daily frequentation for a long-term survey. This protocol
could be used directly by MPA managers during heavy frequentation periods. To conclude,
this automatic frequentation protocol survey in key areas offers the means to assess anchoring
pressure based on qualitative (type of boats) and quantitative data (residence time). For a
long-term assessment of frequentation, we demonstrate that it is possible to reduce the
number of pictures by about 90 % using estimation of the mean daily frequentation by
quadrature, which greatly reduces the processing time involved in image digitalization.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work was made possible thanks to the invaluable assistance of the management team of
the Natural Reserve of Scandola? This study was carried out within the framework of the
GIREPAM project, funded by the European Union (Marittimo project). We thank Michael Paul
for proof reading the paper.
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AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Thomas Schohn study engineer in Marine Ecology at GIS Posidonie (Marseille, France; NGO working
on applied research on marine ecology), he works on statistical treatment, data base management
and GIS to carry out projects about monitoring of the impact of human activities on marine ecosystems.
GIS Posidonie is defined as a link between fundamental research in ecology and management.
Patrick Astruch, research engineer at GIS Posidonie, he is focused on the monitoring and the
understanding of the functioning of marine and coastal ecosystems within the Mediterranean.
Elodie Rouanet, research engineer at GIS Posidonie, she is focused on the monitoring and the
understanding of the functioning of marine and coastal ecosystems within the Mediterranean sea.
Adrien Goujard study engineer in marine ecology at GIS Posidonie, he developped data managment
et GIS tools to study Mediterranean ecosystems and more efficiency the bathyal ecosystem.
Chloé Jehl, Civic Service Volunteer at GIS Posidonie, she contributes at the GIS Posidonie
communication. More specificly for this project, she worked on photography digitalization on GIS tools.
Lisa Dossmann, Master degrees on Oceanography at Aix-Marseille University and welcomed by GIS
Posidonie, she works on analyzed of DPDA datas to study impacts of anchoring on Posidonia oceanica
meadows on Bay of Elbu.
Jean-Marie Dominici is the conservator of the Scandola Natural Reserve (Corsica, France), he brings
his experience and knowledges on the study area context.
Laurence Le Direach, Doctor in Oceanography and researcher at GIS Posidonie, she is specialized
in fish ecology and monitoring in brackish and sea water, particularly on fish juveniles and larvae.
Indeed, she supervises many programs of frequentation study in MPAs.
David Nerini works at the Mediterranean Institute of Oceanology, part of the Pytheas Institute, and
teaches at the Aix-Marseille University. Doctor in bio-statistics, its research topics deal with applied
statistics inspired by statistical problems encountered in ecology and marine sciences.

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SHADES
SUSTAINABLE AND HOLISTIC APPROACHES TO
DEVELOPMENT IN EUROPEAN SEABORDS
FRANCESCO VITA, FORTUNATO COZZUPOLI
Flag dello Stretto, Italy

afranvita@gmail.com
fortunato.cozzupoli@gmail.com

Vita, F. & Cozzupoli, F. (2019). SHADES. Sustainable and Holistic Approaches to Development in European
Seabords. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature and ecosystem services (pp. 302-311). Naples:
ABSTRACT
The supranational cooperation project SHADES (Susta inable and Holistic Approaches to
Development in European Seabords) has been planned, coordinated and implemented by the
Fisheries Local Action Group “dello Stretto” (lead partner) and is part of the Local Development
Plan funded by the European Fisheries Fund (EFF) 2007-2013 - Axis IV “Sustainable development
of fishing areas”. The reason for choosing the Integ rated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) as
a tool for the SHADES cooperation project is the established understanding, which is spread at
both a European and global level, of the need in coastal areas of: management, integration, ad
hoc planning tools.
KEYWORDS
Management; Integration; Planning; Holistic Approac h; Multi-scale Relationship
Sustainable and holistic approaches to development in European Seabords

1 INTRODUCTION
The focus on a sustainable management of resources has been growing steadily in the past
decades, stemming from an increased global awareness of the progressive depletion of these
resources (UNEP, 1972; UNCED, 1992; WCED, 1987). It has been necessary to focus on those
“sensitive” areas (Montebello, 2004), such as the coastal zones, where a conflict exists
between different types of uses and users (Vallega, 2001; 2003). These are as can be
understood as “hyperplaces” where multiple pressure factors coexist (Boscolo, 2011). Such
conflicts stem from the underlying characteristics of coastal zones, which make them a multi-
resource thanks to their social, environmental and economic components. However, coastal
areas are, in fact, a preferred location for urban settlement, for many economic activities
(such as the fisheries, tourism and transport sector) as well as a meeting point for varying
natural systems that together make up a unique, but fragile, ecosystem. It is well known that
the concentration of human activity along the coastal areas can generate risk factors that
undermine their carrying capacity1, leading to a series of negative effects including, but not
limited to: pollution, depletion of fishing resources and coastal erosion events. As a
consequence, at a global as well as at European level, the need has emerged to adopt a
management approach defined within research as “Integrated Coastal Zone Management”
ICZM) or Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM). This is a not sector-specific planning
and management tool and has the capacity to account for the multifunctional characteristics
of coastal areas. This tool, however, has not yet been regulated by relevant policies and laws
at a European level. The reason for choosing the Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM)
as a tool for the SHADES cooperation project is the established understanding, which is spread
at both a European and global level, of the need in coastal areas of:
− management: the coastal areas need to be managed, systemizing endogenous resources
according to a longterm plan and in relation to a program of sustainable development.
Coastal areas are, in fact, very complex systems, with regards to both their natural
systems, as a meeting point of the two ecosystems of land and sea, as well as from the
perspective of human activities, as coastal areas are the preferred area for many
economic, production, living, transport and tourism activities. All these resources and
complexities can foster important opportunities to support both economic and social
development. This also means that significant competition exists with regards to access
(as well as exclusive use) of coastal resources (Siirila, 2012), due to the high number of
users of such territories (Vallega, 2001);

© 2019, FedoaPress

F. Vita, F. Cozzupoli
− integration: the different strengths of a territory can, and should, be integrated to

develop synergies; the different social and economic users of the coastal areas must
enjoy the same opportunities to access such resources, without diminishing the
possibility for other actors to use the same resources in an effective way (Siirila, 2012).
The coastal areas are the object of a high number of legal and planning tools, which
often act in an uncoordinated way, and sometimes contrast one another. In this sense,
integration becomes a need concerning not only the “functions” of a territory, but also
the actors which operate on that territory. The participation of local actors within
planning development is paramount, as underlined by the European Union through their
promotion of Community-Led Local Development within the mainstreaming of the LEADE
R approach during the planning period 2014-2020; “Ad hoc planning tools”: a number
of legal and planning tools concerning the coastal areas have been created, which,
however, sometimes overlapped and acted in contradictory ways. Therefore, it is
necessary to harmonize such tools in order to obtain effective results for the use of the
coastal environments and the upgrading of resources, thus safeguarding its identity and
guaranteeing its availability for future generations. Despite the fact that there is not yet
a specific legal tool for the implementation of ICZM in Europe, the experience of the
FLAG and the aims of Axis IV of the 2007-2013 EFF can all be ascribed to the conceptual
framework of the ICZM.
Stemming from this consideration, the operational objectives set out by the SHADES project
are twofold:
− sharing know-how and good practices between the project partners through carrying
out study visits in their respective territories;
− collecting and analysing critically the experiences of the European FLAGs, focusing
specifically on those initiatives which have been considered as innovative and which
implemented the principles behind the ICZM found in European papers such as the
COM(2000) 547 def. and the Madrid Protocol on Integrated Coastal Zone Management
(21st of January 2008).
2 METHODOLOGICAL ASSUMPTIONS
We will highlight the methodological assumptions we based our research on, in order to better
understand the specific choices and the progress made so far in the SHADES project. The
methodological assumptions, which have been widely discussed and shared during the
meetings held with all the project partners, take inspiration from, and are based upon, the
eight principles defined in the COM(2000) 547 final Communication by the Commission. There

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are three main keywords that summarise the methodological assumptions on which we based
this report: Management, Integration and Planning. These three elements are connected to
some methodological assumptions, which must be taken into consideration when speaking of
integrated coastal zone management.
Fig. 1 Methodological assumptions
2.1 ACTIONS
On the basis of the described methodological assumptions, we tried to highlight those
elements that allow us to obtain, from the preliminary investigation, a reference framework
with the ability to direct the research in relation to the general topic. The first step entailed
the identification of the case studies within the FLAG partner territories. Secondly, significant
case studies were also identified outside the territories of the partner FLAGs. This was
achieved through the contribution of experts who were involved in the project. This allowed
us to rely on a reference framework of specialized knowledge in order to be able to analyze
the matter without wasting temporal resources. The results obtained have allowed a
comparison amongst the partners in order to identify the good practices regarding the
management of coastal areas. To this end, we have asked the partners to identify those case
studies, related to the subject of ICZM, which they considered in line to the methodological
assumptions and which had effects, or at least similar methodological assumptions, to those
of the SHADES project. The collection of information also represents an important opportunity
for discussion for the project partners. This allows us to obtain a more effective and better
selection, objectified by external experiences, and not self-referential.
2.2 TOOLS
The questionnaire used to analyze the good practices (which can be found in Annex 2) has
been drafted by the technical group of FLAG dello Stretto. Its detailed structure allowed the
experts of the different partners involved to easily see what information was required in order

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to illustrate projects and/or initiatives which dealt with integrated coastal zone management,
structured according to the scientific assumptions of SHADES. This template has been useful
to analyze the information collected in depth, and to obtain a detailed summary which
highlighted the positive aspects and critical points of the case studies selected. The
information that was requested in the questionnaire is described below.
Fig. 2 The methodological approach
2.3 SUMMARISATION TABLE

This section highlights the work carried out by the technical group of FLAG dello Stretto, based
on the questionnaires which were sent by the partners. All the information has been
normalized, systematized, analyzed and implemented in a
synthesis table that highlights the different elements considered, in order to make it easier to
see the specific characters
of the cases presented. Thanks to the partners, 27 case studies have been analyzed in total,
21 of which belonged to the territories of the partner FLAGs and 6 of which have been
identified in territories which do not belong to the partner FLAGs. In regards to the information
received, it should be pointed out how in several cases it was incomplete, and often submitted
in a way which was not compliant with the instructions given: where information was absent

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or inadequate. In such cases the replies have been labelled with the letters “n.a.” (not
available). This leads to some difficulties in understanding the effective value of the case
studies selected. Another problem was that some of the case studies analyzed are still on-
going, have been only completed recently, or the results obtained have not yet been
evaluated. This said, the case studies which were recommended by the partners have several
elements of interest, consistent with the objectives set by the SHADES project. On a positive
note, it should be said that some of these case studies show innovative features, using
methods and contents which have the potential to be exchanged between territories and
offering elements for a more effective future management of coastal areas. The experiences
identified have been structured according to a table, and for each of them a synthetic data
sheet has been created. Each data sheet contains some information related to the initiatives
and to the territories of the FLAGs (partners or non-partners) which have promoted and
implemented them, while the table allows us to clearly outline the aspects that have been
analyzed in more detail, specifically:
Methodological approach:
− the triple focus of Management, Integration and Planning;
− holistic approach;
− man - nature relationship;
− participatory processes.
Indicators of good practices within the ICM conceptual framework, according to com (2000)
547 final:
− broad and “holistic” (thematic and geographic) perspective;
− long-term perspective;
− adaptive management that uses gradual processes;
− expression of local specificity;
− activities that respect natural processes;
− participation in planning;
− support and involvement of all relevant administrative bodies;
− using a combination of different instruments.
Objectives shared with the Madrid Protocol (2008):
− facilitate, through the rational planning of activities, the sustainable development of
coastal zones by ensuring that the environment and landscapes are taken into account
in harmony with economic, social and cultural development;
− preserve coastal zones for the benefit of current and future generations;
− ensure the sustainable use of natural resources, particularly with regard to water use;

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− ensure preservation of the integrity of coastal ecosystems, landscapes and

geomorphology;
− prevent and/or reduce the effects of natural hazards and in particular of climate change,
which can be induced by natural or human activities;
− achieve coherence between public and private initiatives and between all decisions by
the public authorities, at the national, regional and local levels, which affect the use of
the coastal zone.
Repeatability
2.4 SUCCESS ELEMENTS OF THE CASE STUDIES ANALYSED AND

OPERATIONAL PROPOSAL
This proposal was born from a synthesis of the main elements highlighted and valued as
positive among the initiatives carried out in the FLAG and non-FLAG territories, targeting the
SHADES objective, i.e. an integrated coastal zone management, being sustainable from a
financial, environmental and social point of view. None of the case studies analyzed offers
complete information, since they often only provide a synthetic data sheet or short report.
Often the context is explained in depth, but the methodologies used and the evaluations
carried out were not. The consolidated approach at a European level, which requires an
evaluation of the actions at all the stages of their progress, up to the determination of the
real, indirect or direct, outcomes, has not been implemented with regards to the themes that
the SHADES project deals with. Further to this, the holistic approach, one of the pillars of
integrated coastal zone management, has not been used sufficiently. All this leads to inability
to understand the incidence, the value and the effectiveness of the case studies analyzed.
This applies to both the experiences quoted in the main projects of cooperation and
particularly to those that were submitted by the territories. This is due to the fact that these
initiatives are recent: all but a few were started less than ten years ago and some of them
are still in progress. For these latter, it is obviously impossible to obtain a conclusive
assessment; nevertheless, we can already gather that also those initiatives have addressed
only marginally the evaluation of the starting conditions. It should be underlined that, while
in the partner territories the implementing bodies were strongly connected to the local
context, in the external projects visibility and involvement have also involved the higher level
of territorial governance. This is the case for 6 of the projects that have been examined. All
of this considered, the operational proposal presented is a synthesis of the elements analyzed
and deemed as effective to achieve integrated management. These include from the holistic
approach to the involvement of the public and private stakeholders, from an attention to

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sustainability indicators, to the use of the coastal areas for tourism. The tool presented here
shows some elements of innovation (specifically, knowledge building) and some consolidated
elements (specifically, the participation in the creation of indicators). This tool has been
named SIGAC, Integrated territorial knowledge System for the management of coastal areas
in the FLAG territories.
2.5 SIGAC: AN INTEGRATED TERRITORIAL KNOWLEDGE SYSTEM FOR THE

MANAGEMENT OF COASTAL AREAS IN THE FLAG TERRITORIES
The analyses of the case studies carried out so far showed a lack of knowledge regarding the
on-going dynamics and the real potential of the territories. Further to this, a difficulty in
achieving a holistic approach within the subject of integrated coastal management has been
identified. The tool we suggest is the result of the analysis carried out so far, and of those
case studies that have had a successful and lasting outcome on the territories. We found that
a tool was needed to mediate the diachronic process. Today, the rhythms of technology
contribute to accelerate this diachronic condition even more, which introduces into the world
mechanisms and tools that are further ahead than the scientific descriptions of the world
available in the various fields of knowledge. Discoveries made during the first years of the last
century only today are successfully applied, since the rhythms of assimilation and adoption of
these mechanisms are slow. They need long processes and experimentation, for which
sufficient time must be allocated. This process of differentiation between the rhythms of man,
defined as “historical” by Enzo Tiezzi, and the rhythms of technology, is apparently similar in
a number of aspects, to that previously described different between “historical” and “biological
rhythms”. Thus, humans do not manage to keep up with their own creations and lose control
of them, not understanding their potential at the time of creation. From these assumptions a
new problem arises, regarding the transformation and management of the territory, and
concerning the institutions that decide on its use and control the dissemination and
implementation of new communication and information technologies able to support the
process of territorial planning and management. This growing problem can be tackled using
two tools: electronic governance, better known as e-governance, a new form of “participatory”
governance relying on the new information technologies, and Computer Systems, that support
de tools, in recent years, have undergone deep modifications and adapt well to the complexity
of today’s reality. This reality is not simply a source of data, but rather an active counterpart,
forcing us to recognize that action and knowledge are inseparable.
SIGAC: aims and objectives
The operational proposal was created to identify an appropriate tool for the management of
the complex reality found in the coastal areas, combinations of different ecosystems, and to

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plan and build an integrated territorial knowledge system. The SIGAC aims to qualify and
rationalize the decision-making processes through an understanding of relationships, and
wants to be a tool in support of actions and decisions within the multi-scale processes of
integrated coastal zone management. The implementation of a structured Integrated
Knowledge System aims to connect citizens, experts from different sectors, administration
executives and representatives of the institutions, through the possibility to access and acquire
in reduce the time needed to reply to the same requests through traditional ways, eliminating
logistic and bureaucratic links, guaranteeing not only a saving in terms of time for operators
and users and, but especially, a greater knowledge of the territory and the participation to
the policy choices that will be put forward.
The specific objectives of the Integrated Knowledge System targets are:
− guaranteeing that information is systematic, homogeneous, comparable, general and
updated;
− ensuring that relevant information and its analysis is readily available in the course of
decision-making processes;
− widening the dissemination of information and promoting its decentralized access;
− allowing the consideration of all the relevant elements jointly and simultaneously while
creating strategies for territorial development and management;
− supporting management based upon the triple focus planning, management and
integration.
Fig. 3 The operational proposal

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REFERENCES
Morin, E., (2001). Seven complex lessons in education for the future, Milan, IT. Cortina Editore. ISBN:
978-8870786989
Morin, E., (2001). Il paradigma perduto. Che cos’è la natura umana?. Milan, IT. Feltrinelli. ISBN: 978-
8869164798
Morin, E. (1985). Le Vie della Complessità, in Bocchi G. L. e Ceruti M, in La sfida della complessità,
Milan, IT. ISBN: 978-8842420729
Negroponte, N., (1995). Essere digitali., Milan, IT. Sperling & Kupfer. ISBN: 978-8820020040
Odum, E., (1988). Basi di ecologia, Padova IT. Piccin. ISBN 978-8829906253
Serini, P., (1968). Pensieri, Milan, IT. Mondadori, ISBN: 978-8806007379
Prigogine, I., (1997). La fine delle certezze, il tempo il caos e le leggi della natura. Turin, IT. Bollati
Boringhieri. ISBN: 978-8833925646
Tiezzi, E., (1982). Tempi storici e tempi biologici. Milan, IT. Garzanti, ISBN: 978-8879899703
Tiezzi, E., (2002). Tempi storici e tempi biologici. Vent’anni dopo. Roma, IT. Donzelli Editore ISBN:
978-8879896320
Tiezzi, E., (1996). Fermare il tempo. Milan, IT. Raffaello Cortina Editore. ISBN: 978-8870783841
Vendittelli, M. (1997). Parchi e sviluppo. Roma, IT. , Gangemi Editore. ISBN: 978-8874487189
Vendittelli, M., (2000). La sostenibilità da chimera a paradigma. Milano, IT. FrancoAngeli. ISBN: 978-
8846421753
AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Francesco Vita is a territorial planner and PhD in Park and garden architecture and territorial
organisation, specialised in local development. His research focuses on the subject of complexity as a
key to understand local systems. He is specialised in applied ICTs for management and improvement
of the processes of transformation of the territory, focusing on participation. He has carried out
extensive work both in Italy (Provincial Territorial Plan planning office in the district of Reggio Calabria,
with the title of wide area planning specialist, 2008-2012) and abroad (University of Newcastle Upon
Tyne - UK - School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape - Global Urban Research Unit, 2008). He
has been a Local Development Officer within Department 3 – Community Planning of the Calabria
region since 2011. He has been working as a technical advisor for LAG BaTiR and FLAG dello Stretto
since 2012.
Fortunato Cozzupoli, specialised in local development policies and territorial cohesion, is currently
the Director of LAG BaTiR and FLAG dello Stretto. He is a specialised consultant for public and private
organisations in different fields: from territorial, strategic and marketing planning to local planning,
evaluation of development policies and territorial enhancement. He has worked extensively in tackling
the problems of the economic, cultural, production and social contexts, starting up long-term local
development processes.

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NEW LOCAL PROJECTS FOR
DISADVANTAGED INNER AREAS
FROM TRADITIONAL MODEL
TO BIO-REGIONAL PLANNING
*ANNA MARIA COLAVITTI, ALESSIO FLORIS

FRANCESCO PES
Department of Department of Civil and

Environmental Engineering and Architecture
e-mail: amcolavt@unica.it

Colavitti, A. M., Floris, A.,Pes, F.,Serra, S. & Usai, A. (2019). New local projects for disadvantaged inner
areas. From traditional model to bio-regional planning. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature
6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
The reflections on the so-called “internal areas” ar e developed, in Italy, following the
definitions of specific policies for the South, focused on the promotion of generally exogenous
industrial models that are detached from the context. At the same time, having to respond
to the challenges posed by the intensification of te rritorial inequalities and the urgent need
to concretely implement the ecological transition, the territorial communities have developed
several “bottom-up” projects linked to the practice of multifunctional agriculture, recovery of
civic uses, circular economy and recovery of traditional supply chains for the purpose of a re-
reading of the context through a bio-regionalist perspective, according to the principles and
procedures defined by Alberto Magnaghi. The paper investigates the systemization of these
bottom-up initiatives within the planning system. Through the case study of the historic region
of Ogliastra, the work provides some insights to foster new synergies between the communities
that support these initiatives and the institutions responsible for plans and programs at various
decision-making levels.
KEYWORDS
Bioregion; Inner Areas; Local Development; Sardinia; Ogliastra Region
* The other authors are: Sergio Serra, Alessia Usai.
New local projects for disadvantaged inner areas

1 INNER AREAS AND LOCAL PROJECT: FROM THE TRADITIONAL

PARADIGM TO THE BIO-REGIONALIST MODEL
The reflections on the so-called “inner areas” in our country develop following the definition
of specific policies for the South, focused on the promotion of generally exogenous industrial
models (Barbera, 2015; Parascandolo, 2016). The process of globalization has profoundly
changed the linear relationship between places of production and the well-being of the
territories, but it is not sufficient in itself to explain the phenomena of rising unemployment,
creating pockets of poverty and the state of suffering of many peripheral territories: these
dynamics have a complex and multi-scale genesis (Veltz, 2008).
The French economist Laurent Davezies underlines the ineffectiveness of the traditional
economic models used on the national scale for the analysis of local territorial realities: in
these contexts, the basic incomes are increasingly disconnected from the productive capacity
and from the exports of goods and services following the financial crisis of 2008-2009 and the
debt crisis of 2010-2011. Even in the presence of a general resilience of France as a whole,
the different territories have registered very different behaviors (Davezies, 2001; Davezies &
Lejoux, 2003; Davezies, 2012). Similar dynamics of acute intra-national territorial imbalances
occurred in numerous western contexts.
The territorial communities living in the internal areas, with a view to responding to the
challenges posed by the intensification of territorial inequalities and the urgent need to
concretely implement the ecological transition, have generated a whole series of projects with
a bottom-up approach, linked to the practice of multifunctional agriculture, the recovery of
civic uses, the circular economy and the recovery of traditional supply chains. This “back-to-
the-land” approach, however, requires a shared vision capable of generating coordinated
support actions (Marchetti et al., 2017; Parascandolo, 2017; Viesti, 2017).
In such a scenario, the bioregional paradigm can constitute an important element in the
process of conscious re-appropriation of territorial resources by local communities (Colavitti,
2013, 2017).
Traditional planning tools available at local and regional scale, based on a rationalist approach,
have proved to be generally outdated and unable to provide adequate responses to territorial
challenges. The question is in particular about the capacity of local territorial plans to
contribute qualitatively to contemporary development processes and to the re-generation of
“common goods” (Palermo, 2009) through functionalist-based planning mechanisms, which
are still expressed by the urban standard per inhabitant and by the determination of specific
urban functional units for every part of the municipal territory.

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A.M. Colavitti, A. Floris, F. Pes et al.
Alberto Magnaghi defines the concept of “urban bioregion” as a set of strongly anthropized
local territorial systems, interrelated by environmental relations characterizing a bioregion (a
valley system, an orographic node, a hilly system, a coastal system and its hinterland, etc.)
and characterized internally by the presence of a plurality of urban and rural centers
(Magnaghi, 2014).
Among the aims of such a bioregional system, Magnaghi identifies the enhancement of local
territorial identities, the production of "territorial added value" (Magnaghi, 2014) and the
"redesign of urbanity" to cope with the dynamics of de-territorialization of the contemporary
metropolis (Magnaghi, 2000).
Therefore, seven construction elements to govern the bioregional project are defined
(Magnaghi, 2014):
− the culture and the knowledge of the territory and the landscape;
− the environmental structures;
− the urban centralities and the polycentric system of settlements;
− the local productive systems;
− the local energetic resources;
− the multifunctional agroforestry structures;
− the structures of self-government for participatory federalism.
Finally, it is useful to show the way in which Magnaghi structures the socio-cultural
relationships between the settled populations and their own living place from the perspective
of the bioregion through a dialogue between the “energies of contradiction” and the “energies
of innovation” (Magnaghi, 2001). The Italian architect and urban planner defines
“contradictory energies”, “the behaviors, the social and cultural movements and the conflicts
that emanate from the new poverties produced by the processes of de-territorialization”
(Magnaghi, 2001) in order therefore to be configured as new forms of spatial and relational
connections, in opposition to the ongoing dominant processes. The “energies of ambivalence
and innovation” are, instead, those “technological potentials – communicative, telematics,
biological, energy, etc. – that can foster, if correctly directed and managed, the development
of a new territoriality” (ibid.). Among these, we can highlight, for example, telematics
technologies and those for the production of clean energy.
2 RECENT TERRITORIAL DYNAMICS AND REGIONAL LANDSCAPE

PLAN: THE CASE-STUDY OF OGLIASTRA
In Sardinia, the policies related to tourism and economic development have generated
important territorial imbalances, which have been highlighted through a process of

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concentration of the population in coastal areas and a consequent abandonment of internal
areas. In general, the process has resulted in a reduction of the role of representation and
the presence of intermediate bodies in places of the community (Decandia & Lutzoni, 2016;
Magnaghi, 2000; Rosboch, 2017).
Even though, from a certain point of view, the depopulation dynamics represent an endemic
element of the Sardinian territorial reality (Brundu, 2017), the decisive contribution of
contemporary development strategies linked to the “Rebirth Plan” after World War II cannot
be underestimated (Colavitti, 2013; Lecis, 2017; Scroccu, 2011). According to data from the
2015 IFEL report, in Sardinia, 84.4% of the Municipalities, which account for the 52.3% of
the total regional population, belong to the so-called internal areas as defined in the National
Strategy for Internal Areas (SNAI).
Among the territories considered as extreme periphery, there are large areas of the historic
regions of Gallura, Ogliastra and Barbagie, affected by an important depopulation
phenomenon that led to a loss of population of 13.9% from 1971 to 2011. Among the national
and international policies pursued for local development, starting from the year 2000, the
Local Action Groups (LAGs) foreseen by the Leader program, show the interest towards the
territory as a “community of life” among their strong points.
The historic region of Ogliastra represents an excellent case-study for the construction of a
bioregional scenario supporting inland areas. According to the last census, the population of
the Municipalities belonging to the suppressed province of Ogliastra1 amounts to 57,185
inhabitants; the two main urban centers of the area, Tortolì and Lanusei, do not exceed 15,000
inhabitants. In the year 2017, according to the ISPRA Report on Land Consumption, the
Province of Ogliastra appears to be among the Italian provinces with the lowest percentage
of consumed land, equal to 2.61% of the whole municipal surface area, although in the
presence of strong imbalances between several municipalities: the highest values are
recorded in the coastal municipalities of Bari Sardo (6.5%), Girasole (7.11%), Lotzorai (8.3%)
and Tortolì (13.71%), mainly due to settlement pressure linked to tourist flows, especially
inside the 300 meter strip from the coastline.
The territory is structured according to a "cavea" conformation constituted by the ridge of the
reliefs of the Gennargentu massif, closed in an arc on the coastal plain.
The Ogliastra settlement system reflects this conformation and the main inhabited centers are
arranged along three main lines (Sanna & Cuboni, 2009):

1
The former province of Ogliastra included the Municipalities of Arzana, Bari Sardo, Baunei, Cardedu,
Elini, Gairo, Girasole, Jerzu, Ilbono, Lanusei, Loceri, Lotzorai, Osini, Perdasdefogu, Seui, Talana,
Tertenia, Tortolì, Triei, Ulassai, Ussassai, Urzulei and Villagrande Strisaili.

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− the municipalities of the Rio Pardu valley (Gairo, Osini, Ulassai, Jerzu);
− the settlement belt halfway up the hill, along the eastern slope of the massif of
Gennargentu (Lanusei, Ilbono, Elini, Arzana, Villagrande Strisaili, Talana, Urzulei, Triei e
Baunei);
− the coastal settlement and the wetland area (Tertenia, Cardedu, Bari Sardo, Tortolì,
Lotzorai and Baunei).
Presence of “civic uses” is another interesting fact – consisting of the right to collective use
of the land for grazing, agriculture and forestry activities: these areas cover a 60% of the
Ogliastra area and about 482 km2 fall into protected areas of the Natura 2000 network
(Programming Service of the Province of Ogliastra, 2013).
The active population is mainly employed in the secondary and tertiary sector, in particular in
the tourist and hospitality sector. Instead, the weight of craft or agricultural professions
continues to decline. Ogliastra also presents a population with an Aging Index of 165.3%,
which is increasing and is already above the national average2; this data justifies the inclusion
of Ogliastra in the Blue zones with the highest longevity in the world (Pes & Poulain, 2014;
Buettner, 2015).
The historical region is included in one of the 27 landscape units of the Regional Landscape
Plan, which defines some strategic project guidelines. Among the most significant identified
measures, it is possible to highlight the redevelopment of the slope centers through the
strengthening of services for hospitality and receptivity, the enhancement of the
environmental system of municipalities in the Rio Pardu valley, the redevelopment of the
coastal settlement along the SS125 line by strengthening and integrating local services and
connections between the coastal municipalities and those of the hinterland, the conservation
of the ecological potential of the coastal ecosystem, of the wetlands of Tortolì and of the
hydro-geographic basin that feeds them.
3 REPLICABILITY OF THE BIO-REGIONAL MODEL FOR THE INTERNAL

AREAS: WHICH “ENERGIES” HAVE TO BE USED FOR OGLIASTRA?
From a bio-regionalist point of view, Ogliastra presents a settlement structure composed of
medium-small centers hierarchically oriented towards the coastal settlements in which the
main services are concentrated, despite the absence of real dominant polarities.
The data taken from the 2011 ISTAT census describe an activity rate of around 48% of the
population, a figure just below the regional average, which stands at 49.9%. The territory’s

2
ISTAT data- 8mila Census “Profilo del territorio della provincia di Ogliastra”.

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workforce is represented by a total of almost 24,000 active individuals (of whom 19,637 are
employed) out of a total of 50,035. A significant portion, around 23% of the employed
population, works in the commerce and hospitality sector, while over 20% is engaged in the
industrial sector.
In the agriculture, forestry, and fishing sector, however, only 12% of the population is
occupied, confirming the dynamics found at the regional level. Finally, the 2010 Agricultural
Census shows the presence of 3,336 farms on the territory of the former province of Ogliastra
– more than 50% are small businesses that use an agricultural area of less than 2 hectares,
while about 27% of companies exceeds 5 hectares of utilized agricultural area. The territorial
connections with the other historical regions are guaranteed by the SS125 “Orientale Sarda”,
the main arterial road that runs through the region from North to South; railway connections
are limited to the presence of the historic route of the Trenino Verde, currently used for
seasonally tourist purposes. Ogliastra responds to the territorial type of bioregional contexts
characterized by a coastal system and the complex multi-scale relations with its own
hinterland, generated by the polarization of the dynamics between mountain and coast.
According to Patrick Geddes, the Ogliastra context could be an excellent example of a “valley
section” (Geddes, 1925).
For a retelling of the context in a bio-regionalist point of view, however, it is necessary to
integrate and systemize also those bottom-up initiatives created with the aim of opposing the
dominant economic paradigm. These local initiatives are capable of producing conditions of
self-sustainability and “Territorial added value” through a new alliance between citizens and
local producers. Among the bottom-up initiatives, it has been pointed out, by way of example,
the “Terra Libera.
Biodiversity in Ogliastra” project, consisting of mini-courses of self-production and various
“know-how workshops”. Coping with the issue of the productive relationships linked to the
food resource, the Solidarity Purchase Groups (SPGs), the experiences of direct sales between
consumer and producer and the farmers’ markets, are among the most common forms
through which the citizens are freed from the channels of the traditional food chain. The SPGs,
despite their strategic importance, have been recognized by an administrative act drawn up
by the Union of Municipalities of Ogliastra3, which unfortunately has never been put in place.
Only one social farm is present within the “Regional register of multi-functionality of
agricultural and fish farms” for the former province of Ogliastra, in contrast with 10
educational farms.

3
Del. n. 26/2014 by the Administrative Board of the Municipalities Union of Ogliastra. Online:
https://www.regione.sardegna.it/documenti/1_17_20140908182541.pdf [last accessed: 11/03/2019].

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In both cases, almost all of these activities are located in coastal Municipalities, which probably
shows that even the existence of these realities follows in some way the same dynamics that
have characterized the tourism sector.
4 FINAL CONSIDERATIONS
At the end of the reflections carried out so far, it is possible to trace some considerations.
The present research shows the many possibilities and perspectives that would be generated
by the adoption of a bio-regional development model for a context such as that of Ogliastra.
Public planning initiatives at different institutional levels, aiming at promoting and enhancing
the territorial heritage, cultures and knowledge deposited in the local milieu, constitute a good
starting point, as a result of an increased awareness by administrators and local stakeholders.
However, it is clear the need to significantly schedule the knowledge of local resources, as
well as to enhance the bottom-up initiatives deriving from the will of citizens and associations,
which constitute the “contradictory energies” of bioregional contexts and that are often not
taken into account by the provisions of institutional plans and programs.
The Regional Landscape Plan of Sardinia was draft in 2006 with the purpose to resolve some
urgent problems about the model of development. It represented an important innovation in
terms of maintenance of the widespread cultural heritage, restoration of historical centres and
protection of coastal and agricultural landscapes.
Nevertheless, the planning objectives are implemented through traditional prescriptive rules,
in which the bounding conservation elements prevail over project strategies. In comparison,
regional Landscape Plans of Tuscany and Apulia based on a “territorialist” approach appear
to be more dynamic and participation-based. Furthermore, existing local municipal plans are
not able to fully grasp the whole territorial relationships and doesn’t take into account the
richness of grass-root initiatives and informal “energies” expressed by local communities.
To systematize these energies into an overall framework and integrate the dimension of
bottom-up initiatives in programming and planning tools, a highly original element could be
found in the establishment of forms of agreements between communities and policy makers,
able to highlight the territorial values represented by the main environmental invariants of the
context. In this sense, bio-districts, multifunctional agricultural parks, River Contracts and
Lagoon Contracts - the last two governed by a recent regional regulatory provision by the
Basin Authority4 - represent the most advanced tools.

4
Del. n. 2/2018 by the Institutional Committee of the Regional Basin Authority. Online:
https://www.regione.sardegna.it/documenti/1_617_20190109155046.pdf [last accessed: 11/03/2019].

© 2019, FedoaPress


The agricultural sector is a central element in Ogliastra economy; local product promotion
strategies should be based on encouraging organic production, creating quality certification
systems, creating multi-sectoral networks integrated with tourism, catering and trade supply
chains. In this sense, the establishment of a “bio-district” of Ogliastra region along the lines
of recent national and regional initiatives5 could constitute a winning prospect.
This is also due to the specificity of Ogliastra context, in which there is a great wealth of land
for civic use in a state of non-use that could be enhanced through the strengthening of
agroforestry production chains. The bio-district could also accommodate and integrate in a
unitary project all those ephemeral experiences related to Alternative Food Networks and
multi-functionality initiatives of agricultural practice. The analysis carried out in this paper has
shown that the total number of experiences resulting from the establishment of educational
farms and social farms is quite small, so it is difficult at present to imagine a significant impact
outside an integrated and multi-scale project.
The most urbanized contexts of the Ogliastra, thanks to the bio-district, could somehow
restructure the relationship between city and country, with a view to contrasting the soil
consumption. In the end, the structuring of a Lagoon Contract for the wetlands of the Tortolì
Pond and the hydrographic basin that feeds it and of a River contract for the Rio Pardu basin,
would make it possible to integrate the bio-district production strategies with the need for
protection and valorization of environmental resources, operating an overall reconnection
between the mountain-hill and coastal centers.
Also in this case the virtuous examples are not lacking, both at national and regional level: in
Sardinia there are already the River Contract of the Coghinas valley, the River Contract of the
Temo valley and the Calich Lagoon Contract. Still from a bioregion perspective, it is finally
possible to outline some of the future perspectives on the basis of the seven constructive
elements elaborated by Alberto Magnaghi, in terms of development of territorial information
systems about the paths, agricultural and gastronomic productions, civic uses and
archaeological preexistences, reconnection of the polycentric settlement network through
cycle and pedestrian and equestrian excursion routes, restoration interventions of the
historical centers and of the architectural elements characteristic of the rural landscape,
marketing of typical products, landscape and tourist-accommodation in multi-functional farms,
use of forest biomass in the energy field and the local closure of the waste cycle through its
unified and integrated management, enhancement of educational and multi-purpose farms,

5
The “Bio-district of Parks in Sardinia” is an initiative created by the Managing Entity of Porto Conte Park,
that elaborated a framework agreement between the Municipality of Alghero, the Natural Regional Park
of Porto Conte, COPAGRI Sardegna (Confederation of Agricultural Producers), ASAB Sardegna
(Sardinian Association for biological agriculture), Legambiente and Biocertifica – ICEA Sardegna.

© 2019, FedoaPress

self-produced laboratory initiatives, strengthen of the participatory dimension of the

communities in local decision-making processes.
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AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Anna Maria Colavitti is an Associate Professor in Urban Planning at the Department of Civil,
Environmental Engineering and Architecture (DICAAR) – University of Cagliari (IT) and PhD in Urban
Planning. She teaches Fundamentals of Urban Planning, Urban and Regional Planning. She is member
of the Scientific Board of the PhD Programme in Territorial planning and Urban Development. Her
research focuses on recent developments in cultural heritage, environmental and urban planning with
particular attention to local development approaches, integrated area-based programs and territorial
governance processes.
Alessio Floris is an Architect, graduated in Architecture at the University of Cagliari with full marks
and honors, with a final thesis in the field of urban planning, focusing on policies aimed to control
urban sprawl and to contrast land take. He is currently PhD student in Civil Engineering and
Architecture and his research investigates the topic of the enhancement of public real estate assets as
a resource to support urban regeneration processes. The aim is to identify new paradigms through
which to sustain its strategic value, integrating the socio-economic aspects with those linked to the
territory and the urban habitat, in a perspective of social innovation and territorial development. He
also collaborates with the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Architecture in the
drafting of municipal urban plans and detailed plans for the recovery of historical centers.

© 2019, FedoaPress

Francesco Pes is an Architect and Ph.D. in Civil Engineering and Architecture. He researches at
DICAAR - Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Architecture, University of Cagliari
(IT). His research is based on urban and territorial planning tools and methods for auto-sustainability
through innovative bioregional assessment approaches and ecosystem services evaluation at the local
neighbourhood scale. He enhanced his educational background carrying out international academic
projects at the Harbin Institute of Technology (China), Centre for Urban Ecologies - University of
Californa San Diego (USA), Institute d’Aménagement de Tourisme et Urbanisme – Universitè
Boredaux-Montaigne (France), Centre for Public Interest Design - Portland State University (USA). He
is author of about 10 scientific publications about his research topics.
Sergio Serra is an Architect, Ph.D. in Civil Engineering and Architecture and Research Fellow in Urban
and Regional Planning at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Architecture,
University of Cagliari (IT). His research interests focus on the application of innovative approaches and
market oriented tools, in the field of urban planning, aimed to the control of land-take phenomenon,
the recovery of historical centers, the protection and enhancement of cultural and landscape heritage,
the urban and territorial redevelopment. He also collaborates in the drafting of urban municipal plans
and detailed plans for the historical center, in compliance with the Regional Landscape Plan. He is
author of several publications of international and national relevance, included the recent peer-
reviewed book "Diritti edificatori e consumo di suolo. Governare il territorio in trasformazione".
Alessia Usai is a Civil Engineer and Ph.D. in Technology for the Preservation of Architectural and
Environmental Heritage. She researches at the Department of Civil, Environmental Engineering and
Architecture (DICAAR) – University of Cagliari (IT). Her research focuses on the relationship between
cultural heritage and urban planning according to the creative city principles and the landscape
approach outlined by the European Landscape Convention to identify best practices for the
development of innovative cultural policies and new urban regeneration tools.

© 2019, FedoaPress

INCLUSION OF MIGRANTS FOR
RURAL REGENERATION THROUGH
CULTURAL AND NATURAL
HERITAGE VALORIZATION
*ELISA CONTICELLIa
CLAUDIA DE LUCA , AITZIBER EGUSQUIZAb
a
a
Department of Architecture, Alma Mater
Studiorum, University of Bologna, Italy
e-mail: elisa.conticelli@unibo.it
claudia.deluca5@unibo.it
b
Sustainable Construction Division
Tecnalia Research & Innovation, Spain
e-mail: aitziber.egusquiza@tecnalia.com

Conticelli, E., De Luca, C., Egusquiza, A., Santangelo, A. & Tondelli, S. (2019). Inclusion of migrants for
rural regeneration through cultural and natural heritage valorization. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.),
10.6093/978-88-6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
Rural areas all over Europe are facing similar chronic economic, social and environmental
problems such as depopulation, reduced service provision, ageing, decline of agriculture income,
inhibited accessibility. At the same time, rural landscapes are continuously threatened by loss
of biodiversity, climate change impacts and short-term management decisions and perspectives
that further aggravate the economic and social conditions of rural communities. Despite these
critical socio-economic conditions, rural areas are cradles of civilization, repositories of old
traditions, dialects and languages, of uses, handcrafts skills and social practices which must
be preserved and exploited. The majority of the European heritage is found in rural areas,
therefore Cultural and Natural Heritage can represent a driver for migrants’ integration, by
fostering a heritage based sustainable regeneration of rural territories that is able to support
a new model of integration. The overall aim of the paper is to investigate the challenges and
possibilities offered by migration trends in rural areas to create rural regeneration models for
inclusion of migrants and refugees, based on cultural and natural heritage introducing them to
the job market. Section 2 explains the methodology of the study and gives an insight of the
research topic within the overall RURITAGE project methodology. Two case studies of rural
regeneration through the inclusion of migrants into the valorisation processes of cultural and
natural heritage are presented in Section 3, while the preliminary results and main findings are
discussed in Section 4. In Section 5, conclusions a nd future research steps are presented.
KEYWORDS
Cultural Heritage; Natural Heritage; Rural Regeneration; Migration
* The other authors are: Angela Santangelo, Simona Tondelli.
E. Conticelli, C. DE Luca, A. Egusquiza et al.
1 INTRODUCTION
Rural areas all over Europe are facing similar chronic economic, social and environmental
problems: depopulation, reduced service provision, ageing, decline of agriculture income,
inhibited accessibility are the most critical challenges that hardly find effective and long-lasting
solutions. Moreover, rural landscapes are continuously threatened by loss of biodiversity,
climate change impacts and short-term management decisions and perspectives that further
aggravate the economic and social conditions of rural communities.
Despite these critical socio-economic conditions, rural areas are cradles of civilization,
repositories of old traditions, dialects and languages, uses, handcrafts skills and social
practices which must be preserved and exploited. Moreover, the majority of the European
heritage is found in rural areas, therefore recognizing rural areas as poles of excellence, where
the role of Cultural and Natural Heritage is relevant in heritage capitalization, which could be
a different perspective to establish new rural regeneration paradigms.
In many places, rural environments have been nurtured and managed effectively so to attract
and retain young people, develop new business, and increase biodiversity (ICOMOS, 2016)
benefiting from CNH in myriad ways: from the restoration of historical buildings, to the holistic
usage of rural landscapes and biodiversity assets, including the revitalization of ancient
traditions, arts, and crafts. In this framework, a positive contribution could be found in foreign
people arriving in a given place for different reasons.
Strong migration flows to rural areas are part of a more global phenomenon in the European
context that worth investigating (Jentsch, 2007). Beyond the challenges, the arrival of
migrants can create new opportunities for growth – particularly for areas suffering from
population decline, demographic ageing and closing services that have been afflicting
European rural areas for decades, thus contributing to maintain rural communities alive. The
ageing of the rural and farm population and the need to accommodate or reduce the flow of
young people out of the countryside has been a serious challenge to the generational renewal
and the sustainability of the European rural regions (Kasimis, 2010). The importance of
hosting newcomers have been recognized by policy makers and issues of their integration are
relatively high on the political agenda.
Cultural and Natural Heritage (CNH), rich in rural areas, can represent a driver for migrants’
integration, fostering sustainable regeneration of rural territories, involving newcomers as well
as the host society. Moreover, highlighting the positive contribution of migrants to the
development of rural areas can be fundamental for the creation of an inclusive society
(Lourens, 2007).

© 2019, FedoaPress

Inclusion of migrants for rural regeneration though cultural and natural heritage valorization

In this context, the overall aim of this paper is to investigate the challenges and possibilities
offered by migration trends in rural areas and to introduce rural regeneration models for
inclusion of migrants and refugees, based on cultural and natural heritage, introducing them
to the job market. The proposed approach has been developed within the H2020 project
RURITAGE1 – Rural regeneration through systemic heritage-led strategies, that considers
migration as one of the key areas of innovation to be adopted in rural territories where a
regenerative potential could be identified. Section 2 explains the methodology of the study
and gives an insight of the research topic within the overall RURITAGE project
methodology. Two case studies of rural regeneration, through the inclusion of migrants into
the valorisation processes of cultural and natural heritage, are presented in Section 3, while
the preliminary results and main findings are discussed in Section 4. In Section 5, conclusions
and future research steps are presented.
2 METODOLOGY
The research aims at better understanding the positive contributions that cultural heritage
can provide for migrant integration in rural areas, by using an empirical case study analysis
approach, a well-established research method (David, 2006; Gerring, 2007; Yin, 2009) that
examines a contemporary phenomenon and help to inform practice by illustrating what has
worked well, what has been achieved and which have been the main issues or challenges.
The investigation has been implemented within the H2020 RURITAGE project, where cultural
and natural heritage is considered as a key driver and enabler for sustainable development in
all its dimensions, and crucial for the recognition as valuable roots for economic and
environmental growth and regeneration, as well as major contributor to social cohesion and
civic engagement. RURITAGE has identified six Systemic Innovation Areas (i.e. pilgrimage,
sustainable local food production, art and festivals, resilience, integrated landscape
management and migration) whose intersections constitute a European model of heritage-led
rural development.
In this paper, the contemporary phenomenon studied is migration, considered as a driver for
rural regeneration though the valorisation of cultural and natural heritage. Indeed, despite

1
RURITAGE is a four-year EU-funded research project, initiated in June 2018, which strives to enable
rural regeneration through cultural and natural heritage. Throughout the RURITAGE project, 13 rural
areas have been selected as Role Models. Role Models can be considered as successful cases where
rural areas have been regenerated thanks to cultural and natural heritage. Role Models practices are
analyzed to be transferred to 6 selected Replicators, one per SIA. Replicators represent local
communities within rural territories that are in the process of building their own heritage-led
regeneration strategies, but need to improve their skills, knowledge and capacity building. For further
information: www.ruritage.eu

© 2019, FedoaPress

the posed challenges, rural areas can take advantage of the opportunities provided by an
influx of migrants as a source of new vitality to restore declining villages. In areas suffering
from population decline and closing services, the arrival of migrants can create new
opportunities for growth; migrant contributions can be financial, but also in the form of social
remittances, exchange of expertise and cultural change. There are clear potential win-wins
for migrants and declining local areas in Europe. Nevertheless, well-coordinated and
sensitively managed integration policies are needed in order to benefit both migrants and
hosting communities.
Beyond the challenges presented by the migration crisis, especially in the countries most
affected by the migrants’ arrivals (e.g. Greece and Italy), and by the received application of
asylum (e.g. Germany), the arrival of incomers can also create opportunities for repopulation,
growth and potential for rural regeneration. In this context, cultural and natural heritage, in
terms of local tradition, languages, art and crafts, etc. can play an important role in boosting
and accelerating the process of integration and regeneration.
3 CASE STUDIES ANALYSIS

In the RURITAGE framework, specific model territories and communities have been identified
for each Systemic Innovation Area (SIA), aiming to analyse their regeneration process and
then to extract good practices that could be successfully transferred to other territories to
help them in building their own regeneration strategy. In the migration SIA, two different case
studies have been identified and analysed: the PIAM Onlus and the Lesvos Global Geopark.
These are different integration models representing two steps in the hosting process migrants
are subjected: Lesvos Global Geopark has developed a model for managing the emergency,
when migrants arrive in Europe, mainly through illegal and unofficial channels; while PIAM is
working for establishing a more structured integration of migrants in local communities.
3.1 MODEL OF MIGRANTS HOSPITALITY AND INTEGRATION IN ASTI PROVINCE

The activities of migrants’ hospitality in the Asti Province have been led since 2014 by PIAM
Onlus, an NGO working in the field of migrants’ integration and inclusion. Asti Province,
located in the heart of Piedmont Region, has an outstanding heritage, featured by the
Monferrato and Langhe wine landscapes that in 2014 have been awarded the prestigious
Unesco world heritage recognition. Besides, the area suffers a population decrease (-3% since
2010) with an unemployment rate of 9.5%. The presence of foreign people is around 12% of
the total according to the Italian statistic bureau data.

© 2019, FedoaPress


The economic sector is characterized by local enterprises mainly concentrated in agriculture
and manufacturing sector. The good reputation of the province of Asti as a holiday destination
has increased: it is one of the Italian provinces with the highest concentration of quality
restaurants and wines and offers an environment often still intact and a series of traditional
and folkloristic events2.
Within this territory, a model of hospitality based on cultural heritage recovery and rediscovery
has been implemented with relevant results. PIAM started its work in the framework of the
SPRAR programme, whit the aim of providing concrete solutions to contrast human trafficking
of women and migrants. The NGO hosts foreign people in some historical buildings in the
countryside of Asti, where it started to involve them in practical activities, such as the recovery
of Villa Quaglina, an ancient villa of the last century located in the Asti countryside and owned
by the religious order of the Oblates of St. Joseph, and abandoned for some years. The
renovation of the villa and its rural system ensured to host about 45 migrants, creating guest
rooms and wide spaces for various events (conferences, parties, cinema, etc.). The same way
of intervention was used for the recovery of the old railway station of Chiusano, which has
been completely restored and is now a housing facility for a hospitality and integration
program dedicated to refugees. These activities enabled migrants to fully fit into the local
community. The old villa renovation allowed to start other different heritage-based activities
directly involving migrants: ancient grains cultivation and distribution to the territory, where
some people involved in the cultivation process have been taken part in the product selling in
local markets for organic farming products, establishing relationships with farmers in the
province; recovery of the old vineyard and its cultivation foreseeing the collaboration of
oenologists who trained 2-3 migrants each. This supported the creation of a migrant-ethnic
cuisine catering that is now active in the whole province. A stronger collaboration with local
winegrowing companies is foreseen in order to deal with different processing techniques; job
traineeships for refugees in the urban maintenance sector, employing several youngsters as
menders in the public works sector of the Municipalities of Asti and Settime, in order to form
professional people and to finalize the activities of refugees in works for the public interest,
to serve the local community. Ad-hoc training courses conceived for refugees in the catering
and in the artistic craftsmanship sectors have been organized as well, leading to the
development of a brand “Terre di Monale” that produces hand-made ceramics for professional
kitchen and home.

2
For further information: www.provincia.asti.it

© 2019, FedoaPress

3.2 BOOSTING MIGRANT INTEGRATION WITH NATURE IN LESVOS ISLAND

Lesvos is the third largest island in Greece, located in the northeaster Aegean Sea. It faces
the Turkish coast from the north and east; at the narrowest point, the strait is about 5.5 km
wide.
The entire territory of Lesvos is awarded as "Lesvos UNESCO Global Geopark", a UNESCO
status given to territories with an outstanding geological heritage. Lesvos contains one of the
finest and rarest geo-monuments in the world (Zouros, 2015) and it has been declared a
Protected Natural Monument. Fossilised plants have been found in many localities on the
western part of the island.
Socio-economic trends in the island register a population decrease (-6%), and an
unemployment rate of 15.8%. Lesvos’s inhabitants are mainly local, only 6% are foreigners.
However, this percentage does not consider the big trend of migrants’ arrivals that have been
affecting the island during the last years. Lesvos Geopark received in 2015 and 2016 more
than half a million migrants making it the most important entrance gate for migration in
Europe. The entire community of Lesvos has done its utmost to support and handle this
extreme situation and tried to make the life of the migrants as good as possible. The Geopark
has supported these activities and has developed several integration and information
programmes aiming to help migrants in becoming familiar with the new environment since
the very beginning of their arrival, by organizing educational programmes. The programmes
include the collaboration with authorities for the integration and information on the Lesvos
Island UNESCO Global Geopark, the geological history of Greece and the importance for the
preservation and conservation of the Natural and Cultural heritage.
Groups are accompained by bus from the refugees’ camps to the Natural History Museum of
the Lesvos Petrified Forest and pass a day away from their everyday programme in the camp.
This programme runs in collaboration with NGOs working specially with children and young
refugees. The activities run from special informative presentations on Lesvos Island UNESCO
Global Geopark and the Petrified Forest to guided tours for families, young teenagers and
children who have migrated to Lesvos. The objective is the acquaintance of migrants with the
cultural and natural heritage of the island and to train them in case of Natural disasters,
especially earthquakes, by using the museum’s earthquake simulator. The programme also
includes the simulation of the conservation procedures that are implemented in the fossils
and the migrants are allowed to conserve specially selected fossils in order to appreciate and
value the importance of the petrified wood. Moreover, refugees get to know the local products
and the gastronomy of Lesvos, discovering flavours and similarities between their country and
the host country.

© 2019, FedoaPress


4 PRELIMINARY RESULTS
RURITAGE activities are currently focused on the analysis and systematization of the models’s
practices, in order to extract sort of “regeneration recipes” to be transferred to other
territories. Notably, the analysis of the case studies in the migration sphere has been targeted
to collect relevant information for decipher the processes and changes that have led on the
one side to rural regeneration through the inclusion of migrants and on the other side to boost
migrants integration through cultural and natural heritage. First of all, the two case studies
have been analysed independently in their context. Secondly, the practices developed and
implemented in each case study have been mapped and classified according to several
aspects: challenges; proposed strategy objectives, drivers and barriers; initial and obtained
capitals (Tab. 1).
ASTI PROVINCE LESVOS ISLAND
Challenges Ageing of the population, especially in Ageing of the population, especially due
rural areas; high concentration of to the departure of young people;
international immigrants international immigrants, especially due
to the proximity with the Turkish coast;
depopulation, due to the economic crisis
in Greece; unemployment
Proposed Providing trainings to migrants; reviving Boosting migrants integration through
strategy and preserving local agri-food and the development of Lesvos as a
objectives handcraft production heritage; geotourism destination
promoting safety and maintenance of
the natural environment
Proposed Innovation in culture and heritage; Natural heritage preservation; tourism;
strategy drivers cultural and natural heritage innovation in culture and heritage
preservation
Proposed Market related issues with new products Living conditions of migrants and
strategy developed different social, economic and cultural
barriers background
Initial capitals High cultural and natural heritage; High cultural and natural heritage
educational activities, especially in food educational activities and humanitarian
sector actions
Obtained New skills related to the local culture; Improved recognition of natural
capitals social cohesion; reuse of historic heritage; migrants inclusion in the local
buildings natural and social environment
Tab. 1 Case study analysis through challenges, proposed strategies and capitals
The analysis showed that rural regeneration through migration can be considered as
challenge-driven, and that the initial capitals that have been mobilised are more related with
human and social resources. In both cases the initial capitals present in the territory, mainly
based on natural and cultural heritage, have been enriched by new or improved capitals
related with human and social aspects.

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Indeed, the regeneration process led in Asti province started from several challenges, such as
migrant hospitality emergency, a necessity of actions contrasting human trafficking, but also
lacks of resources for reducing abandonment and degradation of rural assets. These
challenges became the drivers for a overall regeneration strategy routed on training to
migrants, preservation of local agri-food and handcraft production heritage, safety and
maintenance of the natural environment. A relevant role in this process was played by PIAM
Onlus, local public services and communities, which have supported the process of inclusion
and consequently the rural regeneration and reappropriation of Villa Quaglina and its
surroundings.
Lesvos Geopark started its experience in 2016, facing the challenge of addressing the need
to relief the pressure migrants suffer by living in large camps, with people having different
social, economic and cultural backgrounds, without any contact with the local environment.
This challenge has been tackled through a strategy that has been involving migrants in the
discovery of the local cultural and natural heritage, proposing geotourism related activities
managed by the Geopark. This approach have been producing social and mental benefits for
migrants, while preserving local identity and economic activities. This model experience has
been possible thanks to a deep involvement of relevant stakeholders, such as the Natural
History Museum, NGOs active in educational activities for migrants, and the local community.
Lesvos Geopark ensures to train around 200 migrants every year upon the 6.000 people yearly
arriving. Finally, the case study analysis has allowed the identification of specific good
practices, summarized as follows: (i) to integrate migrants within the local agro-food chain
and the creative industries, (ii) to restore old and unused buildings to give hospitality to the
migrants, (iii) to offer training to migrants and residents related with organic farming, arts,
built heritage restoration, traditional crafts and trades, etc. (iv) to facilitate the connection
with residents with defined food and art-related activities, (v) to offer internships for migrants
in local businesses, farms, tourism related activities, (vi) to to develop integration and
information programmes for migrants and citizens, (vii) to offer educational programmes and
guided tours, specifically tailored for migrants to introduce them in the CNH of the territory.
These practices represent the basis for boosting and accelerating the process of integration
and regeneration since the very beginning of the migrants coming.
5 CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE RESEARCH

The two model territories analysed have shown how relevant is the role of cultural and natural
heritage not only for migrants integration within the local society, but also for rural
regeneration by repopulating the area, reusing historical assets, strengthening local traditions
and raising awareness of local natural and cultural resources. Indeed, the involvement of

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migrants in local activities has been activating an integration process which involves cognitive,
cultural, behavioural and attitudinal change for both newcomers and the host society.
Basing on these actions that have been identified as relevant for boosting the rural
regeneration of the interested territories, the further steps of the investigation aim at
extracting significant “lessons” to be transferred in other rural territories which suffer similar
challenges and want to build innovative heritage-led regeneration strategies for integrating
migrants in a significant rural renaissance. Cultural and natural heritage will thus emerge as
a universally shared human trait with transnational similarities that are able to facilitate
contact and exchange in a safe environment and it will highlight the positive contribution of
migrants to the development of rural areas and for the creation of an inclusive society.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The research leading to this paper has received funding from the European Commission under
the European Horizon 2020 Programme, grant agreement number 776465. The contents
reflect only the authors’ view and the European Union is not liable for any use that may be
made of the information contained therein.
REFERENCES
David, M. (2006). Case study research. London: Sage
Gerring J. (2007). Case study research: principles and practices. Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press
ICOMOS (2016). Post-Trauma Reconstruction. Proceedings of the 1-day Colloquium at Icomos

Headquarters, 4 March 2016. Volume 1 and 2. Conference Volume. ICOMOS International Secretariat,
Charenton-le-Pont, France
Jentsch, B. (2007). “Migrant Integration in Rural and Urban Areas of New Settlement Countries:
Thematic Introduction”, International Journal on Multicultural Societies (IJMS), 9(1)
Kasimis, C. (2010). “Demographic trends in rural Europe and international migration to rural areas”,
Agriregionieuropa, 6(21)
Lourens, M. (2007). “Route tourism: a roadmap for successful destinations and local economic
development”, Development Southern Africa, 24:3, 475-490, DOI: 10.1080/03768350701445574
Yin, R.K. (2009). Case study research: design and methods. 4th ed. London: Sage
Zouros, N. (2015). Lesvos Island. Unesco Global Geopark, Lesvos: Natural History Museum of the
Lesvos Petrified Forest

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WEBSITES
www.provincia.asti.it; www.ruritage.eu; www.istat.it
AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Elisa Conticelli is a Ph.D. in spaces and times of city and the territory, she is junior assistant professor
at the University of Bologna, Department of Architecture. Her research is mainly focused on sustainable
rural and urban regeneration processes, landscape valorization, sustainable mobility in rural and urban
contexts, which are investigated at planning and design levels. She is currently involved in several
European projects on the aforementioned topics as research group member. She is author of over 45
publications.
Claudia De Luca is a Ph.D. candidate at the department of Architecture, University of Bologna.

Environmental scientist (MSc), now focusing on sustainable urban planning and urban regeneration
processes related with the use of nature into the cities (Nature Based Solutions). Involved in the
Planning and Regeneration research groups, leaded by Prof. Simona Tondelli, she is actively involved
in several H2020 and INTERREG funded project (RURITAGE, ClimateKIC NBS and MATCH-UP).
Aitziber Egusquiza is a Senior Researcher at Tecnalia. Ph.D. on decision making processes for
improving sustainability and liveability of historic districts using multiscale information management.
She has graduated as architect with a post degree in Restoration and Rehabilitation of the Historic
Architecture and a master degree in Urban Management and Valuation. Scientific coordinator of
RenoZEB project. Member of several coordinating teams of European and National research projects
developing decision making methodologies, multiscale information models and decision support
systems for the improvement of the sustainability of buildings and districts. Member of the scientific
committee of EECHB.
Angela Santangelo is a Building engineer and Ph.D. in Architecture, she is research fellow at the
Interdepartmental Centre for Applied Research - Buildings and Construction at the University of
Bologna. Her research has mainly focused on urban planning and particularly on policies and tools
dealing with energy efficiency and occupant behaviour in the public housing sector. She is member of
the planning and regeneration research group coordinating the H2020 RURITAGE project and
collaborating on several other European projects. She is MC Substitute of the EU COST Action European
Energy Poverty.
Simona Tondelli is an Environmental engineer and PhD in Building & Spatial Engineering and she is
associate professor of Urban Planning. She has 20 years of research experience in sustainable urban
planning and regeneration. She is the scientific responsible of the Refurbishment and Restoration
division of the UNIBO Interdepartmental Centre for Applied Research on Buildings and Construction
(CIRI-EC). Coordinator of RURITAGE H2020 project, of MATCH-UP INTERREG EUROPE project,
ECOTALE INTERREG IVC project, and currently partner in one ERA-NET JPI Urban Europe project
(SPN), SHELTER H2020 project, SEERRI H2020 project and many Erasmus + projects, and scientific
responsible of many regional/local Research Projects. Vice-Director of the Emilia-Romagna section of
the National Urban Planning Institute - INU. Member of the scientific board of the UNIBO PhD
Programme in Architecture and Design Cultures. Author of over 100 publications.

© 2019, FedoaPress

ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL
SUSTAINABILITY OF THE
BIOENERGY SUPPLY CHAIN
SEBASTIANO CURRELI

and Architectural, University of Cagliari, Italy
e-mail: sebastiano.curreli@unica.it

Curreli, S., (2019). Environmental and social sustainability of the bioenergy supply chain. In C. Gargiulo & C.
Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature and ecosystem services (pp. 333-344). Naples: FedOAPress. ISBN: 978-88-
6887-054-6, doi: 10.6093/978-88-6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
The presence of high amounts of nitrates in the first and second layer of groundwater is a
common problem faced by all countries where traditional farming and animal husbandry are
practiced intensively. In addition the other cause is the growth of synthetic chemical industry
which led to the spread of the use of nitrogen fertilizers and fertilizers. Groundwater in the
areas subjected to spreading livestock effluents are increasingly likely to infiltration phenomena
from the surface and storage in the soil thickness that are not saturated and possess very high
quantities of nitrogen, which are progressively washed in water. The problem of contamination
of nitrate waters is also an important issue in Sardinia, a region of Italy. In implementation of
Directive 91/676 / EEC concerning the protection of water from pollution caused by nitrates
from agricultural sources, the opening of the infri ngement procedure n. 2249/2018. Among the
tasks undertaken in Italy that directly involve the Sardinia Region there are competent Program
of Action for the nitrate vulnerable zone of Arborea. In addition, the failure to designate new
vulnerable nitrate areas, where the monitoring activities of the surface and underground waters
have detected exceeding limits of concentrations of nitrates and water bodies in a hypertrophic
and eutrophic state, which involve different areas of the regional territory. The present work aims
to provide strategy and territorial planning tools for compliance with the legislation, with benefits
for the environment, safeguarding the competitiveness of farms present in the agricultural areas
of Arborea, where the Shares Cooperative Society is located. There are in total around 230
member companies on the regional territory, with 230 million liters of processed cow’s milk and
about 38,000 heads for an annual turnover of 182 million Euros in the last financial year.
KEYWORDS
Sustainability; Rural Development; Bioenergy
S. Curreli
1 INTRODUCTION
Today the agro-zootechnical activities play a multifunctional role. They no longer focus
exclusively on tout court production, but also focus their attention towards protecting the
environment and the rural landscape. The provisions of the Nitrates Directive 91/676 / EEC,
in accordance with the provisions of the Water Framework Directive 2000/60 / EC as regulated
by the Legislative Decree 152/2006 and of the Ministerial Decree of 7 April 2006, have been
implemented in the Sardinian regional territory with the DGR n.1 / 12 of 18.01.2005,
employing which the vulnerable nitrate zone of Arborea was designated and the DGR n.4 / 13
of 31.01.2006 and DGR n.14 / 17 of 04.04.2006 with which the Region has adopted the
relative Program of action. Subsequently with DGR n. 21/34 of 05.06.2013 the Region has
adopted the “Regional Discipline that regulates for the entire regional territory the activities
of agronomic utilization of livestock manure and waste water for the phases of production,
collection, storage, fermentation and maturation, transport and spreading (Regional Effluent
Discipline)". The recourse to the productive specialization that characterizes the livestock
sector, both in dairy cattle breeding farms and from fattening, has led companies to
concentrate on a reduced number of activities that are strictly related to stable activities (in
particular internal stable logistics and animal welfare). The activities often appear
disconnected with each other thus resulting in an inevitable separation between the breeding
(stable) and cultivation (field) activity. With regard to this criticality, regional regulatory
interventions have multiplied in recent years, drawing attention to the management of
effluents by promoting an integrated approach to spreading activities. It should be clarified
that livestock manure (EA) can have positive effects on the soil only if they are introduced
with appropriate technologies and after appropriate treatment aimed at their denitrification.
On the other hand, where organic fertilization has been reduced for some time, a depletion
of the organic substance content in soils has been noted with a consequent acceleration of
erosive processes and loss of fertility (Bassanino et al., 2011). The Nitrates Directive 91/676
/ EEC directs practices towards a better use of EA because their incorrect use can results in
pollution of the soil, water and air (Morvant et al., 2015). The practice of fertilizing agricultural
soils, carried out through the use of effluents from livestock farms, is the subject of a specific
regulation aimed at safeguarding groundwater and surface water from pollution caused, at
first, by the nitrogen present in the by-products. In order to better protect the environment,
the directive and consequently national and regional regulations have lead to a strong
reduction in the possibility of using effluents, especially in vulnerable areas. This criticality is
reflected in the Monitoring and Control Plan (PMC) for the Nitrate-Vulnerable Zone of
Agricultural Origin (ZVNOA) of Arborea, in the report dating back to October 2017 (2016

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Environmental and social sustainability of the bioenergy supply chain

activity and 2013-2016 results), underlines a growth trend in the quantities of nitrates in
surface water table. Moreover, the values indicate how the registered nitrogen loads are close
to the quantities present in the years in which the ZVNOA action program was not yet in
action.
Fig. 1 Average quarterly nitrate content in surface water table (mg / l). Source ZVNOA of Arborea - PMC - 2016
Activities and 2013-2016 results
Taking into account the significant repercussions that could occur on the territory from the
outcomes of the aforementioned infringement procedure, in particular on the agricultural and
livestock sector, recently the Directorate General for the Regional Agency of the Hydrographic
District of Sardinia together with the Directorate General for Agriculture and Reform agro-
pastoral, have established a joint technical table with ARPAS, Regional Agency for
Development in Agriculture (LAORE) and the Provinces in order to agree on the strategies to
be adopted on the heavy criticalities highlighted by the PMC.
2 SCOPE OF WORK
The objective of this study is to provide strategy and territorial planning tools for compliance
with the regulations, with benefits for the environment, safeguarding the competitiveness of
the companies in the Arborea agro-livestock sector. The adaptation to the legislation is
certainly linked to a clear and shared indications requires a gaze capable of bringing attention

© 2019, FedoaPress

S. Curreli
to the individual company, which in any case maintains its responsibilities, to the territory
understood as an aggregator element. In fact, the objective of environmental improvement
implied by these regulations cannot be achieved without uniform intervention in a territory
that must extend at least to a supra-municipal level. In this sense, the initiatives that aim to
address the management of livestock effluents at the consortium level must not only be
favored, but also be guided properly. Reducing the impact of livestock activities on the
environment is a primary objective in all rural planning and development tools; which can also
result in a greater qualification of the products in the performance of the multi-functionality
characterizing the agro-livestock sector. An innovative management of production processes
enhances and guarantees sustainability while promoting the marketing of the primary product.
The research has been, therefore, aimed to identify design approaches able to address and
resolve the critical environmental issues of the sector, which are shared by the government
and acceptable by public opinion.
The main expected results of the project activities are summarized in the paper:
− contribution on the state of production of nitrogen of zootechnical origin in the
Compartment containing the assessment of critical issues at municipal level in relation
to nitrogen loads and the possibility of compensating for excess nitrogen quantities
between the different areas;
− contribution to EA management techniques aimed at containing nitrogen in the field with
particular reference to possible treatments and their applicability on farms or in
consortia;
− definition of a consortium energy management model according to a collective approach,
which is based on the implementation of technological solutions for distributed energy
generation.
3 METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH
The evaluation of the limitations to the use of EA derives essentially from the combination of
two information: the quantity of nutrients produced by the animals and the receptivity of the
soils, both understood not only as limitations introduced by the application of the nitrates
directive, but also as an agronomic request deriving from the cultivations practiced. In fact,
from a sustainability point of view, the supply of higher amounts of nutrients than what is
necessary for crops results in an excess of nutrients, which can increase the risks of release
to the environment. Therefore it is important to identify the critical areas of the territory in
question, to gather information on the agricultural use of the soil in terms of the both surfaces
and the kind of use, with a particular relation to the crops grown and their relative yields. In

© 2019, FedoaPress


this regard, the available data in the Agronomic Utilization Plans (PUAs) of the companies
surveyed were used, from which it was possible to identify the crops that are utilized in the
area and their geo-referenced location. The PUA is the main technical instrument of the
Program of action for areas vulnerable to nitrates from agricultural sources, which has been
designed to achieve a substantial balance between the intended nitrogen supply to the land
through the use of AEs and the foreseeable need of the crops. The reading of the PUAs also
provided data on the consistency of the farms and the type of housing of the animals. The
different types of housing in fact influence the production of effluent equal number of animals
raised. Based on these data and using the production and effluent characterization parameters
required by the regulations in force, the coverage of crop needs with livestock effluents was
defined. To the analysis of the corporate data, it is then necessary to introduce the further
constraints connected to the application of the nitrates directive and from the provisions of
the Ministerial Decree of 7 April 2006, implemented by the Sardinia Region with the DGR n.
21/34 of 05.06.2013.
3.1 ENVIRONMENTAL COMPATIBILITY OF ZOOTECHNICAL LOADS

The environmental compatibility of the agronomic use of livestock effluents requires the
consideration of some elements of an agronomic nature and of normative aspects. The field
terms, on which the regulatory limitations are based, is used to define the nitrogen contained
in the EA in the moment when it is taken from the storage structures to be transported to the
field. This value does not take into account the nitrogen losses that occur primarily in the
operations of handling inside the barn (effluent transport in the first collection tanks and
pumping to the storage tanks) and subsequently by volatilization, at the time of distribution,
and for runoff and leaching once incorporated into the ground. Thus, in order to determine
the quantity of nitrogen that can actually be available for the crops, it is necessary to introduce
an assessment of the efficiency of the nitrogen in the field. In reality the term efficiency in
this context assumes the meaning of quantity of nitrogen that is absorbed by the crops in
relation to that brought to the field. Efficiency can be influenced by multiple factors. Among
which the main ones can be traced back to the time and to the distribution techniques in
relation to the cultivation practiced and to the characteristics of the land on which the effluents
are applied. In a consortium-based assessment, the precise determination of nitrogen
efficiency becomes problematic. In connection to the objective of the analysis, the use of
average nitrogen efficiency coefficients was deemed adequate. This choice is supported by
the indications given in Annex A to the DGR n. 21/34 of 05.06.2013 that allows achievement
of a minimum efficiency value of livestock effluent, reporting efficiency values differentiated
by type of effluent, in relation to the type of production and the texture of the land on which

© 2019, FedoaPress

S. Curreli
it is distributed. The difference between the quantities of nitrogen produced and the maximum
available in the Utilized Agricultural Area (SAU) provides a synthetic assessment of the
condition for each company, allowing mapping of the situation of consortium nitrogen
surpluses. The results in terms of both absolute nitrogen values and the company's SAU,
provide an up-to-date reading of the amount of efficient nitrogen for crops and make it
possible to highlight in terms of geographical distribution the quantities of surpluses produced
and their territorial location.
3.2 INTERVENTION SCENARIOS FOR THE REBALANCING OF LUBRICATED

LOADS
The intervention strategies identified in the project pursue the aim of improving the
management of the effluents through solutions ranging from redistribution of the same
adoption of treatment techniques of nitrogen containment to make them more manageable
byproducts. Many techniques examined are well tested but applied only individually, without
treating the issue in an integrated and territorial way. These strategies must be adopted and
applied taking into account the specific business contexts to maximize their effectiveness and
thus allow their effective use. This involves an in-depth analysis of the structure of the
livestock farms and of the characteristics of the land so as to be able to evaluate the effect of
the interventions and their economic impact on the production system, and to assess their
sustainability. This activity, linked to the environmental assessment was treated with multi-
criteria analysis; thus making it possible to provide a contribution to the problems in an organic
and shared way, with a territorial rather than an individual approach. To achieve this result,
an examination of the agro-zootechnical companies was started, focusing on the structural
and managerial characteristics, with a particular attention to the production of effluents and
their agronomic use. The obtained management model is based on a series of input data of
the sample companies were selected among the 155 belonging to the territorial area of
Arborea, Terralba and Marrubiu. The definition of the sample companies was carried out
starting from the retrieval of the company data reported in the PUAs. The sample consists of
60 companies. The analysis of the PUAs was followed by the technical inspections aimed at
defining the variables that mostly affect qualitatively and quantitatively the production of EA,
for the sample. In fact, the variability in the quality of the EAs is very high depending on
factors deriving both from the nature of the activities carried out in the companies and from
the internal management of the stable. The set of indicators of variability in AE productions
was defined by referring to three areas of a technical-managerial nature of the Company.
They can be summarized as:
− livestock consistency of the Company;

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− type of housing;
− water and process water control.
While the first two areas are complex to manage, not lending themselves to easily
implementable changes, the area relating to the management of process and meteoric waters
often shows ample room for improvement. The mismanagement of this variable causes a
dangerous impoverishment of the methanigen potential of manure and bedding. The areas in
which the water volumes are the most generated are the waiting area and the washing of the
technological systems. In addition to the information collected by the PUAs, the analysis in
the field has allowed to build a Database managed by the Territorial Informative System.
At the same time, treatment strategies that can be applied to zootechnical wastewater have
been examined to reduce the amount of nutrients and moisture present and to improve the
management of wastewater. The logical path was then defined to combine the elements
available in order to obtain the simulation management model. The methodology used for the
simulations is based on the comparison between the nitrogen load of animal origin existing
on the territory and the maximum quantities allowed by the legislation. The definition of the
management model is based on the calculations that consider the availability of the land for
the distribution of the effluents, built with multi-criteria methodology, and the treatment
strategies applied to the effluents, thus defining the different work scenarios. The
management model provides the amount of effluent to be distributed in relation to the
availability of the land and calculates the costs related to the built scenarios. The management
model provides for the return of detailed company-level and summary information for all
companies in the sample in order to compare the different situations. In this way, it is possible
to make assessments for all the possible techno-economical sustainability of the hypothesized
solutions. The results of the activity carried out have allowed us to analyze the situation
regarding the environmental impact of the livestock farms in the Arborea Section and to
identify the technical solutions that can be adopted by companies with nitrogen excesses.
The methodology developed and tested over the course of the work has also made it possible
to evaluate the possible management solutions that can be implemented in specific areas,
taking into account the zootechnical load of the individual companies and the availability of
land for the distribution of effluents also for non zootechnical companies.
The developed tool represents a prototype that can be easily applied to other situations as
long as an adequate knowledge base is available. In fact, the territorial analysis carried out in
the study areas is based on a data structure (DB) numerical and cartographic that is not
always available and, if necessary, must be specifically created. In particular, while the
availability of a cartographic base at the cadastral level is nearly always available, the location
of company centers is often not easy to obtain. Furthermore, the arrangement of cartographic

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S. Curreli
intersections and the relational structure of numerical and cartographic DBs are indispensable
for the characterization of the territory through indicators.
Fig. 2 Outline of the model created for the evaluation of management solutions. (Source: author's elaboration)
The preparation of these elaborations has been extensively tested from the operational point
of view and, therefore, reproducible also for other realities, but requires the precise knowledge
of the observed reality. The quality of the results that are obtained obviously depends on the
quality of the DBs used, including those related to treatment costs that are not reported in
this work. The methodological scheme used envisages the possibility of modifying the options
and hypotheses carried out for the assessment, so as to modulate them in an appropriate
manner in relation to the type of territory investigated. The management alternatives that can
be examined are many just as the hypotheses that can be made for the availability of extra
farmland. It is clear that the results obtained are derived from the feasibility of the choices
that are set in the examined management models. In this regard, in the application to the
areas of study carried out, three levels of intervention were chosen, from management alone
to the intervention based on treatments. This allowed identifying, for the various areas, the
general indications that can provide companies with an orientation on individual or collective
strategies to be adopted. The purpose of the methodology is not, in fact, to carry out a rough
design of interventions, but to highlight the viable solutions in different situations.
Subsequently, leaving it to business decisions as how to translate operatively these directions,
by evaluating the feasibility which is often not only nature technical-economic, but also

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involves aspects related to the interaction between the agricultural entrepreneurs of the
territory and the relationship with the governing bodies of the cooperatives. The model tested
on the Arborea case study can be adapted to other fields of study that can have different
characteristics from the territorial point of view, such as pedology, availability of land,
naturalistic and environmental character, amount of produced nitrogen. These differences
may significantly affect effluent management, highlighting the applicability and effectiveness
of the simulation model. The analysis of the corporate and spatial structural features combined
with the effluent management models make it possible to highlight the amount of nitrogen
output produced in the study areas and to reveal critical situations. The analysis of the
problems related to the management and reduction of nitrogen of zootechnical origin
highlights how the solutions that can be followed even if carried out in individual companies
must be approached in an organic and shared way, with a territorial rather than an individual
approach. In order to make the adaptation of livestock farms to regulatory constraints
sustainable, it is necessary to modulate the interventions in relation to local conditions by
providing technological alternatives suited to individual needs. In this context, corporate
solutions should be supported by consortium solutions and by the use of those operating on
behalf of third parties, especially for activities related to the movement of biomass or products
in the supply chain. Furthermore, the role of support and coordination carried out by technical
assistance and public administration should be emphasized.
4 PROSPECTS OF RESEARCH AND CONCLUSIONS

The consortium management of the effluents represents one of the fundamental aspects
towards the development of the agro-livestock supply chain. Certainly another strategic asset
of the project lies in the integrated management of the variable energy. The spread of local
energy systems from a smart energy governance perspective would lay the foundations for
an alternative scenario by "using numerous small power plants, located near the point of
consumption of the energy itself. This could currently be done by combining plants still based
on fossil fuels and others that rely instead on renewable sources" (Moroni, 2015). Referring
specifically to the rural context under consideration, off-grid solutions would be desirable, able
to enhance the important concentration of agro-zootechnical companies in the Arborea sector.
The added value lies in fact in the historically structured presence of a reality that already
operates according to a cooperative logic. Certainly the availability of matured technologies
and dedicated infrastructures (systems of production, accumulation, distribution of energy)
does not in itself guarantee the solidity of a renewed local energy system; the hypothesis of
their diffusion must be combined with the governance of the subjects capable of dealing with
it. The new opportunities for collective organizations for the production and management of

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S. Curreli
energy services are manifold; it is not limited to the simple integration of business units, but
rather new forms of cooperation between farmers, breeders or mixed public-private
partnerships. In order to be effective in the community context the cooperative project forms
must be real and present formal or informal but tangible characters of a consolidated
relationship between inhabitants, environment, culture and territory. Another fundamental
element is the relationship with the Public Administration (PA) which can support, even in
direct forms, the cooperative enterprise action arising in a territory. The factors traced briefly
describe the case of the so-called "community cooperatives". There are basically two
conditions that lead to the formation of a "community cooperative". The presence of a territory
in vulnerable conditions and / or for a specific need, capable of also generating an
entrepreneurial opportunity, expressed by a real community. In this condition an economic
activity is developed aimed at pursuing community development and maximizing collective
well-being (not only of the members) and not that of maximizing profit (Invitalia, 2016). In
the present case the "community cooperatives" find their specific connotation in the
structuring of the Energy Community (EC); the EC concept refers to a set of energy users who
decide to make common choices from the point of view of satisfying their energy needs, in
order to maximize the benefits deriving from this collective approach, thanks to the
implementation of technological solutions for the distributed energy generation and intelligent
management of energy flows. In summary, analyzing the EC model as a whole, it emerges
that the most significant novelty lies in the transition from an individual approach to a
collaborative one. However, if on the one hand, the new approach allows obtaining benefits
concerning the synergies directly connected to the union of more energy users, on the other
hand it suffers from a series of critical issues, which must be carefully evaluated and overcome
in order to enable a wide dissemination of ECs. The most critical issues differ in their sphere
of influence. The first, the most widespread, concerns the lack of awareness of the advantages
deriving from the collaborative approach to energy management. The second critical aspect is
of a financial nature, which concerns the finding of the resources necessary for the structuring
of the EC. A particularly interesting model refers to the so-called microgrid as a service (MAAS),
which requires that a third party, external to the energy community, is responsible for the
implementation of the EC - including finding the necessary financial resources - and the
subsequent management of the same, selling the energy to the energy users within the same
aggregation (Fig. 3). This scheme, reversing the financial burden on the third party, eliminates
the problem of finding financial resources by relieving the final energy users of an unbearable
weight. A similar energy governance model could be justified in the case study of the agro-
livestock sector of Arborea. The subjects and energy and matter flows are represented
synthetically in Fig. 4. As can be seen, the management of the effluents is one of the aspects

© 2019, FedoaPress


that contribute, together with the associated management of energy, to define the Smart Grid
of the supply chain.
Fig. 3 Microgrid governance model as a service (Source: Energy and Strategy Group, 2014)
Fig. 4 Governance model of the bio-energy supply chain (Source: author's elaboration)
The attention recalled today by the environmental questions and by the risks deriving from
an improper agronomic management of the sector derives substantially from the recognition
of the importance of re-establishing the same paradigms linked to the use of the land for
agricultural and zootechnical purposes. It is in compliance with this assumption that the Tre
A Supply Chain Model pursues the objective of managing green energy at zero kilometers.
The production and consumption of energy, coming entirely from renewable sources, take
place in the same territory in which the EC operates. The advantages of the model have
environmental, economic and social implications. The ability to control energy supply costs,
the costs associated with network services and the timely forecast of the energy needs of the
users monitored in real time constantly guarantees a competitive price of energy. The use of
profits is established by the partners and can be used for interventions aimed at favoring the
redevelopment of common services to companies such as the reconstruction of consortium
road surfaces. The technologies at the service of smart cities does not therefore remain a
proposal that relates to mutual funds for the construction of intelligent and sustainable spaces

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S. Curreli
tout court, but the occasion for a re-reading of rural contexts as generative places of
community, as indeed these same areas have worked in their original vision (history of the
reclamation of Arborea). Smart energy governance in fact bases its foundations on the
convergence of two factors: the first is the energy-environmental one, through an action on
rural centers that introduces energy efficiency and functionality, an intelligent infrastructure
system together with the protection of the environment and landscape; the second concerns
both the participation of companies in the processes of defining SGs, and their direct
involvement in terms of potential economic development connected to the cooperative
management of energy. In summary, if we think of the rural areas, characterized by intensive
agricultural and zootechnical activities, as meeting places of dynamics - potentially conflicting
- represented by safeguarding the environment and resources and implementing innovation
technologies, the proposal for a management energy cooperative, can become the cultural
reference plan for a renewed sustainable and intelligent agro-livestock activity.
REFERENCES
Agenzia Regionale per la Protezione dell’Ambiente della Sardegna, Direzione Area Tecnico Scientifica
Servizio Controlli, Monitoraggi e Valutazione Ambientale, Dipartimento di Oristano, Piano di
Monitoraggio e Controllo Attività 2016 e risultati 2013-2016, Zona Vulnerabile da Nitrati di Origine
Agricola di Arborea. Ottobre 2017.
Bassanino M., Sacco D., Zavattaro L., Grignania C., 2011. Nutrient balance as a sustainability indicator
of different agro-environments in Italy. Ecol Indic 11(2): 715-723.
DECC, Department of Energy e Climate Change, 2014. Community Energy Strategy, Full Report,
London.
Energy e Strategy Group, 2014. Smart grid report: le prospettive di sviluppo delle Energy Community
in Italia. Testo disponibile al sito: http://www.energystrategy.it/report/smart-grid.html [Ultimo
accesso: 29 aprile 2019].
Moroni S., 2015. Libertà e innovazione nella città sostenibile: ridurre lo spreco di energie umane,
Carocci, Roma.
Morvan, T., Beff L., Lambert Y., Beaudoin N., Mary B., Valé M., Chaussod R., Louis B., Grall J., Hanocq
D., Germain P., Cohan J.P., 2015. Minéralisation de l'azote des sols (Ouest) : résultats du projet "Mh"
Congrès GEMAS-COMIFER, 1-11.
Provolo G., 2012. Effluenti zootecnici. Impiantistica e soluzioni tecnologiche per la gestione sostenibile.
Maggioli Editore.
Provolo, G., Riva, E., Serù, S., 2008. Gestione e riduzione dell’azoto di origine zootecnica, soluzioni
tecnologiche e impiantistiche. Quaderni della Ricerca , n.93, Regione Lombardia, Milano.

© 2019, FedoaPress

PROPOSALS ON THE
AGRICULTURAL LAND USE IN
ACCORDING TO THE FEATURES
OF THE LANDSCAPE: THE CASE
STUDY OF SARDINIA (ITALY)
PASQUALE MISTRETTA, GIULIA DESOGUS

CHIARA GARAU

University of Cagliari , Italy
e-mail: p.mistretta@unica.it
giulia.desogus@gmail.com; cgarau@unica.it

Mistretta, P., Desogus, G., & Garau, C. (2019). Proposals on the agricultural land use in according to the
features of the landscape: the case study of Sardinia (Italy). In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature
6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the landscapes planning, considering those of
Sardinia in Italy, that are rich in natural, morphological and structural factors. In addition, the
visualization of agricultural and pastoral lands are an important component to understand the
social and economic dimension that characterizes the different sites. To this end, the authors
propose an evaluation grid to offer to planning regulations alternatives for the rural areas that
are an integral part in the composition of the Sardinian landscape. Therefore, the authors
propose to adopt a treatment of cultures, keeping in mind the most favorable options, in
order to guarantee a balance in the landscape and, at the same time, considering the cultural
factors and the anthropized components. The topic is current because it wants to integrate
the guidelines of the Regional Landscape Plan - RLP (2006) of Sardinia in relation to its Inner
Areas as the RLP shows great attention only to the coastal areas. The latter in fact represent
the most important natural heritage also for tourism purposes. The different types of rural
territory are in Sardinia to be evaluated taking into account the changes in the landscape, due
to changes in the cultures and seasonality. More specifically, attention is given to rural habitats
and conservation prospects, despite the demographic contraction of the entire region and the
irreversible aging of many inhabited centers. This aspect should not be underestimated because
the rural landscape strongly participates in the cultural identity of the places and therefore is
sensitive to the direct degradation in cultures and the environment and to uncontrolled building
and to disfiguring impact.
KEYWORDS
Landscapes; Agricultural and Natural Landscape; Agricultural Land Use; Sardinia
P. Mistretta, G. Desogus, C. Garau
1 INTRODUCTION
This contribution aims to activate for the region of Sardinia (Italy) a methodology for the
treatment of agricultural soils in relation to landscapes bound by important urban tools such
as the Regional Landscape Plan (known in Italian as "Piano Paesaggistico Regionale - PPR")
approved in 2006 by the Autonomous Region of Sardinia. In fact, the RLP, respecting the
forecasts of the European and national regulations, places a very strong attention on the
coastal zones, recognizing the various nuances and defining the requirements, measures and
directives for their protection and their enhancement. Only in 2012, in implementation of the
provisions of the Code of Cultural Heritage and Landscape, the Regional Council of Sardinia
approves the new Guidelines for landscape planning, in which, in addition to the reaffirmation
of the importance of safeguarding and of coastal landscapes enhancing, for the first time, the
focus is placed on the landscapes of the internal areas and on the rural landscapes, as
elements that strongly characterize the identity of the Sardinian people, because they have
been closely linked for millennia to the agro-pastoral activities. There have been projects,
analyzes and recognition of the Sardinian rural landscapes and the relationships between the
coastal areas and the internal areas, but never matured into an effective regulation of the
same internal areas. However, this paper aims to discuss the determining factors related to
the rural landscape in an urban key, without entering in the skills of the complex agro-
zootechnical system. “The rural landscape is becoming a strategic part of the territory not
only because it represents the connective of the wider landscape scenario, but also because
its state of wellbeing has many effects on the rest of the territory. In this sense, the
rediscovery of the rural landscape is not linked to a nostalgic desire to restore bucolic settings
and ornamental economies, but to the multiplicity of functions that can benefit the entire
territorial system […]. The management of the rural landscape is intertwined with different
issues: i) the root of cultural identity in the places; ii) the widespread need to regenerate the
conditions of a growing land degradation; iii) the construction of local development projects,
and iv) the need to safeguard the environmental dimension of space” (Balestrieri, 2018). In
addition, the rural landscape is a mosaic of natural and human managed land uses that vary
in size, shape and arrangement (Zaizhi, 2000; Biasi et al., 2016).
In Sardinia, three types of rural landscape can be considered: 1) the pastures in rocky terrain
with the presence of the Mediterranean woodland, 2) cultivated land, and 3) arboreal land
(from rows of trees along the road to the woods). Each of these types participates in the
composition of the landscape in a decisive way, but often its effects are underestimated. In
other words, the rural landscape is characterized by an integration between the fixed factors
and mobile factors of the territory: the first ones have no variations except in very rigid

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Proposal on the agricultural land use in according to the features of the landscape: the case study of Sardinia (Italy)

seasonal periods, when they can cover themselves with snow, while the second ones vary not
only with the seasons but also with the types of plants that, especially in spring, participate
in the chromatism of the environment with the various florescences.
For this reason, the authors believe it is important to study a methodology that can lead to a
grid of evaluation of the treatment hypotheses of the rural territory and, in particular of what
can affect the nature of the landscape and the visual, cultural, geographical, environmental
and identity composition of the landscape itself. For example, the region of Marmilla in
Sardinia is not only valuable for the nuraghes or retabli of the Master of Castelsardo (active
between the end of the fifteenth and the beginning of the sixteenth century), but also because
the Marmilla region identifies itself as an anthropized rural landscape with a symbiosis
between environment and history, where the landscape represents the fusion of eras and
memory (Garau, 2015). Natural, cultural, and environmental attractions enhanced by the
morphology of the hills, the historical value of the local urban centers, and local traditions.
Therefore, a landscape set of open fields (Meeus, 1995) cannot be linked to conservation
reasons because it is the result of a spontaneous agricultural activity that integrates perfectly
with the morphological component, so as to characterize the most beautiful areas (without
the sea) of Sardinia. This status could change if the cereal cultures, which contribute to the
chromatism of the whole, were replaced by tall trees that could affect the "soft" reading of
the landscape, creating discontinuity and even chromatic contrasts. Based on these premises,
the article is divided into three parts: the first one describes the structural characters of
Sardinian agro on the margins and within the landscapes classified according to literature; in
the second one, an evaluation of the agro-landscape determinants is made with a proposal
for integration and compatibility of the same. Finally, the paper presents the conclusions,
hoping for political proposals and application techniques.
2 THE RURAL LANDSCAPE OF SARDINIA

The dominant rural landscape in Sardinia is therefore characterized by the extensiveness,
which can be summarized in the three types described in the previous paragraph. The
Mediterranean woodland and permanent natural pastures cover almost half of the island,
while the woods and agricultural crops occupy specific areas (Fig. 1): mainly in the hills and
mountains the first ones, often managed in agro-forestry systems; in the plains, in the areas
equipped with a network of consortium irrigation and in the crown of rural villages and urban
centers, the second ones (Camarda et al., 2014).
These considerations on the composition of rural landscapes, in which nature and
anthropology play their specific role, must be added to another interpretive line of the natural
environment and the landscape that refers to the distant pastoral world of Sardinia, when for

© 2019, FedoaPress

the shepherd the horizon of affections and interests was defined by the territory that they
could control (the country, the fields and the pastures) moving on foot or on horseback. The
distance between the country, social focus, and the most distant pastures marked the limit of
identity space with its rules of coexistence (Mistretta, 2012). The attention to the historical
process is fundamental to understand the substantial modifications of the way of life and the
relationships of the inhabitants with the new dimension of the space of relationship.
Today it is possible to regulate the type of intervention in rural and agricultural contexts,
obviously without creating penalties of any kind, not even implied by productivity, especially
by the profitability of investments made in agriculture, with already existing markets and with
those that can be activated. It is evident that the attention on the landscapes of Sardinia and
on the modalities of interpretation, representation, and safeguard are strictly connected to
the geographic-structural identifying aspects, so much to characterize Sardinia on a world
scale, for its identity values. However, it is necessary to understand in what way today's rural
landscape is the result of a transformation of cultures due to the modernization of work tools
in the fields or is a result of an overload of tourist flows that is sometimes incompatible with
to the most authentic expressions of the same habitats. In other words, the control of changes
in the Sardinian territory took place with attention to coastal areas with beaches and the
reconversion of illegal "bathing" buildings, without any reference to the very strong
relationships between the countryside and the destinations of use for tourism purposes. In
fact, the pastures, agricultural, wooded features and in particular the monumental
morphology of the geography of the places have been neglected. However, it should not be
underestimated that on the perception and "capture" of the environment and of the landscape
today, more than yesterday, some factors of frenetic modernity intervene: the little time
available for a reflexive or commentary stop, the speed of the vehicle (car or bus) that
produces an extemporaneousness without soul of the sequence of views; the increasingly
sophisticated photographic and filming tools that memorize images without history. All this
makes the rural continuum as a monotype field, without factors of interest, despite being
diversified by cultures and plantings. Therefore, cultural education is important for
understanding the environment, landscapes and for developing a harmonious synthesis. In
this context, the contextualities of the landscape and the foreseeable and regulable margins
of change should be evaluated, without neglecting the productive modifications of the rural
system that, as already mentioned, participate in the perceptual synthesis composition. Thus,
culture becomes absolutely central to understand over time the place-based dynamism and
the mediation between nature, places and people of countries and fields.

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Fig. 1 Corine Land cover (Source: Corine 2018)
In order to do this, the Region, as a superordinate public body with respect to the municipal
autonomy, has to formulate the methodology of analysis and proposal, with the indicators of
intervention and of organization, also for the management aspects. In fact, it is necessary to
understand if tables can be produced that describe the different forms of soil treatment, in
order to distinguish and suggest certain cultures (for example vegetable gardens) compared

© 2019, FedoaPress

to others (for example vineyards) more suited to ensure the balance of landscapes. Or it may
be necessary to suggest arboreal cultures, the fruit ones or wood or cork ones, as long as
there are no secular trees that constitute the focal point of the landscape to which they belong.
This reasoning, in its expository simplicity, wants to give importance to the physical
component of the rural product, because in addition to the plant type, the "body" connotations
of the essences must not be ignored: heights, depths of roots, ramifications, foliage, growth
times and of life, knowing that the green component of the territory is the essential habitat
for insects and for birdlife. Moreover, the production results of the agro are influenced by the
pedology and geology of the places, which enter into the finalized evaluation of the contexts
of which the regional and urban planning must pay attention to formulate the choices of plan.
It is, therefore, necessary not only a cultural sensitivity that links man to nature (Turri, 2008),
in its most varied expressions, but also a corresponding legislative activity that assists, without
prejudice, the economic activities already in place and those most suitable for development.
It is also essential to define the current conflicts of vocation of the areas (right or false)
through flexible use destinations, supported by a smart infrastructural network. This project
is obviously multidisciplinary with the indispensable presence of agronomists and experts in
rural law. In fact, the bibliographic reference documentation and the taxonomic description
of cultivated soils, especially for promiscuous crops, should facilitate the investigation of the
territory and the visualization of the perspectives of use1. Obviously, the rules that regulate
the use of rural territories cannot be the same throughout Sardinia (cubic meters per hectare),
but, having to interpret the environmental and identity context, they will not be neutral
because they affect the value of soils and their susceptibility.
In many cases the recent suppression of typological differences led to the impoverishment
and undifferentiation of rural landscapes (Franceschetti, 2009), underestimating the effects
because the landscape is not monotypic but is the result of the different cultural and
disciplinary matrix that contribute to differentiate places and recognize them. Unfortunately,
in Sardinia, the depopulation of internal areas certainly affects the future on structural balance
and also on the landscape. So that is an irreversible factor, it will be necessary immediately
to make concrete proposals sustainable even with guided interventions for objectives aimed

1
“The landscape of Mediterranean promiscuous crops is the result of the practice of polyculture:
intercrossed cereal crops, legumes, vines and fruit trees (a little less densely, and only in the most
recent age, forage plants). On the same field are associated three types of crops: the herbaceous ones
(cereals, fodder plants and renewal plants), a shrub, that is the vine, and the guardian tree. Sometimes
the vine is only associated with trees (peaches, almonds, figs, walnuts and olives), even when they do
not serve as support; in most cases it is, or was, "married" to the tree. The "married" vine to the tree
in the middle of the wheat constitutes the classical landscape of the promiscuous culture" (Balestrieri,
2018).

© 2019, FedoaPress


(for identity and tourism purposes). In this case, it is necessary to activate relationships of
collaboration with public and associative subjects that have activities of direction and of
management in the production system (among which Confagricoltura, Coldiretti, Regional
Councilor, Companies, etc.). Therefore, it is urgent to reconsider the different types of cultures
and their impact on the landscape, contextually activating specific forms of monitoring to
evaluate the guided and spontaneous transformations, taking into account the effects not
only of the sector but also on the socioeconomic system of the areas under study. In the
analysis of the contexts it is important to take into account, on one hand, the design formed
by the dry walls that become goods classified by UNESCO, and on the other, the natural
hydrogeological system and the existing engineering works, to avoid the devastating effects
of natural disasters2. It should be noted that a series of decisive indicators to which reference
is not yet available, in order to achieve a classification of cultural scenarios and their effects
on the perception of the landscape (Cherrill, 2014).
3 METHODOLOGY
The goal of this paper is to propose guidelines that, through an evaluation grid, can arrive at
a targeted treatment of cultures, keeping in mind the most favorable options to guarantee a
balance in the landscape. To do this, the cultural factors of the settlement and rural habitats
and the anthropized components that diversify case by case must be kept in mind, even if
they are not directly involved. In this regard, Mara Balestrieri identifies "34 types of landscape
grouped into nine categories (“arctic”, “boreal”, “Atlantic”, “alpine”, “Mediterranean”,
“continental”, “Anatolian”, “steppic”), starting from climatic, topographic, lithological and land
cover data. The landscape typology is obtained from a hierarchical nomenclature organized
on four levels. This nomenclature includes: 8 classes for the climate, 5 classes for the altitude,
3 classes of lithology, 10 classes for covering the ground" (Balestrieri, 2018). However, to
understand how environmental factors interact with the interventions to be adopted, it must

2
“Many efforts have made at European level in an attempt to classify the Community landscape, especially
after the ratification of the European Landscape Convention in 2000. The identification and evaluation
of European landscapes are explicitly mentioned as a specific measure in Article 6 of the Convention
(Council of Europe, 2000). Already, in 1996 at the Sofia Conference (Council of Europe 1996), it was
recognized the need to define a European Landscape Map (Pan-European Landscape Map) with the aim
of distinguishing different types of landscape and to represent its geographical location. However, the
difficulties in making such a map appeared immediately evident. So that there are extremely diverse
natural and cultural conditions on the European territory, it is difficult to classify the landscapes
according to an elementary hierarchy to be applied to the entire continent. Very few papers were
therefore actually produced. The European Landscapes Map developed by Meeus is one of the few valid
examples, although it should be considered more like a sketch based on expert knowledge since there
is no spatial accuracy and a rigorous background analysis” (Balestrieri, 2018; p. 63).

© 2019, FedoaPress

be considered the manipulation of the field operator, in order to evaluate how much has
changed over time and on which hypotheses it is possible to think.
A significant example is the terracings organized by cultures, like vineyard in steep slopes, in
fact it can happen that the advent of unpredictable climatic factors, can change the state of
the places and in this case, regardless of the loss of production, would change also the
reference coordinates with the need to review the landscape design. At the same, in Sardinia
frequent fires in the summer months heavily weigh on the landscape; in these cases, the
classified landscape loses its motivational requirements, above all due to its substantial and
chromatic impact and must be redefined. Among the many indicators extrapolated from the
classification of Mücher et al. (2010) the following groupings can be used for the geography
of Sardinia: parent materials (rocks, sediments and waste materials); altitude (plains, hills and
mountains); land cover (arable land, permanent crops and pastures, Mediterranean woodland,
open fields). Some of these are distinguished by the presence of scattered settlements typical
of Gallura and Sulcis in Sardinia. With the necessary in-depth analysis and considering the
literature on the topic (RAS, 2013; RAS, 2017), one or more grids can be activated for a
functional and cultural coordination, aimed at making the "voices" that characterize the
landscape integrable with the "voices" that characterize the agricultural land. The authors
propose a grid (Tab. 1) that wants to have a methodological meaning without the precision
that only the specialists of the agricultural land and cultures can classify in a close dialectic
relationship with town planners and landscape designers, taking into account the types
already described in the RLP.
4 CONCLUSIONS
The purpose of the contribution is to compare the productive component of the soils and the
economic component to which the tourist fruition contributes together with the identity,
landscape component. Because it is a matter of different disciplinary subjects, even if they
are "bordering" and integrable, a cross-reading of the determinants of the agricultural land
and the landscape is proposed by constructing a grid of address with the representation of
the options aimed at contributing to the harmonious composition of the landscapes. It is
specified that it is only a research proposal because every context, of which Sardinia is rich,
assumes its own landscape identity, functional not only for tourist use, but also for a
"presence" of inhabitants and operators of the agricultural land. A conclusion of the analysis
and impact assessments, planners should prepare to address consistent standards and
implementation rules.

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lands coastal landscapes coastal coastal inner hilly inner flat inner mountain
with degrading landscapes landscapes landscapes landscapes landscapes landscapes3
rocks and coves with bordering the characterized (valley floor
beaches countryside by and
"monumental" plateaus)
rocks
Uncultivated x x
land with
rocky
boulders
Pasture (hills x x x x x x
and
mountains)
Forage x x x x
plants
1 Arable land x x
(vegetables
and similar)
2 Arable land x x
(cereals and
similar)
Terraced x
vineyards
Fruit trees x x
(Citrus,
peach, etc.)
Mediterranea x x x x
n woodland,
junipers and
prickly pears
Dried fruit x
trees
Wood trees x x x
Forest (oaks, x x x x
cork oaks,
conifers)
Others
Tab. 1 Addresses for the treatment of agricultural territory to participate in the

composition of the landscape
Naturally, the objective of this proposal is to affect the quality of life by keeping the
settlements alive and the relationship with the rural territory, within the framework of a
healthy economy and a dynamic territorial function. Moreover, this hypothesis of research
proposal can be a first step to consider again the great problem of depopulation of the
countryside and the decay of small villages, without which it would make no sense to insist
with temporary instruments, and with financial incentives in the concrete little incisive.
The future research proposal of this paper is a cross-reading of the different types represented
in Tab. 1, in order to obtain an overall value of the "landscape-agriculture" determining factors
on which to set the Regional programming lines and the suitable implementation tools.

3 To be evaluated case by case, taking into account the structural component of the rocks and the
chromatic effect, as well as the height excursions that contribute to "move" the perceptive framework

© 2019, FedoaPress

AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
This paper is the result of the joint work of the authors. ‘Methodology’ was written jointly by
the authors. Pasquale Mistretta wrote the ‘Conclusions’’. Giulia Desogus wrote the
‘Introduction’. Chiara Garau wrote the ‘The rural landscape of Sardinia’.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This study was supported by the MIUR (Ministry of Education, Universities and Research
[Italy]) through a project entitled Governing tHe smart city: a governance-centred approach
to SmarT urbanism – GHOST (Project code: RBSI14FDPF; CUP Code: F22I15000070008),
financed with the SIR (Scientific Independence of Young Researchers) programme. We
authorize the MIUR to reproduce and distribute reprints for Governmental purposes,
notwithstanding any copyright notations thereon. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or
recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors, and do not necessarily
reflect the views of the MIUR.
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multivariate analysis of the structure of traditional tree cropping systems along a human pressure
gradient in a Mediterranean region. Agroforestry Systems, 91(6), 1199-1217. doi:
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10457-016-0006-0
Cherrill, A. (1994). A comparison of three landscape classifications and investigation of the potential
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Franceschetti, G. (2009). Criteri e procedure di valutazione del paesaggio. Aestimum, (27).
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© 2019, FedoaPress


RAS (2013) in volo sui paesaggi rurali della Sardegna. Available at the following link:
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AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Pasquale Mistretta is Engineer and Emeritus Professor of Urban and Regional Planning at University
of Cagliari, Italy. He was Rector of the same University from 1991 to 2009. He is author of the following
books: Autonomia, il sogno e la ragione (2011); Pasquale Mistretta: storia e attualità di un percorso
critico (a cura di L. Gulli 2011); Città e sfide: conflitti e utopie (2013); Beni comuni dello spazio urbano
(2014); Gli slum e l’urbanistica negata (2017); Nella città che cambia (2017).
Giulia Desogus is architect and PhD student at the DICAAR (Department of Civil and Environmental
Engineering and Architecture) of the University of Cagliari. She is author of the books: Il Metabolismo
Giapponese (2015); I centri minori della Sardegna e la Città Metropolitana di Cagliari (2016); Nella
città che cambia (2017).
Chiara Garau is Assistant Professor of Urban and Regional Planning at the DICAAR (Department of
Civil and Environmental Engineering and Architecture) of the University of Cagliari, Italy. In June 2015,
she received the Best Paper award at ICCSA 2015 with a paper entitled Benchmarking Smart Urban
Mobility: A Study on Italian Cities. In 2015, She won a national research competition (the SIR call
proposal—Scientific independence of young researchers, Domain SH—of the Italian Ministry of
Education, University and Research) with the GHOST project ("Governing the smart city: a governance-
centred approach to smart urbanism"). She is author of over 70 scientific publications, including
monographs, conference proceedings, and articles in books and national and international journals.

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COMMON LAND(SCAPE)
MORPHOLOGIES OF A MULTIFUNCTIONAL RURAL
LANDSCAPE IN THE ISALLE VALLEY, SARDINIA
ROBERTO SANNA

e-mail: robertosanna@unica.it
curatorias.wordpress.com

Sanna, R., (2019). Common land(scape). Morphologies of a multifunctional rural landscape in the Isalle Valley,
Sardinia. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature and ecosystem services (pp. 356-365). Naples:
ABSTRACT
This paper aims to explore the relation between landscape design and multifunctional rural
development. Within the frame of the transformation of rural landscapes in the so-called low-
density areas, we will focus on the landscape dynamics and settlement morphologies of the
common land of Isalle. This 3000 hectares territory is located in the countryside of Dorgali,
Sardinia. This rural landscape is a rare example of an integrated network where topics such
as polyculture, multifunctionality and the management of rural space have already reached
an interesting level of development compared to Sardinian rural space. Two cooperatives of
shepherds and winemakers operate in this area. Since the 60s of the’900, their work has
radically changed the historical structure based on transhumance, grafting a stable network
of folds, barns and crops schemes consistent with the morphology of the site. The paper
outlines the settlement history of this landscape, the management policies carried out and
the relationship between production dynamics and th e environment. Finally, we define how a
landscape design strategy could link the network of rural devices and the existing road network
to a significant number of archaeological and natura listic sites in the area. A network such as
this could represent a deep change of scale in the meaning of rural multifunctionality.
KEYWORDS
Rural Landscape; Rural Architecture; Multifunctionality; Sardinia
Common land(scape)

1 INTRODUCTION: ARCHITECTURE AS A
MULTIFUNCTIONAL DEVICE FOR THE RURAL LANDSCAPE
The EUCALAND report of 2017 about multifunctional practice in agriculture highlights the
importance of landscape management in a multi-scale approach. Many agrarian and
landscape scholars1 see in the strengthening of the proximity networks a possible future for
low-density territories. The paper describes a landscape analysis made over a case study
territory in Sardinia that, having established an active network of farms in a diversified rural
pattern consistent with morphology and the environment, could represents an interesting pilot
case of multifunctional rural development. The recent rural studies2 about the transformations
of the Sardinian landscapes consider the urgency to adapt the system of specialized and
monoculture breeding farms towards a multifunctional model, able to balance production,
environment and the ecosystem services.
Fig. 1 the Isalle-Orrule Common Land

1
See Ilaria Agostini (2015). Il diritto alla campagna: rinascita rurale e rifondazione urbana. Ediesse.
2
See Benedetto Meloni (2006) Lo sviluppo rurale, dall’analisi al progetto.

© 2019, FedoaPress

R. Sanna
This issue is even more important by considering the depopulation phenomena of the internal
areas of the island that weakens the settlement structure of the rural landscapes of the island,
made by a rarefied network of farms, folds and rural holding whose building is generally recent
and tied to the recolonization of the rural space after the Agrarian Reform.
2 THE INTEGRATED POLYCOLTURE OF ISALLE VALLEY: STRUCTURES

AND DEVICES
The Isalle valley and the adjoining site of Orrule constitute a 3000 hectares common land
within the municipality of Dorgali, Sardinia (Italy). The Isalle River ecosystem, one of the main
tributaries of the Cedrino River, marks a wide valley that consists of a large irrigated plain
surrounded by granite heights. A co-operative colonization scheme has managed the land
since the '60s according to a management structure quite rare on the island.
2.1 THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE VALLEY

The still visible traces of human presence in the area date back to pre-Nuragic times, as
evidenced by the presence of some prehistoric collective burials excavated in the granitic rock
called Domus de Janas. The Nuragic era is represented by the survival of at least four
megalithic towers called nuraghes and as many collective megalithic gallery graves, called
tombe dei giganti. Currently, there are more than thirty archaeological sites of prehistoric,
Nuragic, Roman and medieval age within the common land boundaries, surveyed by the local
archaeologist Fabrizio Delussu for the archeological survey of the municipal planning of 2010.
Of these, the most important one is the Tomba dei giganti of S'Ena ‘e Thomes, which is one
of the most important examples of this kind. Most of the sites lie in a precarious condition due
to a lack of information devices and walkways. Each archaeological site in the area differs by
origin, typology, and position: we should remember for example the nuraghes placed on the
southern heights of the area, from which it is possible to frame a general view of the common
land. In many of these sites, archaeologists found several remains dated back to the Roman
and Middle Ages, a sign of a continuous human presence structured in small hamlets placed
in the most favorable places. This low density but high capillary settlement model was
common on the island before the deep changes during the late middle age, which led to the
still current situation of a model based on a few large villages able to control portions of land
which dimension changes according to the local resources (Artizzu, I. 1966). In fact, in the
area, is recorded the presence of a settlement, Isalle or Izarle, which survived until the
seventeenth century. The survivors and the rights to use the land resources passed to the
village of Dorgali, far more than 15 km, and today only some traces of the church of the

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Common land(scape)

depopulated village remain. In those circumstances, the effective ownership of the territory
belongs to the local feudal lord, who directly administered the land through rents, concessions
and guaranteeing the rights of use to local communities. The modern history of the Isalle
territory, whose size is comparable to that of many municipal areas of the island, in fact,
follows the historical dynamics of the Sardinian rural area. It became the preferred
transhumance location from the nearby mountain villages and occasionally was used for
agricultural purposes. The traces of these activities remain from toponyms and the presence
of numerous pastoral enclosures and shelters, made by the tenants of the feudal lord and the
free occupants of this space. The definitive transition to the municipal administration of
Dorgali took place after a complex dispute between the State, the Municipality and some
private individuals for the ownership of this land whose reconstruction goes beyond this study.
After that, at the end of the XIX century, Isalle became a common land of the Municipality of
Dorgali. During the ‘50s it was involved in the agrarian strikes occurred in the Italian
countryside due to the high demand for arable land for the unemployed peasants. Starting
from the 1960s and '70s, the municipality established some cooperative societies of peasants
for the management of the land, starting a process of rural transformation that continues
today. A cooperative of local winemakers established a hundred hectares vineyard in the river
plain in the 60s, after several reclamations works. Starting from the 1960s and '70s, the
municipality established some cooperative societies of peasants for the management of the
land, starting a process of rural transformation that continues today. A cooperative of local
winemakers established a hundred hectares vineyard in the river plain in the 60s, after several
reclamations works. The entire winemaking process took place in the local social winery of
Dorgali, one of the most important of the island. The cultivation of this vineyard represented
a radical landscape transformation that constitutes one of the main visual polarities along the
highway that cross the common land connecting the cities of Olbia and Nuoro. The shepherds
'Isalle-Orrule' cooperative4 gathers about a hundred breeders who are required to comply
with a precise regulation for the management and use of pastures. The integration of pastures
and forage crops makes the flocks of sheep and goats and the herds of cattle free from
external food supplies, except for the winter periods when the shepherds keep the flocks in
the stables, also to encourage the regeneration of the pastures.
A dairy farm located in Dorgali deals exclusively with the processing and marketing of products
collected by the whole 38 rural centers and by other shepherds members of the society. This
management system seems to respond positively to the now age-old criticalities of the lasting
ovine monoculture scheme of the island. Furthermore, the shepherds act as farmers as well:
they established a 7 hectares vineyard to diversify their activities and grow their vegetables
in kitchen gardens near their rural centers.

© 2019, FedoaPress

R. Sanna
Fig. 2 the Isalle valley (image courtesy of archaeologist F. Delussu, 2018) and
the relationship between rural devices (red circles), the river and vineyard system and the
landscape figures of the valley
2.2 THE RURAL DEVICES AS A MINIMAL UNIT OF COLONISATION

In the Isalle valley, the rural centers colonize the space according to a parallel line between
the river and the woodland relief, establishing a kind of ‘valley section' balance between them.
Instead, the rural devices of the Eastern part of the common land, called Orrule, establish a
punctual colonization scheme due to the homogenous pastureland. The current building stock
in the common land is classifiable in two kinds of buildings, referring to the two different
cooperatives that operate in the area and to the historical presence of a station house now
used as a rehab facility. The buildings linked to the winemakers' cooperative, which manages

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Common land(scape)

most of the vineyards, are small warehouse placed in the vineyard and a larger building used
during the harvest. The buildings belonging to the shepherds' cooperative, on the other hand,
represent a precise rural colonization scheme designed and built since the 1990s. 38 so-called
‘rural centers’ have been created. They are autonomous devices assigned to each member
who intends to start there his/her activity there. There are two types of devices: the single
type, managed by one member and the double type, managed by two members at the same
time. Groups of four or five rural centers cover each of the eight sub-areas that subdivide the
total common land, based on the micro-geological and morphological characteristics. A ninth
sub-area placed along the river plain covers the common production of the crop for the
animals. Each rural center, therefore, establishes a direct relationship of transformation of its
rural micro-landscape and, together with the others present in the sub-area, constitutes the
minimal unit of colonization of that landscape. If we consider the land tenure and the
subdivision into nine sub-areas, in which eight of them have got five centers each, in about
2618 hectares, we could note that each business center has a virtual control of about 60
hectares, which exceeds three times the average 20 hectares of land of farm in Sardinia
(ISTAT, 2010). This abundance of space allows better management of land resources and
avoids phenomena of overgrazing and soil depletion and erosion. As we can see by the photo
areas of the years 1968, 1977 and 2013, the progressive erosion of the woodland shows a
strong transformation of the rural space but seems to reach a substantial balance starting
from the early 2000s, having reached a condition that agrarian scholar defines it as an agro-
sylvan-pastoral system. This system, which in Sardinia we could relate to the so-called
meriagros, very similar to the better-known Portuguese Montado system, seems to be a
condition of substantial balance between anthropic uses and environmental dynamics. A right
balance as such, between the farming activities in the countryside and the conservation and
enhancement of the environment, is also an important tool for the valorization and
management of all those kinds of rural landscapes characterized by low human density.
Hence, the punctual presence of productive buildings in this particular space, and their direct
relationship with the transformative dynamics shows how their dispositio appears even more
important. The operational logic of these micro-settlements also acts on a double scale: they
represent the minimum control unit of the agro on the one hand and, they constitute largely
autonomous productive tools on the other. Each rural center consists of a courtyard around
which the different volumes are disposed: the sheepfold, the barn, the storage area are in a
direct and univocal relationship with the court; the support space of the shepherd instead lies
in a tangent way, acting as the threshold of the complex. The milking room instead stands
generally outside the yard and is always associated, in every rural center by a trough. Every
center has water through artesian well systems. In the case of twin centers, this arrangement

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R. Sanna
is made by juxtaposing the logic of the court and buildings along the same slope. There is not
a specific project for each of the 38 centers but every complex of building represents the
adaptation of the building types described above to the most different morphological
conditions of each site. The great variety and the analogy within the differences shows a very
topical lesson of architectural morpho-typology. When rigid building schemes grant a
possibility of modification, they continue to be consistent with the fundamental principles of
settlement transformations that the Italian school of Caniggia and Muratori theorized. Basic
principles such as the enclosure and the cell and modification laws such as juxtaposition,
doubling in length, in-depth or in elevation still find perfect compositional correspondence in
rural architecture. As Giorgio Grassi stated, rural architecture continues to surprise the
architectural scholar because they seem to be "buildings in which geometry is only a means
to build figures and not figuration itself; where composition has a literal meaning, since the
accent is placed on relationships, on the relationships between elements that are widely
defined "(Grassi, 1970)
3 ISSUES FOR AN ADAPTIVE RURAL MODEL FOR THE LOW-DENSITY

TERRITORIES
As we can see, the courtyard building type is an ordering element of space and a settlement
model at the territorial scale. Such an adaptable configuration spreads interesting issues for
the landscape design in the rural context. The sheepfolds are currently responding only to
internal production logics, while they could further strengthen their territorial role by
welcoming new uses linked to multifunctional agro management. As a matter of fact, the
principle of the enclosure and the cell already owns a proper interpretative grid of new needs
and new uses able to integrate with those of production. Micro colonization nearby the
buildings through small systems of vegetable gardens and morphological modifications
between buildings and pasture is already evident. At the same time, the presence of numerous
historical pastoral enclosures, today largely abandoned, represents a further design issue, as
they could constitute intermediate spots within a network able to connect the various rural
centers, the archaeological sites and the naturalistic hotspots. The opening of tens of km of
rural roads built in the last 30 years partially replaces the paths identified by the reading of
the historical land cadasters. The ancient road network responded to different needs, both
productive and technological. Still, this road network could regain its importance because it
continues to relate the ancient sites of this territory, such as fords, abandoned settlements,
devices historical productions and transhumance paths. The presence of a double order of
roads, of which the last (the ancient one) is partly compromised or canceled, is a severe

© 2019, FedoaPress

Common land(scape)

critical issue to be resolved through a landscape project capable of integrating these two
infrastructures to achieve a new network configuration. Only a design strategy could be able
to set up the different devices of colonization of this rural space. Also, the presence in the
area of a religious procession road is still not integrated into a structured network system.
This 30 km rural path crosses Isalle at the halfway point. A huge company of pilgrims leaving
the nearby town of Nuoro goes on foot twice a year to the sanctuary of San Francesco, in the
territory of the nearby village of Lula. Here the people gathered from the nearby towns
celebrate a religious and community feast lasting several days. The 30 km road that crosses
Isalle represents an extraordinary opportunity to rethink the rural road network to
strengthening soft mobility, cycling networks and eco-tourism. Such a network would
constitute the ideal framework to set up models of development deeply integrated between
local production needs and enhancement of the historical, cultural and environmental issues
of the site. Such a network could represent a deep change in the scale of the meaning of rural
multifunctionality.
4 CONCLUSIONS: TOWARD A MULTIFUNCTIONAL NETWORK OF RURAL

DEVICES
As a matter of fact, the so-called common landscape of Isalle represents an interesting
approach toward the rural development issues that emerged from the EUCALAND report of
2017. The co-operative logic seems to overcome the excessive fragmentation of the rural
productive base of the island, as evidenced in the 6° General Inventory of Agriculture in
Sardinia3, which strongly reflected the weakness of its socio-economic structures. The Isalle
scheme proposes an adaptable method that overtakes the single farm-oriented vision of rural
multifunctionality towards an integrated and multifunctional network of rural devices.
Nowadays Isalle is an embryo of a rural district, able to expand and deepen its effectiveness.
The management of this network and the sharing of common rules constitutes the structure
through which even punctual improvements are possible. Despite this, we saw that this is not
enough for a truly organic rural development model. The noteworthy presence of
archaeological and cultural spots in and around this territory suffers for substantial invisibility.
Their presence and potential is not yet a network, conceptual even before physical.
Integrating and relocating this constellation of elements to the existing production network
requires a planning scenario capable of put together these different complexities toward an
organic system through design strategies. The essential tool for this step forward must be a

3
Inventory produced in 2013 by the Autonomous Region of Sardinia.

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R. Sanna
multi-level project, able to operate through micro-interventions coordinated according to

landscape dynamics. Putting together the network of production devices, the network of roads
connecting them and the constellation of archaeological and naturalistic spots, could improve
a mixed-farming logic toward a true poly-cultural landscape. The classic motto that sees a
beautiful landscape linked to fine food urgently needs a third way, which, further from
considering a territory a mere scenario, should reinterpret the "thickness of time"4 of these
places (Gomes Da Silva, J. 2013). Therefore, relating what history has left in its stratigraphic
progress to the current production and ecological needs should represent a common key for
the development of many similar contexts. A network acting as an open system of
relationships between objects may reinforce the apparent uncertainty and fragmentation of
rurality. As Landscape Architect João Nunes5 said, “in the contemporary world what is
increasingly important are not the objects themselves, but the relationships that bind them,
whether they are latent or not yet evident” (J. Nunes, 2018). Through a morphological study
of the built heritage and the landscape’s dynamics of the Isalle Valley, the paper evidenced
Nunes advice through a rethinking of the ‘invisible’ objects of a particular rural space, binding
and linking them together in order to build a new operative and multi-scale network, made
by an integrated system of object, activities and adaptable relations.
Fig. 3 masterplan of the multifunctional rural network: the rural centres (red square),
the archaeological sites (black triangles), the local network (red lines),
the main roads (black lines), the vineyard (grey), the river (dark grey)

4
As Landscape Architect Joao Gomes Da Silva defined his conference in Lisbon “Thickness of time" on
25/02/2013.
5
See João Nunes preface in Dessì A. Le città della campagna.

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Common land(scape)

REFERENCES
Agostini, I. (2015). Il diritto alla campagna: rinascita rurale e rifondazione urbana. Ediesse
Artizzu, F. (a cura di) (1966). Liber fondachi. Annali delle Facoltà di Lettere, Filosofia e Magistero
dell'Università di Cagliari, XXIX (1961-1965)
Delussu, F. (2010). Siti archeologici di epoca prenuragica, nuragica e romana, Comune di Dorgali, PUC
EUCALAND (2017) Relazione di sintesi. Stato dell’arte sul rapporto tra pratiche agricole
sostenibili/multifunzionali e paesaggi agricoli europei. https://cs.feal-future.org/sites/default/files
/inline-files/O1-SummaryReport-IT_0.pdf
Dessì, A. (2018). Le città della campagna: il paesaggio rurale per il progetto urbano. Franco Angeli,
Milano
Grassi, G. (1987). L’architettura come mestiere e altri scritti.
Le Lannou, M. (2006). Pastori e contadini di Sardegna. Ed. Della Torre, Cagliari
Mandolesi, E. (1965). Edilizia per l’agricoltura, UTET, Torino.
Meloni, B. (2006). Lo sviluppo rurale: dall’analisi al progetto. CUEC, Cagliari
Regione Sardegna (2013). Il 6° Censimento Generale dell’Agricoltura in Sardegna Caratteristiche

strutturali delle aziende agricole regionali
Van der Ploeg, J.D. (2009). I nuovi contadini: agricoltura sostenibile e globalizzazione. Donzelli, Roma
WEB SITES
http://censimentoagricoltura.istat.it/
http://www.gap.pt/text/the-thickness-of-time/
AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Roberto Sanna is an Architect. Ph.D. student in Civil Engineering and Architecture at DICAAR,
University of Cagliari. His research deals with the design issues related to the transformations of rural
landscapes and architectures in the low-density areas. Author of the project ‘CURATORIAS - mapping
landscapes of Sardinia', by which investigates the current state of the landscapes of Sardinia and their
historical dynamics. Didactic assistant in the design courses and thesis laboratories of the school of
architecture at the University of Cagliari where he develops his academic research joining local
research groups and international conferences and workshops.

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SHEEPTOSHIP LIFE:
INTEGRATION OF
ENVIRONMENTAL STRATEGIES
WITH RURAL DEVELOPMENT
POLICIES
LOOKING FOR AN ECO-SUSTAINABLE SHEEP
SUPPLY CHAIN
*ENRICO VAGNONIa, ALBERTO S. ATZORIb

GIOVANNI MOLLEc
a
CNR-IBIMET, Institute of Biometeorology
Sassari, Italy
b
Dipartimento di Agraria
c
AGRIS Sardegna, Loc. Bonassai, Italy

Vagnoni, E., Atzori, A.S., Molle, G., ... & Duce, P. (2019). SheepToShip LIFE: Integration of environmental
strategies with rural development policies. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature and ecosystem
services (pp. 366-374). Naples: FedOAPress. ISBN: 978-88-6887-054-6, doi: 10.6093/978-88-6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
Mediterranean dairy sheep farming can represent an interesting case study of the trade-off
theme in sustainable agriculture (agricultural inte nsification and benefits of multiple services of
livestock systems). Sardinia (Italy) is one of the main European regions for sheep milk production,
where several types of dairy sheep farming systems coexist; hence, it can represent a special
context for testing strategies of climate change mitigation for the small ruminant sector. The
SheepToShip LIFE (Looking for an eco-sustainable sh eep supply chain) is a EU project launched
in 2016 to develop and implement a model of carbon footprint mitigation for the sheep-dairy
supply chain of Sardinia, able to reduce GHG emissi ons by 20% over the next 10 years through
improved efficiency of production systems. The ultim ate purpose of the project is to deliver an
Environmental Action Plan defining a roadmap for fully integrating mitigation measures for the
sheep sector into Sardinian development strategies. Transferring the SheepToShip LIFE model
and fostering replication from local/regional to European level, is another vital goal for which
specific rural development measures (based on effective eco-innovation criteria) are needed.
KEYWORDS
Eco-Innovation; GHG Mitigation; Dairy Sheep Sector
* The other authors are: Alberto Manca, Giovanni B. Concu, Gianluca Cocco, Antonello Franca, Elena Campus,
Pierpaolo Duce.
Sheeptoship life: integration of environmental strategies whit rural development policies

1 INTRODUCTION
Despite the growing public scrutiny of livestock sector as one of the main anthropogenic
source of greenhouse gases (GHG) contributing to climate change, the Mediterranean sheep
supply chain can contribute to boost animal agriculture in the transition toward a more
sustainable bioeconomy-based society. GHG mitigation is highly correlated with increasing
production system efficiency and profitability (Jones et al., 2014), therefore improving the
environmental performance of sheep farming could not only help combat climate change by
reducing GHG and maximising ecosystem services, but also enhance socio-economic
sustainability of local supply chains. This is a key point since in a context of structural economic
crisis of the EU sheep sector, the risk that an effort to improve environmental performance
would be perceived by farmers as a threat to their livelihood should be avoided by all means.
Understanding the drivers of GHG emissions within a farming system following a Life Cycle
Thinking approach, could be useful for defining sustainability strategies in an economically
feasible way. In particular, Mediterranean dairy sheep farming could represent an interesting
case study of the trade-off between agricultural intensification and benefits of multiple
services of livestock systems, a crucial issue on the greening agenda. As Sardinia is the leading
sheep milk producer in Europe (Rural Development Programme of Sardinia – RDP, 2014–
2020), a proactive benchmark of climate change mitigation strategies for the dairy sheep
sector in Sardinia could contribute to this debate. SheepToShip LIFE (www.sheeptoship.eu),
a 4-year (from July 2016 to June 2020) project financed by the EU LIFE Programme Climate
Action 2014-2020 for improving the environmental sustainability of the dairy supply chain in
Sardinia, clearly points in this direction. The overall objective of the project is to reduce by
20% in 10 years GHG emissions from the Sardinian dairy sheep sector. Its actions promote
the inclusion of environmental strategies for the sheep sector into rural development
programmes, focusing on i) efficiency of production systems and ii) valorisation of the
ecosystem services provided by pasture-based farms. The immediate goals of the project are
to identify innovative solutions for the reduction of GHG through a Life Cycle Assessment
(LCA) approach and to demonstrate the environmental and socio-economic benefits deriving
from eco-innovation in the dairy sheep farming and dairy industry sector. The end goal of the
project is to transfer the knowledge generated into an Environmental Action Plan for the sheep
sector of Sardinia, which harmonizes the project's intervention strategy with regional policies
to mitigate climate change. Furthermore, one of the project objectives is to increase the level
of knowledge and awareness of stakeholders and the general public regarding the
environmental quality of products made from sheep’s milk and their contribution to the
mitigation of climate change. The inclusion of policy makers involved in environmental, climate

© 2019, FedoaPress

E. Vagnoni, A.S. Atzori, G. Molle et al.
and rural development sectors at regional, national, and European levels is essential to
guarantee the project’s sustainability and replicability. To achieve its ambitious goals the
project cannot ignore the importance of involving policy makers and key stakeholders to
ensure that climate change mitigation and adaptation is fully accepted as an integral part of
regional development strategies for the sheep sector. In line with the project strategy, the
SheepToShip LIFE partnership involves local authorities responsible for the definition and
implementation of policies on environment and livestock production systems (Sardinia Region,
Department for the Environment), technical assistance services (Laore Sardegna), researchers
of the regional agency focused on the animal husbandry sector (Agris Sardegna), as well as
scientists of the local University (two departments of the University of Sassari) and national
research bodies (two institutes of the National Research Council of Italy).
2 METHODOLOGY AND RESULTS

The evaluation, with an LCA approach, of the environmental implications of the main Sardinian
dairy sheep farming systems and dairy plants using a case study methodology, represents the
basis of the SheepToShip LIFE logical framework (Fig. 1). SheepToShip uses this metric
procedure to determine the environmental hotspots of the sheep’s milk business in Sardinia,
including the environmental impacts of Sardinian Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) sheep
cheeses. Eco-innovative solutions will be tested in several case studies (sheep farms and dairy
businesses) through the introduction of low-input techniques whilst retaining the same quality
standards of products. Therefore, on the basis of the assessment of the environmental and
socio-economic effects of the SheepToShip LIFE implementation actions, a Sardinian
Environmental Action Plan aimed to reach the general objective of the project (-20% of GHG
emissions in 10 years) will be defined. The Action Plan will establish priorities and iterative
roadmap of sustainable mitigation measures for the Sardinian dairy sheep sector in a way that
it will continuously up-date/grade the existing regional policy tools such as the Rural
Development Programme and the Regional Strategy for Climate Change Adaptation
(https://portal.sardegnasira.it/piano-regionale-di-adattamento) according to a Deming cycle
approach (Fig. 1).
Within the planning phase, a cradle-to-farm gate LCA was conducted in 2017, according to
international standards (European Commission Recommendation 2013/179/EU). The LCA
study analyzes the impacts of 20 sheep farms located in contrasting pedo-climatic zones of
Sardinia and representing the main sheep farming systems in Sardinia as described by Molle
et al. (2018).

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Fig. 1 SheepToShip logical framework structured with a Deming cycle approach
This study, identifying the main sources of GHG emissions and technical areas limiting
efficiency of milk production, allowed to highlight best practices as well as to define a
preliminary mitigation strategy. Moreover, it represents the first step to looking specifically
the environmental footprint of the whole Sardinian dairy sheep value chain. Diets with greater
GHG-generating potential per kilogram, directly related with enteric methane emission (the
main environmental hot spot of milk production, by far), and off-farm produced protein-based
feed represents the key areas of sheep farming to target for mitigation efforts. These results
are in agreement with several studies on dairy sector and sheep farming (FAO, 2006; Marino
et al., 2016; O’Brien et al., 2016). Considering that the emissions baseline of the Sardinian
sheep sector (estimated “from cradle to farm gate”) resulted equal to 1,407 kt of CO2-eq
(attributable for 80% to milk and 20% to meat) (Atzori et al., 2017) the SheepToShip LIFE
target reduction is about 280 kt of CO2-eq in 10 years. To reach this goal, maintaining
undiminished the current Sardinia’s sheep milk production (about 315 kt of milk per year), it
can be reasonably assumed an improvement of production level of about 35 kg/ewe (from
150 to 185 kg/year per present ewe), combined to an estimated reduction of about 640,000
ewes plus replacement lambs. The outline of the technical approach adopted by the project
for reducing environmental and economic costs of sheep farming systems is reported below:
Flock management
− monitoring of reproduction performance to increase fertility;
− monitoring of milk production to improve culling strategy;
− disease control/prevention;
− feed quality improvement (use of forage legumes, feedstuff analysis to better balance
sheep diet, feed blocks for improve the digestibility of straw and cereal stubbles).
Land use
− introduction of native self-regenerating legumes-grasses mixtures and Sulla (a biannual
forage);

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− low-input agricultural practices (minimum tillage, direct sowing, reduced use of

fertilizers, etc.);
− soil and water analysis to better drive pasture fertilization.
Since the adoption of these innovations depends greatly on farmers’ and other stakeholders’
attitudes (i.e. beliefs and opinions) towards climate change, a survey was carried out on a
sample of 238 people in order to map their general perceptions and goals related to their
businesses and to climate change. This information is propaedeutic to the design and
communication of the Environmental Action Plan. The survey found that on climate change
related topics, sampled farmers have homogeneous favourable attitude, but on the general
topic of innovation, they are deemed “conservative” and have heterogeneous attitude on
environmental conservation. Whilst on “adaptation” and “effects of farming on climate
change” farmers display general agreement, their attitude towards causes of climate change
and innovation may hinder adoption. Additionally, different attitudes and perceptions among
farmers, researcher and extension officers were observed. For instance, regarding the
importance of experience on the improvement of farm efficiency (Fig. 2), the survey
highlighted that most of the farmers count only on their experience to improve the efficiency
of their businesses.
Fig. 2. Neyman-Pearson Lemma test on importance of experience on farm efficiency improvement.

The score 1-5 indicates not favourable and extremely favourable, respectively
Given the significance and representativeness of the Sardinian sheep sector at European level,
SheepToShip LIFE proposed Sardinia as a European lab for climate change mitigation and, for

© 2019, FedoaPress


this reason, the strategy of the project put special emphasis on networking, communication
and dissemination of its results. Therefore, a key aspect is the engagement with European
stakeholders as well as governance actions, since the integration between agricultural and
environmental policies represents a pillar of the long-term sustainability and replicability of
the project.
The transferability of the SheepToShip LIFE model is essentially based on the following
factors: i) the high interest demonstrated by the sector operators, smallholder farmers as well
as medium and large dairy companies, towards environmental improvement and valorization
of the traditional livestock products, ii) the analysis of the local and international market
trends, where green (and genuine) products are gaining ever-growing importance, iii) the
actual guidelines of the European policy on agricultural and food sectors, which place
particular emphasis on innovation and environmental efficiency of the production systems.
Among the communication and networking activities, an important place had the first meeting
with EU institutions and stakeholders, titled Environmental actions for the EU sheep sector
held on January 23, 2019 at the premises of the Autonomous Region of Sardinia in Brussels.
This meeting was meant to offer scientific input and practical support to policy makers and
regulators (at local, national and European level) who have to define fundamentals and
parameters for agriculture and livestock measures, taking into account evidence-based
knowledge and good practices developed by projects’ initiatives for improving and innovating
livestock systems. The main goal of the meeting was to promote the interplay between
environmental and rural development strategies through a collaborative process for defining
agro-environmental measures to mitigate GHG emissions from the sheep sector within the
next Rural Development Programmes.
About 40 representatives from the following organizations attended the meeting: European
Institutions (DG AGRI, DG CLIMA, ENRD, EASME/LIFE Programme, European Shepherds
Network, ENVE Commission of the Committee of the Regions); delegates of 5 EU projects
focused on sustainability of livestock production systems; the Italian Ministry for Agriculture,
Forestry and Tourism; the Autonomous Region of Sardinia (Agriculture and Relationships with
EU departments); the Permanent Delegation of Castilla y Leon (Spain) and Occitanie (France)
Regions at the EU Commission.
The main outcomes of the meeting are summarized below:
− all participants agreed with the idea that the improvement of the environmental
performances of livestock systems represents a clear priority for the new CAP agenda,
taking also into account the socio-economic benefits that this will bring;
− the representatives of the invited European projects highlighted that their own
experiences point towards definite progress in improving the overall efficiency of

© 2019, FedoaPress

production systems, and this could provide a basis of knowledge and data to inform the
design of the future Rural Development Programmes;
− the dairy and meat sheep supply chains have to be considered as different sectors that
need specific policy measures;
− the active participation of DG AGRI and CLIMA, as well as of national and regional
institutions, confirmed that policy-makers representatives and regulators are open to
listen and carefully consider bottom-up proposals;
− the debate initiated by this meeting contributed to promote and increase the institutional
relationships among all the organizations that participated, boosting effective
cooperation and networking.
Moving from the results of the meeting, the next steps will be the design of a preliminary
roadmap for defining agro-environmental measures within the next Rural Development Plan,
aimed at reducing GHG emissions from the sheep milk sector. This point will be evaluated
with special attention, since it represents a key element of future SheepToShip LIFE actions
and its follow-up.
3 CONCLUDING REMARKS
The reduction of GHG by 20% in 10 years in Sardinia seems technically feasible by increasing
farm efficiency at flock and field levels. However, new policies are needed to support GHG
abatement within and outwith the next Rural Development Programme. They should be
possibly driven by the evaluation of farm environmental performance through an LCA-based
metric. Rural development measures should support actions aimed at increasing animal
productivity, quality of forages and reduction of input at field level. Moreover, measures
should be tailored as much as possible to background systems and co-designed by the
stakeholders (farmers in primis) using an approach similar to European Innovation Partnership
(EIP), and its impact should be evaluated using smart indicators (effective and cheap).
The SheepToShip LIFE initiative can thus serve as a model of good practices for other
European contexts, and can contribute to improve the environmental performances of
production processes and products of the European small ruminant sector.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
With the contribution of the LIFE financial instrument of the European Union - LIFE 15
CCM/IT/000123.

© 2019, FedoaPress


REFERENCES
Atzori, A.S., Vagnoni, E., Molle, G., Franca, A., Decandia, M., Porqueddu, C., Pulina, G., Duce, P.
(2017). Facing carbon emission mitigation of dairy sheep supply chain: estimation of a baseline trend.
Italian Journal of Animal Science, 16, 180.
European Commission Recommendation 2013/179/EU. EC Recommendation of 9 April 2013 on the

use of common methods to measure and communicate the life cycle environmental performance of
products and organisations. Official Journal of the European Union, 4.5.2013 L124.
FAO (2006). Livestock’s Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options. Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Rome (Italy). Available at http://www.fao.org/docrep
010/a0701e/a0701e00.HTM.
Jones, A. K., Jones, D. L., & Cross, P. (2014). The carbon footprint of lamb: sources of variation and
opportunities for mitigation. Agricultural Systems, 123, 97–107. doi:10.1016/j.agsy.2013.09.006
Marino, R., Atzori, A.S., D’Andrea, M., Iovane, G., Trabalza-Marinucci, M., Rinaldi, L. (2016). Climate
change: Production performance, health issues, greenhouse gas emissions and mitigation strategies
in sheep and goat farming. Small Ruminant Research, 135, 50-59.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smallrumres.2015.12.012
Molle, G., Decandia, M., Sanna, L., Vagnoni, E., Pintus, G. V., Duce, P., Franca, A., Atzori, A.S., Manca,
A., Usai, D. (2018). Report on the characterization of Sardinian dairy sheep production systems.
Available at
http://www.sheeptoship.eu/images/Report/A.1.3_Report%20char.%20Sard.%20pr.%20systems.pdf
O’Brien, D., Bohan, A., McHugh, N., Shalloo, L. (2016). A life cycle assessment of the effect of
intensification on the environmental impacts and resource use of grass-based sheep farming.
Agricultural Systems, 148, 95-104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2016.07.004
Rural Development Programme of Sardinia, 2014-2020. Available at http://www.regione.sardegna.it/

speciali/programmasvilupporurale/benvenuto-sul-sito-del-psr-2014-2020.
WEB SITES
http://www.sheeptoship.eu
https://portal.sardegnasira.it/piano-regionale-di-adattamento
AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Enrico Vagnoni, SheepToShip LIFE project manager. Research scientist with expertise in rural
development. From 2001 to 2008 he lived in South America working in different pilot projects for the
sustainable development of local communities (International Cooperation for Development). Since
2009, research scientist at the CNR IBIMET, in Sassari, Italy. His research experience and interest
mainly concerns the application of Life Cycle Thinking tools to agricultural systems and rural
environments.

© 2019, FedoaPress

Alberto Stanislao Atzori is an Assistant Professor in Animal Nutrition at University of Sassari. He

holds a PhD in Animal Science from the University of Sassari (Italy). He spent 6 months as visiting
scholar at Texas A&M University (USA) studying system dynamics modelling applied to greenhouses
gas emissions mitigation in dairy cattle sector. His research focused the relationship among ruminant
nutrition and environmental impact of farms to enhance production efficiency and profitability of
farming systems.
Giovanni Molle, senior researcher at Agris Sardegna, the agriculture research agency of Sardinia.
Currently team leader of animal nutrition research unit based at Bonassai farm (Olmedo). His study
area is ruminant nutrition with a focus on dairy sheep feeding and grazing management. Current
interests include technologies to monitor feeding behaviour of grazing ruminants, focus feeding of
ewes at mating to improve sheep reproduction efficiency and nutrition and grazing management to
reduce GHG emission by dairy ewes.
Alberto Manca, agronomist at Agenzia Laore Sardegna, team leader of the unit ‘Support to the
sustainable management of livestock and fish farms’, located at Arborea (OR) headquarters. In recent
years, he focused his work in the agronomic management of manure in Arborea, the only vulnerable
area to nitrates in Sardinia, as well as in the whole territory of the island.
Giovanni B. Concu is a researcher in the field of agricultural and natural resources management. He
specializes in the assessment of consumer's preferences and the monetary evaluation of environmental
assets. He holds a doctorate in Agriculture and Natural Resource Economics from the University of
Western Australia (Australia).
Gianluca Cocco, Public Manager, currently Director of the Environmental Sustainability and
Information Systems Department at the Directorate General for Environmental Protection of the
Autonomous Region of Sardinia. From 2011 to 2015 he was also Director of the Environmental
Assessment Department (EIA and SEA). He works for years on environmental issues (climate change,
sustainability, GPP), energy (efficiency, public lighting and mobility) and new technologies (information
systems and monitoring networks). He is author of several publications.
Antonello Franca, Researcher at the Institute for Animal Production System in Mediterranean
Environment (ISPAAM), PhD in Crop Productivity, University of Sassari, Italy. Its main scientific activity
concerns Ecophysiology of pastures, Germplasm collection and evaluation, Silvopastoral ecosystems,
Seed bank dynamics.
Elena Campus is head of Communications at the Institute of Biometeorology of the National Research
Council in Sassari and Communications Manager of the SheepToShip LIFE project. She holds a BA in
Public Relations and Corporate Communication from the IULM University in Milan and an MA in
International Journalism from the University of Westminster, London. Over the past decade, working
on a number of EU-funded projects related to sustainable development and environmental
conservation, she has developed extensive expertise in communication and dissemination of scientific
research results and technology transfer.
Pierpaolo Duce, Senior Scientist at CNR IBIMET, in Sassari, Italy, where he has been scientific
responsible for the local Research Unit since 2005. He is also scientific coordinator of the SheepToShip
LIFE project. Responsible for several national and European research projects mainly devoted to the
evaluation of agricultural and forest carbon sinks, the assessment of climate risk in agricultural and
forest ecosystems, and the analysis of the environmental performances of agricultural production and
food products.

© 2019, FedoaPress

THE TERRITORIAL PLANNING
OF EUROPEAN FUNDS AS A TOOL
FOR THE ENHANCEMENT AND
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF
NATURAL AREAS
TOWARD 2030: THE SARDINIAN EXPERIENCE
OF THE STRATEGIC RELEVANCE AREAS
OF THE ERDF OP 2014-2020
STEFANIA ARU, SANDRO SANNA
Centro Regionale di Programmazione, Regione

Autonoma della Sardegna, Italy
e-mail: staru@regione.sardegna.it
ssanna@regione.sardegnait
URL: www.sardegnaprogrammazione.it/

Aru, S. & Sanna, S. (2019). The territorial planning of European funds as a tool for the enhancement and
sustainable development of natural areas. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature and ecosystem
ABSTRACT
With the publication of the new multiannual financia l framework and the proposed post-2020
regulations, the European Commission has kick-started directing the dimensions of the budget
and the regulatory framework for future European programming 2021-2027. Leaving from the
experience of the Sardinia region in the current 2014-2020 concerning territorial development
with reference to the Strategical Relevance Areas ( identified in the ERDF Operational Program),
the present work is focused on territorial developm ent in UE post-2020 planning. The European
Commission has already expressed interest on this t opic introducing, for the first time, within
the Common Provisions Regulation, a specific objective, “A Europe closer to the citizens by
fostering the sustainable and integrated development of urban, rural and coastal areas and local
initiatives”. In particular, a reflection will be co nducted on the contribution that the territorial
approach strategies supported by the European cohesion policy will provide for the pursuit of
the sustainable development objectives of the UN 2030 Agenda.
KEYWORDS
Territorial Planning; Sustainable Development; Agen da 2030; SDGs; ERDF
S. Aru, S. Sanna
1 INTRODUCTION
One of the most relevant innovations of the European programming period 2014-2020,
implementing the new principle of territorial cohesion (Lisbon Treaty, 2009), consists of the
so-called "place-based" approach, that pays attention to the "specificity of places" (RAS,
2014).
The Regulation (EU) 1303/2013 fixes the common provisions of the European Structural and
Investment Funds (ESI Funds) for the 2014-2020 programming period (EU, 2013).
It establishes that the five ESI funds, each according to their own operating rules, must
provide financial support to the specific investment objectives and priorities set out in the
Europe 2020 Strategy (EC, 2010), taking into account the development needs and territorial
challenges in an integrated way.
To this end, it is necessary to consider the geographical or demographic characteristics and
take measures to address the specific territorial challenges for each region in order to unlock
their development potential, thereby also helping them to achieve smart, sustainable and
inclusive growth.
The Regional Operational Programme ERDF of the Sardinia Region 2014-2020 (POR) adopts
the indications contained in the Position Paper of the Services of the European Commission
(EC, 2012) and in the Partnership Agreement (AdP) (DPCoe, 2014).
The programming model proposed is based on a “co-planning process”, that actualizes
integrated territorial development projects built together with the territories.
The framework of the Regional Unitary Program1 ensures the effectiveness of these initiatives
(Aru et al., 2019).
At the beginning of the new programming cycle 2021-2027, the experience conducted by
Sardinia Region represents a good practice that should be continue in accordance with the
new regulatory framework and re-proposed in other territorial contexts, in order to pursue
the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of 2030 UN Agenda2 (UN, 2015).
2 THE INTEGRATED APPROACH TO LOCAL DEVELOPMENT

The place-based strategy foresees the development of local policies based on the
enhancement of the (territorial) specificities and natural and institutional resources. The POR

1
DGR n. 9/16 of 10.3.2015 “Indirizzi per la realizzazione del modello di Governance per la
Programmazione Unitaria 2014/2020”.
2
www.sustainabledevelopment.un.org

© 2019, FedoaPress

The territorial planning of European funds as a tool for the enhancement and sustainable development of natural areas

defines a specific intervention model for rural areas: the Regional Strategy for Inner Areas
(Programmazione Territoriale, PT), inspired by the National Strategy for Inner Areas (SNAI)
(Barca, 2009). The PT is based on the valorisation of territorial resources (material and
immaterial) jointly with the creation and/or strengthening of local firms and social services.
In fact, fighting against depopulation of internal areas means either job opportunities and
citizen services3. Furthermore, the PT in Sardinia is characterised by the integrated use of the
various EU funds. Innovation keys of the approach to local development are: 1) the precise
identification of the areas of intervention4, 2) the promotion of development through projects
financed by European Funds as well as 3) the certainty of timing and resources, and 4) the
constant monitoring of the results. The Unions of Municipalities and the Mountain
Communities, based on the changes introduced by the regional law in 20165, are identified as
responsible for the planning and implementation of the projects6. The beginning of the
territorial planning process coincides with the construction and the synthetic definition of the
development strategies within an Expression of Interest. After verification of the admissibility
of the proposer, the phase of co-planning or negotiation phase begins. The working
methodology adopted is a participatory (Metaplan®7 or GOPP8), in the framework of Project
Cycle Management (PCM), as it bases the planning activity on the participation of the
development actors (stakeholders). All the key actors of a specific territory define a project
strategy through a clear identification of the objectives in a Logical Framework (Bussi, 2001).
This methodology was disseminated by the EU Commission as quality standards in the
planning, management and evaluation phases of complex projects (EC, 2004). The
importance of the real commitment of stakeholders (engagement) and the need for their
alignment with the objectives to be achieved through the project are documented in the
academic literature (Freeman, Rusconi & Dorigatti, 2007; UNEP, 2015). The methodology of
PT was also tested in some specific areas of the Sardinia Region, characterized by the

3
DGR 9/22 of 10.03.2015
4
The minimum areas/administrative units subject to intervention are represented by the Unions of
Municipalities and by the Mountain Communities, both single and in associated form, plan their
development based on the real needs of the territory
5
Regional Law 4 february 2016, n. 2
6
Intermediate bodies are required to have a minimum level of organization, essential to ensure the correct
and effective implementation of the projects they will have to manage directly, on the model of what the
LAGs are already implementing for the implementation of Local Development Plans financed with EAFRD
resources.
7
www.metaplan.com
8
Goal Oriented Project Planning.

© 2019, FedoaPress

S. Aru, S. Sanna
presence both of environmental and cultural attractions of great value, not yet fully exploited
and promoted for tourism purposes.
The “Aree di Rilevanza Strategica” (Strategic Relevance Areas, SRAs), have been identified
directly by the POR and selected through a multilayer analysis. The objective is to diversify
the regional tourist offer, reducing the temporal and territorial concentration of demand
(tourist seasonality). In this way is possible to trigger virtuous processes of containment of
environmental impacts related to tourism and integrate the tourism sector with the other
productive sectors, improving the quality of services and the attractiveness of tourists, in
particular foreigners ("qualified" visitor flows).
The operational items for the experimentation was defined already in 2016 within a
Deliberation of the Regional Government Board9. There are ten SRAs identified with the
multilayer analysis; the set of indicators led to the identification of two experimental areas on
which the POR intervenes in priority10, with the PT methodology11:
− the territory of the Municipalities falling within the Parco Regionale di Tepilora (Tepilora
Park)12 boundaries and/or within the Natura 2000 Network site Supramonte di Oliena,
Orgosolo e Urzulei – Su Sercone13 (respectively Union of Municipalities of Montalbo
and the Mountain Community Nuorese Gennargentu Supramonte Barbagia) (Fig. 1a);
the territory of the Municipalities of Area Marina Protetta Penisola del Sinis-Isola del Mal di
Ventre (Marine Protected Area “Sinis-Mal di Ventre”14 - Union of Municipalities of Costa del
Sinis - Terra dei Giganti) (Fig. 1b).
Sardinia Region completed the process of co-planning with all the experimental territories and
in all cases the development strategy was defined starting from the enhancement of cultural
and environmental attractors. The Union of Municipalities of Montalbo (Tepilora Park) decided
to allocate all the resources assigned to the enhancement of the environmental attractor, with
particular importance to the issue of accessibility of the territory even to the disabled people.
The importance of this topic is the result of a very simple consideration: official data analysis
shows that in Europe there are about 60 million disabled tourists, including the elderly with
specific age-related needs, who, every year, are looking for an "accessible" destination,
capable of hosting tourists with “special needs”. It follows that a territory able to organize its

9
DGR 41/23 of 12.07.2016
10
POR, Section 1 Strategy
11
Both DGR 9/22 of 10.03.2015 and DGR 41/23 of 12.07.2016
12
Established by Regional Law 24 October 2014, nr. 21
13
Site ITB ITB022212 established under the “Habitat Directive”
14
Established by DM 12/12/1997, modify by DM 06/09/1999 and DM 20/07/2011

© 2019, FedoaPress


tourism offer according to the needs of a particular segment of tourist demand, could have
an important competitive advantage. In addition, recently, the Tepilora Park received the
important acknowledgment as a "MaB UNESCO Biosphere Reserve". The Mountain Community
Nuorese, Gennargentu, Supramonte e Barbagia (Su Sercone) decided to address all the
resources assigned to the enhancement of the paths that allow to reach the environmental
attractor by foot, by mountain bike or horseback; this element is strategically connected to
the strengthening of local entrepreneurship linked to the tourism services.
(a) (b)
Fig. 1a & 1b. Selected Strategic Relevance Areas in Sardinia for the 2014-2020 programming period
The differentiation of the territorial tourist offer is the leitmotif of the development project
also for the Union of Municipalities of the Costa del Sinis-Terra dei Giganti, where the presence
of high-value cultural assets becomes one of the elements of development. The giants of
Mont’e Prama thus become the element on which to set up policies for tourist development.
The experience in SRAs shows that institutional and administrative capacity is one of the
determining factors for a good territorial planning: territories that work in a cohesively way
and program resources in an integrated manner are those where the institutional capacity of
public administrators and administrative structures is higher.
The experimentation carried out on the SRAs is also part of a good co-planning practice, a
model that will have to be strengthened in the new 21-27 programming.

© 2019, FedoaPress

S. Aru, S. Sanna
2.1 TERRITORIAL APPROACH TO LOCAL SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN THE

EUROPEAN COHESION POLICY 2021-2027
On 2 May 2018 the European Commission presented its proposal for the next Multiannual
Financial Framework (MFF) of the EU for the period 2021-2027 (EC, 2018a).
Integral parts of the package of measures that completes the proposal for the next MFF 2021-
2027 are the proposals of the future legislative framework of UE cohesion policy, published
on 29 May 201815. The EU cohesion policy is one of the most transversal and crosscutting
policies, which contributes to most, if not all 17 SDGs of 2030 Agenda (EC, 2019a).
Specifically, the Communication of the European Commission COM (2018) 375 final (EC,
2018b), containing a proposal for a regulation on common provisions (CPR) applicable to EU
cohesion policy funds, establishes the common set of fundamental rules for the (next) seven
funds to shared management: Cohesion Fund (CF), European Maritime and Fisheries Fund
(EMFF), European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), European Social Fund Plus (ESF+),
Asylum and Migration Fund (AMIF), Instrument for border management and visas (BMVI) and
the Internal Security Fund (ISF)16. Regarding the strategic approach, the 11 thematic
objectives of 2014-2020 period have been simplified and reduced to 5 clear policy objectives:
smarter Europe (PO1), greener and low-carbon Europe (PO2), more connected Europe (PO3),
more social Europe (PO4) and, with particular reference to this document, Europe closer to
citizens (PO5), aimed at the sustainable and integrated development of urban, rural and
coastal areas through local initiatives. As already reported (Sanna et al., 2018), this structure
allows the immediate identification of the declination that the concept of sustainable
development will certainly assume in future operational programs. Nevertheless, in a context
of general reduction of the European budget, the ERDF regulation maintains thematic
concentration requirements. Resources will be dedicated for the most part to the POs 1 and
2. The proposed ERDF regulation (EC, 2018c) also provides for a greater concentration of
resources on sustainable urban development and establishes that 6% will have to be allocated
to this. The regulation introduces also a simplified approach to participatory local
development. Integrated local and territorial development strategies should ensure the
coherence (internal and external) of the interventions. On CPR have already formally
expressed their opinion: the European Economic and Social Committee, the European Court
of Auditors and the Committee of the Regions, and, on several occasions, the EU Council,

15
Legal texts and factsheets are available at the following link: https://ec.europa.eu/commis-
sion/publications/regional-development-and-cohesion_en
16
In the EC proposal, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) is missing from c
cohesion policies.

© 2019, FedoaPress


while the parliamentary debate is still open17. At domestic level, within the 3rd Commission
“European and international affairs” (AEI) of “Conferenza delle Regioni”, the amendments and
the positions of the regions and the autonomous Italian provinces either on the EC proposals
and on the future of cohesion policy are being discussed and carried out (CR, 2019). Again,
the recent Commission Staff Working Document “Country Report Italy 2019” contains the EC
Investment Guidance on Cohesion Policy Funding 2021-2027 for Italy (EC, 2019b).
The reading of these documents highlights some key aspects about territorial approach:
− cities and regions have a crucial role to play in the achievement of the SDGs. Most
underlying policies and investments are a shared responsibility across levels of
government;
− it is necessary to increase administrative capacity of beneficiaries, in particular at local
level, to prepare and implement projects;
− territorial strategies must to be implemented in synergy with the other policy objectives
with the primary aim of fostering economic and social development in areas most
affected by poverty;
− investment needs are identified at territorial level, in terms of functional areas: medium
urban areas need to develop innovative ways of cooperation in order to enhance their
economic, social and environmental potential, taking vulnerable groups into account;
− investments needs are also identified to promote cultural heritage and support
enterprises in the culture and creative sectors.
3 CONCLUSIONS
The territorial approach adopted by the Sardinia Region in current period 2014-2020
represents a model that can be well applied also in the future programming of EU cohesion
funds for the period 2021-2027. Moreover, the Sardinian experience anticipates the new EU
approach for local development.
The results of the current territorial development policies and methodologies will allow the
Region to have reliable indications for future planning. The experimentation already started
therefore represents an added value of great importance that can help to achieve a more
effective and sustainable planning of resources and interventions in the coming years.
The experience realized allows us to draw out some first indications, both of contents and
method: the investments made, also in terms of growth of territorial capital and institutional

17
https://oeil.secure.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/ficheprocedure.do?lang=en&reference=2018/0196
(OLP)

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S. Aru, S. Sanna
capacity, must be pursued also in the future. The real challenge of the territorial approach
does not lie, in fact, in how much money is assigned to each territory, but in the capacity of
the local administrations involved to achieve an increase in institutional quality and to create
greater professionalism to respond quickly to the territorial development needs.
In this perspective, support to the growth of territorial capital represents the real challenge
to pursue at the local level the SDGs in the 2021-2027 period. The method used, both in
urban areas and in inner areas, with the involvement of different stakeholders and co-
planning, cannot and must not be abdicated due to political changes.
In conclusion, all levels of government (local and regional) must proceed together in a
common growth path able to offer opportunities for improvement and pursue an actual
“glocal” sustainable development.
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OF THE COUNCIL laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund, the
European Social Fund Plus, the Cohesion Fund, and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and

© 2019, FedoaPress


financial rules for those and for the Asylum and Migration Fund, the Internal Security Fund and the
Border Management and Visa Instrument, COM/2018/375 final
European Commission (2018c). Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND
OF THE COUNCIL on the European Regional Development Fund and on the Cohesion Fund,
COM/2018/372 final
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COM(2019)22
European Commission (2019b). Country Report Italy 2019 Including an In-Depth Review on the
prevention and correction of macroeconomic imbalances, SWD(2019) 1011 final
European Union (2013). Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council
of 17 December 2013 laying down common provisions on the European Regional Development Fund,
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Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund, the Cohesion Fund and the European Maritime
and Fisheries Fund and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006.
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Regione Autonoma della Sardegna (2014), Programma Regionale di Sviluppo (PRS), XV Legislatura
2014-2019
Regione Autonoma della Sardegna (2015), POR Sardegna FESR 2014-2020, CCI n. 2014IT16RFOP015
Sanna S., Dessy A., Cocco G. (2018), “Verso la programmazione post 2020. Il contributo del POR
Sardegna FESR 2014-2020 agli obiettivi di sviluppo sostenibile dell'agenda 2030 e della strategia
nazionale per lo sviluppo sostenibile” at XXXIX Annual Scientific Conference AISRe, Bozen, 17-19
Settembre 2018.
UNEP (2015), Stakeholder engagement handbook
United Nations (2015), Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,
A/RES/70/1
WEB SITES
http://www.sardegnaprogrammazione.it/
http://delibere.regione.sardegna.it/
http://www.consregsardegna.it/XVLegislatura/Leggi_approvate.asp
https://oeil.secure.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/ficheprocedure.do?lang=en&reference=2018/019
6(OLP)
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/publications/regional-development-and-cohesion_en
www.sustainabledevelopment.un.org

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S. Aru, S. Sanna
AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Stefania Aru, graduated in Political Science at the University of Cagliari, she also obtained the Master
Degree on “European Union and International Organisation Law” at the A.De Gasperi Postgraduate
School of Specialization in Rome. Since 2000 she carried out technical assistance with Public
Administrations on programs co-financed by the Structural Funds. She coordinated working groups on
issues related to the planning and development policies. From 2005 until 2010 she was the coordinator
of the Territorial Laboratory of the Province of Ogliastra in the Integrated Planning ROP Sardinia 2000-
2006 and 2007-2013. Since 2014 she is Administrative officer for the Autonomous Region of Sardinia
(RAS) - Programming Department - Regional Center of Programming and from 2015 is a constituent
of the technical staff of Managing Authority of Sardinian Regional Operating Programme ERDF 2014-
2020 and Referent for the Local Development strategy (Territorial Programming and Strategic
Relevance Areas)
Sandro Sanna, Graduated with honors in Environmental Engineering at the University of Cagliari, he
also obtained the MSc Degree in “Economics e Environmental Management "at the Bocconi University
of Milan and the Master on "Multilevel Governance: integrated management of public policies" at the
Faculty of Law of the University of Cagliari. Since 2009 he is a technical executive of the Regional
Programming Center of the Sardinia Region and - after a brief experience at Municipality of Cagliari as
Technical Head - since 2015he is a constituent of the technical staff of Managing Authority of Sardinian
Regional Operating Programme ERDF 2014-2020, of which he is the contact for sustainable
development and public procurement and member of the Secretariate of the Monitoring Committee.
Since 2019 he is also supervisor for the start-up of the 2021-2027 programming period.

© 2019, FedoaPress

THE INTERNATIONAL GEODESIGN
COLLABORATION
THE CAGLIARI CASE STUDY
MICHELE CAMPAGNA, CHIARA COCCO

ELISABETTA ANNA DI CESARE

e-mail: campagna@unica.it
URL: http://people.unica.it/urbangis

Campagna, M., Cocco, C., & Di Cesare, E.A. (2019). The International Geodesign Collaboration. The Cagliari
case study. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature and ecosystem services (pp. 385-398). Naples:
ABSTRACT
This paper presents a two-scales geodesign study of the Metropolitan City of Cagliari developed
according the International Geodesign Collaboration (IGC) guidelines and standards. As such,
the study aims at contributing to the broader IGC research questions concerning how the
geodesign approach to spatial planning can help addressing the most urgent complex challenges
of sustainable development. After an introduction on the main key-features of the IGC initiative,
the case study is presented in terms of the design approach and workflow. The paper concludes
with a discussion on what lesson can be learnt from applying the geodesign approach with
regard to planning education and practice.
KEYWORDS
Geodesign; International Geodesign Collaboration; Collaborative Decision Process, Systems
Thinking
M. Campagna, C. Cocco, E. A. Di Cesare
1 INTRODUCTION
Geodesign is a novel approach to spatial planning and design aiming at addressing current
challenges of spatial development. Geodesign methods relie on extensive use of spatial
information technologies to support collaborative, iterative, and dynamic design and spatial
decision-making. Thanks to the use of state-of-the-art GIS technologies and Planning Support
Systems, geodesign workflows proved to be successful in framing processes facilitating fast
awareness-rising and achievement of consensus among participants in the strategic phases
of spatial planning (Steinitz, 2017). In addition, geodesign can support all the design phases
from project inception to the detailed design of implementation plans and projects (Moreno
Marimbaldo et al., 2018). As a part of an international initiative aimed at fostering geodesign
research worldwide, this paper reports on a geodesign study undertaken on the Metropolitan
City of Cagliari (MCC) according to the International Geodesign Collaboration (IGC) guidelines.
The IGC is an international geodesign research initiative started in 2018 aiming at building
and facilitating the sharing of knowledge on the possible ways to address major sustainability
challenges of current time. The means envisaged to achieve this ambitious objective are
standardization and sharing. Accordingly, almost one hundred partners, mostly from
academia, from all over the world joined the IGC, and along 2018 the partners completed 56
studies of local planning and design at various scales. The results were presented at the first
IGC meeting held in February 2019 in Redlands, CA, and hosted by ESRI.
The IGC standards for the geodesign studies include:
− modular size for the study areas at various scales (i.e. double multiples of 0.5 km);
− a set of Global Assumptions, which identify major current global dynamics (e.g. global
population growth, climate changes, sea-level rise, etc.1) to be studied in their local
influence in the selected study areas;
− a standard number of 9 Systems to be analyzed, including blue, green, grey, energy and
transport infrastructures, low-density and mixed high-density housing, institutional and
industry-and-commerce land uses, plus a system to be chosen locally (for the MCC study
History and Cultural Heritage was chosen);
− a set of Technology Innovations to be considered for each system: innovations include
the latest or forthcoming technologies which can introduce technical improvements in
design with regard to each system (e.g. autonomous vehicles or hyper-loops in

1
for a full list of GA see https://www.envizz1.com/global-systems-research.

© 2019, FedoaPress

The international geodesign collaboration: the Cagliari case study
transport, photovoltaic road pavements in energy production, or green building and 3D

printing in housing);
− a common format for reporting the results of the study, in order to facilitate comparison
among the studies.
There is broad consensus in the geodesign community of researchers and practitioners to
refer to the geodesign framework proposed by Steinitz (Steinitz, 2012) as a flexible though
robust methodology approach for organizing geodesign studies. The Steinitz framework for
geodesign entails the iterative development of six models, the first three of which (i.e.
representation, process, and evaluation model) concern the creation of the knowledge base
for design and decision-making, while the last three (i.e. change, impact, and decision model)
include the creation of design alternatives, the assessment of their impacts, and the creation
of a final design based on consensus. While the representation and the process models entail
the description of current territorial systems dynamics and their likely evolution without any
action, the evaluation model is intended to express an assessment of the current and future
conditions in the study area. The product of the evaluation model is a series of maps
representing less or more favorable settings for action for the territorial systems taken into
account to inform the design, on the base of which change alternatives should be developed
(i.e. the change model). The Steinitz framework for geodesign was applied by the authors to
develop the study of future scenarios for Metropolitan City of Cagliari according to the IGC
guidelines and standards as described in the remainder of this paper.
2 CASE STUDY: FUTURE SCENARIOS FOR THE METROPOLITAN CITY

OF CAGLIARI
The recently established (2016) Metropolitan City of Cagliari comprehends seventeen
municipalities of South Sardinia (Italy), including Cagliari, the regional capital. The population
is approximately 430k inhabitants, in an area of 1,248 km². The area is surrounded by
mountains to the East and on the West, by the Gulf of Cagliari to the South, and by the
agricultural Campidano plain to the North. In 2018, the MCC started the works for its first
planning initiative, the Territorial Strategic Plan, which is going to set the development
framework for future physical planning. However, to date, no inter-municipal planning
endeavor has ever been carried on in the region. Hence, developing a new strategic plan for
the area represents a challenge and an opportunity for innovation, both in technical, political
and socio-cultural terms for the local community. This study represents a first attempt to
propose a working framework for reasoning on possible future development scenarios, in line
with the IGC assumptions and perspectives, on territorial technology innovation.In the last

© 2019, FedoaPress

decades, the MCC faced overall stable trends in population growth, affected mainly by a
limited movement of population from the inner small towns of Sardinia and very limited
immigration flows; meanwhile the Municipality of Cagliari lost approximately 30% inhabitants
in favor of neighboring municipalities within a 15-20 km radius, due possibly to market
dynamics related to real estate prices. As a major challenge for future coherent and balanced
development, the MCC needs to balance spatial development patterns in terms of
infrastructures and services, as well as ensuring environmental and economic sustainability.
In order to explore possible scenarios for the MCC future sustainable development, two
workshops (WS) applying the guidelines of the IGC were organized as design studio exercise
at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Architecture of the University
of Cagliari. The WS were conducted in October 2018 using the Geodesignhub planning support
system (Ballal, 2015), after the set of evaluation maps was created in August 2018 as a
preparatory phase of the study by the authors, using ESRI ArcGIS. The first WS was held
within the Spatial Planning Course of the Civil Engineering MSc program, concerned a study
area of 80x80 Km including the whole MCC (Fig. 1), and involved 58 students. The second
WS was held within the Geodesign course of the Architecture BSc program, concerned a
nested area of 20x20 Km (Fig. 1), and involved 76 students. Running two WS in sequence
allowed to experiment the change of scale in the design as the architecture students had to
comply with the design earlier developed by the engineering students. A number of underlying
local assumptions were considered to inform the study.
Fig. 1. Case Study areas: a) the first study concerned the whole MCC area (80x80 km);
the second-high scale study, concerned the South-East area (20x20 km)

© 2019, FedoaPress

A population growth of 25k and 50k inhabitants was assumed as baseline scenario in order to
set quantitative targets for the ten systems, where possible. In addition, a number of
objectives were adopted to inform the creation of the evaluation and change models with
regard to each system, as described below:
− water Infrastructure (WATER): reduce hydrological risk and limit pollution of resources.
− agriculture (AGRI): protect prime soils, promote bio products and foster innovation in
production to address desertification processes, climate change, and possible future
shortage of water.
− green infrastructure (GREEN): enhance connectivity and expand protection to natural or
semi-natural areas.
− energy: increase green production through technology innovation, promote local
production.
− transport infrastructure: improve accessibility to most populated areas and the level of
service of current road infrastructure. Improve the light-rail network. Foster active
travelling in recreation, leisure and cultural heritage accessibility.
− industry and commerce (INDUSTRY): promote technology innovation in production and
balance spatial distribution within the MCC to reduce workers commuting.
− residential lower density (LDH): accommodate demography growth limiting
fragmentation and sprawl;
− residential with commerce and services (MIX): accommodate demography growth with
densification and enhance accessibility to commerce and services.
− institutional (INST): promote locational accessibility and balanced spatial distribution.
− cultural heritage (CULTH): preserve historic centers and protect archaeological sites
while enhancing fruition.
Following the Steinitz framework, ten evaluation maps – one for each system - were created
following standard legend and color code (Fig. 2) to facilitate their understanding and usage
by the participants. The color code use the “traffic lights” metaphor were red means “stop”
(i.e. the system is working well and no action is needed), yellow means “alert” (i.e. it is not
advisable to take any action due to constraints or hindering factors), and different shade of
green means growing levels of suitability for actions within each system (the darker the green,
the more suitable).

© 2019, FedoaPress

Fig. 2. Set of evaluation maps (i.e. one for each system)
3 GEODESIGN WORKSHOP SETTINGS

Two geodesign workshops were organized, one for each case study area. Each workshop was
scheduled in five 3-hour sessions (Fig. 3), according to the following steps: 1) design of project
and policies (i.e. diagrams); 2-4) iterative design of integrated syntheses (i.e. scenarios), 5)
negotiation. The workshops were supported by the Geodesign hub planning support system
(www.geodesignhub.com). Geodesign hub is a web-based collaborative geodesign platform
where each participant joins a virtual planning studio workspace offering interactive design
and decision-making tools needed to carry-on the workshop workflow.
Fig. 3 Geodesign workshop process model
In the first phase (i.e. step 1) participants played the role of experts in one system (e.g.
transport planners or engineers, housing experts, etc.) whose duty was to produce three
diagrams each: diagrams had to represent projects implementable respectively with

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technologies available at the three time horizons chosen for the study by IGC (i.e. 2020, 2035,
and 2050).
The rationale behind this step was to get the participant familiar with possible technologies
able to bring innovation to projects in their system. All the diagrams were saved and shared
in Geodesignhub in a matrix organized by system (column) and color-coded accordingly (Fig.
4, right). It should be noted that Geodesignhub takes, as input layers for its geographic
interface, the evaluation maps developed prior to the WS, which can be used as mash-up
overlay to support locational choices during the design of a diagram (Fig. 4, left).
Fig. 4 (Left) Diagram creation in Geodesignhub; (right) the shared diagrams matrix
In the second phase (i.e. steps 2-4) participants developed their integrated design, or
syntheses, under different assumptions and requirements which were set-up to explore
possible development scenario alternatives depending on time horizons (i.e. 2020, 2035, and
2050), rate of technology innovation, and likely growth dynamics (Tab. 1).
TEAM DEVELOPMENT TIME TECHNOLOGY POPULATION FORECAST

SCENARIO HORIZON INNOVATION
EA35 Early Adopter 2035 Available 2035 + 25K Inhabitants (as-is)
EA50 Early Adopter 2050 Available 2035- + 50K Inhabitants + 10-15% (high
2050 growth)
LA35 Late Adopter 2035 None + 25K Inhabitants + 10-15% (high
growth)
LA50 Late Adopter 2050 Available 2035- + 50K Inhabitants + 10-15% (high
2050 growth)
NA35 Non-Adopter 2035 None + 25K Inhabitants (as-is)
NA50 Non-Adopter 2050 None + 50K Inhabitants (as-is)
Tab. 1 The six scenario-driven change teams

© 2019, FedoaPress

The teams developed their syntheses, along three dedicated sessions, moving iteratively
between the change and the impact model - or in other words between design and impact
assessment - thanks to the built-in impact model in Geodesignhub.
At the end of the fourth session, the teams presented their syntheses to each other. In the
final session (i.e. step 5), a negotiation was held between the couples of teams having the
same technology rate of adoption and different time horizons (i.e. EA35 and EA 50; LA35 and
LA50; NA35 and NA50). Three final designs resulted from the negotiation process: EA3550,
with the higher level of innovation up-take; LA3550, with an intermediate level of technology
innovation; and NA3550 with little or no technology innovation. Fig. 5 and 6 depict the three
results of the 80x80km and 20x20km studies respectively. Tab. 2 reports a summary of most
used technology innovations2.
Fig. 5 Geodesign workshop results in the 80x80 km study area
3.1 SCENARIOS IN THE 80X80 KM AREA

The Early Adopter (EA) team started locating green Energy Infrastructures (i.e. eolic and
photovoltaic) in the South-North axis to compound existing commercial-industrial land-uses.
The transport network was extended with light rail to enhance connectivity between the
Eastern settlements to the centre and the South East Coast.

2
for a full list of IGC technology innovations see https://www.envizz1.com/global-systems-research

© 2019, FedoaPress

SYSTEM TECHNOLOGY INNOVATIONS

Water Wat 2035 5 waterseer, wat 2035/2050 2 water retention
Agri Agr 2035/2050 1 organic agriculture, agr 2035/2050 5 agroturismo, agr 2035/2050 12
rooftop gardening, agr 2035/2050 15 drones in agriculture
Green Grn 2035/2050 5 integration of vegetation into building design, grn 2035/2050 6
genetically modified trees and engineered trees, grn 2035 12 green roofs
Energy Ene 2035 3 olar roads, ene 2050 12 small wind power on power pylons, ene 2035 4
tidal power
Transport Tra 2035 7 electric autonomous vehicles (eav), tra 2035 13 redefining biking with
bikeshares and e-bikes, tra 2035/2050 5 hyperloop transport, tra 2035 16/17
transportation network with sustainable energy infrastructure
Ind/com Ind/com 2035 8, renewable energy sources, ind/com 2035 2 industrial robotics, ind/com
2035 3d printers and cnc devices
Res Res 2035 1 building integrated solar pv plus storage, res 2050 6 3d printed buildings
and materials
Mix Mix 2035 11 mart city as smart systems, mix 2035 12 innovation districts
Culth Hist/cult1 virtual reality, hist2 smart apps location based services
Tab. 2 Technology innovations
Fig. 6 Geodesign workshop results in the 20x20 km study area

© 2019, FedoaPress

The Eastern and Western edges were preserved to consolidate existing green infrastructure,
while further industrial development was maintained nearby the existing plants. New areas
for mixed uses and low-density residential areas were located in the central areas with
decreasing intensity of use from the center to the outer edges.
The development for the 2050 was planned to accommodate further demographic growth
aiming at reaching the given target for all the systems.
As results the 2050 design included a central more developed area surrounded by a green
belt. Innovations were considered used in particular to address water (i.e. WAT 2035 5),
energy (e.g. ENE 2035/2050 and ENE 2035 3) and transport (i.e. TRA 2035/2050 5) issues.
The Late Adopter (LA) team started the design considering the Blue Infrastructures and Mixed
use together with Transport infrastructures to address current issues in the central area of
the Metropolitan City. Accessibility and connectivity were considered important as well as
water supply and hydrological risk reduction.
The Eastern and Western areas were preserved mainly as green areas for agriculture and
forest uses. The central development was thought as a network of higher density single or
multifunctional poles. The development for the 2050 was planned to accommodate further
demographic growth aiming at reaching the given target for all the systems. Similarly, to
EA2050 the LA2050 design included a central more developed area surrounded by a green
belt, though with a different use patterns. Innovations were considered in particular to re-
think industry development (i.e. IND/COM 2035 2) transport infrastructure (e.g. TRA 2035 7
and TRA 2035 17) and green energy production (i.e. ENE 2035 3). The Non-Adopter (NA)
team started the design considering the improvement of the Transport and the Blue
Infrastructures of primary importance as well as preservation and management of the rich
Cultural Heritage resources in the area.
Renewable energy and Green Infrastructures were also considered of major importance.
Change patterns reinforce connectivity along the coast aiming at supporting tourism
development. Residential development was distributed in the North-Eastern and Eastern part
of the more developed areas, and more space for green infrastructure and agriculture was
preserved in the West/North-Western and South-Eastern areas respectively. Mixed uses were
preferred to Lower Density Housing in order to contain urban sprawl and soil consumption.
While no substantial technology innovation was considered by the Non-Adopters, technology
changes included the promotion of sustainably building and transport (i.e. promotion of car
and bike sharing), as well recovery of traditional agricultures relying on currently existing
innovation.

© 2019, FedoaPress

Scenarios in the 20x20 km area

The Early Adopter (EA) team developed the first design focusing mainly on coastal and marine
areas, also developing a submarine infrastructure for energy production and a big submarine
crop, responding to the need to increase food production despite water scarcity. They also
provided for a flora coastline protection green infrastructure and a cycle network along the
whole coastline, connecting the archaeological sites of the area, which represent an important
asset for tourism. The restoration of the natural waterways project and the rainwater reuse
project was located in the inland and north-west territory, where the main residential areas
are concentrated, together with industrial plants and services.
In the scenario planned for 2050, agriculture was developed in a large northern area, where
the team located an underground crop. In the Eastern part of territory, they planned two
green parks. They also increased the areas for institutions, low density housing and services
in the western part of the study area and, as a consequence, increased the accessibility
through a complex transport system, including vehicle accessible roads, cycle networks and
an infrastructure for fast magnetic levitation trains.
The Late Adopter (LA) team mainly focused on: preservation of natural resources, through a
green infrastructure policy involving an extended north-east part of the study area, and food
production, through the localization of a great number of organic farms and a submarine crop
in the sea. They also planned for taking advantage of renewable energy sources, through the
creation of a tidal power station.
The low-density residential areas were located in a big central area, while the main services
and industries further north. For the transport system, the team defined sustainable mobility
infrastructures concentrated mainly along the coast, where fast trains and cycle networks
were planned.
In the 2050 scenario they confirmed the initial asset of the study area and planned for further
sustainable transport infrastructures, connecting also the coastal zone with the inland ones.
Also, an increase in renewable energy production system was foreseen, which will meet the
needs of the new residential areas and industries, together with two important blue
infrastructures intended to reduce flood risk.
The Non Adopter (NA) team started localizing three macro areas: a very extended buffer
running from north-east to south-east which includes green infrastructure policies and
projects, a large area dedicated to agriculture land-uses in the north-west, and eventually a
central zone with mixed and residential big areas, mostly located in the coastal part, and
scattered institutional and industry projects. Lastly, in order to connect the macro-areas, they
designed two main routes.

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In the evolved scenario, the three macro areas were confirmed with some minor changes.
The agricultural area were extended to the east part, while in the central area an increased
number of projects were localized, including: low density housing areas in the inland places,
new institutional projects (i.e. the hospital and the university campus), and green energy
infrastructures. Moreover, along the coastal areas, an extended blue infrastructure was
planned in order to canalize the rainwater, to react efficiently against to climate change-
related extreme events (i.e. extreme storms and heavy rainfall) and protect the built-up areas.

The geodesign study presented in this paper is the first example of the application of the IGC
guidelines to the Metropolitan City of Cagliari. The main objectives of the study were to earn
early insights on how the study area reacts to the pressure of the global dynamics which
affect the planet and generate the current challenges to be addressed in planning and design
for sustainable development, and on how technology innovation in infrastructure and land-
uses may affect future sustainable development scenarios. While the results of the intensive
workshops alone may be far to offer final solutions for future planning in the study areas, if
considered together to, and in comparison with, the results of all the other studies undertaken
under the umbrella of the International Geodesign Collaboration, they may offer a rich
knowledge resource for geodesign research. In this sense, all the materials produced in the
first year of the IGC project are open-access and can be used by the partners and by other
researchers as knowledge base for further systematic and comparative investigations, which
will be developed within the future IGC activities.
In addition, the two workshops proved to offer a number of benefits to the participants,
including the coordination team and the workshop participants. They represented a visioning
exercise with regard to possible future sustainable development scenarios for the study areas.
The workshop preparation and implementation supported all the participants in earning a
better understanding of the territorial dynamics and to design collaboratively by applying
systems thinking. This may be considered as much of a value especially where traditional
planning systems are structured by sectors (e.g. regional planning, local land-use planning,
transport planning, energy planning). Geodesign approach seems, in fact, to be particularly
valuable especially in early stages of strategic planning, when the planning actors face new
complex problems and need to build their understanding of inter-related territorial dynamics.
From the teaching perspective, the workshops were very well-received by the participants,
which were students with little or no previous knowledge of both spatial planning and design,
and on using spatial information technologies. The learning curve observed by the instructors
during the sequence of the five WS sessions was surprisingly efficient, and the overall results

© 2019, FedoaPress

were eventually difficult to achieve otherwise in such short time (i.e. 15 hours). The
participants, which were students in civil and environmental engineering and architecture,
also learned a new approach to design which was based on proactive collaborative team-
work. This is peculiar of the geodesign approach, according to which no single planner or
designer may be able anymore, due to the current the increased complexity of territorial
systems, to design alone.
From this, as well from previous experiences of the authors (Campagna et al., 2016) and from
other similar experiences reported in literature (Nyerges et al., 2016; Steinitz, 2017; Rivero
et al., 2017; Zschaber de Araújo et al., 2018), in running geodesign studies and workshops it
seems reasonable to expect that similar benefits can be achieved in the planning practice. In
particular, in such cases as in the Metropolitan City of Cagliari, where planning actors were
traditionally used to plan at the municipal level whereas the institution of the new
metropolitan city requires a shift in perspective for planning at the wide area scale, the
collaborative geodesign workshop with Geodesignhub can represent a novel reliable approach
to foster collaboration, systems thinking and awareness rising, consensus building and
negotiation.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors wish to thank Prof. Carl Steinitz, Prof. Brian Orland, Prof. Thomas Fisher for
coordinating the International Geodesign Collaboration. The authors wish to thank also
Geodesign Hub Pvt. Ltd., Dublin, Ireland for kindly providing the use of the Geodesignhub
planning support system and ESRI Redlands, CA for kindly providing ESRI ArcGIS software
for this project.Chiara Cocco gratefully acknowledges Sardinia Regional Government for the
financial support of her PhD scholarship. (P.O.R. Sardegna F.S.E. Operational Program of the
training, Thematic goal 10, Priority of investment 10ii.).
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the Geodesign approach. Rozwój Regionalny i Polityka Regionalna 35: 27–43
Moreno Marimbaldo FJ, Manso-Callejo M-Á, Alcarria R. (2018) A Methodological Approach to Using
Geodesign in Transmission Line Projects. Sustainability.; 10(8):27-57.

© 2019, FedoaPress

Nyerges, T., Ballal, H., Steinitz, C., Canfield, T., Roderick, M., Ritzman, J., & Thanatemaneerat, W.
(2016). Geodesign dynamics for sustainable urban watershed development. Sustainable Cities and
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Steinitz, C. (2012). A framework for geodesign: Changing geography by design. Esri Press
Steinitz, C. (2017) A digital workflow for dynamic geodesign. 2017 Esri Geodesign Summit Proceedings.
http://proceedings.esri.com/library/userconf/geodesign17/papers/geo_18.pdf.
Zschaber de Araújo, R. P., Moura, A. C. M., & Nogueira, T. D. A. (2018). Creating Collaborative
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AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Michele Campagna is Associate Professor of Spatial Planning at the University of Cagliari where he
teaches spatial planning, Geodesign, and GIScience. His actual research interests deal with the
scientific method in planning, geodesign, metaplanning, Planning Support Systems (PSS), Social Media
Geographic Information in urban and regional planning. He authored over one-hundred publications,
and he was editor of the volume GIS for Sustainable Development published by CRC-Press/Taylor and
Francis Group in 2006. In 2011 he directed the International Summer School on Information and
Communication Technology in Spatial Planning “INFOPLAN”. Since 2009 Michele leads UrbanGIS lab.
He coordinated geodesign studies in Italy and abroad.
Chiara Cocco is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Civil Engineering and Architecture at the University of
Cagliari. Her research concerns the application of geospatial techniques in urban-regional planning and
the development of geodesign methods and process analytics. She was coordination team member in
many geodesign studies in Italy, Brazil, and the United States.
Elisabetta Anna Di Cesare is post-doc researcher at the University of Cagliari. Her research concerns
geodesign and Strategic Environmental Assessment. She collaborated with the Department of
Agricultural Science (University of Sassari), where she worked on governance processes in climate
change adaptation, as part of the research activities for the preparation of the Sardinian Regional
Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change. She is currently research fellow at the University centre for
research on transport and mobility issues (CIREM – University of Cagliari) where she works on the
preparation of the Strategic Environmental Assessment of the Regional Cycling Plan of Sardinia. She
is also professional consultant in urban planning and Strategic Environmental Assessment.

© 2019, FedoaPress

A GEODESIGN COLLABORATION
FOR THE MISSION VALLEY
PROJECT, SAN DIEGO, USA
CHIARA COCCOa, BRUCE APPLEYARDb

PIOTR JANKOWSKc
a
e-mail: chiara.cocco@unica.it
b
Department of City Planning
San Diego State University, USA
e-mail: bappleyard@sdsu.edu
c
Department of Geography,
San Diego State University, USA
e-mail: pjankows@sdsu.edu

Cocco, C., Appleyard, B. & Jankowski, P. (2019). A geodesign collaboration for the Mission Valley project, San
Diego, USA. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature and ecosystem services (pp. 399-409). Naples:
ABSTRACT
Geodesign has been recently proposed as a structure d decision-making workflow that if properly
implemented allow to develop a forward-thinking, multidisciplinary and systems thinking design
process. In 2018, the International Geodesign Collaboration (IGC) brought together more than
90 Universities around the world in researching geo design as a design methodology to tackle
some of the most pressing problems for sustainable development on a global scale, such as
climate and demographic changes. Each partner institution applied the geodesign framework to
develop alternative futures for a local study area. The results of the design workshops organized
worldwide were shared and compared at the meeting h eld in Redlands on February 2019.
Following the IGC instructions, the research team of the San Diego State University, California,
USA set up an academic workshop involving a group of graduate and post-graduate students in
designing a master-plan for a new satellite campus in the Mission Valley area in San Diego. This
paper presents the local change assumptions, the methodology and the geospatial technologies
used to represent and design the study area in two time periods (2035, 2050) using different
development scenarios (Non-Adopter, Late Adopter, Early Adopter).
KEYWORDS
Geodesign; International Geodesign Collaboration; Collaborative Decision Process, Systems
Thinking
C. Cocco, B. Appleyard, P. Jankowski
1 INTRODUCTION
Urban-regional planning efforts at a global level are facing growing challenges mainly
connected with climate and demographic changes. Such complex problems require
collaborative systems approaches for design and decision-making (Nyerges et al., 2016). An
ideal process is where experts and stakeholders engage in a design and learning process
where they can interactively share ideas, iteratively improve upon them by considering new
information and mutual interests, and finally reach a satisfactory level of consensus through
negotiation. While complex decision processes are still often challenging to manage, novel
design methodologies and digital technologies are now emerging that promote and support
effective collaboration and systems thinking (Di Cesare et al., 2018; Nyerges et al., 2016).
In this context, a research consortium of more than 90 academic institutions worldwide was
created in 2018. The International Geodesign Collaboration (IGC) aims to understand how the
new planning and design methodology of geodesign can be applied to better address the
urgent global challenges at various territorial dimensions and in different contexts around the
world. The concept of geodesign is gaining momentum in the last decade with the aim to
apply a holistic approach - based on geovisualization and geoanalytical techniques - to more
traditional practices within collaborative design and geo-spatial planning fields (Lee, Dias, &
Scholten, 2014; Steiner & Shearer, 2016). Since 2010, the Geodesign Summit is an
international gathering that bring together architects and landscape architects, urban and
regional planners and an array of professionals and academics interested in using geospatial
technologies to create future scenarios and understand their outcomes. Geodesign
international conferences are held in USA (annually since 2010), Europe (annually since 2013,
South America (bi-annually since 2017), and Asia (2013), confirming the scale of the
phenomenon. Precisely during the Geodesign Summit 2018 in Redlands, California, USA, and
influenced by the 2015 Paris Agreement, Tom Fisher, Brian Orland, and Carl Steinitz
introduced the global project “Improving Our Global Infrastructure: an International
Geodesign Collaboration”. Each partner involved in the collaboration developed a local
planning study applying the geodesign workflow as proposed by Carl Steinitz in his framework
(Steinitz, 2012). Participant teams shared several global assumptions and changes, a common
working schedule, and specific instructions to achieve collaboration and comparability of
project outcomes. Results and findings were finally presented and shared using a standard
reporting format at the International Geodesign Collaboration meeting held in Redlands on
February 23-25, 2019. This paper describes the San Diego State University (SDSU), California,
USA, contribution to the IGC project as one of the US partner institutions. In line with the
approach outlined above, 18 students from the Departments of Geography and City Planning

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A geodesign collaboration for the Mission Valley Project, San Diego, USA

participated in a 5-hour-long academic geodesign workshop where they had the opportunity
to play a major role in the master-planning process of a 2.5 square kilometers area centered
on the Mission Valley stadium site in San Diego. The study area is very timely since it is facing
real issues related to land-use change.
The stadium was formerly occupied by the San Diego Chargers - a professional American
football team that moved to Los Angeles in 2017. The area encompassing 53 hectares is
located in the heart of San Diego's Mission Valley at the junction of Interstates 8 and 15 and
valued between $73 million and $110 million. The city owns the land and promoted a local
ballot (November 6th, 2018) to decide whether to privately lease the Mission Valley stadium
property for new redevelopment (vote yes). San Diegans had a choice between two competing
development initiatives: 1) Measure E plan supported by a group of local business leaders,
philanthropists & soccer legends (SoccerCity Group); and 2) Measure G plan, the “SDSU West
Initiative”, promoted by San Diego State University and its boosters to build a satellite campus
to the west. The SDSU proposal received the majority (55 percent) of votes and consequently
a new campus including a river park, retail and housing units will be constructed starting in
2020.
The study involved several local change assumptions:
− currently, SDSU is landlocked and has approximately 35,000 students. The construction
of the new campus will enable increasing the enrollments up to additional 13,000
students;
− the SDSU project vision looks toward environmental (Environmental Impact Report) and
economic sustainability and seeks to create a collaborative and innovative environment
where university, research labs and firms can share space and ideas
(http://missionvalley.sdsu.edu);
− the population in the San Diego County will grow by nearly one million people by 2050,
with 20% over 65 (now 12%), and more than 330,000 new housing units are required,
with 84% of housing growth being multifamily. The “2050 Regional Growth Forecast”
model (www.sandag.org) considers information on remaining housing capacity and
constraints on development (steep slopes, habitat lands, floodplains, etc). Consequently,
860 new housing units (810 multi-family, 50 single-family) can be constructed in the
Mission Valley Stadium Site accommodating 2,276 people;
− local and regional conservation programs tend to protect sensitive lands; currently 50%
of the county is protected and 20,000 more acres will be preserved by 2050
(www.sandag.org).
Following the IGC instructions, the SDSU participant team set up the workshop and developed
alternative futures for the stadium site within the “SDSU Mission Valley” project

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(http://missionvalley.sdsu.edu). In the following section, the tools used, the change scenarios
and the workshop workflow are presented. In section 3, the negotiated design alternatives
are analyzed, and in the last section, we summarize the conclusions of the SDSU case study
and the future developments of the IGC project.
2 METHODOLOGY
To allow for comparison and aggregation of the various studies, the core team of the
International Geodesign Collaboration has defined two future planning horizons 2035 and
2050 (target years of the Paris Agreement) and three development scenarios for the two time-
stages. Each study area should be designed and represented following different approaches:
Non-Adopters (NA) continue with business-as-usual until the final study date; Late Adopter
(LA) follow a business-as-usual scenario in the first time stage (2020-2035) and consider
technological innovations that should be available between 2035 and 2050 in designing
proposals for the second of the time stages; Early Adopters (EA) include innovations within
project and policies in both time stages. The general instructions reflected the local population
changes and the resulting six scenario-driven change teams are reported in Tab. 1.
DEVELOPMENT TIME HORIZON INNOVATION FORECASTED

SCENARIO
EA35 Early Adopter 2035 Available 2035 Forecasted (SANDAG)
EA50 Early Adopter 2050 Available 2035-2050 Rapid (+20%)
LA35 Late Adopter 2035 None Rapid (+20%)
LA50 Late Adopter 2050 Available 2035-2050 Rapid (+20%)
NA35 Non-Adopter 2035 None Forecasted (SANDAG)
NA50 Non-Adopter 2050 None Forecasted (SANDAG)
Tab. 1 The six scenario-driven change team adapted from the IGC development scenarios
Ten relevant territorial subsystems were defined to shape the knowledge building and inform
the design: Green Infrastructure, Blue Infrastructure, Gray Infrastructure, Energy
Infrastructure, Agriculture, Commerce and Industry, Housing Lower Density, Mixed Used,
Institutions and a tenth flexible system. Considering the specific local conditions, Agriculture
was excluded and a dedicated system for University Facilities was added.
Following the geodesign framework (Steinitz, 2012), the knowledge-building process is
completed with the creation of a synthetic representations of a suitability map, based on
multiple criteria. The set of evaluation maps, one for each of the system, should orient the
participants in creating projects and policies informed by the geographic context. Given the
small size and the undeveloped character of the study area, two maps were developed to

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evaluate the suitability index respectively for re-development systems (e.g. Housing Low
Density, Commerce and Industry) and for Blue and Green infrastructures (Fig. 1). Each map
follows a five level color-code. Red color identifies areas already developed with respect to
the specific system/s. Yellow areas are exposed to various risks (e.g. geomorphological
hazards, flood risk) and are not appropriate to propose new projects. The locations considered
by the expert the most suitable areas for development are indicated with three levels of
greens; feasible (dark green), suitable (green) and capable (light green).
Fig. 1 The evaluation maps for re-development systems (left) and Blue, Green Infrastructure (right)
The spatial information used to create the knowledge base was retrieved from the Regional
Data Warehouse (SanGIS). The GIS layers properly classified have been uploaded into ArcGIS
Online and made accessible through an ESRI Story Map. The students had access to the
platform one week before the beginning of the workshop. The expert (authoritative sources)
and the experiential (field trip, background) knowledge influenced the design of initial
proposals. In addition to the evaluation maps, for each of the system a list of requirements,
resulting from the aforementioned local change assumptions and the SDSU requests described
in the official web site of the project (http://missionvalley.sdsu.edu), was laid down:
− blue infrastructure: reduce hydrological risk, mitigate drainage impacts, restore the
natural flow and improve water quality of the river, currently classified as “a water
segment where regional standards are not met’’;
− green infrastructure: create open spaces and a river park;
− energy: support the use of renewable energy sources;
− transport infrastructure: create hike and bike trails and improve the trolley line to
promote sustainable travel;
− industry and commerce: locate tech office spaces to exploit research and highly skilled
employees in the increasingly important tech hub of the city;

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− residential lower density: limit the construction of single-family housing and reach the
LEED Silver certification for all new buildings;
− mix residential with commerce and services: promote mixed use development,
combining mid-rise and high-rise residential communities with retail/commercial
businesses;
− institutional: improve public services including waste recycling, healthcare, emergency
management and recreational places;
− university facilities: housing and facilities to accommodate and support students, faculty,
and staff.
In view of the relatively short time available during the workshop, the geo-survey platform
Geoforage (www.geoforage.io) was used to collect ideas in the form of geo-referenced project
diagrams, that could include technological innovations, in a pre-workshop phase. A total of
45 proposals for the new west campus were created by the students and collected into the
platform in the six days preceding the meeting (Fig. 2).
An international study group of scholars and professionals have already selected a set of
innovations specific for each territorial system including available or emerging technologies
and climate-change-related design solutions (www.envizz1.com/global-systems-research).
Major innovation considered by the students among those available in the website included:
− GRN 2035 3 Increased vegetation linked with stormwater infrastructure;
− GRN 2035/2050 6 Genetically modified trees and engineered trees;
− GRN 2035 12 Green roofs;
− WAT 2035/2050 2 Water retention;
− WAT 2035 8 Bioretention;
− TRA 2035 2 High speed rail;
− TRA 2035 3 Maglev high speed trains;
− TRA 2035/2050 5 Hyperloop transport;
− TRA 2035 14 Bikeshares and e-bikes for climate change mitigation;
− ENE 2050 7 Airborne wind turbines.
At that stage, the workshop took place as a 5-hour planning studio in the Department of
Geography.
The 45 diagrams previously created were uploaded in the planning support system Geodesign
hub that was used as a web-based design platform to create alternative futures for the new
SDSU campus. The students were divided in six groups according to the development
scenarios (EA35, LA35, NA35, EA50, LA50, NA50) and worked both independently and
collaboratively using personal computers and logged into Geodesignhub platform.

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Fig. 2 The SDSU project in the geo-survey platform Geoforage
Each group was asked to select different combinations of diagrams to create a design
alternative as the result of an early negotiation among the team members and in line with
their development goals and interests.
In creating the alternatives, students had a choice to consider or not technological innovations
and a high population growth rate following their specific development scenario and time
stage. After three rounds of designs each of the six groups produced a plan alternative for
the new campus. The final task of the workshop involved the six change teams grouped by
development scenario (NA35+NA50; LA35+LA50; EA35+EA50) in a negotiation process to
reach consensus on an integrated development strategy 2020-2050.
3 RESULTS
A brief description of the three negotiated design (Fig. 3) is reported below. The Early Adopter
team focused since the initial design on the upgrading and improvement of the connection

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with the main campus. The high-speed train (TRA 2035 2) takes advantage of existing
infrastructure of the trolley line and allows to reach the main campus in few minutes. The
train station is also equipped with solar panel technology. The old stadium is preserved and
restored to host collegiate and professional football teams. New areas for housing and
research facilities surround the stadium to accommodate and support students, faculty, staff,
as well as general public. The new residential areas include medium/high-rise units with
ground floor retail/office spaces and a limited number of single family-units following the trend
already adopted by the municipality to avoid sprawl. Green spaces occupy 15% of the design
area and their extension increases up to 20% with the realization of a linear park in the 2050
development scenario. The use of innovations characterizes the new green areas and the
energy production (e.g. GRN 2035/2050 6 Genetically modified trees and engineered trees,
GRN 2035 3 Increased vegetation linked with stormwater infrastructure, ENE 2050 7 Airborne
wind turbines). The development for 2050 further focuses on the transport network with the
establishment of a dedicated ridesharing service to limit the use of the private cars and the
creation of a trolley service to move inside the campus.
Fig. 3 The three negotiated design
The Late Adopter team started the design considering University Facilities and Institutional
Services as the basis for the development of the new campus. The new research labs and
public library use existing technologies (e.g. solar panel) to achieve energy autonomy together
with the wind farm implanted in the north west part of the site. New mid-rise, high-rise and
single-family residential communities surround the renovated stadium to accommodate and
support students, faculty, staff, as well as general public. The river park plays an increasingly
important role in the renovation of the site and particularly of the San Diego river. Starting
with 6 ha it is extended to almost 30 ha in the 2050 development scenario. The LA2050 design
includes the same transport project of the Early Adopter for a new high-speed train. The

© 2019, FedoaPress


improvement of the connection with the main campus appears to be crucial to ensure the
proper functioning of the academic activities and a greater variety of sustainable
transportation options. Furthermore, the low-density residential development is dropped in
favour of housing that is more compact. The Non-Adopter team started the design with
considering the development of internal Transport and Green Infrastructures as high priority
design directions. The pedestrian path surrounding the stadium highlights the car-free
approach to the setting of the new campus. Bike racks, scooter charging ports, uber pick up
points, and a bus station are included in the design to connect the campus to the existing
transportation network. A 30-ha river park has been envisaged since the very beginning and
coupled with a solar tree farm in the 2050 development scenario. The new residential areas
are located along the west side of the site together with the new public stadium. The existing
stadium is restored, and a new community centre and different event spaces are integrated.
Small-scale businesses and university classrooms on the east side exploit ready-to-use smart
technologies to improve building performance.
4 CONCLUSIONS
The San Diego State University decided from the outset to make public participation a key
priority in developing the new campus plan, in order to guarantee a transparent and open
decision-making process. This has involved about 100 public forums held so far and will
continue to offer opportunities to participate with comments and suggestions. In line with this
approach, the geodesign framework was proposed and applied to design plan alternatives
with a group of students, future users of the place. Geodesignhub was used as collaborative
design platform in the 5-hour meeting, while the geo-survey Geoforage was extremely helpful
to collect individual design proposals and ideas in the pre-workshop phase. There was also a
positive feedback to the StoryMap that proved to be a useful tool in the knowledge-building
and opinion-making process. The integration of these web-based tools effectively supports in
rapid creating design solutions - based on a holistic set of information - and in reaching a final
agreement through negotiation.
On the international level, a comparative examination of the IGC projects developed
worldwide by the multiple teams engaged will be conducted. Four discussion groups were
developed at the International Geodesign Collaboration meeting to begin to analyze
similarities and differences among groups of teams and their designs. The new knowledge
based on critical comparison promise to be a significant learning opportunity for all the
collaboration participants. The Collaboration ultimately aims to foster the application of the
geodesign concept and framework in the creation of sustainable solutions to face the critical
issues that cities and regions are grappling with worldwide.

© 2019, FedoaPress

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors wish to thank Prof. Carl Steinitz, Prof. Brian Orland, Prof. Thomas Fisher for
coordinating the International Geodesign Collaboration. The authors wish to thank also
Geodesign Hub Pvt. Ltd., Dublin, Ireland for kindly providing the use of the Geodesignhub
planning support system. Chiara Cocco gratefully acknowledges Sardinia Regional
Government for the financial support of her Ph.D. scholarship. (P.O.R. Sardegna F.S.E.
Operational Program of the Autonomous Region of Sardinia, European Social Fund 2014-2020
- Axis III Education and training, Thematic goal 10, Priority of investment 10ii.).
REFERENCES
Di Cesare, E. A., Floris, R., Cocco, C., & Campagna, M. (2018). Linking Knowledge to Action with
Geodesign. In Smart Planning: Sustainability and Mobility in the Age of Change (pp. 179–198).
Springer.
Lee, D. J., Dias, E., & Scholten, H. J. (2014). Geodesign by integrating design and geospatial sciences
(Vol. 111). Springer.
Nyerges, T., Ballal, H., Steinitz, C., Canfield, T., Roderick, M., Ritzman, J., & Thanatemaneerat, W.
(2016). Geodesign dynamics for sustainable urban watershed development. Sustainable Cities and
Society, 25, 13–24. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2016.04.016
Steiner, F. R., & Shearer, A. W. (2016). Geodesign—Changing the world, changing design. Landscape
and Urban Planning, (156), 1–4.
Steinitz, C. (2012). A framework for geodesign: Changing geography by design. Esri Press
WEB SITES
http://missionvalley.sdsu.edu
www.sandag.org
http://www.sangis.org/
www.geoforage.io
AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Chiara Cocco is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Civil Engineering and Architecture at the University of
Cagliari and temporary visiting scholar at San Diego State University, Califonia, USA. Her research
concerns the application of geospatial techniques in urban-regional planning and the development of
geodesign methods and process analytics.

© 2019, FedoaPress


Bruce Appleyard is an Associate Professor of City Planning/Urban Design at San Diego State
University (SDSU) where he helps people and agencies to make more informed decisions about how
we live, work and thrive. He is a renowned expert on street design, the future of transport, as well as
how to integrate housing, land use, urban design and transportation to help places become more
sustainable, livable and equitable. He is an author of numerous publications. He has also recently
developed an online Smart Growth Equity Calculator to help the people take action to effectively
coordinate transportation, housing, and climate action planning. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
named Dr. Appleyard as one of their Top Ten Active Living Heroes for his work with communities. Dr.
Appleyard holds a Doctorate (as well as a Masters and Bachelors) from the University of California, in
the town of Berkeley where he grew up.
Piotr Jankowski is a Professor of Geographic Information Science and Chair of Geography

Department at San Diego State University. His research focuses on models and methods of spatial
decision support, participatory GIS approaches to planning and decision making, and sensitivity
analysis in space-time models. He is the co-author of two books: ‘Geographic Information Systems
for Group Decision Making’ (2001), ‘GIS for Urban and Regional Environments: A Spatial Decision
Support Approach’ (2009), and his work has been published in over 100 peer-reviewed journal
publications. He has researched and taught in Austria, Brazil, Germany, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand,
and Poland.

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UNIVERSITY AND URBAN
DEVELOPMENT: THE ROLE OF
SERVICES IN THE DEFINITION
OF INTEGRATED
INTERVENTION POLICIES
*MAURO FRANCINI, SARA GAUDIO

ANNUNZIATA PALERMO
Department of Civil Engineering

University of Calabria, Italy
e-mail: mauro.francini@unical.it
sara.gaudio@unical.it
annunziata.palermo@unical.it

Francini, M., Gaudio, S., Palermo, A. & Viapiana, M.F. (2019). University and urban development: the role of
services in the definition of integrated intervention policies. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature
6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
The role of Universities is of great importance in terms of territorial development as a stimulating
element of physical and functional interventions aimed at encouraging economic, social and
cultural growth. In particular, integration with the city and with the services is one of the
main criteria for territorial planning characterized by the presence of university areas since,
starting from this criterion, different organizational and typological dynamics related to housing
complexes are triggered; with repercussions on management and use models. Starting from
these assumptions, the present contribution describes an urban regeneration intervention that
foresees the inclusion of a ‘sport citadel’ within the Campus of the University of Calabria, not
only to improve the quality of life of those who benefit from such places, but also to create
greater integration with the surrounding territorial context.
KEYWORDS
University; Services; Sport
* The other author is: Maria Francesca Viapiana.
University and urban development: the role of services in the definition of integrated intervention policies

1 INTRODUCTION
A study conducted by CRUI1 has highlighted the importance of contributions by Universities
to cultural growth in the contemporary city. In particular, the study first investigated the
concept of "contemporary city", with reference to the European model and the role of culture
in this context, and then analyzed the evolutionary process of Universities in Italy, starting
from the 1950s, and the influence that their presence has had in the city context. This study
shows that, in recent decades, culture has become a central theme in urban development,
highlighting the crucial role played by research and knowledge in the development or
transformation of a given context. Obviously, this is not a univocal result, applicable to all
contexts without distinction, but innovation, technology, urban planning and demography are
issues of fundamental importance for the definition of a model of urban development
characterized by the presence of a University and the peculiarities connected to it. Starting
from these assumptions, and from the assumption that the territories that have the capacity
to attract new talent within them are more strategically advanced (Hall, 1998), the role of the
Universities is highly relevant (Amato, Varaldo & Lazzeroni, 2006), especially in contexts
characterized by phenomena of social and economic degradation. For this reason, among the
development goals of the universities, there are frequent attempts to be animators of a more
intense integration with the local context, by representing in itself a stimulating element of
physical and functional interventions aimed at encouraging economic, social and cultural
growth, as well as the technological innovation of production processes and, of course, the
creation of new professional skills. It is precisely through this integration, or contamination,
that the quality and sustainability of the economic and social development of specific territorial
contexts can be built and supported (Bagnasco, 2004). In this context, an important role for
the physical and functional development of Universities is covered by the planning of specific
interventions, also supported by appropriate consultation processes that must represent a
fundamental moment, both to define the existing in a timely manner and to set adequate
lines for development, with the consequent advantage of improving the quality of the choices
and the competitiveness of universities2. Therefore, integration with the city and with the
services is one of the general criteria for territorial planning characterized by the presence of
university areas since, starting from this criterion, different organizational and typological
dynamics of housing complexes are triggered, as well as repercussions on management and

1
Conference of the Chancellors of Italian Universities.
2
Lazzeroni (2014), Maggioni (2017).

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Francini M., Gaudio S., Palermo A. & Viapiana M.F.
use models. In particular, university campuses must provide a close connection between
student accommodation and services, by including spaces for collective activities in the
functional program which are not only intended for the student population, in a spirit of
openness and availability with the context. For this reason, the "functional areas" and the
"environmental units" of the services are of great importance, i.e. the identification of the
groups of functions that have a specific purpose and the spaces provided for an activity, or
groups of activities, which are compatible with each other from a spatial and temporal point
of view.
2 A MASTERPLAN FOR THE PHYSICAL AND FUNCTIONAL

VALORISATION OF SERVICES IN THE UNIVERSITY OF CALABRIA
Considering the social and economic phenomena that characterize the context in which the
University of Calabria (Unical) is located, its role assumes great importance in territorial
development. It is therefore necessary to rethink an integration strategy inspired by
strengthening the relationship between research, teaching and the local context, as well as
improving the efficiency linked to the mobility of students, technical-administrative staff and
academic staff. In this regard, it is considered useful to develop a master plan, an adequate
tool to define the elements that characterize the context, both in terms of location and quality
as these have already been used in other universities with excellent results.
The master plan allows the system to make interventions aimed at the enhancement of
training and research activities related to innovation, knowledge transfer, and the
regeneration of accommodation areas, ensuring an adequate functional mix with internal and
external services connected to each other.
Moreover, this planning tool allows to take into account the assessment of users' needs and
expectations, the potential of places, the resilience capacity of the area in which to operate,
proposing new planning and programming tools, and consequently tools for socio-economic
development.With this in mind, the master plan should be included in the Integrated
University Performance Plan, in which the various programming aspects can also be evaluated,
including: precise definition of indicators related to operational objectives of customer
satisfaction and process/service, taking into account the relative reference targets, for the
purpose of an efficient evaluation of the results; closer integration with financial planning;
improvement of quality check processes; etc.
In this overview, some lines of development have already been implemented by the University
of Calabria with specific actions to be completed:

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− the design of a 'Sport Citadel', also open to the community, which will allow diversified
and environmentally sustainable uses;
− the adoption of new forms of innovative teaching, alongside traditional ones, through
the construction of equipped classrooms, mainly for cooperative learning and e-learning,
which, to date, are not present in the University, and which will enrich the total
educational assortment;
− the creation of thematic squares to encourage socialization within the Campus, through
the redevelopment and infrastructure creation of existing spaces.
In addition to these activities that have already been initiated, new development lines must
be added, to be defined with a focus on promoting openness towards the surrounding area:
− upgrading and functional adaptation of the existing road network;
− provision of "new" accommodation and services to support the student population.
Regarding the first line, the radical reorganization of the internal viability and access road
system to Unical is essential to create the necessary conditions for integration and,
consequently, for the physical and functional development of the University.
These actions are on a territorial scale and in fact, have already been foreseen and in some
cases have already been planned or are under construction. These must be associated with
further interventions to be structured within the university area, necessary to reorganize the
mobility system within the Campus, as it is currently inadequate in terms of security. With
regard to the other development line, i.e. student and other accommodation, it is necessary
that this is partially located outside the Campus, supported by adequate services and efficient
connections. This could bring real benefits to the entire territorial context, both in physical
and socio-economic terms, contributing to strengthen the relations between the University
and the surrounding area. An interesting start could be the location of new university
accommodation in the historical center of Cosenza, thus also contributing to regenerate places
now considered peripheral, in order to turn them into accommodation and integration areas.
This would be allowed not only by the inclusion of student residences, but also by means of
the creation of related services, such as: study rooms, leisure rooms, opportunities for
interdisciplinary cultural education, study assistance, etc. Therefore, integration with the
territory must be at the basis of the design criteria of the new university accommodation,
since the relationship between student housing and the urban and surrounding area is one of
the pre-eminent aspects in defining not only the general settlement model, but also functional
and typological organization models. These interventions, to be carried out preferably through
the recovery of existing buildings, can also guarantee adequate levels of environmental and
architectural sustainability, as well as integration with the identity of the places.

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3 AN INTERVENTION ACTION PLAN: THE UNIVERSITY SPORT CITADEL

Among the various planned actions, a significant role is played by sports equipment. In recent
years, in fact, within the Unical Campus, the search for a better quality of life has favoured a
general diffusion of different sports, both competitive and non-competitive.
Currently, students and university staff who want to play sports can do so in facilities in the
Campus that allow group sports (basketball, volleyball, football, rugby, beach volleyball, etc.)
to be carried out, single sports (archery, body building and fitness, boxing and martial arts,
yoga, dance, etc.) and mind sports (bridge, chess, checkers, etc.).
The great success of these activities has registered a growing demand for participation, which
has also allowed the achievement of important achievements, from a competitive point of
view, in several championships and tournaments at various levels. At the same time, another
precious activity for the promotion of sport has been carried out by the youth sectors which,
with hundreds of small practicing athletes, create the indispensable incubators capable of
ensuring continuity to all the competitive sectors.
The increase in demand has, however, highlighted the need for more sport facilities. Too
often activities are limited due to the lack of adequate space. In addition, it is not possible to
organize important university sport events that would bring important economic repercussions
to the territory because of this limit.
In order to keep competitivity and participation levels high, as well as to improve them even
further, the need for suitable sport facilities, both from a qualitative and a quantitative point
of view, has been highlighted. For this reason, a 'Sport Citadel' was designed to support
existing structures.
It is a multi-sports complex surrounded by greenery, on an area of approximately 12 ha. Its
design will be modern and will allow diversified uses, both for competitive activities and for
basic and social sport activities of various kinds, related to well-being and health.
Specifically, the design choices were based on the following parameters:
− flexibility and functionality, to obtain spaces that are versatile and suitable for different
needs to use the entire area at all times. This objective will be pursued, in particular,
through the creation of large green areas, which will constitute an "added value" for the
entire sector;
− security of the area and facilities, both for day to day presence and in case of large
public events, in compliance with current regulations;
− targeted architectural solutions, to present a formally balanced structure, that fits in the
territory and is easy to understand.

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The proposed project solution has been identified, among the various possible solutions
evaluated, such as the one that presents the best ratio between costs and benefits for the
community, in relation to the specific needs to be met and performance provided.
In particular, it intends to foreshadow a large-scale center, where the integration between
sports practice, recreational activities and the pursuit of health and well-being find equilibrium
in a unitary architectural project. For this reason, a plan has been devised that can adequately
meet the competitive needs, which is also a particularly qualifying service aimed at a wider
and more diversified stakeholder, interested in activities other than competitive sports.
Specifically, the new University Sports Center provides for the implementation of the following
interventions:
− a sports field connected to an athletic track;
− a multi-purpose sports hall, including multi-purpose playing fields;
− a gym, including squash courts, rooms for martial arts and fencing, as well as a fitness
centre, consisting of a gym, a weights room, cardio-fitness rooms and fitness rooms;
− a water sports complex, including an Olympic-size pool and fitness pools;
− a range of outdoor equipment with lighting facilities for evening use, including an
approximately 2 km long running track, football pitches of various sizes and several
tennis courts.
− The intervention is completed by the construction of buildings for changing rooms,
services and offices, and systems for facilities (air conditioning, photovoltaic, solar
thermal, video surveillance, irrigation and recycling of rainwater).
− In addition, the area that is not directly affected by the plan will be made into a park for
individual or collective use for children.
− Access to the Sport Citadel is guaranteed by the nearby roads, while within the sector
there is a pedestrian route that connects all the spaces and structures. The Citadel also
has a parking area that is directly accessible from both the main road and pedestrian
paths.
The proposed plan promptly responds, therefore, to the needs of differentiated users and is,
at the same time, economically viable to become a suitable space for hosting events "of" and
"for" everyone, as a centre of social aggregation. The Sport Citadel has, in fact, also been
designed in full respect of disabled peoples' needs , starting from a careful assessment of the
type of barrier, the possible needs expressed by the people concerned, the potentials and
limitations of people with disabilities and the type of mobility and instruments needed. To this
end, all the solutions have been adopted to overcome any barriers and make these users self-
sufficient, allowing them to take advantage of the Sport Citadel in its entirety.

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Fig. 1 Plan of the University Sport Citadel project - University of Calabria
The Citadel has also been planned so as to be environment friendly with the aim of achieving
a high degree of eco-sustainability. In this regard, various constructive criteria have been
adopted. The issue of energy saving has been addressed by providing that a significant part
(at least 30%) of the materials and components that make up the structures3 are local,
encouraging the use of products with environmental hallmarks and using recycled material or
material from renewable sources. As regards to the building envelopes, in particular, the
components of the opaque enclosures use insulation material of adequate thickness, while for
the transparent enclosures insulated glass panels are used. In addition to this, all the roofs
will have photovoltaic and solar thermal systems. Furthermore, low emission heating systems
are foreseen to reduce environmental impacts. Particular attention has been paid to the issue
of water consumption, differentiating the needs based on two distinct items: consumption for
indoor purposes and for irrigation purposes. With regard to the first aspect, the use of suitable
hydraulic devices4 has been planned in the facilities. In addition, rainwater will be collected,
purified and reused as non-drinking water. The same collection system will also be used to

3
Opaque and transparent envelopes, floor slabs, floors and walls, supporting structures.
4
Airless aerators, flow reducers, double-button exhausts for toilets, etc

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irrigate the planned green areas. It should also be noted that only a small percentage of the
intervention area (about 12%) will be waterproofed (areas occupied by built-up structures
and access areas), while the remaining part will be used for outdoor sports facilities and
greenery and will be extremely permeable. Finally, the project envisages appropriate
measures aimed at acoustic well-being. In particular, building materials and furnishing
elements that are soundproof will be used.
4 CONCLUSIONS
When we talk about "sport", if on the one hand we think of an "instrument" of aggregation
and social inclusion, on the other it is still associated with the idea of a merely leisurely activity,
separate and distinct from the rest of social and cultural activities, relevant in the educational
and training process of individuals and the community.
Overcoming this dichotomy of thought is the intrinsic objective of the proposed project, which
sees the inclusion of the Sport Citadel within the university campus to integrate and qualify
activities transversal to research and to technical and cultural innovation.
Therefore, sport plays a significant role in the processes of urban and social transformation
(Bale, 2002), becoming, in this case, a "device of social cohesion", capable of enhancing the
potential of places and people. Sport is a "tool" for the regeneration of spaces as places that
enable sports activities. The logic adopted by the project is, therefore, that of the so-called
community hubs: physical spaces that place the people-community relationship in the center;
spaces where everyone's needs and skills are considered, giving life to new bonds and social
affiliations; places where the opportunities for exchange are multiplied, practices of proximity
are intertwined, and future imaginaries are shared. In conclusion, this research project,
translated into a direct operational intervention, considers people as a resource for improving
proximity networks and considers communities as gyms for social experimentation.
REFERENCES
Amato G., Varaldo R., Lazzeroni M. (2006) (a cura di), La città nell'era della conoscenza
dell'innovazione, Milano, Franco Angeli.
Bagnasco, A., (2004), Città in cerca di università. Le università regionali e il paradigma dello sviluppo
locale, Stato e Mercato n. 72.
Bale, J. (2002), Sports geography. Taylor & Francis.

© 2019, FedoaPress

Hall P. (1998), Cities in Civilization: Culture, Technology, and Urban Order, London, Weidenfeld &
Nicolson; New York, Pantheon Books.
Lazzeroni M. (2014), L’interazione tra Università e contesto territoriale: prospettive di analisi ed

esperienze europee”, in Annali del Dipartimento di Metodo e Modelli per l’Economia e il Territorio e la
Finanza 2012-2013 (The future of Europe), pp. 193-214, Bologna, Pàtron Editore,
Maggioni G. (2017) (a cura di), Urbino e le sfide della città-Campus, Milano, Franco Angeli.
AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Mauro Francini is full Professor of Urban Engineering at the University of Calabria, his research
activities include the study of models, techniques and tools for urban and territorial planning and
management.
Sara Gaudio is Ph.D. student at University of Calabria. Her research activities deal with definition of
urban resilience related to emergency planning, even through the development of new methodologies
in GIS environment.
Annunziata Palermo is Associate Professor of Urban Engineering at the University of Calabria. She
is interested in strategic planning of medium and low density urban and rural integrated systems,
sustainable regeneration and urban and territorial resilience.
Maria Francesca Viapiana is Associate Professor of Urban Engineering at the University of Calabria.
She is interested in urban design and planning with particular attention to the role of sustainability in
regeneration processes.

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URBAN ENVIRONMENT. AN
ANALYSIS OF THE ITALIAN
METROPOLITAN CITIES
GIUSEPPE MAZZEO
Institute of Studies on Mediterranean Societies,

Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche
(ISSM – CNR), Italy
e-mail: giuseppe.mazzeo@issm.cnr.it
URL: https://www.issm.cnr.it/it/

Mazzeo, G. (2019). Urban environment. An analysis of the Italian metropolitan cities. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi
6, doi: 10.6093/978-88-6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
This paper provides an overview of the environmental situation in Italian Metropolitan Cities. The
transition from a fossil city to a renewable city shows a critical state, also if the intersection of
settled critical elements with new trends of the global world (above all in economy and technical
innovation) can represent an occasion for these cit ies. The interest on urban environment
results by the growing importance of the question. The cities are among the main generator of
pollution and of greenhouse gas, and their impact is growing because they are growing in many
parts of the world. The state of the environment, not positive, can be the basis for a deeper
discussion on the steps to take to reduce the weight of the cities. These can be one of the main
target of the future policies in the urban and metropolitan systems in Italy and in Europe. The
non-recognition of the urban vulnerability is a risk for the urban systems that can be fought with
a growing capacity to manage the changings and with an effective participation of the urban
users. The paper deepens the results of a previous paper that considers the same urban system
under the light of other main characteristics. The establishment of the metropolitan cities can
be a step in this direction only if the consciousness of the environmental problems enter as main
topic of the local and national transforming actions.
KEYWORDS
Metropolitan Cities; Environmental index; Sustainab ility; Planning
G. Mazzeo
1 INTRODUCTION
The urban environment is a highly complex structure in which coexist elements of a series of
technological, economic, productive, and environmental systems. The main actor within the
urban structures is the man who interacts in a different way with each of these systems on
the basis of local/time situations and of the conditions in which it performs their activities.
Towards the urban structure there are continuous flows of materials and goods that makes
possible the carrying out of the various activities allowing the correct interrelations between
the different systems. An urban environment operates when it is healthy, that is when all their
elements are related to each other and none of them appears to be in a predominant position.
In a situation in which each of these systems operates with the best characteristics typical of
each sector, the influence on the urban system is increased, also affecting the overall quality.
This makes it possible to merge the physical level of the city with the quality level that can be
characterized by values such as urban liveability, environmental quality of the system, and
overall healthiness of the urban environment (Marans, 2012; Pacione, 2003).
The urban system, seen as an environmental system, is a system in which raw materials enter
the box that constitutes the system, they undergo a transformation and come out (Fig. 1).
Fig. 1 Urban environment box and entropy
This process causes an increase in the total entropy of the environment (of which the urban
environment is a partition). This is because the carrying out of activities within an urban structure
requires work and therefore the use of energy, which, once the work has been carried out, is
characterized by a lower quality, thanks to the overall increase in entropy.
Urban structures have a strong impact on the overall quality of the environment, due to the high
work’s concentration in it.

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Urban environment. An analysis of the Italian metropolitan cities

Reasoning absurdly, one might think that the solution is to eliminate the cities creating a new
anthropic structure. This is not possible because it is a structure not replaceable with others.
Consequently, an urban structure can only be improved. It requires a continuous process of
evolution in such a way that one work unit needs a lower consumption of raw materials and,
therefore, a lower or, at least, zero entropy production.
We can achieve this possibility by increasing the efficiency of the urban structure, for example
by improving mobility, or by replacing procedures for carrying out urban functions, or by
replacing activities with others characterized by a greater efficiency. All these actions have
strict relations with the management of urban space, with the reduction of urban vulnerability,
and therefore with the planning and use of the territory itself (De Sherbinin et al., 2007).
2 ITALIAN METROPOLITAN SYSTEM

Italian metropolitan cities are a significant sample of an urban reality with particular
characteristics. The interest they arouse derives from a contradiction that seems to be present
in the sample of metropolitan cities. They are a significant example of the Italian urban
system, but they are also a significant example of the potential errors that can be committed
when a choice is made on the basis of poorly designed political motivations. In this case the
error seems due with the excessive extension of the sample of metropolitan cities.
The issuing of the Law 56/2014 introduced the “metropolitan cities” into the organization of
Italian local self-government. The system of metropolitan cities is formed by ten areas
coinciding with the territory of the previous provinces (Rome, Milan, Naples, Turin, Genoa,
Venice, Bologna, Florence, Bari and Reggio Calabria). In addition, special administrative
Regions have identified Cagliari in Sardinia, Palermo, Catania, and Messina in Sicily. In the
paper, we consider also the case of Trieste, a non-official metropolitan city. Tab. 1 shows
some of the main characteristics of the metropolitan cities territories. From 2014 to now,
attention to the development and strengthening of the new local authority has involved
sectoral, in particular legal and budgetary, aspects. Elements such as new geographies at
national and international level or the competitiveness of the territory and networks as a basic
factor for development have been marginal in the construction of local policies. At the same
time, the planning of metropolitan territories has not had better luck.
One of the key issues on the agenda is the current level of “resoluteness” in the application
of the reform. The sensation is that it is slowly coming to be reduced due to the substantial
problems of local authorities (connected above all to the amount of available resources that
does not allow many possibility of manoeuvre), and to the changed national political
landscape, poorly (and irresponsibly) inclined to carry out reforms conceived in a previous
political season.

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G. Mazzeo
Fig. 2 Italian metropolitan cities. In blue the cities identified by Law 56/2014. In green those identified by the
special status Regions. In red Trieste, a long-term candidate but not a metropolitan city
At the same time, it is present a widespread lack of awareness of the enormous potential
deriving from the application of the reform, also if the situation changes from case to case.
The system of Italian cities confronts, in fact, with a highly competitive international landscape
not allowing further loss of time along the path of innovation, the efficiency of the territory
and the reduction of vulnerability related to environmental phenomena, as well as in the
identification of the most appropriate development strategies.
This factor is of great importance and deserves special attention. The category of innovation,
in fact, contains in itself various aspects ranging from the growth of the efficiency of cities, to
the ability to take advantage of the redevelopment processes, to the overall sustainability of
urban development processes, also in light of the impact of city on the phenomena of local
and global warming.
The results of this analysis were that only a limited number of Italian cities have the
characteristics to be “metropolitan”. The dimension of the indicators and their combination
brings to hypothesize that the extension of the sample to 14 cities is completely unjustified
in relation to the characteristics of the cities themselves and their national and international
relevance. The analytic formulation confirmed results that are well known, because the Italian

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metropolitan system presents well-established hierarchies based on qualitative considerations
and on the economic, social, cultural and territorial performances of the cities.
RESIDENT RESIDENT ' POP POPULATION OLD AGE

POPULATION. POPULATION. 2018 / DENSITY. INDEX.
(2011, ISTAT) 31/12/2018 POP 2011 AB/KMQ. (2011, ISTAT)
(ISTAT) (2011, ISTAT)
Rome 3.997.465 4.355.725 358.260 745,33 144,25
Milan 3.038.420 3.234.658 196.238 1.928,40 159,34
Naples 3.054.956 3.101.002 46.046 2.591,30 89,12
Turin 2.247.780 2.269.120 21.340 329,25 204,14
Palermo 1.243.585 1.260.193 16.608 248,25 118,14
Bari 1.247.303 1.257.520 10.217 322,90 125,39
Catania 1.078.766 1.109.888 31.122 301,86 111,86
Florence 973.145 1.013.260 40.115 276,96 186,22
Bologna 976.243 1.011.291 35.048 263,68 185,06
Venice 846.962 853.552 6.590 342,50 169,13
Genoa 855.834 844.957 -10.877 466,70 239,53
Messina 649.824 631.297 -18.527 198,96 155,96
Reggio Calabria 550.967 551.212 245 171,62 129,55
Cagliari 550.580 431.955 -118.625 120,47 154,13
Trieste 232.601 234.638 2.037 1.094,59 247,29
Tab. 1 Metropolitan cities. Population data. Source: ISTAT
ǈ(Zx) ǈ(Zx) DENSITY ǈ(Zx) ǈ(Zx) METROPOLITAN

ECONOMY / TERR. USE MOBILITY QUALITY INDEX (MI)
Milan +2,74 +1,40 +1,61 +0,56 +6,31
Rome +0,50 +0,51 +1,59 +1,36 +3,96
Venice -0,27 +0,02 +0,78 +1,09 +1,62
Turin +0,82 +0,57 +0,12 -0,07 +1,44
Florence +0,20 +0,28 +0,04 +0,80 +1,32
Trieste -0,45 +0,46 +0,28 +0,40 +0,69
Bologna +0,34 +0,22 -0,26 -0,02 +0,28
Naples -0,22 +0,19 -0,24 +0,08 -0,19
Genoa -0,13 +0,05 -0,22 -0,03 -0,33
Cagliari -0,26 -0,72 -0,44 -0,20 -1,62
Bari -0,38 -0,68 -0,54 -0,48 -2,08
Catania -0,68 -0,60 -0,43 -0,71 -2,42
Palermo -0,80 -0,57 -0,49 -0,87 -2,73
Messina -0,59 -0,42 -0,92 -0,83 -2,76
Reggio Calabria -0,83 -0,70 -0,88 -1,07 -3,48
Tab. 2 The sum of the average Z-score of the four sectors define the score of the Metropolitan Index (MI);
Source: Mazzeo, 2018
The paper highlights that only three metropolitan cities seem to have all what it takes to be
a metropolitan city: Milan, Rome, and Florence. Other cities that can be considered in this
group are Turin, Venice, Bologna and Naples. In addition, the differences among Milan and

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G. Mazzeo
the other cities are quite evident. Although not a metropolitan city, Trieste has many features
to fit into this system, even more than others in the sample.
The results obtained from this analysis (Metropolitan Index, MI) identify the strength of some
metropolitan cities and, at the same time, the weakness of others. In this category of the
weak cities can be classified two types of it. The first cities are those that, according to Italian
law, are classified as metropolitan cities but, based on international literature and on their
own characteristics, are nothing more than regional centers, difficult to consider as
metropolitan cities or as a city with a real metropolitan area. The seconds are those belonging
to the Southern area of Italy and, in this case, the weakness is structural and derives from a
long history of inability to plan a future.
3 METROPOLITAN ENVIROMENT
The carried-out analysis uses a system of 11 environmental indicators that can be associated
with the urban sample consisting of 14 + 1 Italian metropolitan cities. The data system then
forms an 11x15 matrix. The 11 indicators are reported in the Note 1 to the paper and are, in
turn, classifiable as soil use indicators (3), mobility indicators (4), and efficiency indicators (4).
Other considerations are included in Note 1.
Using the Z-score methodology (Diez et al., 2012), the same reported in Mazzeo (2018), we
obtain an index for the sample of 15 metropolitan cities. We name it “Environmental Index
(EI)”.
We use the Z-score technique for to compare the different indicators. The first passage is the
normalization of the data:

(1)
V
In (1) is the normalized value of the variable x, is the average value for the whole test
sample (N is formed by the 15 metropolitan cities), and the standard deviation of the
variable x of a population of N elements, defined as:
(2)

Applying the formulas to the three groups of sectors, the original data are normalized making
it possible a quantitative comparison based no more on a matrix 15 x 1 (the single indicator)
but on a matrix 15 x n formed by the 15 metropolitan cities and the n indictors of one of the
sectors. Tab. 3 shows the results, while Fig. 3 correlates the Environmental Index (EI) with
the Metropolitan Index (MI), highlighting that there are considerable differences between the

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two. We can say, for example, that the size of metropolitan cities negatively affects the state
of the environment. At the same time, the geographical position of the cities and their tradition
of environment respect and urban quality has a significant influence on this index.
ǈ(Zx) ǈ(Zx) ǈ(Zx) ENVIRONMENTAL

SOIL USE MOBILITY EFFICIENCY INDEX (EI)
Venezia +5,11 +6,57 -1,05 +10,63
Cagliari +1,16 +0,71 +3,56 +5,43
Bologna +1,07 +1,90 +1,66 +4,62
Reggio Calabria +2,58 -1,86 +1,36 +2,08
Firenze +0,08 +0,13 +0,87 +1,07
Trieste -0,34 -0,80 +1,21 +0,07
Milano +1,47 +0,54 -2,04 -0,03
Bari -1,58 -1,68 +3,14 -0,12
Catania -0,87 -0,12 +0,69 -0,29
Roma -1,01 +0,04 -0,72 -1,69
Torino -0,86 +1,75 -2,59 -1,70
Messina -0,97 -1,37 -0,53 -2,88
Genova -1,99 -2,55 +0,20 -4,34
Napoli -2,16 -1,75 -0,87 -4,78
Palermo -1,68 -1,52 -1,62 -4,83
Tab. 3 The sum of the average Z-score of the three sectors define the score of the Environmental Index (EI); Our
processing on data Legambiente, 2018
Fig. 3 Metropolitan Index (MI) and Environmental Index (EI); Position of cities based on Metropolitan Index (MI);
Correlation Index: 0.12 (see Note 2)

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G. Mazzeo
With regard to the environmental index, a second analysis was performed using a simple
standardization of the indicators given by:
(3)
In this case too, the hypothesis underlying the analysis is that the higher are the standardized
data the greater is the contribution to the environmental index of the element of the urban
sample. Based on this simple standardization operation, we obtain an index that we call
Environmental Performance (EP) for the sample of the 15 metropolitan cities.
The results in Tab. 4 and Fig. 4 are similar for the two indexes and they show a slight different
classification from Tab. 2. Once again emerges the important position of the smaller cities
(Venice, Bologna, Cagliari, Florence) and the greater criticality environmental of two
categories of centers: those of greater size (Milan, in part, Rome and Naples) and a consistent
sample of the cities of Southern Italy.
As in Tab. 3, the case of Venice emerges due to the characteristics of the city. Venice, in fact,
is less affected by some negative environmental elements connected in particular to mobility
and land use.
SOIL MOBILITY EFFICIENCY ENVIRONMENTAL

PERFORMANCE (EP)
Venice 32,72 94,14 24,11 150,97
Bologna 24,67 42,55 38,47 105,69
Cagliari 28,04 25,27 40,48 93,79
Milan 27,72 32,81 24,41 84,94
Florence 21,19 33,79 26,30 81,27
Reggio Calabria 35,82 8,41 25,44 69,67
Trieste 19,80 23,63 25,05 68,48
Turin 17,97 29,22 18,91 66,10
Bari 9,70 16,72 38,66 65,09
Catania 13,86 14,69 34,09 62,64
Genoa 12,39 14,91 26,05 53,34
Rome 15,64 20,61 14,44 50,69
Messina 14,31 12,55 23,83 50,69
Palermo 14,02 15,71 18,82 48,55
Naples 12,15 15,00 20,94 48,09
Tab. 4 Enviromental Perfomance (EP) of the metropolitan cities. Our processing on data Legambiente, 2018

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Fig. 4 Enviromental Index (EI) and Environmental Performance (EP/10); Correlation Index: 0.94 (see Note 2)
4 CONCLUSIONS
An environment represents a vital space for one or more species. The urban environment, in
particular, can be considered a vital space for the man. This space involves various aspects:
technological, biological, earth science, economic, social, historical, and political.
The functioning of cities and the processes of decision making are strictly connected with the
urban environment.
The city is a consumer of food and raw materials: monetary exchange, energy and water
enable its life influencing design, planning, social well-being, engineering. The results are
waste, pollution, effects on climate, change of the natural hydrological cycle, also if
management increases or decreases the efficiency of the consumption.
So, a series of elements enter in the urban environment circuit and a series of other elements
come out of it (Fig. 1). Operation becomes more efficient when the same work is done using
a smaller amount of input resources and causing the same smaller amount of resources to
leak out (Estrada et al., 2017).
This operation reaches one of its maximum efficiency levels when the used resources are
renewable and they can be used without consuming the natural capital and becoming lighter
(Mazzeo, 2016).
The path to reach this goal is still long and the results obtained at the level of analysis of the
Italian metropolitan cities are a testimony of this distance. The construction of the

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G. Mazzeo
environmental index represents an attempt to specify at the level of the sample some aspects
on which cities must confront and act.
Also the metropolization index provides some significant results. As they are constructed, it is
possible to hypothesize a strong permeability between them. This means that many of the
indicators are interchangeable. The inclusion of new methods for the implementation of urban
activities has specific characteristics that can be a further push towards the construction of
more sustainable management models of the cities themselves. If the Italian cities are vital
and they work for hundreds of years it means that they have a capacity to adapt to
technological and social changes that make them suitable for further transformations. The
next step in the functioning of the cities themselves is the transition from the use of fossil
energy to the use of renewable energy, as well as the transition from a society in which
communication is still quite traditional to one in which it becomes fully digital and high speed.
So the ability of Italian cities to respond to these aspects will ensure that they can continue
to maintain their role within the overall system of European cities and thus occupy the role
that is due. This role results not only as a testimony of a glorious past but as a testimony to
the vitality of cities. Attention to the aspects that influence the environmental impact of cities
is strong. Also the European Commission has increased its focus on urban issues, as a
response to the fact that almost 80% of EU citizens lives in cities. The political importance of
the issue is demonstrated by its inclusion in the 7th Environmental Action Programme (7EAP)
under Priority Objective 8, entitled, Sustainable Cities: “Working together for Common
Solutions”. The overall objective of this policy drive is to enhance the sustainability of EU cities
to achieve by 2050 that all Europeans are “living well, within the limits of the planet”.
Specifically the Action Programme states that by 2020: “… a majority of cities in the Union
are implementing policies for sustainable urban planning and design…” and that the
Commission should develop: “…a set of criteria to assess the environmental performance of
cities, taking into account economic, social and territorial impacts”. In this context, the
institutional restructuring process that led to the constitution of Italian Metropolitan Cities had
specific potentialities in itself, recognizable in curtailing of the territorial government, in
growing of administrative efficiency, and in enhancing of competitiveness (Barbieri, 2015; De
Luca, 2016).
NOTES
List of indicators referred to Tab. 3. Source: Ecosistema Urbano 2018, Legambiente.

01. (S) (1/n) Synthetic index (scale 0-10) of the consumption trend for land/residents and level of
urbanization/residents, 2017.

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02. (S) (n) Usable green in urban area (sqm/ab), 2016.
03. (S) (n) Threes in public areas (number of three/100 residents), 2017.
04. (M) (n) Pedestrian road surface extension (sqm/residents), 2017.
05. (M) (n) Car motorization rate. Cars circulating/100 residents, 2017.
06. (M) (n) Cycle paths. Equivalent meters of cycle paths/100 residents, 2017.
07. (M) (n) Passengers f public transport (travel/resident/year), 2017.
08. (E) (n) Recycled waste. Share of recycled waste on total urban waste, 2017.
09. (E) (n) Dispersion of the aqueduct. Share difference between water introduced and consumed
for all, 2017.
10. (E) (1/n) Fine powders (Pm10). Average annual values (ǝg/mc). Urban control units, 2017.
11. (E) (n) Photovoltaic and public thermal. Installed power (kW) on public buildings each 1.000
residents, 2017.
S = Soil indicators. M = Mobility indicators. E = Efficiency indicators. n = Benefit indicators. 1/n = Cost
indicators.
Correlation Index was calculated using the following formula:

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pianificazione. Il Piemonte delle Autonomie, II(2), 8-14.
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reduce climate change impacts, Nature Climate Change, 7, 403-408. doi: 10.1038/NCLIMATE3301.
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© 2019, FedoaPress

G. Mazzeo
Mazzeo, G. (2016). La città leggera. Smart City e urbanistica attuativa. Napoli, FedOAPress. doi:
10.6093/978-88-6887-008-9.
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WEB SITES
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/urban/index_en.htm
AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Giuseppe Mazzeo is a Civil engineer graduated at the University of Naples Federico II. Researcher
at CNR since 1998. Contract Professor at University Parthenope of Naples and at University Federico
II of Naples. He has worked within the Operational National Project (PON) “SEM - Smart Energy Master
for the energy government of the territory” (PON04a2_E), research unit of University of Naples
Federico II (2012-2016). He is full member of the National Institute of Urban Planning (INU). Author
of over 100 published works on some of the key themes of urban planning, such as land use planning,
urban transformations and environmental assessment. He has took part at numerous national and
international conferences. Present research topics include: 1) the evolution of structures and functions
of metropolitan areas; 2) the innovation in the urban plans, with special attention to the local
sustainable planning; 3) the assessment of the environmental sustainability of the urban and territorial
plans.

© 2019, FedoaPress

RECYCLED AGGREGATES
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES AND
ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
*LUISA PANI, LORENA FRANCESCONI

JAMES ROMBI

and Architecture
e-mail: lpani@unica.it
lorenafrancesconi@libero.it; james.14@tiscali.it
URL: http://people.unica.it/luisapani/

Pani, L., Francesconi, L., Rombi, J., Naitza, S., Balletto, G. & Mei, G. (2019). Recycled Aggregates, Mechanical
Properties and Environmental Sustainability. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature and ecosystem
ABSTRACT
This paper highlights the possibility of using structural concrete debris, also with modest
mechanical performances (Rck ≤ 20 MPa), in order to obtain coarse recycled concrete
aggregates to produce new structural concrete with higher performances. A specific case study
concerned the recycling of the debris deriving from the total demolition of Cagliari football
stadium concrete structures, to obtain coarse aggregates to produce new concrete. The results
of the study point out the possibility of organizing recycling plants of secondary raw materials to
produce coarse recycled aggregates deriving from onlyconcrete, with the same size distribution
of natural aggregates, without necessarily having additional performance information of the
parent concrete. The alternative use of recycled aggregates in place of natural ones for concrete
production aims to preserve natural resources and, in consequence, to reduce the extension of
landfills.
KEYWORDS
Recycled Aggregates; Mechanical Properties; Recycli ng
* The other authors are: Stefano Naitza, Ginevra Balletto, Giovanni Mei.
L. Pani, L. Francesconi, J. Rombi et al.
1 INTRODUCTION
It is well known that construction industries consume annually huge amount of aggregates,
contributing to significant environmental losses. For this reason, the use of construction and
demolition waste (C&DW) as alternative aggregate to produce new concrete limits the
exploitation of natural resources and the extension of landfills.
Maximizing the amount of recycled materials among concrete components is a very effective
and promising approach toward sustainable construction (Kovler & Roussel, 2011; Meyer,
2009; Rao et al., 2007). Available experimental data concerning concrete made with recycled
concrete aggregate (RA) are highly variable and some authors (Padmini et al., 2009; Shi-cong
Kou & Chi-sun Poon, 2015) claim that the quality of RA mostly depends on the quality of
original demolished concrete used for recycling. Even if some results are contradictory, some
general conclusions can be drawn about the effects of coarse recycled aggregate. For
example, a recycled concrete (RC) with low to medium compressive strength can be easily
obtained irrespective of the specific quality of recycled aggregates (Ajdukiewicz &
Kliszczewicz, 2002; Etxeberria et al., 2007; González-Fonteboa & Martínez-Abella, 2008;
Rahal, 2007; Tabsh & Abdelfatah, 2009).
The physical properties of RA strongly depend on the adhered cement mortar quality and
amount (Etxeberria et al., 2007; Sánchez de Juan & Alaejos Gutiérrez, 2009). In general, the
quantity of adhered mortar increases with the decrease of the recycled aggregate size
(Etxeberria et al., 2007; Sánchez de Juan & Alaejos Gutiérrez, 2009). The crushing procedure
also has an influence on the amount of adhered mortar. Due to the adhered mortar, RA has
a lower density and higher water absorption, compared to natural one. Moreover, the
presence of potentially un-hydrated cement on the surface of RA can further affect the
concrete properties (Katz, 2003).
This paper shows that is possible to obtain structural concrete of strength class C30/37, using
coarse RA obtained by crushing structural concrete with low compressive strength (Rck 20
MPa).
In this study, RA derives from concrete structures (foundations and cantilever beams) of the
old football stadium located in Cagliari (Sardinia, Italy, construction year 1968). Before
demolishing these concrete structures, tests were carried out to evaluate the mechanical
performance of concrete. Part of foundations and cantilever beams have been demolished
and crushed separately, to obtain two types of coarse RA, both with size 4 - 16 mm.
RC mixes have been produced using three different replacement percentage (30%, 50% and
80%) of natural aggregates with RA. A total of six RC mixes were produced, using separately
the two types of coarse RA. In comparison an additional mix of normal concrete (NC) with

© 2019, FedoaPress

Recycled Aggregates. Mechanical Properties and Environmental Sustainability

only natural aggregates (NA) was produced. Further tests were carried out in order to obtain
a full description of physical and mechanical properties of new made concretes, RC and NC.
The final goal of this work is to strengthen the concept of sustainability in civil constructions
combining the use of coarse RA to produce structural concrete with a low environmental
impact.
2 EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION
2.1 QUALITY OF PARENT CONCRETE

In the first phase of the research, the integrity and mechanical behavior of Cagliari football
stadium concrete were analyzed. In a near future, the stadium will be demolished and created
a new stadium with a modern design. The concrete structures chosen for the preliminary
analysis are the cantilever beams and the foundation blocks. A total of 12 cored specimens
were collected from both the foundation and the beams, respectively named C. Found and C.
Beam. A preliminary visual inspection performed on the cored specimens did not highlight any
abnormalities. In Tab. 1 the mean values of the tests conducted on the cored specimens are
reported.
DEPTH OF DENSITY COMPRESSIVE ELASTICITY TENSILE

CARBONATATION STRENGTH MODULUS STRENGTH
(mm) (kg/m3) (MPa) (MPa) (MPa)
C. Found 10 2314 27.9 25335.3 2.04
C. Beam 31 2270 21.0 18041.6 1.49
Tab. 1 Mechanical performances of parent concrete
The experimental data show that the beams and foundations were made with two types of
concrete and differ by mechanical properties, carbonatation state and composition. The
mechanical behavior and the carbonatation state of the foundation are better than that of the
beam. Moreover, definite compositional differences between the two materials are confirmed
from petrographic analyses on thin sections. Under the polarizing microscope, the conditions
of the concrete in both samples appear overall good. The samples are characterized by the
presence of several types of aggregates, embedded in a fine cement matrix, which may be
distinguished both by mineralogical composition and by size distribution. Polarized light
microscopy analysis performed on sample C. Found revealed, in the fine cement matrix, the
presence of a coarse fraction entirely made of centimetric angular fragments of micritic
(cryptocrystalline) limestone. This component contrasts with a very varied siliciclastic fine-
grained (millimetric to sub-millimetric) fraction, made of granite and metamorphic rock

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fragments, with quartz and feldspar free crystals; all the fragments are sharp-edged. Analyses
on sample C. Beam indicate a more homogeneous siliciclastic composition, with a millimetric-
centimetric fraction prevalently made of angular fragments of granite rocks with various types
of metamorphic rocks (quartzites to metavolcanics), and a fine-grained, sub-millimetric
fraction consisting of the same materials associated to free crystals of quartz, feldspars and
biotite.
2.2 RECYCLED AGGREGATES

Two types of RA have been produced, called respectively recycled aggregate found (RA_F),
obtained from crushed foundation blocks, and recycled aggregate beam (RA_B), obtained
from crushed cantilever beams, both with size 4-16 mm. The two types of RA were subjected
to all the tests complying with UNI EN 12620: 2008 and UNI 8520-1: 2015. In Tab. 2 the
results are shown and in Fig. 1 RA size distribution is reported.
The analysis carried out showed that RA, even if obtained by crushing two different concretes,
have very similar characteristics. In Tab. 2 it can be observed that only four parameters
(Shape Index, Percentage of fines, Content of acid-soluble sulfate, Content of water-soluble
sulfates) out of twenty-one are slightly different.
2.2.1 RESIDUAL MORTAR CONTENT IN RECYCLED CONCRETE AGGREGATES

In RA the adhered cement mortar to the original natural aggregate particles (RMC) influence
significantly physical properties, workability, mechanical performances and durability of RC
(Otsuki et al., 2003; Pani et al., 2011; Pani et al., 2013; Pani et al., 2013; Sánchez de Juan &
Alaejos Gutiérrez, 2009).
100 100
90 90
80 80
70 70
60 % passing RA_B % retained RA_B 60
% retained
% passing
50 % passing RA_F % retained RA_F 50
40 40
30 30
20 20
10 10
0 0
0.063 0.63 6.3 63
Sieve (mm)
Fig. 1 Recycled aggregates size distribution

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Previous studies have attributed the reduction in compressive strength of RC (Tavakoli &
Soroushian, 1996) and in modulus of elasticity (Salem & Burdette, 1998), compared to NC, to
the presence of old mortar adhered.
The determination of the RMC is of critical importance to better understand/evaluate the
properties of concrete incorporating RA. However, there is currently no standard method for
the RMC determination.
The method used in this research, proposed by Abbas et al. in 2007, consists in submitting
representative samples of the RA to daily cycles of freezing and thawing in a solution of
sodium sulphate. The RMC obtained in RA_F and RA_B, divided into two fraction sizes
(retained by 4 mm and 10 mm sieve), is shown in Tab. 3. The test shows that RMC is
significantly similar for RA_F and RA_B.
PROPERTY RA_F RA_B

Size designation 4/16 4/16
Category grading GC 90/15, GT 17.5 GC 90/15, GT 17.5
Flakiness Index 4 4
Shape Index 59 34
3
Saturated surface-dried particle 2.39 Mg/m 2.38 Mg/m3
density
Loose bulk density and voids Ub = 1.23 Mg/m3 v% = 45 Ub = 1.14 Mg/m 3 v% = 49
Percentage of fines 0.15% 0.59%
Percentage of shells absent absent
Resistance to fragmentation 39 39
Constituents of coarse RCA X = 0; Rc = 74%; Ru = 27%; Rb = X = 0; Rc = 78%; Ru = 22%;
0; Ra = 0; Rg = 0 Rb = 0; Ra =0; Rg = 0
Content of water-soluble 0.005% 0.005%
chloride salts
Content of acid-soluble chloride 0.325% 0.325%
salts
Content of acid-soluble 0.43% 0.26%
sulphate
Content of total sulfur S < 0.1% S < 0.1%
Content of water-soluble SS = 0.148% SS = 0.068%
sulphates
Lightweight contaminator absent absent
Water absorption WA24 = 7.0 WA24 = 6.7
Resistance to freezing and 41% 42%
thawing
Resistance to magnesium 2.56% 0%
sulphate
Presence of humus absent absent
Tab. 2 Recycled aggregate test results

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RESIDUAL MORTAR CONTENT IN % RA_F RA_B
Sieve Retained 4 mm 55.81% 49.67%

Sieve Retained 10 mm 45.82% 45.65%
Tab. 3 Residual mortar content
2.3 CONCRETE
CEM II/A-LL 42,5 R was used in all concrete mixes. Coarse natural and coarse recycled
aggregates were used. Crushed natural granite was used as the natural aggregate. Two type
of recycled aggregates (RA_F and RA_B) were used. Natural sand was used as the fine
aggregate in all concrete mixes. A super plasticizer based on polycarboxylate was used in all
the concrete mixtures. RC mixes were produced using different replacement percentages
(30%, 50% and 80%) of coarse RA replacing coarse NA.A total of six RC mixes were produced,
using separately the two types of coarse RA. In comparison an additional mix of NC with only
NA was produced.
In Tab. 4 the proportions for each mix produced are shown. The mix of RC was designated
to include type of coarse RA and aggregate replacement ratio. For example, the designation
RC_F 30% represents a mix containing RA_F with replacement percentage 30% and RC_B
80% represents a mix containing RA_B with replacement percentage 80%.
w/c CEMENT WATER FINE NA COARSE COARSE COARSE ADDITIVE DENSITY

RATIO (kg/m3) (l/m3) (kg/m3) NA RA_F RA_B (kg/m3) (kg/m3)
(kg/m3) (kg/m3) (kg/m3)
NC 0.463 400 185 847.49 880.06 - - 2.91 2322
RC_B 0.463 400 185 821.8 616.04 - 263.69 3.31 2293
30%
RC_F 0.463 400 185 821.8 616.04 263.69 - 3.31 2287
30%
RC_B 0.463 400 185 802.97 440.03 - 440.27 3.31 2298
50%
RC_F 0.463 400 185 802.97 440.03 440.27 - 4.00 2283
50%
RC_B 0.463 400 185 778.15 176.01 - 703.96 4.00 2268
80%
RC_F 0.463 400 185 778.15 176.01 703.96 - 4.00 2229
80%
Tab. 4 Mix proportions of concretes
2.4 CONCRETE TESTS

The workability of the fresh concrete was measured using the standard slump test procedure.
Test were performed soon after the mixing process was completed and then after 30 minutes.
Values are shown in Fig. 2.Slump values of the RC mixes are very similar to NC. Compressive

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and splitting tensile strengths test wereperformedaccording to UNI EN 12390-3: 2009 and
UNI EN 12390-6: 2010. The compressive strength test for each mix was determined at 14
and 28 days, while splitting tensile strength and modulus of elasticity were determined at 28
days.
250 250
Slump 0 min Slump 30 min
200 200
Slump (mm)
Slump (mm)
150 150
100 100
50 50
0 0
NC RC 30% RC 50% RC 80% NC RC 30% RC 50% RC 80%
RA_B RA_F RA_B RA_F
Fig. 2 Slump test immediately and 30 min after
The results of the average compressive strength at 14 and 28 days (Fig. 3) show optimal
performance even when the percentage of coarse RA reaches 80%.
It should also be noted that the compressive strength of RC does not appear to be influenced
by the parent concrete. Rather it results that, in some cases, the compressive strength of RC
is higher than NC. Splitting tensile strength (Fig. 4) is greater or equal for all RC, compared
to NC. This result was expected and can be explained by the greater roughness of RA, that
produces an increase in tensile strength of concrete.
50 50
Compressive Strength 14 days Compressive Strength 28 days
45 45
40 40
35 35
30 30
Rc (MPa)
Rc (MPa)
25 25
20 20
15 15
10 10
5 5
0 0
NC RC 30% RC 50% RC 80% NC RC 30% RC 50% RC 80%
RA_B RA_F RA_B RA_F
Fig. 3 Compressive strength of concrete at 14 and 28 days
The secant modulus of elasticity in compression (Fig. 5) appears slightly lower (limited to a
maximum of 10%) for RC compared to NC. This result was expected and mainly due to the
adherent mortar (Salem & Burdette, 1998). The durability tests on concrete are in progress.

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The first results obtained confirm the optimal performance of RC even when the replacement
percentage reaches 80%.
5
Splitting Tensile Strength
fct (MPa)
2
0
NC RC 30% RC 50% RC 80%
RA_B RA_F
Fig. 4 Splitting tensile strength of concrete
30000
Modulus of Elasticity
25000
20000
Ec (MPa)
15000
10000
5000
0
NC RC 30% RC 50% RC 80%
RA_B RA_F
Fig. 5 Modulus of elasticity of concrete
3 ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY IN CIVIL CONSTRUCTIONS

C&DW materials, according to the Italian Legislation and stated in art.184 of the Legislative
Decree 152/06, are considered part of special waste. The C&DW possess great potential for
reuse, but are generally disposed in landfills, or abandoned abusively with serious
environmental consequences. In Italy, the use of C&DW materials has been limited, after the
processing of waste from secondary raw materials, loose fill material and for road foundations.
In other European countries the resistive and profitable: they are in fact used for more
nobleusessuchas structural concrete. The composition of C&DW is extremely variable
depending by many factors: local building techniques, economic activity and technological
development of the area, the type of raw materials locally available are factors that influence
the composition of debris. The cost of waste disposal, although varying from area to area,

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depends strongly on the distance between the demolition site and the storage facility and is
continuously increasing, given the progressive decrease in the number of landfills.
The recycling of the demolished material meets, therefore, both the needs of the operators
in the sector, whose the possibility of inserting into the production process what was initially
a waste, eliminating the cost of disposal, and the needs of the Public Administrations, facing
the environmental issue. It is not possible to accurately identify the differences in price
between RA and NA, normally the price of RA is about half of NA.
During demolition, generally, an undifferentiated stream of debris is produced, consisting of
heterogeneous fractions, that make difficult any type of recovery operations and compromise
a possible use for manufacturing concrete. In this perspective, the strategic role of waste
mapping to allow maximum recovery of demolition materials (Baiani & Altamura, 2018) and
a preliminary separation of the materials can be convenient, for a future re-use of waste. It
would therefore be very useful to advise waste mapping and selective demolition techniques.
The resulto the RC characteristics produced with RA (Francesconi et al., 2016; Stochino et al.,
2017) must encourage recycling plants to offer different iated materials immediately
marketable, concrete production plants to supply RC to guaranteed performance and the
Public Administrations to draw up Specifications for both RA and RC.
4 CONCLUSIONS
The present research has highlighted that:
− recycled concrete produced with coarsere cycled aggregates has shown equivalent
mechanical performances then those of normal concrete, evenwhen the natural
aggregates replacement percentage reaches 80%.
− the performance of recycled concrete is not related to the parent concrete mechanical
characteristics.
− the results evidenced that the care in the study of the design of the concrete mix is
fundamental for competitive recycled concretes.
− the durability tests on recycled concrete are in progress; preliminary results show the
optimal performance of recycled concrete even in the long term.
− waste mapping and selective demolition should be promoted and enforced wheneve
rpossible. These are: 1) absolute necessities in order to obtain RA for its use in
construction, and 2) good practices for environmental sustainability.
− following the results presented and the extensive international literature on the topic,
Public Administrations must produce specifications that allow the use of recycled
concretes.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Authors would like to acknowledge Sardegna Ricerche for the financial support (POR FESR
2014/2020 - ASSE PRIORITARIO I “RICERCA SCIENTIFICA, SVILUPPO TECNOLOGICO E
INNOVAZIONE).
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AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Luisa Pani is Assistant Professor in Structural analysis and design, Teacher of Structural analysis and
design to Faculty of Engineering and Architecture at the University of Cagliari. Research areas:
Structural restoration, Experimental and theoretical behavior of normal, high and very high strength
concretes, fiber reinforced concrete and concrete made with recycled aggregates.

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Lorena Francesconi is Ph.D. in Structural Engineering, main topics of research: the use of recycled
aggregates to produce structural recycled concrete, study and characterization the behavior of C&DW
and structural recycled concrete to verify the potential applications.
James Rombi Ph.D. in Structural Engineering, main topics of research: the use of C&DW materials
and Granite by-products deriving from Sardinian quarry industry to be used in road pavement layers,
study the behavior of C&DW materials in real working conditions to verify the potential applications.
Stefano Naitza is Assistant Professor in Economic Geology, Teacher of Economic Geology to Faculty
of Sciences and of Geo-resources to Faculty of Engineering and Architecture at the University of
Cagliari. Research areas: geology and genesis of mineral deposits; Critical raw materials; Geo-
resources sustainability and recycling; Environmental characterization and assessment of pollution in
past mining sites.
Ginevra Balletto is Associate Professor in Urban and Territorial planning. Research areas: geo-
resource planning and recycling. She participated in the international competition for the concept of
the new Cagliari stadium (2018), referent urban planning and environmental sustainability.
Giovanni Mei is Ph.D. in Geoengineering and Environmental Technologies, main topics of research:
production, quantity, quality and useof C&DW.

© 2019, FedoaPress

GEODESIGN FAST-WORKSHOPS
EVIDENCES
ON FIELD APPLICATIONS OF COLLABORATIVE
DESIGN APPROACH FOR STRATEGIC PLANNING
AND URBAN RENOVATION
FRANCESCO SCORZA
School of Engineering, University of Basilicata

Laboratory of Urban and Regional Systems
Engineering (LISUT), Italy
e-mail: francesco.scorza@unibas.it
URL: www.lisut.eu

Scorza, F. (2019). Geodesign fast-workshops evidences. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature
6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
The paper presents a critical overview of the main evidences deriving from the development of
two GEODESIGN workshops on the same case study: urb an regeneration programs in Gravina
in Puglia. The field work experiences allowed to reinforce methodological awareness and its
application with heterogeneous focus group. The methodological appraisal is mainly oriented
to highlight positive evidences in workshop management. The case study is representative of
disciplinary debate on Urban regeneration approach in fragile ancient-historic settlement and
for the specific thematic focus (Systems) on which the territorial assessment process had been
delivered (evaluation maps). Urban regeneration is a complex issue strongly characterized by
case study structural features or bindings, actors and beneficiaries, promoters and owners. It
is an effective interdisciplinary scope combining instances of architectural and technological
disciplines but also social sciences and urban economy. We proposed such case study to two
different focus group, whose participants were asked to negotiate strategic development
scenarios starting from basic assumption and a thematic structure of context analysis.
Geodesign meta-planning approach by C. Steinitz demonstrated its effectiveness as a tool to
handle a “negotiation process” among different stakeholders for the achievement of a shared
strategic scenario in a very short timeframe. Works hops were supported by GeodesignHub (an
online platform by Geodesign Hub Pvt. Ltd., Dublin, Ireland), and were prepared according to
Geodesign International Collaboration (IGC) standards.
KEYWORDS
Geodesign; Meta-planning; Strategic Design; Urban Regeneration
F. Scorza
1 INTRODUCTION
At the end of the seventies, the “classical” period of the so-called systemic approach1, relevant
elements of dissatisfaction about the transition from territorial analysis to critical stage of
urban and territorial design persisted.
Such transition remained predominantly linked to the optimization attempt connected to
Operative Research (Friend & Jessop, 1969) and to the flourishing production of simulation
models (cfr. Wilson, 2016).
According to a “new rationality in planning approach”, the rationality of decisions about
citizens’ needs and aspirations and the use of common goods and non-renewable resources
must be considered as a citizen’s right and so a prerequisite in the development of plan
proposals. An approach whose structural methodological background (namely the “toolkit”
(Las Casas & Scorza, 2016)) has to be focused on:
− collective learning processes: the awareness of the interaction of stakeholders and
decision makers on a complex territorial system connected with relevant instances on
social fabric, economy and environment;
− governance processes: that could be applied after the definition of objectives, means
and activities, logical links between the achievement of the desired scenario and
available means, an adequate system of indicators measuring effectiveness and efficacy.
Moreover the concept of sustainability has become a key theme of place/context based
territorial development policies (Las Casas & Scorza, 2009) The “context” is identified not only
with the natural or anthropized environment, but also with the system of public and private
actors that will be involved in the transformations induced by the plan. Often, due to their
different cultural background and their role in the decision-making process, they can have
different views on priority development strategies. The core problem between territorial
analysis (interpretation phase) and design is a problem of communication and shared
understanding among heterogeneous actors. It may be faced – as sometimes solved - by
effective collaboration between various parties involved in the design process (Ballal, 2015).
Similar principles appear to be particularly relevant with regard to the innovations that the
European Directive 42/2001/EC promoted in the process of drawing up the plan with the
introduction of Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), but they are not always
implemented satisfactorily in planning practices (COWI, 2009; Fisher, 2010).The
methodological enrichment brought by the SEA to urban and territorial planning process is

1
Among the authors Mac Loughlin (1969) and Ghadwick (1971).

© 2019, FedoaPress

Geodesign fast-workshops evidences

very close to the concept of Geodesign, which is therefore able to provide a useful guide for
a profitable innovation in practices (Campagna & Di Cesare, 2014). Recent developments in
the disciplinary debate on urban and territorial planning - in the United States of America, but
also in Europe and Asia - propose the concept of Geodesign as a possible methodological
framework for the territorial project (Campagna et al. 2016; Steinitz, 2012). Such
dissemination of the GEODESIGN approach had been traced in the framework of Geodesign
International Collaboration: a spontaneous network of scholars and research institute oriented
to reinforce and spread out potential application of geodesign methodologies in concrete case
study applications.
The recent meeting in Reedland (CA) in Feb. 2019 signed milestone of such academic and
practitioner community interested in GEODESIGN applications and advances. Geodesign can
be defined as the process of integration of methods, techniques and tools of GEO territorial
information sciences to support the design and planning of physical development DESIGN. It
can be described as a multidisciplinary collaboration with direct interaction among design
professionals, geographically oriented scientists, and the people of the place, using available
information technologies (Nyerges et al., 2016).
Geodesign proposes an integrated collaborative and participatory approach starts from the
conceptualization of the project and continues with analysis, simulation, development of
alternatives, and evaluation of impacts and the choice (between the various phases). Central
in Geodesign, is the role of methods and tools of geographic information sciences (Goodchild,
2010) which today (thanks to a great availability of data and processing services) allow the
construction of dynamic cognitive frameworks constantly updated. The aim is therefore to
explicate and strengthen the relationships between knowledge, decision and action in the
project.
This paper, as a development of previous studies (Fiore et al., 2018b) aims at reporting
evidences deriving from geodesign workshop’s experiences delivered on the same case study
area: Gravina in Puglia. In particular we refer to two workshops: the first was held in Gravina
in 2018, the second was held in Matera in 2019. Both experiences can be defined as semi-
simulated workshop: in fact, instead of decision-makers, young students and professionals
was engaged in the workshop.
Participants were characterized by a strong technical background and a specific site
knowledge.In the following sections the description of the case study areas is presented by
the means of evaluation maps (systems land suitability elaboration concerning the local
planning issues), the results of the workshops are synthetically summarized and final
conclusions present success evidences of the implementation.

© 2019, FedoaPress

F. Scorza
2 CASE STUDY AND EVALUATION MAPS

The Municipality of Gravina in Puglia is located in the Murgia area between Puglia and
Basilicata, at the limit between the calcareous plateau of the Murge and the "Fossa Bradanica".
It is therefore included in a territorial function system between Matera (European Capital of
Culture 2019) and Bari, which is going through an intensive tourist development perspective.
Fig. 1 S. Maria Assunta Cathedral, Historic center view of Gravina in Puglia
The historical center is characterized by a vast beauty of the traditional urban environment,
with partially restored historic buildings, and a settlement in a unique landscape scenery: the
Gravina. Various forms of settlements along the slopes of the Gravina on the calcarenitic
outcrops have developed over the centuries.
Fig. 2 Fondovito and Piaggio neighbourhood in Gravina in Puglia
These settlements, which use the terraces as well as natural and artificial cavities, are the
result of a close union between the geomorphological conditions of the places and the
economic and social needs of the populations.

© 2019, FedoaPress


The peculiar morphology of space has suggested the idea of recovery that takes shape
through the principle of excavation and subtraction: ARCHITECTURE IN LEVING, consisting
of digging and building in the same place, creating a sort of positive and negative: a city
under the city. In fact, in ancient times, it was excavated in domestic quarries to use the
material produced to build the above dwellings, such as the cave house, or cavati.
The historic center is therefore characterized by the presence of important neighborhoods
that are in a state of neglect and degradation, with the presence of abandoned buildings that
show structural weaknesses. These situations have caused over the years: depopulation,
environmental degradation, the isolation of some areas and, at the same time, the
inaccessibility to them.
The historic center has been the subject of urban regeneration in recent years, with specific
interventions in three main areas of the historic center: on Via Giudice Montea – Cavati, along
the monumental axis and in the Fondovito neighborhood.
According to GEODESIGN methodology, local context analysis were organized in 10 Systems.
Each system represents a key layer we adopted to organize project knowledge. In the
following Fig. 3 the 10 suitability maps (evaluation maps) are shown.
The basic planning assumption is related to three main current development issues for the
“Gravina in Puglia” municipality:
− tourism development;
− protection and enhancement of cultural and environmental heritage;
− recovery of residency.
In facts, the municipality of “Gravina in Puglia”, through a process of urban regeneration,
aims to improve the habitability and liveability of the historic centre with targeted actions in
the field of mobility, green infrastructures, protection and enhancement of natural
environment, social policies and housing.
The potential project categories discussed during the workshop mainly regard:
− accessibility and sustainable mobility (promoting pedestrian and excursion practicability)
through the recovery of paths, historical and internal roads to the historical centre;
− increase of territorial security (urban resilience);
− defence and enhancement of historical, architectural and environmental heritage;
− redevelopment, re-use and establishment of new urban functions in public and private
building stock;
− sustainable tourism (favouring the establishment of tourist, cultural, commercial and
handicraft activities).

© 2019, FedoaPress

F. Scorza
Fig. 3 Evaluation Maps on 10 Systems for Geodesign workshop
3 WORKSHOPS REPORTS AND FINAL REMARKS

The two workshops were started in different contexts: the first one, held in Gravina, had been
developed in the research carried out by Pietro Fiore for the preparation of his Master thesis,
the second was organized by Prof. Piergiuseppe Pontrandolfi in Matera Campus as a seminar
for architecture students. Both were conducted in a very short time frame: about 6 hours.
Such organization depended on specific instances of participants (difficulties in attending 2
days agenda) or deriving from the framework structure of organization (i.e. the university
seminar has to be schedule in 1 day at least).
In the following list, the main positive aspects characterizing the two experiences are quoted.
They are key points deriving from the methodological framework of GEODESIGN and from
the perception of participants’ satisfaction/engagement in active participation in the
workshop:
− GEODESIGN as a method (and as a process) works! In fact, according to very synthetic
presentation and introduction on the methodological framework and case study
assumptions given at the very beginning of the activity, participants mainly understood

© 2019, FedoaPress


the procedure and handle the tools proposed by conductor during workshop
implementation;
− GEODESIGN HUB, as a fundamental ICT tool, works! The success of the process depends
on the easy-to-use feature of Geodesign Hub platform. It is an online framework,
provided by H. Ballal (Ballal, 2015), fully oriented to procedural implementation of
Geodesign Workshop. Each participant registered an individual account managing his
own interaction in the process, and progressively groups of users are managed through
the platform and the final stage of negotiation was supported by;
− Short time frame is nice but …. The workshop delivered in a very short time frame
demonstrated that the strongest and effective features of GEODESIGN as a method. In
fact, 1 conductor is sufficiently able to handle all phases of the workshop in a framework
of participants enough committed with the general scope of the territorial application.
On the contrary, during field activities, it becomes more and more important to dedicate
time on the explanation of local contexts analysis. Even if evaluation maps represents
an understandable way of managing synthetic and thematic elaboration for the design
phase, participants expressed the willingness to go in deep and to understand more
about those analytical processes and assumptions which allowed to deliver such
suitability maps.
The following picture represents in a schematic way the workshop results. More than to
explore details of designs selected/negotiated by the groups of participants, it was useful to
understand how, starting form blank page the workshop, in almost 6 hours, participants
delivered a synthetic strategic development scenario, integrating several domains of
interventions (the 10 systems), operating in an interaction environment basically focused in
the identification and discussion of specific “designs”. The territorial dimension is a
fundamental feature for each design: you have to draw it on the map. This represents a
critical stage of the conceptual elaboration which drastically simplifies the proposal and the
comparison between competitive ones. In fact, the participant in order to provide a potential
solution to a specific need of the context, he has to produce not a generic narrative (potentially
vague) of an intervention category, but a place-based intervention. This approach allow the
benchmark with other proposal and at least facilitates the capacity of participants to agree on
a common set of designs to be included in their shared scenario.
The research development looks at reinforcing application structure of the methodology over
real decision-making process concerning territorial transformation. A specific feature of the
contribution that the LISUT group intends to develop in the wider framework of Geodesign
International Collaboration is to combine (at least integrate) GEODESIGN with Logical
Framework Approach methodology. The second represent a rational structure in order to

© 2019, FedoaPress

F. Scorza
identify and organize in a cause-effect relation the territorial problems at the basis of a
planning activities, producing synthetic tools for the strategic program structure identification
and monitoring. GEODESIGN represents the effective way to manage interactions in decision
making process on a collaborative and inclusive participatory structure. Combination of such
approaches promises to be effective with potentials to be applied extensive as a fundamental
component of the planning toolkit.
Fig. 4 Strategic design delivered in the Geodesign workshop in Gravina in Puglia
REFERENCES
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College London)
Campagna, M., Di Cesare, A. E. (2014). Geodesign from theory to practice: in the search for geodesign
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Campagna, M., Di Cesare, E. A., Matta, A., Serra, M. (2018) Bridging the gap between strategic
environmental assessment and planning: A geodesign perspective. International Journal of E-Planning
Research, vol.7, pp. 34-52

© 2019, FedoaPress


Campagna, M., Steinitz, C., Di Cesare, E. A., Cocco, C., Ballal, H., Canfield, T. (2016) Collaboration in
planning: the Geodesign approach. Rozwój Regionalny i Polityka Regionalna 35, pp. 55–72
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COWI (2009) Study concerning the report on the application and effectiveness of the SEA Directive
(2001/42/EC), DG Environment European Commission, Report no. p-67683-a, Issue n.2
Fischer, T. B. (2010) Reviewing the quality of strategic environmental assessment reports for English
spatial plan core strategies, Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 30(1): 62-69.
Pietro, F., Padula, A., Pilogallo, A., Scorza, F. (2018) Facing urban regeneration issues through
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WEB SITES
https://www.envizz1.com/
AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Francesco Scorza is Assistant Professor of Urban and Regional Planning at University of Basilicata.
Main research interests are in regional development, urban and regional planning, impact assessment
of plans and projects, advanced KMS, spatial analysis, participation, sustainability, technologies as
DSS. Coordinator for the participation of UNIBAS in International Geodesign Collaboration (IGC).

© 2019, FedoaPress

GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE AS A
TOOL OF URBAN REGENERATION,
FOR AN EQUITABLE AND
SUSTAINABLE PLANNING
AN APPLICATION CASE AT L’EIXAMPLE,
BARCELONA
&/$5$$/9$8025$/(67$1-$&21*,8
ALESSANDRO PLAISANT
Department of Architecture, Design and

Urbanism University of Sassari, Italy
e-mail: claralvau@tiscali.it
tanjacongiu@uniss.it
plaisant@uniss.it

Alvau Morales, C., Congiu, T., and Plaisant, A. (2019). Gree infrastructure as a tool of urban regeneration, for
an equitable and sustainable planning. An application case at l’Eixample, Barcelona. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi
6, doi: 10.6093/978-88-6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
Green infrastructure concept, as a possible solution to tackle some territorial challenges, is
mainly applied on a territorial scale, while on the urban one it’s still little explored. This study
questions the green infrastructure value as a spatial device in urban regeneration processes,
proposing a reinterpretation and an operative method of project action. The proposed green
infrastructure model incorporates and combines the environmental and sustainable components,
with those of urban life organization (activities and services, transport, quality of open and built-
up area) and helps to improve their quality and mutual relationships. The description of specific
requirements and the definition of indicators by which to measure the context starting conditions
and the transformation effects, guide the decision-maker in carrying out the interventions,
mainly through the requirements of multi-scalarity, accessibility, environmental sustainability,
spaces and services quality and comfort and urban resilience. The model is applied to the
districts of L’Esquerra de l’Eixample in Barcelona, characterized by high population density,
pollution problems and lack of greenery. It acts on three interconnected different scales: urban,
through linear interventions that build connections and continuity; neighborhood, with smaller
but distributed interventions on block interiors; local, linking the scattered elements in the
territory portions through paths. An integrated system of public spaces, services and green
areas is thus outlined, guaranteeing access to urban opportunities by developing a system of
connections alternative to motorized traffic able to connect the population with natural and
anthropic resources and with the urban settlement new life centers.
KEYWORDS
Urban Green Infrastructures; Ecosystem Services; Connectivity, Accessibility and Mobility
C. Alvau Morales, A. Plaisant, T. Congiu
1 INTRODUCTION
The Green Infrastructure (GI) concept (Andreucci, 2017; Angrilli, 2010; Benedict, 2006; EC,
2013; Natural England, 2009), even if appeared in the literature in fairly recent times
(Benedict, 2002; EC, 2009; Landscape Institute, 2009; Natural England, 2009; Trust for Public
Land, 2000), has been implemented widely on a territorial scale by demonstrating the great
effectiveness of this approach, in facing the major challenges for the sustainability of people
and their living environment. On the contrary, on an urban scale, despite the numerous
studies emphasizing the constitutive elements and its benefits (Angrilli, 2003; Benedict, 2006;
EEA, 2011a; Gill, 2007; Hansen, 2017; Landscape Institute, 2009; Zanon, 2003), it turns out
to be a less explored approach, as the implementation in real urban contexts generated
various difficulties due to the complex and composite nature of cities. In this paper, we
propose a new concept of urban green infrastructure which brings together the multiple
components of built environment and, through a multifunctional and interscalar approach
(Andreucci, 2017; EEA, 2011a; Lafortezza et al. 2013; Landscape Institute, 2009; Scudo,
2003; Shashua-Bar, 2000) goes beyond the original conception of a network of existing and
new natural spaces. With this purpose, the proposed green infrastructure model incorporates
and combines the spatial components with ecological functionalities, with some important
elements of urban life organization (activities and services, transport facilities, open and built-
up areas, ...), with the aim of improving their single specific qualities and enhancing their
mutual relationships. The new green infrastructure identifies a system of well-connected
natural and human-made elements, which constitute a new base at support of society,
economy and territory and necessary for the generation and fulfillment of efficient urban
ecosystem services (COM, 2009; EEA, 2010). According with this conception, an operative
method for planning and design the revisited concept of green infrastructure at urban scale
is proposed together with an application in two districts of Barcelona (Spain). The
methodological and operational discussion offers the opportunity to highlight the great
potential of the proposed spatial model as an operational tool for urban regeneration
processes. The article is structured as follows: in the first section, we introduce our formulation
of urban green infrastructure with respect to the cultural evolution of the concept. In section
two we describe an operative method of project action centered on GI concept, intended to
guide urban regeneration processes at urban scale. The method consists in the identification
of 4 dimensions to act, declined in targets to be pursued, requirements to be met and
corresponding possible lines of action. A set of indicators to be considered for measuring both
the starting conditions of the context and the effects of transformations is also provided.
Finally, the practical application in the district of the Esquerra de l'Eixample in Barcelona, gives

© 2019, FedoaPress

Green infrastructure as a tool of urban regeneration, for an equitable and sustainable planning.
An application case at l'Eixample, Barcelona

evidence to the potentialities of the proposed planning model as a multidimensional generator
of relationship from the urban to the neighborhood scale.
2 METHOD
The main qualities of GIs are their multi-functionality and intercalarily, that is the ability of the
model, on the one hand to provide different linked functions and advantages on the same
area, on the other the applicability and replicability of this model on different spatial scales
(Allen, 2012; Bolund, 1999; City Council of Vitoria-Gasteiz, 2014; EC, 2013; EEA, 2014). The
importance of this approach in the urban environment comes up immediately if we think of
the number of environmental problems that affect the livability of cities: heat island effect,
environmental and noise pollution, lack of green areas, and water management. However,
the quality of life in cities also depends on the availability, efficiency and effective accessibility
to urban opportunities.
In other words, the livability of cities depends on a sensible and efficient organization of the
ways people practice the urban space. Therefore, there also arises the need to integrate
within the GI urban elements and hubs of social, cultural and commercial activities such as
public services and offices, open and built-up spaces, libraries markets, schools, sport and
cultural associations, gyms, commercial activities of different scales, medical clinics,
museums, etc. All these elements are apparently extraneous to the traditional conception of
a GI but represent instead the daily life in all its urban diversity and variety. As such we believe
they can establish a synergy with the green components, thus giving shape to a new concept
of GI. This need to expand the urban GI concept and include new structural elements, comes
from a detailed analysis on the requirements that recent urban regeneration models, like Arup
(2013), 100 Resilient Cities, Community hub, PPS, take into consideration: all together they
provide an exhaustive overview of the contemporary urban condition , but above all they
highlight fundamental requirements to lead a process of urban regeneration.
The model we propose gives prime importance to the integration of four dimensions of urban
life which refer to four different research areas: environmental quality, protection of nature
and biodiversity, quality of life and social capital and organization of urban settlement. Such
dimensions are currently studied and planned as separate domains. We focus our attention
on the mutual correspondences and the operative interventions to make them interact.
The four dimensions structured into targets, requirements and indicators, led to the definition
of an experimental interpretative and planning model which elects Urban Green Infrastructure
as an operational approach for urban regeneration. The model combines elements and
PLANNING, NATURE AND 455 ISBN: 978-88-6887-xxx-x

ECOSYSTEM SERVICES DOI: 10.6093/978-88-6887-xxx-x
© 2019, FedoaPress

indicators common lyutilized and experimented in previous studies on GI with others aspects
established ex-novo with the aim of achieving multifunctionality and transversality.
The set of indicators included in the model takes into consideration on the one hand features
typical of conventional concept of green infrastructure such as green areas for mitigation of
pollution ordecline of built environment,; on the second hand indicators refer to other
structural components of the city that in our opinion are essential to increase urban liveability
and well-being, because of the relationships established at different scales with the first group
of elements. For example, the availability, variety and accessibility to facilities and public
spaces that enhance the opportunities for social interaction and healthy lifestyles.

Fig. 1 Model structureproviding a description of the new urban green infrastructure approach (own
elaboration)

© 2019, FedoaPress


3 CASE STUDY
3.1 STUDY CONTEXT

The model has been implemented in the neighborhood of Esquerra de l'Eixample in Barcelona.
This district is characterized by highlevels of building and population density, air and noise
pollution, traffic congestion and lack of open spaces and greenery (see Fig. 2).
By considering the high density of people and buildings, (390.6 inh/ha against the city average
of 158.7 inh/ha) and the opposite low level of greenery, it’s clear the predominance of massive
buildings, mainly private, over public open space. As a consequence, he borough presents
alack of pro-capitagreen areas (1.47 m2/inh, against an urban average of 7.1 m2/inh) as
reportedby the Statistics Department of Barcelona which recommends a minimum standard
of 5 m2/inh. (2018).
With regard to air pollution, the particulate and NO2 values (PM10 and PM2.5) result both
above the maximum limits regulated by the World Health Organization, while more than 70%
of the population is exposed to noise values higher than those allowed during daytime (and
75% higher than nighttime threshold) (Aspb, 2017; City Council of Barcelona, 2012).
Public spaces are limited in number and extension (1.12 m2/inh. against an urban average of
7.85 m2/inh. - minimum value 10 m2/inh.) together with pedestrian areas (only 11% of the
total area) in favor of motorized mobility (Statistics Department of Barcelona, 2018). Despite
these unfavourable measures, the neighborhood presents several potentialities to be
enhanced and made fruitful by mean of a UGI project.
For example the regular street and block pattern together with the plentiful space devoted to
mobility offer a high connectivity between functions and the possibility to diversify transport
modes in favour of sustainable ones which result more convenient and pleasant; the presence
of scattered courtyards accessible to the public which accommodate local services and the
reclamation of small-scale public places by local non-profit organisations and groups of
residents represent tangible evidences towards the construction of a system of public spaces
which combine urban resilience-oriented functionalities typical of GI with increasing
opportunities of access to urban amenities and social cohesion. The integration of these
dimensions in a new UGI enhance the city antifragility (Blecic and Cecchini , 2016).


© 2019, FedoaPress

MODEL INDICATORS VALUES
REQUIREMENTS
ESQUERRA DE
BARCELONA
DIMENSIONS
L'EIXAMPLE
INDICATORS
REFERENCE
EIXAMPLE
SOURCE
GOALS
YEAR
UNIT
Innovation in Number of green walls 0 13 156 Unit 2018 Own elaboration
green
implementation Number of green roofs 5 14 126 Unit 2018 Own elaboration
Own
elaboration+Departament
Tree cover 6.2 Ha 2018
d'Estadística i Difusió de
Natural Dades de Barcelona
Vegetational connections and Tree cover on total
vertical and green corridors 41.80% % 2018 Own elaboration
green
horizontal
Agencia d’Ecologia Urbana
connectivity Wealth of tree species 18 Unit 2014
de Barcelona. 2014
Population percentage
with green > = 1000m2 50.43% % 2017 Own elaboration
Resources at less than 300 m
accessibility Population percentage
with green> = 3.5 ha 24.70% % 2017 Own elaboration
at less than 750 m
Protecting nature Departament d'Estadística
Number of urban and
and biodiversity 12 44 392 Unit 2018 i Difusió de Dades de
community gardens
Differentiation of Barcelona
green Departament d'Estadística
Conservation and Number of urban
1 4 86 Unit 2018 i Difusió de Dades de
increase of parks
Barcelona
species and Public green Departament d'Estadística
habitats percentage on total 5.75% 6,52% 27,85% % 2018 i Difusió de Dades de
Increase of the
area Barcelona
green urban
Departament d'Estadística
surface
Green per capita 1.47 1.83 7.1 5,0 MIN m2/hab 2018 i Difusió de Dades de
Barcelona
Permeable surface on
5.75% 6,52% 27,85% % 2018 i Difusió de Dades de
Permeabilization waterproof surface
Efficient Barcelona
of urban space
management of Permeable surface in Jardins interiors d'illa de
28916 m2 2018
the water cycle internal blocks l'Eixample Barcelona
Rainwater Number of rainwater
4 4 35 Unit 2018 Barcelona sostenible
recovery collection tanks
Number of outdoor
2 4 44 Unit 2018 i Difusió de Dades de
sports areas
Barcelona
Promotion of a
healthy and active
Number fitness trail 2 4 33 Unit 2018 i Difusió de Dades de
Ensuring health lifestyle
Barcelona
and wellbeing for
Number of
citizens 20 90 871 Unit 2018 Own elaboration
playgrounds
Limit the excessive Surface intended for
132.3 372.1 2590 Ha 2016 i Difusió de Dades de
construction of the residential use
Barcelona
urban plot
Population density 390.6 356.3 158.7 ab/ha 2016 Own elaboration
Number of streets
with pedestrian 1 Unit 2018 Own elaboration
priority
Increase the use of
Total area of the areas
the streets as a
with pedestrian 2.8 8.7 126.8 Ha 2016 Own elaboration
Ensuring a good public and
priority
quality of life and aggregation space
Percentage of areas Departament d'Estadística
increasing social %
Ensuring outdoor with pedestrian 3.25% 3.22% 5.60% 2018 i Difusió de Dades de
capital
spaces quality priority Barcelona
Public space per capita 1.12 2.15 7.85 10 MIN m2/hab 2016 Own elaboration
Number of
Ensure an intergenerational and
18 Unit 2018 Own elaboration
adequate number multifunctional
of public spaces meeting places
Number of recovered Jardins interiors d'illa de
15 45 77 Unit 2018
internal blocks l'Eixample Barcelona
Number of
450 933 6611 Unit 2018 Own elaboration
associations
Social cohesion
Number "casals"
and egalitarian 6 25 240 Unit 2018 Own elaboration
(meeting places)
Increasing spaces
Number of civic
resilience capacity 2 6 51 Unit 2018 Own elaboration
centers
Training, Number of schools
education and participating in urban 13 33 350 Unit 2018 Own elaboration
participation sustainability projects
Number of libraries 2 9 68 Unit 2018 Own elaboration
Number of museums 0 14 69 Unit 2018 Own elaboration
Number of theaters 4 19 107 Unit 2018 Own elaboration
Enhance and
Improving the Number of cinema 4 13 39 Unit 2018 Own elaboration
increase urban Access to cultural
organization of Proximity to "bicing"
urban settlement
complexity and opportunities 100% % 2018 Own elaboration
services station or parking
Proximity to
alternative transport 100% % 2018 Own elaboration
network
Fig. 2 Operationalisation of the UGI: selection of indicators and their measure in the study context (own elaboration

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3.2 PROJECT ACTIONS STRATEGY
In order to implement the proposed new model of UGI, the project actions have been
subdivided into three categories (activator, supporting and completing projects) and three
intervention scales (urban, neighborhood and local scale). A constant attention to the
processuality, multifunctionalty and multiscalarity of actions lead the implementation of the
revisited model of urban green infrastructure.
Fig. 3 Project strategy
The activator projects trigger the district regeneration process because of their potential to
activate new spatial and social relationships by responding to specific needs of inhabitants at
the local and metropolitan scale.
These projects are drawn from the policy programs of the municipality.
They include urban-scale and neighborhood-scale interventions.
At the urban scale two axes play a structuring role by connecting the neighborhood with
important nodes of services at the metropolitan scale: the north-south axis, Carrer Borrell,

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connects Av. Diagonal to the Old Town by Sant Antoni neighborhood; the west-east axis, Av.
de Roma, connects to Sants railway station and the rest of the city.
These roads, currently used for vehicular traffic, become new tree-lined boulevards that link
residents to possible destinations through a space suitable for walking, cycling and resting
that encourage social relationships and simultaneously mitigates urban disturbances. The road
section is redesigned making space to non-motorized mobility and areas for collective use.
Interventions incorporate ecological and social functionalities respectively aimed at reducing
environment decline processes such as soil permeabilization, noise and air pollution, greenery
fragmentation and enhance public health and well-being (easier access to green areas, public
spaces and playgrounds and greater capacity of outdoor activities, socialization, physical
activity).
At the neighborhood scale, a pivotal role is assigned to the ongoing urban reclamation process
of block interiors, endorsed by the City Council of Barcelona (2013) and some associations of
citizens. A number of block interiors have been converted into new small-scale public spaces,
often encompassing community services and green areas (job placement, welfare, recreation
center, sports equipment, playgrounds, parks…)with the attempt to increase the supply of
urban facilities, getting ecosystem services available and closer to as many residents as
possible. Moreover, the involvement of group of citizens in the rehabilitation and maintenance
of the network of block interiors enhance the social potential of these UGI components as
meeting and cohesive places at the neighborhood scale. As such they act as activating
elements of social and spatial connections.
The supporting projects reinforce the effect and benefits generated by the activator ones and
support them through actions aimed at consolidating and improving the former. They find
strength and advantage from the activator projects, configuring themselves as an integral
part of the overall project.
They include interventions at the local scale.
Interventions take advantage of the linearity and continuity of the urban fabric of the district,
to increase the connectivity of the nodes of services important at urban and local scale. A
regular network of tree-lined multimodal streets combining all transport modes ensures a
safe, comfortable and convenient access to the existent and new urban centralities. In this
way the accessibility to urban services increase because of the major number of alternatives
available to reach opportunities as well as the propension of people for interaction and
healthier lifestyles.
The Complementary projects take on a transversal nature by relating, involving them in the
process, the precedents with the interventions already planned, whether in the neighborhood

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or in the adjacent territory. Complementary projects include, even interventions not belonging
to the study area, but which may be influenced by the proposed design process.
They include intervention on a neighborhood and local scale.
Both on a neighborhood and local scale, following the criterion of replicability and
interscalarity, the extension of the application of the model to the rest of the neighborhood
and district is expected. Therefore, other block interiors are identified, able to complete the
processes and dynamics triggered within the neighborhood, through the pursuit of the same
requirements previously taken into consideration and the relative identification of other
internal paths that relate, as they do was described in projects of support, spatiality, entities
and subjects within a smaller scale.
On an urban scale, the project is framed on linearity and continuity.
On a neighborhood scale, on and capillary interventions.
On a local scale, the two previous methodologies are integrated, partially acting in a linear
way, combining the different elements scattered throughout the urban area.
3 CONCLUSIONS
The proposed model operates on different levels in a transversal way, leveraging on some
aspects and factors that drive the urban renewal and support a different organisation of urban
services and a better quality of life. It acts in particular on:
− plan of physical-spatial relationships;
− green infrastructure as an interscalar and intersectoral tool;
− green infrastructure as a relationship element, through an approach based on the
diversification of the shape, not only linear.
It acts in a transversal way on the problems and critical issues of the context, integrating and
relating to different scales and spheres of action, in a simultaneous and integrated manner.
It also acts on the physical connections, between the elements present in the context,
differentiating and adapting the type of intervention and its form: linear, capillary, mixed.
− Green infrastructure as an element of activation of social capital

If there were no stakeholders, with participation and attachment to the place, by virtue of a
care, quality and redevelopment of the spaces, the interventions would take on less force.
The development of social relations guarantees the resilience and continuity of the process,
so that, paradoxically, projects on a local scale, where the subjects are closely involved in the
process, in a direct and daily manner, could become stronger and more resilient than those
managed directly by the municipality.

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− The green infrastructure as an element of coordination of the planning interventions of

urban policies
With the aim of proposing a model of urban regeneration, there’s the need to think of an
integrated management model, which takes into account the different projects in progress,
which integrate them and provide a design hierarchy, based on the effects that will determine
and will trigger in the context, so as to be able to program a gradual and complete
intervention, coordinated in a heterogeneous and transversal manner. We propose a
reinterpretation of the conventional concept, by virtue of an operational method of orientation
of the design action. Starting from a concept of green infrastructure exclusively referred to
the environmental components, their ecosystem services and their importance in the urban
context, we finally arrive at the structuring of a spatial device, a guide as, a guide for decision-
makers to support urban regeneration processes. It takes into account 4 dimensions
(management, natural, social and settlement) closely related to each other with a
contextualised and precise approach, making this tool able to manage the urban context, its
problems and solutions. In conclusion the approach allows to focus not only on the different
and interrelated dimensions, but rather in the actual management of the features, social,
urban, or political. Therefore, through the construction of environmental connections, first of
all, spatial, social, between projects and the management of planning processes aimed at
guaranteeing good living conditions in the space.
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WEB SITES
https://www.100resilientcities.org/; http://www.aspb.cat/, http://www.communityhub.it/;

https://www.pps.org/; http://lameva.barcelona.cat/; http://www.bcn.cat/estadistica ;
AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Clara Alvau Morales, was born in Barcelona (Spain) in 1994 and raised in Alghero, Sardinia.
“Con-divisione di spazi e frammenti", in which, starting from the new urban model of the city of
Barcelona "La Superilla", was proposed an extension of the model, which allows the application of this
also in irregular and deferred fabric of Cerdà , with a final evaluation of 110/110 and praise. Afterwards
she started the European master and degree in "Planning and policies for the city, the Since April 2017
she did a 4-month training period at the "Z Studio" in Alghero, where she collaborated with the
professionals appointed to draft the first Municipal Urban Planning Plan (PUC) of Alghero and the
Littoral Use Plan (PUL) of the city, with subsequent presentation to the municipal administration. The
master thesis is being finalized, dealing with the theme addressed in this paper.
Tanja Congiu, temporary Assistant Professor of Transports at the Department of Architecture, Design
and Urban Planning - University of Sassari. Civil engineer and Phd in land use and transport planning,
her research activity focuses on mobility and transport issues with a particular concern for the
interactions between built environment configuration, sustainable transport policies and trends in
travel behavior. Recent studies deal with methods and tools to measure, assess and enhance urban
walkability intended as one central quality in the design of urban realm. Consultant for local authorities
in transport planning at different spatial levels based on sustainable mobility solutions.
Alessandro Plaisant is an associate professor of the Department of Architecture, Design and Urban
Planning, the University of Sassari, where teachs Urban Planning and Analysis of urban systems. He
held a Ph.D. at the University of Cagliari, after spending eight months as a fellow at the School of
Anthropology, Geography and Environmental Studies, the University of Melbourne, focusing his
pluralism-oriented tools. Among his recent publications: Urban regeneration of peripheral areas: the
critical role of the connective space in an italian city. (Aa.Vv) Urban Design Journal, 2018; Risk
Prevention and Management. A Multi-actor and Knowledge-Based Approach in Low Density Territories
(Aa.Vv.), Computational Science and its Applications (ICCSA 2017), in Gervasi, O., Murgante, B. et. al.
(Eds.), Springer (ISBN 978-3-319-62397-9), Switzerland.

© 2019, FedoaPress

THE VALUE OF WATER
ECOSYSTEM SERVICES TRADE-
OFFS AND SYNERGIES OF URBAN
LAKES IN ROMANIA
*DENISA LAVINIA BADIU

&5,67,$1,2$1,2-Ă
ALINA CONSTANTINA HOSSU
Centre for Environmental Research and Impact

Studies, University of Bucharest, Romania
e-mail: denisabadiu@gmail.com
URL: https://ccmesi.ro/

D.L.Badiu, D.L., Iojă, C.I., Hossu, A.C., Niță, M.R. & Vânău, G.O. (2019). The value of water: ecosystem
services trade-offs and synergies of urban lakes in Romania.. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature
6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
The United States Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA) provides an interesting definition
Blue infrastructure in the form of lakes, rivers and wetlands have re-emerged as important
ecosystems in the urban environment, with a high ca pacity of providing co-benefits and
improving human health and well-being. Along with green infrastructure, water surfaces such
as urban lakes can help tackle environmental challenges that cities are facing, such as climate
change, water scarcity and pollution or surface runoff management. Urban lakes contribute with
a wide range of ecosystem services, from provisioning and regulating to cultural services but
how this co-benefits are valued is not entirely comp rehended. Our analysis tries to understand
how local people value ecosystem services and disservices associated with urban lakes in order
to establish the baseline knowledge for urban planning. We used a survey applied both online
and face-to-face to collect data regarding the public perception on 4 case study lakes. To
establish and group the most important ecosystem services and disservices associated with
urban lakes, we applied a Principal Component Analysis. We found that local people greatly
appreciate regulating services but they also acknowledge several issues that are determined by
management practices. The evaluation of ecosystem services provided by urban lakes offers
valuable knowledge that can facilitate the urban planning process towards a smart, sustainable
and resilient city.
KEYWORDS
Urban Lakes; Ecosystem Services; Trade-offs; Local Knowledge
* The other authors are: Mihai Răzvan Nită, Gabriel Ovidiu Vânău.
D.L. Badiu, C.I. Iojă, A.C. Hossu et al.
1 INTRODUCTION
Mounting levels of urbanisation have defined the last decades and have led to environmental
challenges that affect the health and quality of life of residents (Wigginton, 2016). As a
consequence, open public spaces such as green or blue infrastructure are regarded as
valuable solutions to tackle global challenges such as excessive land use transformations,
water management issues and climate change (Kammen & Sunter, 2016).
Climate change is often associated with industrial and urban activities and the main cause for
that is the issuance of greenhouse gases from transportation and energy production (Kelly &
Zhu, 2016). In this context, blue-green infrastructure has the capacity of providing ecosystem
services in a transformed environment, in order to mitigate environmental issues and to
improve people’s wellbeing. Urban blue infrastructure includes rivers, lakes and wetlands that
are located within an urban environment and can provide one or several functions.
Urban lakes are natural or artificially developed areas that have the capacity of providing basic
resources for local people such as fish or water supply for drinking and various other activities
(Breuste et al., 2013; Rodríguez et al., 2006). Besides direct benefits, urban lakes provide
regulating ecosystem services that contribute to a healthier and safer environment, by
mitigating climate change effects, water and air purification and flood control (Gómez-
Baggethun et al., 2013). In addition to this, lakes in urban environments improve landscape
aesthetics and by providing recreation areas can contribute to social cohesion, mental and
physical health (Vierikko & Niemelä, 2016).
In order to improve and to maintain the provisioning of ecosystem services of lakes, urban
planners and authorities have to also take into account the disservices or problems that can
occur and to find solutions to better manage them.
Disservices associated with urban lakes can relate to: fostering wild or semi-wild animals,
seen as disease vectors (Lyytimäki et al., 2008) or increased risk of flooding in the proximity
of shore lakes (Lewis et al., 2017).
Another disservice associated with urban lakes can refer to unmanaged areas that can become
unsafe for visitors (Gómez-Baggethun & Ruiz-Pérez, 2011). The supply of ecosystem services
or, in the contrary, the emergence of environmental issues, depend on the management
capacity and how urban lakes are governed.
Water ecosystems can be developed within cities to minimize flood risks (Li et al., 2017) or
surface runoff (Walsh et al., 2012) or to provide space for recreation or other cultural activities
(Allan et al., 2015; Voigt & Wurster, 2015).
So for urban lakes to be regarded as a nature-based solution for tackling environmental
challenges and to improve the supply of ecosystem services, either provisioning, regulating

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The value of water: ecosystem services trade-offs and synergies of urban lakes in Romania

and cultural, urban planners and responsible actors have to manage them as attractive and
safe public spaces. For the purpose of an efficient planning, improved knowledge on the most
relevant ecosystem services and disservices is needed.
Our study aims at (1) identifying the most important ecosystem services of urban lakes and
(2) establishing the most important disservices of urban lakes that could lead to trade-offs.
2 METHODOLOGY
In order to collect data regarding the public perception on ecosystem services and disservices
of urban lakes we used a survey, applied both online and face-to-face, in the proximity of 4
case study lakes: Morii Lake, Herastrau Lake (Bucharest), Ciurel Lake (Targu Jiu) and Portile
de Fier (Orsova).
The lakes chosen for the case studies cover a diversity of landscapes and functionalities. Morii
Lake is an anthropic dam lake along the DamboviĲa River, located in a mixed functional area
(collective and individual dwellings, industrial spaces, flooding areas, abandoned lands), with
a surface of 246 hectares. Herastrau Lake has a surface of 76 hectares and is part of one of
the largest urban parks in Bucharest and it was developed on a former swamp area. Ciurel
Lake is a 56 hectares lake, located in a smaller city than Bucharest.
Its right lakeshore is represented by residential and industrial functions while the left one is
neighboured by green areas. Portile de Fier is the largest lake in Romania and is located near
diverse constructions and forested and aquatic natural areas.
Respondents were asked to answer to an 18-item questionnaire, on a 5-point Likert scale (1,
very low importance – 5, very high importance). The survey covered information on the
respondents’ profile and on the way, they value 29 ecosystem services and 18 disservices
associated with urban lakes.
The questionnaires were carried out between May-October 2017, both using an online
platform and also in the proximity of urban lakes. To ensure a proper sample, we applied the
questionnaires in days with favourable weather conditions, between 8.00 am – 22.00 pm (Iojă
et al., 2011; Sanesi & Chiarello, 2006).
We distributed 323 questionnaires from which we validated a number of 314, containing
replies for all 18 items. To establish and group the most important ecosystem services
provided by urban lakes, we applied a principal component analysis.
The purpose of the analysis is to reduce the number of variables to a lower number of principal
components that would better explain the variance of data and to identify the most important
services and disservices generated by urban lakes (Fig. 1, Fig. 2).

© 2019, FedoaPress

Fig. 1 Ecosystem services, provided by urban lakes, selected for analysis
Fig. 2 Ecosystem disservices determined by urban lakes, selected for analysis (removed in the first stage of the
analysis because they did not have a significant contribution to the resulted principal components)
To determine the most important ecosystem services we applied the principal component
analysisbased on Eigenvalues >1 extraction method with Varimax orthogonal rotation for
ecosystem services grouping and Oblimin oblique rotation for ecosystem disservices grouping
(Abdi & Williams, 2010). To test the adequacy of the data and of our sample size we
usedKaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy and Bartlett's Test of Sphericity
(Jolliffe, 1986). A value of 0 for Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy test
indicates the fact that the sum of partial correlations is greater than the sum of correlations

© 2019, FedoaPress


and makes the use of principal component analysis inadequate. A value of 1 for the
aforementioned test demonstrates an adequate sample size of our data. We considered the
Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy for every individual variable and we
removed those with a value less than 0.5 (Field, 2009). We also checked the Bartlett's Test
of Sphericity result to check the correlation between variables (Field, 2009) and we eliminated
the variables that are completely uncorrelated with each other, leaving only the variables with
a correlation coefficient of over 0.3 (Tab. 1, Tab. 2). We then carried out the principal
component analysis without the removed variables.

The principal component analysis of the most important ecosystem services was applied based
on 13 variables. The result of the Bartlett’s test was statistically significant x2 (23) = 670.936,
p<.001 and the value for Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy shows that the
data sample size was adequate for analysis (KMO = .740). We obtained 4 principal
components (with eigenvalues scores higher than 1 that explain 60% of the variance). Also,
as the scree plot in (Fig. 1) shows that adequate for interpretation are the first 4 components.
The variables with the highest importance and contribution for each component are presented
in Tab. 1. For the analysis of most important ecosystem disservices we used 14 variables to
apply the principal components analysis. The Bartlett’s test was statistically significant x2 (78)
= 964.465, p<.001 and the value of Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy
demonstrates the fact that our data is suitable for analysis (KMO = .851).
As the scree plot shows (
Fig. 3), the applied procedure retrieved 3 principal components (with eigenvalues scores
higher than 1) that explain 51% of the variance.
COMPONENT
1 2 3 4
Reducing air pollution .778
Mitigating climate change .727
Habitat for animal and plant species .634
Picnic .598
Extraction of sand and gravel .786
Water supply for irrigation of agricultural land, green spaces or public .729
space cleaning
Electricity production .683
Swimming .791
Recreational fishing .774
Practicing different water sports .618
Social gatherings .857
Walking .735

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Tab. 1 Resulted principal components of most important ecosystem services
COMPONENT
1 2 3
Hazardous and low-development potential area .785
Increased flood risk .726
Increased risk of illness .639
Feral animals .588
Excessive development of aquatic vegetation (including eutrophication) .498
High air humidity .485 .416
Polluted waters -.796
Uncontrolled waste storage -.723
Unpleasant odours -.687
Increased risk of drowning -.682
Place for mosquito spreading -.621
Stronger winds, especially in winter .717
Place for improvised buildings and homeless people -.434
Tab. 2 Resulted principal components of most important ecosystem disservices
Fig. 3 Resulted scree plot for ecosystem services assessment
3.1 ECOSYSTEM SERVICES

The four components can be interpreted according to the ecosystem services they include.
Component 1 gathers important regulating ecosystem services (reducing air pollution,
mitigating climate change, habitat for animals and plant species) which may not be directly
perceived by the public but are considered important for the urban ecosystem because of
their capacity to regulate physical or chemical flows and processes for an improved quality of
life.Regulating ecosystem services resulted as being of great value for visitors of urban lakes

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as it is also reflected by other similar studies, where local people support and promote
measures that would contribute to the protection of natural ecosystems near cities, to ensure
habitat conservation and a proper ecological functioning (Baur et al., 2016). Component 2
includes ecosystem services that can be used directly by inhabitants in the form of provisioning
services. Thus, urban lakes can contribute to people’s sustenance as a proximal water source.
It can represent water supply for industry, agricultural or different household activities. For
example, many cities all over the globe rely on their local water resources for domestic supply
and energy needs (Larsen et al., 2016; Lundy & Wade, 2011). Moreover, urban lakes can
provide food resources for sustenance, in many developing countries (Cosgrove & Loucks,
2015) but not exclusively (Vanham et al., 2016). The third component refers to recreational
activities involving direct contact with aquatic ecosystems. Urban lakes provide space for
swimming, recreational fishing and water sports. Component 4 is based on other cultural
ecosystem services provided by urban lakes, than the ones included in the previous
component, such as walking or social gatherings. Numerous studies have found cultural
services to be highly relatable to how local people perceive the benefits of city waters
(Brancalion et al., 2014). And while it is clear that urban lakes can provide for local inhabitants
a place for social gatherings, recreation or sports, efforts have to be put into a proper
management of these resources, in order to enhance their attractiveness (Haase, 2015).
3.2 ECOSYSTEM DISSERVICES

While urban lakes clearly provide ecosystem services for local people and private or public
entities, it can also be a source of issues. The first component we obtained includes problems
specifically caused by the presence of lakes in the urban environment, rather than the human
impact generated in the proximity of these aquatic ecosystems. From the visitors’ perception,
urban lakes’ most important problems are determined by the fact that they are mostly
considered hazardous and with a low-development potential, areas with a prevalent
occurrence of unwanted animals, eutrophication and excessive air humidity (Tab. 2). Our
results are similar with several studies that emphasize the negative aspect of urban waters in
cities, such as flood occurrences or a certain level of unsafety (Oubennaceur et al., 2019; von
Döhren & Haase, 2015).
The second component includes mostly problems caused by human activities, such as:
polluted waters, uncontrolled waste storage with associated unpleasant odours or increased
risk of drowning.
The third principal component is comprised by problems that can lead to a downgrade in the
quality of living spaces of neighbouring residents and to a decreased attractiveness for

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visitors: stronger winds, especially in winter and place for improvised buildings and homeless
people.
4 CONCLUSIONS
The evaluation of ecosystem services provided by urban lakes offers valuable knowledge that
can facilitate the urban planning process towards a smart, sustainable and resilient city
(Ahern, 2013; Gómez-Baggethun & Barton, 2013). Besides mitigating the issues associated
with urban lakes, urban planners have to ensure an enhanced setting for ecosystem services
provisioning, that can tackle environmental challenges, such as climate change adaptation,
water security or human health (Haase et al., 2014). Our study shows that, as urban lakes
contribute with numerous ecosystem services and co-benefits for people, whether
provisioning, regulating or cultural, they are also a source of problems or disservices.
Considering this, urban planners and decision makers are faced with the challenge of
managing and governing urban lakes in a way that makes them safe, attractive and inclusive.
The relevance of our analysis is sustained by the fact that co-benefits are not entirely
understood and comprehended by authorities and urban inhabitants and there is still a lack
of information of how urban blue ecosystems are perceived. Thus, our work recognizes the
value of local knowledge and provides a base for a sustainable urban planning and public
policy formulation, all of which require to consider the needs of inhabitants with regard to
ecosystem services.
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AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Denisa L. Badiu is a researcher at the Centre for Environmental Research and Impact Studies,
University of Bucharest. She defended her PhD thesis at the University of Bucharest regarding the
multi-functionality and connectivity of urban green infrastructure in Romania. Her research activities
involve urban blue-green infrastructure, ecosystem services and nature based solution. She has been
a member of several international and national research projects and has published, as main author,
6 scientific articles.
Cristian I. Iojăis the head of Regional Geography and Environment Department, Professor at the
Faculty of Geography at the University of Bucharest and senior researcher at the Centre for
Environmental Research and Impact Studies. He earned his PhD title in Geography at the University
of Bucharest. In 2015 he obtained the Habilitation in Environmental Sciences and in 2017 in
Geography. His research activities are focused on environmental conflict assessment in natural and
urban ecosystems, green infrastructure, consequences of urbanization on ecosystems services supply
and urban sustainable planning. Cristian Iojă has coordinated over 9 national research grants and has
published 9 books and over 20 scientific articles.

© 2019, FedoaPress


Alina C. Hossu is a researcher at the Centre for Environmental Research and Impact Studies,
University of Bucharest. She obtained her PhD title in Geography, at the University of Bucharest. Her
research is focused on environmental policy and planning, ecosystem services, collaborative decision
making and environmental conflicts.She has been a member of over 4 national research projects and
has published over 8 scientific articles.
Mihai R. NiЮăis a researcher at the Centre for Environmental Research and Impact Studies and
Associate Professor at the Faculty of Geography, University of Bucharest. He earned his PhD in
Geography in 2011 at the University of Bucharest. His main research topics include green
infrastructures, environmental conflicts and environmental impact assessments. He has published 4
books and over 20 scientific articles and has been the principal investigator of 2 national research
projects and member in the research team of 10 international and national projects.
Gabriel O. Vânău is a researcher at the Centre for Environmental Research and Impact Studies and
Lecturer at the Faculty of Geography, University of Bucharest. His main research topics include land
planning, protected areas management, ecosystem services, sustainable development and climate
change mitigation. He has authored 7 books and book chapters, 17 scientific articles and has been
working in the research team of 29 international and national projects.

© 2019, FedoaPress

A BLUE INFRASTRUCTURE:
FROM HYDRAULIC PROTECTION
TO LANDSCAPE DESIGN
THE CASE STUDY OF THE VILLAGE OF BALLAO IN
THE FLUMENDOSA RIVER VALLEY
*GIOVANNI MARCO CHIRI, PINO FRAU

ELISABETTA SANNA
DICAAR, University of Cagliari, Italy

e-mail: g.chiri@unica.it
URL: http://people.unica.it/giovannimarcochiri/

Chiri, G.M., Frau, P., Sanna, E. ... & Sechi, G.M. (2019). A Blue Infrastructure: from Hydraulic Protection to
Landscape Design. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature and ecosystem services (pp. 476-487).
ABSTRACT
The United States Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA) provides an interesting definition
of ’green/blue’ infrastructure (GI): ’an approach to ecosystem management that relies on
constructing landscape features that function similarly to natural systems thereby increasing
the functionality of built or urbanized ecosystems. GI systems use vegetation, soils, and natural
processes to manage storm water and maintain ecosystem functions. GI systems are intended
to also provide social and economic benefits that en hance urban liveability. They typically
operate alongside blue infrastructures, defined as all the systems which channel water, whether
they are surface or underground streams, marine or inland waters. The synergy between green
and blue infrastructures does not only produce strategic environmental value, but it also plays a
central role in the management of rainwaters during floods, the collection and storage of water,
the prevention of floods, the defense against sea-level rise, the mitigation of natural risks and
the reduction of environmental temperature. Two aspects of green/blue parks are of notable
interest: the first one consists in their potential in enhancing the resilience of territories affected
by environmental critical phenomena, by limiting their impact and restoring rapidly their initial
conditions with minimal damages. The second one consists in their dual value as infrastructures
for the mitigation of hydraulic risk, designed to preserve communities that are vulnerable to that
risk, and as a public space, exploitable in the time laps between the critical or disastrous events.
The case study of Ballao (Sardinia) along the Flumendosa river offers the opportunity to test
practically the approaches suggested by the international best practices.
KEYWORDS
Green Parks; Blue Parks; Flood; Resilient Landscape
* The other authors are: Davide Pisu, Francesco Marras, Giovanni Maria Sechi.
A Blue Infrastructure: from Hydraulic Protection to Landscape Design

1 INTRODUCTION
This study gave rise to and was developed alongside the PROTERINA-3Évolution project, an
evolution of the work realized during the EU 2007-2013 program, with the PROTERINA-Due,
RESMAR and PROTERINA-C projects. That is, therefore, a project conceived to enhance the
attitude of institutions in preventing and managing, jointly, the risk of flood. The general aim
of the project is to reinforce the response capacity of territories to the risk of flood through
the ’construction’ of awareness among institutions and communities. The addressees -whether
direct or indirect- are the competent authorities in the field of civic protection, soil
conservation and cycle of waters, the agencies which are involved in forecasting and
monitoring activities in regard to meteorological phenomena and the citizens actively engaged
in the decisional processes. The specific aims of the PROTERINA-3Évolution project are:
− to promote actions of prevention and protection: to enhance the effectiveness of
preventive measures -both structural and not- against the risk of floods, through the
transfrontalier and transregional involvement of institutions and communities that are
willing to be actively engaged in a process of awareness-raising within their territories
(OB.1);
− to empower event forecasting and monitoring systems: to strengthen monitoring
networks and integrate the acquired data with early-warning models, capitalizing the
results of the former programs (OB.2);
− to develop resilient communities: to increase the transfrontalier capacity of adaptation
to climatic change through the deployment of resilient communities (OB.3).
The activity of the DICAAR research group within the PROTERINA-3Évolution project is
specifically aimed at the development of guidelines on the construction of blue infrastructure
consisting of urban parks serving the scope of flood peak reduction, the drafting of guidelines
on flood-proofing operations, consisting of micro-scale actions on public buildings such as
state schools, libraries and social centres, with the purpose of mitigating flood risk and
identifying safe spots and, finally, the exchange of expertise with the river basin authorities
of the other regions taking part in the PROTERINA project (for Italy the river basin authorities
of Liguria and Tuscany, and for French partners their competent authorities). In this context,
an extremely relevant role is given to the analysis of the risk of flooding in the territory of the
municipality of Ballao, which even for events having low return periods shows large areas,
even urbanized, affected by flooding phenomena from the Flumendosa river, which overflows
its banks. The development of a bi-dimensional hydraulic model will be shown below. It will
be used, firstly, to analyse the hydraulic risk in the current state of the territory and, secondly,

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G. Chiri, P. Frau, E. Sanna et al.
as a support for the definition of actions which can enable the mitigation of river flooding,
thus preventing it from affecting urbanized areas, as far as possible. Such actions have the
dual purpose of serving as systems for the prevention and protection from hydraulic risk
during disastrous events and as public spaces open to the collective use, for leisure and play
time, during the rest of the year.
Designing a blue infrastructure entails a reflection on its dual nature of tool for the mitigation
of hydraulic risk -which constitutes the main reason for its construction- and as a landscape
design tool for the correct fruition of spaces throughout periods with no critical events. If, on
one hand, measures concerning the ban on building in areas at hydraulic risk may sometimes
be sufficient to limit the risks and the vulnerability of communities, on the other hand, such
measures often preclude the collective use of large areas of the territory. Furthermore, this
kind of approach has a tendency to marginalize these places that are rapidly subject to decay.
For this reason, it is necessary to consider their dual use: these areas must be considered, on
one side, as part of an hydraulic infrastructure, namely spaces destined to the protection and
safeguarding of the built space and, on the other side, they act -in the longer run- as public
spaces open to collective use.
2 METHODOLOGY
Through the study of best practices in the field of blue park design, once again intended as
public recreational spaces designed to be flooded during heavy rains and inundations, it was
possible to identify four common measures to mitigate the risk, the application of which we
deem to be essential for the success of the project.
The authors in line with the premise have defined the following methodology:
− the creation of expansion basins: flow-storage reservoirs and retarding basins;
− the creation of embankments and the modelling of topography;
− the establishment of paths on higher ground and safe spots;
− the restoration of riparian vegetation.
2.1 THE CREATION OF EXPANSION BASINS: FLOW-STORAGE RESERVOIRS

AND RETARDING BASINS
The analysed case studies highlighted that the management and control of water flows play
a crucial role within the park, not only from a merely functional point of view in relation to the
mitigation of the risk, but most importantly in terms of quality of the landscape and the public
space open to citizens.

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Best practices highlight, in particular, that the introduction of expansion basins as flooding
areas along riverbanks may represent an effective measure for the mitigation of floods, being
at the same time an opportunity to create new habitats or new public spaces. Expansion
basins are areas designated for the temporary or permanent conservation of water flows
during rain and flood events. These are generally designed in two forms: flow-storage
reservoirs and retarding basins. The formers, typically retain water only during storms,
releasing it lately at a controlled rate, until they are completely empty, or they reach a
reserved volume. The latter, located along the river, have typically the possibility to receive
amounts of water exceeding the river flow capacity, independently from heavy rainfall events.
On a perspective strictly inherent to the design of blue parks, expansion basins as flooding
areas along riverbanks are preferable, because they not only have a limited impact on a
territorial scale, but they also may create the opportunity to use a multidisciplinary approach
to the project, which may aim at multiple tasks: hydraulic risk mitigation, environmental
restoration, management of water resources and public space. The retention of even modest
quantities of water allows for the creation of a moist environment in which birdlife can thrive
together with vegetation that can tolerate short periods underwater. On the other hand,
expansion areas along river banks allow to create wetlands that not only contribute to the
valorisation of ecological corridors and to the creation of new habitats in support of
biodiversity, but also represent an opportunity to enhance the perception of the landscape,
making it more attractive.
2.2 THE CREATION OF EMBANKMENTS AND THE MODELING OF TOPOGRAPHY

Embankments are infrastructures that allow for a passive protection of the territory. They
prevent the overflowing of watercourses and hamper every connection between the river and
the surrounding territory. They are normally constituted by soil barriers that may be located
at a minimum distance from the riverbed or, where possible, they are located at a long
distance from the riverbed (setback levee). The distance of the riverbank form the
watercourse has a significant impact on the dynamics of the river, inasmuch as it will be
consequently more or less free to invade the floodplain during flood events. The more the
barrier is distant from the river, the more its freedom of movement increases, thus leading to
a reduction of the hydric level and, consequently, to a slowdown of its flow. The enhancement
of the flow capacity of the riverbed through the setback of embankments is not always
possible, because often the river is located near urban areas or farmlands. From the point of
view of landscape architecture, best practices show us that embankments can be imagined
not only as defensive systems, but also as elements, which define the public space. Barriers,
if modelled on the surrounding territory following the height required by the various hydric

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levels provided for critical events having different return periods, allow for the establishment
of a network of pathways which can be used even during flooding’s.
2.3 THE ESTABLISHMENT OF PATHS ON HIGHER GROUND AND SAFE SPOTS

As best practices show, in the design of blue parks the definition of paths based on expected
water levels has a central importance. The connective systems within the park must be
designed, in fact, at a higher altitude than the one required for the maximum expected level,
so that in any condition a way out is guaranteed in case of flood. Paths on higher ground, as
well as safe spots located over critical levels, can be further preserved from floating materials
and soil transported by water through vertical protection systems.
2.4 THE RESTORATION OF RIPARIAN VEGETATION

Riparian vegetation represents an important and delicate interface between water streams
and the surrounding territory. The root system performs, in fact, a strong stabilizing action
both with respect to soil erosion and to hydrodynamic stress. It is nonetheless necessary to
consider also the flow resistance of vegetation. Equilibrium is reached when vegetation has a
diversified structure, composed by shrubs capable of a certain degree of flexibility and capable
of reducing the action of resistance to the water flow, while allowing for mitigation of erosion,
and by an arboreal system composed of young trees having a balanced diameter/height ratio.
As a matter of principle, the diameter should in any case be progressively lower while
approaching the riverbed and when the width of the river decreases. Thus, during floodings,
riparian wood performs an important flow modulation function, delaying the reaching of the
maximum level by amplifying the retarding action of expansion basins. For this reason, the
choice of vegetation types in expansion basins has an important role: in conjunction with the
morphology of the territory, it can amplify the beneficial effects of lowering the level of water.
Clearly, the collateral effect is the containment of the stream speed: the water that leaves the
riverbed flows in the riparian wood where, thanks to the increased roughness determined by
vegetation, it suffers a significant slowdown.
Starting from these intuitive elements concerning cause-effect relationships, rather than
defining abstract lines of principle we chose to investigate a case study through a pilot project
and, from this, we derived methodological statements as generalizable as possible. Through
this methodological approach, the following project attempts to find a difficult balance
between a hydraulic infrastructure project for risk mitigation and a landscape design project
made by conceiving the design action as the most delicate act of modification, capable of
integrating itself moderately among the topographic and orographic signs.

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3 THE CASE STUDY

The case study of the municipality of Ballao (Sardinia) shows a series of particularly significant
phenomena related to the risk of flood, but at the same time it shows considerable
opportunities in terms of hydraulic infrastructure design and public space, integrated in a
landscape system. The area is located between the ’RiuBintinoi’ stream and the corresponding
riverfront, the Flumendosariver in the North and Via Roma in the East. This area is occupied
by a series of residential buildings, located between the urban streets ’Via PeppinoMereu’, ’Via
Raimondo Piras’, ‘Via BenvenutoLobina’, ‘Via Aldo Moro’ and other streets accessible from ‘Via
Sassari’. The closing element of this urban system consists of an aggregation of neglected
buildings, formerly the town’s abattoir and a depot, still used by the municipality. The last
fragment of urban continuum is represented by a parking lot -accessible from the ‘RiuBintinoi’
side-, at a height of 83 meters above the sea level. Globally, the area covers 4 ha, of which
only 1.5 not urbanized. As mentioned above, the aim was to realize an embankment which
may serve the function of defining an area for the controlled flooding, located on the right
bank of the Flumendosa river, as shown in the previous images, that may be open to
recreational and sports uses for the community of Ballao and of Sarrabus/Gerrei.
From a landscape point of view, the hypothesis of constructing a hydraulic bank widely
oriented along the riverbed was rapidly excluded due to the clear impact on the environment
that this would have generated. This would have constituted a physical and visual barrier
between the town and the river and, furthermore, this approach would not have been
consistent with the principles of blue park design previously described. For this reason, we
decided to focus on a barrier for the protection of the urban area consisting of component in
bulk materials over the bank. The total height would be lower than 2.2 meters, with a length
of 125 meters starting from the intersection with via Roma and following parallel to the
riverbed to reach via Sassari, thus extremely distant from the river (setback levee). The
planimetric position of the hydraulic protection intervention is synthetically shown in Fig. 1.
The intervention can be built in two phases with reference to events with a return period from
10 to 50 years. The embankment is sized for the containment of the 10 years return period
flood, and its peak is in fact at the same height of the parking lot, 83 m above the sea level.
In a second phase, for the protection of the 50 years return period flood we designed a series
of precast concrete barriers, conveniently shaped and waterproofed to raise the elevation
above the parking lot located in front of the old abattoir.
The track of the new topographic sign was chosen in such a way as to create a direct
connection -currently only potential- with the opposite bank of the RiuBintinoi. In fact, in the
northern boundary of the village is already operating the ’Parco intervacua’s’, which even
though it is easily accessible through the secondary roads of the town, at the moment does

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not have any relationship with the area on which this study is focused. The two parts may,
on the contrary, be easily connected through a walking/cycling bridge on the RiuBintinoi
stream, thus operating a whole large river park along points of contact between the
Flumendosa river and the town of Ballao. This system, which may be further investigated in
a specific forthcoming study, may constitute a greater green/blue infrastructure within a
territorial scale, not only capable of reorganizing the elements of the landscape in an
harmonious continuum, but also capable of providing physical support for the attraction of
events, activities and demonstrations of public interest to the benefit of the local community.
On the top of the newly built embankment, new cycling and walking paths will be traced.
These will allow for the closing of a circuit along the river and the edge of the village. The
plan design of the hydraulic infrastructure has, therefore, a double reason. On one hand, it
constitutes the necessary barrier for the protection of the urban area from floodings of the
Flumendosa river and, on the other hand, the new topographic sign joins existing lines and
elements of the landscape in order to constitute an organic system, even though it is made
of different parts, investing it with meaning and public function. The main development of the
embankment is parallel to the riverbed, but it bends at about two-thirds of its length to reach
via Garibaldi. Here the track of the new embankment crosses the rural area defining an
average height of 2.2 meters. In the point of junction between its two lines, the embankment
bifurcates and, in that point, a narrow corridor consisting of a wooden pier extends itself
towards the centre of the flooding area and descends to the lower point, with the purpose of
measuring the terrain from the water level of the 10 years return period flood to the ground
below. There, a stair and a wooden hut mark the end of the path. The stair will allow to
descend to the ground when it is not flooded, whilst the hut will offer protection from the sun
and the rain, allowing visitors to stay and enjoy the landscape. The width of embankments
varies accordingly to ground altitude, but they have approximately the same section all along
the river. The sides of the embankment will be covered with grass and shrubs having mostly
superficial roots. The paths will be paved with stone chunks or self-locking blocks which may
offer a safe support to the pedestrian and cycling traffic. As mentioned above, in the second
phase, a series of precast concrete barriers -properly sized and waterproofed-will be installed
on the top of the embankment in order to create a protection from the 50 years return period
flood. Indeed, the desired height of the embankment, sized for the 50 years return period, is
equal to 2.5 meters from the lowest point of the area object of this study. Through the
concrete barrier, the height of the embankment is increased by 0.8 meters reaching a total of
3 meters from the lowest point and thus leaving 0.5 meters free on the 50 years return period.

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Fig. 1 General plan of the blue park and components of the landscape project
This element, which will be investigated in a separate detailed study, may be modelled in
order to provide seats, bicycle racks, parapets and support for path lights. If the 10 years
return period flood is taken into account, the area subject to critical events in case of flood
consists of a depression comprised between the beginning of the embankment and the
parking lot near the abattoir. Via Bintinoi is not subject to the 10 years return period flood. If
we consider an event having 50 years return period, instead, the area subject to flood
comprises all the area near the new embankment, the parking lot, and a portion of via Bintinoi
until it reaches via Peppino Mereu. Finally, we must consider that, in order to complete the
works of protection from 50 years return time period events, the current Hi4 -the maximum
hydraulic hazard zone- could be redefined, allowing for the relocation of the old abattoir to
public uses: this operation may constitute the last part of the project, allowing for the
complete regeneration of the area comprised between the urban margins and the Flumendosa
river.

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4 CONCLUSION
Drawing on a series of international best practices, the application of the methodology
described above has allowed for the development of the project of a hydraulic protection
system in close proximity to an urban settlement alongside two general goals: the first one
consists in its potential in enhancing the resilience of territories affected by environmental
critical phenomena (such as floods) by limiting their impact and restoring rapidly their initial
conditions with minimal damages.
Fig. 2 Cross-section of the embankment
Fig. 3 Aerial view in normal conditions and during a 50 years return period

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The second one consists in their dual value as infrastructures for the mitigation of hydraulic
risk, designed to preserve communities that are vulnerable to that risk, and as a public space,
exploitable in the time laps between the critical or disastrous events. The project for the
Flumendosa valley in the town of Ballao (Sardinia), shows that the two aspects, strictly
connected to the liveability and environmental quality of the territory, are not conflicting.
Rather, in order for the project to have a positive impact on the environment and on the
landscape, they should be combined and be designed to operate as hydraulic devices during
disastrous events and as rural public spaces in the time between them.
REFERENCES
Angrilli Massimo. Infrastrutture Verdi e Blu p.1-16. https://www.urbanisticainformazioni.it/IMG/pdf/-

05_v_sessione.pdf
Giovanni Bello, Dimensione Ecologica. Una ricerca sui nuovi materiali del progetto urbano. Le
infrastrutture verdi, p. 57. Le infrastrutture blu, p.6. http://www.fedoa.unina.it/10301/1/Bello_Gio-
vanni.pdf
APAT Agenzia Per la protezione dell’Ambiente e per I Servizi tecnici, (27/2013). Atlante delle opere di
sistemazione fluviale. p. 23,37
C. Zanetti, J. Macia, N. Liency, M. Vennetier, P. Mériaux, et al.. (2016). Roles of the riparian vegetation:
the antagonism between flooding risk and the protection of environment. 3rd European Conference
on Flood Risk Management FLOOD risk 2016, Oct 2016, Lyon, France. E3S Web of Conferences, 7,
pp.13015, 2016, <10.1051/e3sconf/20160713015 >. <hal-01427431>doi https://hal.archives-
ouvertes.fr/hal-01427431
D. Watson, FAIA, M. Adams, P.E. (2011). Design for flooding. Architecture, landscape and urban design
for resilience to climate change, John Wiley & Sons Inc.
WEB SITES
http://www.turenscape.com
http://www.landezine.com/index.php/2014/01/qunli-national-urban-wetland-by-turenscape/
https://jmddesign.com.au/projects/minto-integrated-housing/
http://www.landezine.com/index.php/2018/10/lower-factory-pond-by-beglinger-bryan-
landschaftsarchitektur/
http://www.landezine.com/index.php/2016/11/water-retention-boulevard-luxembourg-by-elyps-
landscape-urban-design/
http://www.landezine.com/index.php/2015/02/thalie-park-by-urbicus/
http://www.aldayjover.com/es/component/articulo/?idcategoria=17&idarticulo=431

© 2019, FedoaPress

AUTHORS’ PROFILES
Giovanni Marco Chiri is Associate Professor of Architecture and Urban Design (ICAR14). He was
member of groups involved in programs such as the PRIN program and coordinator of several
international workshops. He was lecturer at the feasibility study for the Museum of Nuragic and
Contemporary Art (Independent Region of Sardinia), the Pre-feasibility study for urban regeneration
of the District of Sant’Elia in Cagliari (Independent Region of Sardinia), the Preliminary Design for the
EEUR2012 campus in Cagliari (regional office for the right to education in Cagliari) and designer of the
Plan of La Maddalena with Enrico Corti (Municipality of La Maddalena). He was also consultant for the
work of urban design of the Zhaoqing planning & urban design Bureau (Guangdong-PRC) and winner
of the competition to redevelop the commemorative Arch Square and the lakefront in Zhaoqing
(Guangdong-PRC). In 2009, he turned to the study and assessment of microclimate efficiency in the
urban fabric and the testing of methodologies and interdisciplinary processes of urban design. He is
involved in projects of international cooperation in Kenya, in the rehabilitation of the Eduardo Mondlane
University Campus in Maputo (Mozambique), in the Plan of Urban Rehabilitation of the Hospital area,
Botanical Gardens and Amphitheatre in Cagliari, and he is also providing scientific support to the
Independent Region of Sardinia in the Iscol@ Project. He is currently a member of the UNICA scientific
board-Ministry of Defense for the rehabilitation of the coastal forts of La Maddalena.http://people.uni-
ca.it/giovannimarcochiri/
Elisabetta Sanna is a fully qualified architect, with a postgraduate Master in Landscape Architecture,
attended at the UniversitatPolitècnica de Catalunya in Barcelona. She has been operating for about
four years in the field of landscape and territorial design, joining national and international
competitions concerning the redevelopment of public spaces, the design of parks and playground
areas. She worked in Berlin at internationally renowned offices, such as Topotek 1, Man Made Land
and Lavaland with which she worked as Project Leader for competitions and projects such as
the‘AspernSeestadtNordpromenade’ in Vienna.
Pino Frau gained a First Class Honors Degree in Civil Engineering at the University of Cagliari, with a
thesis entitled: ‘Comparison of One-dimensional and Two-Dimensional modeling of flood events by
using HEC-RAS - Application in the Posada river valley area”. After graduating, he started his
collaboration with the Civil and Environmental Engineering and Architecture Department (DICAAR) at
the University of Cagliari. The internship focused on the use of Two-Dimensional modeling in the areas
affected by river flooding as a consequence of flood events. During that internship, his areas of
expertise included the application of the HEC-RAS modeling in both rural and urban areas in order to
develop evacuation plans for the population, the valuation effects, in fluvial hydrodynamic, of the
attribution of the roughness value based on the soil and the vegetative covering used. He won two
research grants at the University of Cagliari entitled ‘Analysis and Application of Two-Dimensional
Models for the Assessment of Flood Risk and the Preparation of Emergency Plans downstream through
large dams.’ After winning two research grants at the University of Cagliari, he is currently collaborating
with the Sarrabus Municipality Consortium and the Sardinian Regional Agency of Hydrographic District.
Davide Pisu is a practicing architect, PhD student and lecturer of Architectural and Urban Composition
at the University of Cagliari and, previously, he was a visiting lecturer and PhD student at the University
of Hertfordshire. His professional activity is focused on housing, public buildings and public spaces,
and he has a long-standing professional relationship with the architectural practice C+C04 Studio. His
research focus comprises architecture for information and knowledge and the relationship between
architecture and normativity. His works are published on Autoportret, C3 Korea and 'backtobasics' a
series of books on fundamental architectural themes. He is currently completing a dissertation entitled
‘Norm and form: Perverse effect of architectural regulations.’ As a part of his PhD research, he is
investigating the normative sphere of the architectural domain.
Francesco Marras Ph.D. Architect of the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture of Cagliari,
hefocuses on the themes of architectural and landscape design. His research fields are: recovery and
redevelopment of hydrogeological risk areas, new forms of settlement and habitat for rural landscapes,

© 2019, FedoaPress


modern reclamation architecture, management of water in public spaces. He is a post-doc researcher
of the DICAARand he is performing a research on the regional rural landscape. He is responsible for
the optional course ‘Water Module. Ecologies, Techniques and design’, which focuses on the role of
water management in projecting architecture. He performs architectural research and he also
participates in competitions, achieving important results, such as the first prize in the European 13
competition, held in the site of Saint Polten in Austria, and in the Agrarian High School of Muravera
and the Kindergarten of Villaspeciosa in Italy. In 2018 he founded TZH studio, a group of architects
who work in the field of architecture in rural landscapes.
Giovanni Maria Sechi is an Associate Professor of Hydraulic Constructions (ICAR/02). In February

1983 he was appointed university researcher at the same University and from October 2000 he has
been Associate Professor of Hydraulic Construction Engineering. Winner of a research grant from the
CNR -the Italian National Research Council- in 1984-85 he was a visiting researcher at the Civil
Engineering Dept. of the Colorado State University. He is currently working at the DICAAR – UNICA -
Hydraulic Engineering Section. From November 2004 to 2010 he was Director of the CINSA, the
Interdepartmental Center for Environmental Science and Technology of UNICA.He is a member of the
IAHR, International Association of Hydraulic Engineering and Research, of the EWRA, European Water
Resources Association, the Italian Hydro-technical Association, the AIRO, Italian Association of
Operations Research, and of the CSSA, Italian Center for Water Supply Systems.In September 2005
he was assigned to the Executive Committee of the EWRA, the European Water Resources
Association.His research activity was focused in particular on the development of efficient algorithms
for the optimization of large-sized water resource systems, also taking into account conditions of
uncertainty and the use of non-conventional resources. He has also worked on probabilistic modelling
of extreme hydrological events. He was coordinator of the research unit of the University of Cagliari in
the VAPI project by GNDCI-CNR (Italian National Research Council).

© 2019, FedoaPress

MUNICIPAL MASTERPLANS AND
GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE
AN ASSESSMENT RELATED TO THE
METROPOLITAN AREA OF CAGLIARI, ITALY
SABRINA LAIa, FEDERICA LEONEb

CORRADO ZOPPIb
a
Assessorato della Difesa dell’Ambiente,
Regione Autonoma della Sardegna, Italy
e-mail: slai@regione.sardegna.it
b
Department of Civil-Environmental
e-mail: federicaleone@unica.it
zoppi@unica.it

Lai, S., Leone, F., & Zoppi, C. (2019). Municipal masterplans and green infrastructure. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi
6, doi: 10.6093/978-88-6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
Recent research has proposed a GIS-based methodology to map a regional green infrastructure
(RGI) by assessing patches’ suitability to be included in the RGI on the basis of four components
as follows: natural value, conservation value, landscape value, and recreational value. This
study builds upon such research with the aim to identify planning policies that can foster the
enhancement of the RGI by increasing one or more of its components at the sub-regional scale.
To this end, the RGI suitability map is overlaid with the planning schemes of the municipal
master plans of three towns belonging to the Metropolitan City of Cagliari (Italy), and multiple
linear regressions are performed. Results from this analysis show to which extent the zoning
types identified in the city masterplan are related to high or low RGI suitability values, hence
allowing for detecting those zoning types that should be targeted by the metropolitan city plan,
if the RGI is to be improved, and for identifying appropriate planning actions to pursue this goal.
The outcomes of the study imply that the eligibility of a land parcel to be part of the RGI depends
on a number of factors strictly related to planning policies entailed by the zoning schemes of the
municipal masterplans, such as presence and spreading of conservation and safeguard areas
within the urban fabrics, improved accessibility of historic and natural landmarks, planned use
of nature-based solutions within the regulating codes of municipal masterplans, improvement of
habitat quality in the spatial context of rural areas. Main limitations of the proposed methodology
can be recognized in the fragile theoretical foundations concerning the assessment of the value
of recreational areas, and in the need for structured integration of nature-based solutions into
the assessment of eligibility of land parcels to be included in the RGI.
KEYWORDS
Green Infrastructure; Ecosystem Services; Natura 2000 Network; Environmental Planning
Municipal masterplans and green infrastructure

1 INTRODUCTION
The concept of green infrastructure (GI) arises within the international debate at the end of
the 1990s as a distinctive approach to landscape planning (Mell, 2016). GI is considered as a
reference category in the contexts of several disciplines, e.g., landscape ecology (Jongman &
Pungetti, 2004), greenway planning (Fábos, 2004), and management of water resources
(Ahern, 2007). Moreover, different functions of GI are identified, e.g., biodiversity
conservation (Benedict & MacMahon, 2006), or benefits provided to local communities and to
civil society as a whole (Kambites & Owen, 2006). Therefore, several definitions of GI are
available in the literature. Among many, Benedict and McMahon’s (2006), Wright’s (2011),
Weber et al.’s (2006) and the European Commission’s (European Commission, 2013) are the
most relevant. Benedict and McMahon (2006) define GI as the ecological system that supports
environmental, social and economic health, emphasizing the socio-economic approach to GI.
According to Wright (2011), although connectivity, multifunctionality and green areas
represent the core ideas as regards the category of GI, a deterministic definition is somewhat
questionable because, on the one hand, such definition would be inconsistent with a
progressively evolving conceptual framework concerning GI, and, on the other hand, its
intrinsic interoperability would imply the opportunity of using the GI conceptual framework in
a number of research and technical fields related to environmental and spatial studies, which
would entail a preference to a flexible, non-deterministic definition. Weber et al. (2006) stress
the environment-related character of the GI concept, conceived as a system of natural and
semi-natural areas spread over the landscape. Broadly speaking, from the above-cited
literature GI can be understood as a network of natural and semi-natural areas that play a
key role in supporting ecological, social and economic activities.
Under this perspective, this study aims at proposing a methodological approach to include
and implement GI within spatial planning at the city level, hence it addresses an outstanding
gap concerning scientific and technical research on GI.
The study builds upon a few recent articles, related to Sardinia, concerning the identification
of a spatial taxonomy of areas eligible to be part of a regional green infrastructure (RGI)
(Cannas et al., 2018; Lai et al., 2018) on the basis of four factors, namely the natural,
conservation, landscape and recreational values.
It aims at defining and analyzing the relationship between the RGI, identified through the
implementation of the methodology proposed in the above-cited articles, and the rules of
municipal masterplans (MMPs).
In order to achieve this goal, a methodology based on the overlay mapping of the spatial
taxonomy of areas eligible to be part of the RGI and the zoning layouts of MMPs, and on the

© 2019, FedoaPress

S. Lai, F. Leone, C. Zoppi
analysis of correlations between the spatial taxonomy and the zoning rules, is proposed.
Correlations are identified through regression analysis. The methodology is applied to the
MMPs of three municipalities belonging to the Metropolitan City of Cagliari (MCC; Sardinia,
Italy). The outcomes of the study offer important suggestions as regards the definition and
implementation of the planning policies of the MCC, based on the general goal of
strengthening the GI-related characteristics of the towns located within the metropolitan
boundaries, with a view to a future expansion of the RGI within the MCC.
This study is structured as follows. Section 2 describes the proposed methodological approach
and the spatial context for the implementation of the case study, that is, the towns of Cagliari,
Assemini and Capoterra.
The results coming from the regression analysis which explores and detects correlations
between the RGI and the spatial zoning rules of the MMPs of the three towns are presented
in Section 3. In Section 4, implications for spatial planning policies related to the urban
contexts of the MCC are discussed. Finally, directions for future research and concluding
remarks are proposed and discussed.
2.1 CASE STUDY

Municipalities are, in Italy, in charge of programs and plans, ruling on land development and
land-use changes, hence they draft, adopt and approve their own MMPs, which simultaneously
lay down a strategic policy for the concerned territory and provide the setting for the
management of small-scale land-use transformation (Commission of the European
Communities (CEC), 2000).
Due to the hierarchic nature of the Italian planning system (CEC, p. 35), MMPs must conform
to a number of higher-level plans, the most prominent of which are regional plans, and
especially the Regional Landscape Plan (RLP).
This study takes the towns of Assemini, Cagliari and Capoterra, in Sardinia (Italy) as case
studies. Each town is a municipality, with its own elected local government and mayor, and it
is also part of the MCC, recently established under national law no. 2014/56 and regional law
no. 2016/2 (Fig. 1).
Cagliari, with its approximately 150,000 inhabitants and 85 km2 in size, is the regional capital
and the metropolitan center; Assemini (having around 27,000 inhabitants and 118 km2 in size)
and Capoterra (with about 23,000 inhabitants and 69 km2 in size) are two medium-sized
towns both geographically and economically close to the regional capital, since they belong

© 2019, FedoaPress


to the same travel-to-work area, in that a good share (approximately 30 percent (ISTAT,
2019)) of their populations commutes to Cagliari on a daily basis.
Within both the municipalities of Assemini and Capoterra, an MMP recently approved and
compliant with the Sardinian RLP is in force; their planning documents and zoning schemes,
approved in August 2015 and May 2016, respectively, are available on the municipalities’
official web pages1,2.
As for the municipality of Cagliari, a much older MMP, dating back to 2004, is in force; such
plan was approved under the former landscape planning system, hence the complex and
conflictual process of adjustment to the RLP (Zoppi & Lai, 2010) has not taken place yet. The
planning documents and zoning scheme for the municipality of Cagliari are available on its
official webpage3 and geoportal4.

1
The MMP of Assemini is in force since 27 August 2018. The documents are available online at
https://comune.assemini.ca.it/amministrazione/amministrazione-trasparente/pianificazione-governo-del-
territorio/piani-programmi-16.
2
The MMP of Capoterra was published on the Official Journal of the Regional Administration of Sardinia
on 26 May 2016. The documents are available online at https://www.comune.capoterra.ca.it.
3
Available online at https://www.comune.cagliari.it/portale/it/at18_puc.page.
4
Available online at https://sit.comune.cagliari.it/?filtro=puc#13/39.2238/9.0906.

© 2019, FedoaPress

2.2 ZONING SCHEMES

For each of the three municipalities, the zoning schemes were retrieved and analyzed in the
light of their respective technical implementation norms. Next, the schemes were simplified
on the basis of the provisions contained in the norms, so as to reduce as much as possible
the number of zone types, for instance, by joining together sub-zones belonging to the same
zone type, or by merging zones with similar planning or building rules. This simplification led
to identifying ten types of planning zones; out of the ten types, listed in Tab. 1, type “E” is
not included in Cagliari’s zoning scheme, while types “GS” and “IC” are not included in
Assemini’s and Capoterra’s ones.
ZONE TYPE DESCRIPTION
A Historic districts
B Residential completion zones
C Residential expansion zones
D Industrial and commercial zones
E Agricultural zones
G Collective service zones
GS Collective service zones: green parks significant at the city level
H Conservation and safeguard zones
EZ Enterprise zones, named “IC” in the MMP of Cagliari
S Public spaces reserved for collective activities, green areas, or parking lots at the
district level
Tab. 1 Homogeneous zones identified by the zoning rules of the municipal masterplans of Cagliari, Assemini
and Capoterra: simplified zone types
2.3 METHODOLOGY
This study builds upon a methodology applied in previous studies (Cannas et al., 2018; Lai et
al., 2018; Arcidiacono et al., 2016; Lai & Leone, 2017) where a potential RGI is mapped taking
an Italian region as a case study: Lombardy in Arcidiacono et al. (2016), and Sardinia in
Cannas et al. (2018), Lai et al. (2018) and Lai and Leone (2017). In the Sardinian case, the
suitability of each patch of land to belong to an RGI is assessed based upon four factors
expressing as many functions provided by a GI, as follows:
− natural value (NatVal), which represents habitats’ quality notwithstanding pressures and
threats exerted on biodiversity;
− conservation value (ConVal), which accounts for the fact that green infrastructures are,
in the definition provided by the European Commission (2013) and quoted in Section 1,
“a …. network of high quality natural and semi-natural areas”;

© 2019, FedoaPress


− recreation value (RecVal), which provides an indication of the extent to which landscapes
are attractive for recreational uses and hence provide recreational ecosystem services;
− landscape value (LandVal), which accounts for the quality of landscapes as implied in
the RLP’s normative framework.
The suitability of each patch of land to belong to an RGI is then assessed by summing up the
above four values, which all vary in the range (0–1), and it is therefore represented by the
total value (TotVal): the higher TotVal, the greater the suitability.
The suitability map representing the Sardinian RGI (Fig. 2) is next overlaid with the zoning
schemes of the MMPs provided in Fig. 3. Through a spatial intersection between the two
layers, for each resulting polygon a vector having components (Zone, NatVal, ConVal, RecVal,
LandVal, TotVal) is produced, where “Zone” represents the zone type assigned by the MMP
and can take one of the ten values listed in Tab. 1.
Next, for each of the three municipalities here taken as case studies a multiple linear
regression is performed:
TotValk = Ǖ0,k + Ǖ1,kA + Ǖ2,kB + Ǖ3,kC + Ǖ4,kD + Ǖ5,kE + Ǖ6,kG + Ǖ7,kGS + Ǖ8,kH +
(1)
Ǖ9,kEZ + Ǖ10,kArea
where
“k” is the municipality;
explanatory variables representing the zoning scheme (“A” to “EZ”, see Tab. 1) are
dichotomous, or Boolean, variables; each dichotomous variable can take only two values, 1
or 0, according to the following rule: if a patch is classed under the A zone type, the variable
A equals 1, otherwise it equals 0; if a patch is classed under the B zone type, the variable B
equals 1, otherwise it equals 0, and so on; each coefficient estimated by regression (1), Ǖi, i
= 1, …, 9, identifies the change in TotVal related to a patch in case it is classed under the
zone type identified by the variable associated to the coefficient Ǖi (i.e., A, B, etc.) with respect
to the basic condition that the parcel of land under consideration was classed as “S” zone
type; the coefficients estimated by regression (1), Ǖi, i = 1, …, 9, define a taxonomy of the
zone types based on the quantitative contribution to TotVal expressed by the values of Ǖi, i =
1, …, 9;
“Area” is the size of the parcel of land under consideration, resulting from the spatial
intersection between the zoning map and the RGI suitability map; results from the multiple
linear regression are finally used to develop, for each municipality, an ordered list of the
planning zones; for each municipality, the order depends on the value of the coefficients Ǖi, i
= 1, …, 9, of regression (1).

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Fig. 2 Map of the total value, which identifies the eligibility of patches to be included in the Regional green
infrastructure
Fig. 3 The zoning layout of the MMPs of Assemini, Cagliari and Capoterra
3 RESULTS
The estimates of the regressions related to Cagliari, Assemini and Capoterra define the
features of the effects of a zone type on the eligibility of a patch to be included in the RGI.
Indeed, each coefficient of the dichotomous variables estimated in the regressions identifies
the effect on the eligibility of a patch to be included in the RGI as a consequence of it being
classified as a homogeneous zone type from “A” to “H,” or as “EZ” or “GS” (only for the MMP

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of Cagliari, which does not show any “E” zone type) types, with respect to the basic situation
of a patch being classified as “S” homogeneous zone type.
This estimated effect equals the difference in TotVal, everything else being equal. Accordingly,
a ranking of the homogeneous zone types can be defined, on the basis of the estimated
effects, from the highest to the lowest.
The zone types which mainly help to characterize a patch as being eligible to be part of the
RGI are (i) the “A” type, that is, historic and artistic center, featured by environmental values
related to the built environment, with the exception of Capoterra, whose “A” zone is, by the
way, less attractive and valuable than Cagliari’s and Assemini’s corresponding areas; (ii) the
“E” type, which identifies rural and agricultural areas, characterized by the lowest levels of
soil sealing and land take (this type of zone is not present in the zoning layout of the MMP of
Cagliari); and, above all, (iii) the “H” type, which is characterized by patches which the MMPs
identify as worth protecting because of their environmental and landscape-related features.
The effect on the eligibility of the “GS” zone type, which identifies open spaces and
recreational areas, that is, almost-totally unbuilt areas, and which is only included in the
zoning layout of the MMP of Cagliari, is consistent with the effect of the “H” zone type as well.
Tab. 2 highlights the ranking of the zone types as regards their influence on the eligibility of
patches to be included in the RGI, and the corresponding means of NatVal, ConVal, LandVal
and RecVal, in order to identify the factors’ influence in a comparative way.
With reference to the “A” and “H” (and “GS,” in the case of Cagliari) zone types, the average
values of LandVal are comparatively high, since they are always higher than 0.6. The average
values of NatVal of the “E” zones are lower than the “A” and the “H” zones’ values, even
though they are higher than the remaining zones. Moreover, the “H” zones show the highest
average values of ConVal in all of the three cases, although there is room for improvement,
since they are never higher than 0.3.
On the other hand, the conservation value on average equals zero as regards patches located
in the “A” zones, whereas it is very close or equal to zero in already-urbanized areas or in
areas characterized by ongoing advanced urbanization processes, such as “B,” “C,” “D,” “G,”
“EZ” and “S”, which is consistent with expectations, since it is very unlikely that habitats
protected under the provisions of European Union rules can be found in these areas.
The results of the regressions show that the “A,” “E” and “H” zone types are the most
important in terms of impact on the eligibility of patches to be part of the RGI.
Moreover, Tab.2 stresses that there is still large room for improvement as regards all the zone
types. For example, the almost-totally urbanized areas classed as “B,”, “C,” “D,” “G, “EZ” and
”S” zone types show non-null NatVal and RecVal, and often comparatively not so low, in each
of the three MMPs, especially with reference to the recreational profile (RecVal), which gives

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credit to possible scope for improving RGI-related features of areas located in the three towns
of the MCC.
CAPOTERRA
CAGLIARI
ASSEMINI
ZONE TYPE
Rank
Rank
Rank
Values
Values
Values
Average
Average
Average
ConVal
RelVal
ConVal
LandVal
RelVal
ConVal
LandVal
RelVal
NatVal
LandVa
NatVal
NatVal
A 2 0.432 0.000 1.000 0.573 4 0.000 0.000 0.722 0.087 NS
B 6 0.030 0.000 1.000 0.261 6 0.038 0.000 0.200 0.065 5 0.049 0.000 0.027 0.068
C NS NS NS
D 7 0.233 0.000 0.952 0.039 2 0.644 0.162 0.636 0.010 NS NS NS NS NS
E NP 3 0.482 0.028 0.352 0.006 3 0.529 0.061 0.523 0.010
G NS NS 2 0.448 0.057 0.639 0.019
GS 3 0.607 0.024 1.000 0.262 NP NP
H 1 0.675 0.204 1.000 0.195 1 0.748 0.187 0.647 0.005 1 0.696 0.282 1.000 0.038
EZ 4 NP NP
S 5 0.101 0.001 1.000 0.225 5 0.316 0.000 0.258 0.030 4 0.288 0.022 0.513 0.034
Tab. 2 Ranking of the homogenous zones based on the contribution to TotVal implied by the regression results,
and average values of the four factors which determine TotVal, related to each homogeneous zone (NP: the
homogeneous zone is not present in the MMP’s zoning rules; NS: the regression p-value entails that the
coefficient is non-significant)
Particularly relevant is the improvement margin related to agricultural areas (“E” zone type)
and to the protection areas (“H” zone type) as regards all of the four values.
This implies that the ruling framework related to these zone types would be worth exporting
to other parts of the municipal land in order to increase the eligibility of patches to be included
in the RGI.

The study analyzes the relations between the land uses, defined in the MMPs of three local
municipalities included in the MCC, and the RGI whose identification is based on the
methodology proposed by Lai and Leone (2017).
According to the results presented in Section 3, the “H” zones are the areas that mainly
positively affect the eligibility of patches to be part of the RGI in the three study areas. In

© 2019, FedoaPress


particular, in relation to “H” zones, the average values of the four factors show the following
similar trends (i) NatVal is higher than 0.5; (ii) ConsVal and RecVal are lower than 0.5; and
(iii) LandVal equals 1 (maximum value) in the case of Cagliari and Capoterra and is lower than
0.7 in the case of Assemini. As a consequence, there is plenty of room for improving two out
of the four factors (ConVal and RecVal).
ConVal is mainly influenced by the presence of habitat of community interest. “H” zone types
are conceived as areas of particular environmental and natural interest; thus, they may
represent buffer zones to protect high-quality sites, such as Natura 2000 sites, or
steppingstones along migration routes. A possible policy recommendation aims at extending
the environmental protection regimes related to habitats and species beyond the boundaries
of protected areas by identifying those patches that, in relation to their characteristics, could
be suitable for species and habitats. Therefore, advancements of scientific knowledge related
to habitats and species within “H” zones and awareness-raising activities are preliminary
necessary steps in order to increase the size of protected areas. In line with this
recommendation, Maiorano et al. (2007) suggest that integrated management of Natura 2000
sites and of their neighboring areas may improve the effectiveness of conservation measures
within protected areas due to control over human-induced activities in the surrounding areas.
Acting on elements that influence RecVal shows more room for improvement than ConVal due
to its lower values in relation to “H” zones in the three study areas. RecVal is calculated on
the basis of geotagged information retrieved from the social media Flickr, representing the
attractiveness of a certain area to visitors in a defined time period. Several studies (Heagney
et al., 2018; Amoako-Tuffour & Martinez-Espineira, 2007; Font, 2000) show that recreational
attractiveness of an area, conceived of as the demand for recreational activities, is influenced
by different factors, such as accessibility and accommodation availability. Therefore, a
possible recommendation concerns making these areas more accessible through
infrastructures that, on the one hand, support slow mobility (such as cycle and pedestrian
paths) and, on the other hand, do not increase habitat fragmentation. In fact, increased
fragmentation of habitats is likely to result in decreasing values of ConVal and NatVal.
In relation to NatVal, although its average values are quite high (between 0.67 and 0.75) in
all of the three case studies, there is still some room for improvement. NatVal is mainly
influenced by land uses and threats to habitats, identified through standard data forms of
regional Natura 2000 sites. From this standpoint, two types of policy actions should be taken
into account as particularly effective: reduction of threat and mitigation of land-taking
processes. Both these actions can include measures aiming at restoring ecosystems, also
through the use of nature-based solutions (NBSs). The concept of NBSs was coined by the
European Commission (2015) to define techniques and solutions based on the use of nature

© 2019, FedoaPress

in urban areas. NBSs are designed to address effectively several social challenges in terms of
effective resources management, and, at the same time, to provide economic, social and
environmental benefits. NBSs are more efficient and cost-effective solutions than traditional
approaches (Lafortezza et al., 2018). The European Commission (2015) identifies a series of
NBSs to make cities more livable and sustainable, such as the restoration of abandoned and
degraded areas, the use of permeable surfaces and of rain gardens to manage and control
rainwaters within urban settlements. For example, in the city of Cagliari a significant and
troubling phenomenon, represented by agricultural uses and informal settlements,
characterizes a particular “H” zone type, called “AR—Is Arenas” within the regional
“Molentargius-Saline” park. In these areas, specific measures to mitigate threats caused by
urban settlements are necessary.
Moreover, due to the positive influence of “H” zones on the eligibility of patches to be part of
the RGI, both the increase of the existing “H” zones and the definition of new “H” zones at
the expense of other zones could represent a possible policy action.
In relation to Capoterra and Assemini, “E” zones also influence positively the eligibility of
patches to be part of the RGI. The average values of NatVal, ConVal, LandVal and RecVal are
lower than those that can be found in “H” zones and, for this reason, there might be more
room for improvement, in particular in relation to NatVal and ConVal. Natural value is mainly
influenced by the quality of land covers, frequently threatened by intensive agricultural use
and by habitat fragmentation due to rural settlements and infrastructure. He et al. (2017)in a
recent work, where they study the impacts of land covers on habitat quality, suggest
improving habitat quality through agricultural policies that promote a more sustainable use of
land, with particular attention to isolated rural settlements. In relation to ConVal, as promoted
by the 2014–2020 Sardinian regional Rural Development Program, a possible policy could
include sustaining agri-environment-climate commitments, comprising, among others,
incentives to support those farmers who allocate part of their farmland for wildlife (e.g.,
establishing grass swards along wetlands, keeping unharvested conservation lands for wildlife,
or maintaining hedgerows and drywalls for small vertebrates).
In conclusion, the proposed methodology can be regarded as a tool in support of decision-
makers that can be exported to other European contexts, where Natura 2000 Network is
established in compliance with the Habitat Directive. The main advantage of the proposed
methodology is its flexibility, which makes it possible to add new values in order to include
normative, social and economic aspects that characterize other European contexts. A first
most significant limitation concerns the assessment of place attractiveness (RecVal) based on
social media only, although some research has argued that social-media retrieved information
can be used as a reliable proxy for visitation data (see, for instance: Heikinheimo et al., 2017;

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Wood et al., 2013; Sessions et al., 2016). A second limitation stems from the fact that the
methodology for assessing natural value (NatVal) does not take NBSs (such as green roofs or
green walls) into account, hence possibly underestimating the natural value in built-up areas.
These limits could be addressed in future research.
NOTES
This article is extracted from: Lai, S., Leone, F, & Zoppi C. (2019). Assessment of municipal
masterplans aimed at identifying and fostering green infrastructure: A study concerning three
towns of the Metropolitan Area of Cagliari, Italy. Sustainability, 11 (1470), 17 pp. doi:
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su11051470. Sabrina Lai, Federica Leone and Corrado Zoppi have
made substantial contributions to the study’s conception, background and design remarks
(section 1). The methodological discussion proposed in section 2 is by Federica Leone. Sabrina
Lai took care of the database and results presented in section 3. Moreover, Sabrina Lai has
drawn the maps of the three Figures reported in the study. The discussion and concluding
remarks of section 4 are by Corrado Zoppi.
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Benedict, M.A., & McMahon, E. (2006). Green Infrastructure: Linking Landscapes and Communities;
Island Press: Washington, DC, United States. ISBN: 9781559635585.
Cannas, I., Lai, S., Leone, F., & Zoppi, C. (2018). Green infrastructure and ecological corridors: A
regional study concerning Sardinia. Sustainability, 10 (1265), 21 pp. doi:
https://doi.org/10.3390/su10041265.
Commission of the European Communities (CEC) (2000). The EU Compendium of Spatial Planning
Systems and Policies: Italy. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities.
ISBN: 9282826899.

© 2019, FedoaPress

European Commission (2013). Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the
Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. Green
Infrastructure (GI)—Enhancing Europe’s Natural Capital.
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/resource.html?uri=cellar:d41348f2-01d5-4abe-b817-
4c73e6f1b2df.0014.03/DOC_1&format=PDF.
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Based Solutions & Re-Naturing Cities. Final Report of the Horizon 2020 Expert Group on “Nature-Based
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9789279460517. https://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/horizon2020/document.cfm?doc_id=10195.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/jeem.1999.1094.
He, J., Huanga, J., & Li, C. (2017). The evaluation for the impact of land use change on habitat quality:
A joint contribution of cellular automata scenario simulation and habitat quality assessment model.
Ecological Modellling, 366, 58-67. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2017.10.001.
Heagney, E.C., Rose, J.M., Ardeshiri, A., & Kovac, M. (2018). Optimising recreation services from
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AUTHORS’ PROFILES
Sabrina Lai is a Civil engineer, Sabrina Lai is Research Doctor in Land Engineering (Italy, 2009), and
Administration of Sardinia, Department for the Environment, Division for Nature Protection and
Forestry Policies.
Federica Leone, Building engineer, is Research Doctor in Land Engineering (Italy, 2013), and MSc in
International Planning and Development (UK, 2012). She is currently a research fellow at the
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Architecture of the University of Cagliari.
Professor at the University of Cagliari (Sector ICAR/20 – Spatial planning). He is presently teaching at
the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Architecture of the University of Cagliari
in the Undergraduate and Graduate Programs in Environmental and Territorial Engineering and in
Sustainable Tourism Management and Monitoring (Regional and Urban Planning, Strategic Planning
and Environmental planning).

© 2019, FedoaPress

THE OMBRONE RIVER CONTRACT
A REGIONAL DESIGN PRACTICE FOR
EMPOWERING RIVER COMMUNITIES AND
ENVISIONING BASIN FUTURES
CARLO PISANO, VALERIA LINGUA
Department of Architecture
University of Florence
e-mail: carlo.pisano@unifi.it
valeria.lingua@unifi.it
URL: http://www.regionaldesignlab.com

Pisano, C., & Lingua, V. (2019). The Ombrone River Contract. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature
6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
By their very nature physical networks and natural infrastructures and, in particular, rivers
have always had the prerogative of connecting peoples, landscapes and cultures, embodying
a great historical, economic, social and environmental wealth. At the same time – due to their
supra-local character and their geographic configuration – they have often highlighted a great
difficulty in applying tools related to their management (Danese, Chicca, 2007).
The paper aims to describe the methodology used for the definition of a River Contract based
on the Regional Design operational approach. It traces the path of research-action that led the
local community of Buonconvento, a small Tuscan town in the province of Siena, to activate
networks of social capital useful to build the coastal community.
In this particular institutional and scientific cont ext, the River Contract represents an opportunity
to build a more equitable and sustainable future, encouraging the dialogue and the association
of the entire coastal community. Understood, in fact, as a pact for the rebirth of the river basin,
the River Contract calls institutions and individuals to a non-sectoral vision to be managed in
collective forms.
KEYWORDS
Strategic Planning; Participation; Scenarios; Pilot project; Regional Design
The Ombrone River Contract

1 INTRODUCTION
On the 21st of October 2013, the Municipality of Buonconvento was flooded, along with several
other municipalities touched by the river Ombrone and its tributaries (in particular the Arbia
River). This event caused the flooding of the historical citycentre and the twentieth-century
expansion, the destruction of the regional railway line and a bridge that led to the isolation of
a whole settlement for more than six months.
Following this event, the “Committee for the enhancement of the landscape and environment
of Buonconvento” (Comitato per la valorizzazione del paesaggio e dell’ambiente di
Buonconvento), thanks to a previous experience of local mobilization concerning the
installation of a biogas plant that would have had a significant impact on the landscape
(Lingua, 2010, 2014), has undertaken a long process of confrontation with the institutions
responsible for the governance of the territory and the river basin, to understand what could
be the most appropriate ways for a quick restoration of the bridges and the road and railway
network. A framework of complex competences (Land Reclamation Consortium, Civil
Engineering Department, District, Municipalities) was outlined, in which emerged the need to
activate integrated policies for soil and water protection and the enhancement of the territory
and the environmental resources. This need was further strengthened by a second flood
event, which took place on the 24th of August 2015.
The succession of alluvial episodes with a "theoretical" fifty-year return time has contributed
to further increase the sense of citizens weakness towards these catastrophic events, as well
as the sense of mistrust towards the institutions responsible for the management of the river
and, in general, to the government of the territory. These facts made clear the need to know
and make the river known to the populations that overlook it and to transform the external
perturbations in an opportunity for the community growth, not just locally but at a territorial
scale (Floridia, 2016).
To meet these needs, the Committee has identified the River Contract as a proactive path
towards an integrated concept of sectoral policies in a multifunctional vision of the river, and
the Regional Design Laboratory of the Department of Architecture of the University of Florence
as partner in the definition of a research-action pathway aimed at conveying the institutional
interest towards the process and, at the same time, improving the perception of the river by
citizens residing along its shores. The research was then supported by the operational
methodologies of Regional Design (Lingua & Balz, 2019; Neuman & Zonneveld, 2018) for
building up a collective image of the riparian community and defining a shared vision of its
territorial development, in reference to both the local specificities and the river basin as a

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C. Pisano, V. Lingua
whole, in relation to a renewed perception of the river as resource and opportunity rather
than a risk.
This paper unravels the path that has led to the definition of the Ombrone River Contract as
an empirical pretext to discuss both the social premises and the methodologies within which
approaching a River Contract as an occasion to build up and make operational a shared vision
of a “larger-than-local” context as the one of a river basin. Born as a bottom-up proposal by
the local Committee, when joined by the University of Florence the process has been
developed as a research-action practice. The joint action of the Committee and the University,
operating at different scales (local vs regional) kicked off by the local community of
Buonconvento to activate networks of social capital within the community itself and with the
neighbouring cities and associations of the whole river basin. The methodology developed for
the definition of the basin visions, based on the Regional Design operational approach, has
been conceived as an opportunity to involve local communities of the entire coastal area
around a non-sectoral vision and to reflect on the ways to make the River Contract operational
in collective forms. After a brief description of the territorial context of the Ombrone river
basin, with a particular focus on the community of Buonconvento (section 1), section 2 details
the methodological framework and section 3 presents the preliminary results of this research-
action process; the last paragraph rounds off the contribution with a set of conclusions
underlining the research prospects and operational application of Regional Design methods
and techniques in processes of activation of River Contracts.
2 METHODOLOGY
The River Contract has the intrinsic objective of integrating and territorialising sectoral policies
into a multifunctional vision of the river, through a process that coordinates and supports local
participation in constructing a new sense of community linked to the definition of a shared
vision. The River Contract as defined in Italy by the National Chart of River Contracts (V
National Table of River Contracts, Milan 2010) aims to bring together the different actors of
the territory into an integrated, multidimensional, multidisciplinary approach (Ingaramo &
Voghera, 2016). The institutions and authorities which are directly involved in the
management of the river and the territory, the inhabitants and all the different stakeholders
are linked in a pact that foster a non-sectorial vision in which the river is perceived as an
environment of life (European Landscape Convention - 2000) and therefore as a common
good to be managed in collective forms.
The process leading to the formation of a River Contract has already been undertaken in
several river basins both in Italy and in Europe (Voghera & Avidano, 2010). The innovative
nature of the Ombrone project lies in the kick off from the bottom, from the riparian citizens.

© 2019, FedoaPress


As a consequence, the local reality becomes the starting point for a process that links different
scales of action and operating methods. In managing this link among scales and actors, a
Regional Design approach has been developed.
From a general perspective, the Regional Design approach uses visioning as an act of
explanation of current and future scenarios through the definition of an horizon (Secchi,
2003). Therefore, referring to a large scale design (in this case, the fluvial region), together
with the 'analytical' and 'normative' dimensions of planning concepts (Davoudi, 2003),
Regional Design represents the process of explication of the third dimension, the
'argumentative' one (discursive), through which the spatial representations assure the analytic
process of co-production of knowledge and, at the same time, attribute meaning to the
definition of strategies and actions, through their spatial transposition (Balz & Zonneveld,
2014). In the Ombrone project, the research has followed different trajectories and models
enriched by the contribution of different experiences and expertise. As summarized in the
methodological diagram (Fig. 1) the work is composed of two parallel and strongly linked
processes: the participatory process – developed with experts1 and technicians, with citizens
and schools – has in fact integrated the visioning process defined in the scientific research
field, binding it to the reality and local ambitions. Furthermore, following a transcalar
methodology (Ingaramo & Voghera, 2016), the scale of the work, from the analysis to the
project, has followed an oscillating trend from the large scale of the “scenario construction”
up to the scale of the detailed projects of “case studies”, and then returned to the evaluation
of the results for the entire river basin, passing through the definition of the more technical
thematic maps, useful to foster the participatory process. It was therefore important to find
an instrument able to ground on a shared vision the choices of valorisation of the territory
and the landscape, composing conflicts and interests at the local level through negotiating
processes, building a dialogue between the socio-economic political and planning instruments
with those of local government. One of the methodologies proposed in the research is based
on the "scenario construction" (Secchi, 2003), a technique of pre-vision of the future often
investigated both in research experiences and in professional practice (Gabellini, 2010;
Magnaghi, 2007; Secchi, 2003) The scenarios are intended as hypothetical and opposing
stories of the future that answer the question: "what would happen if ..." (Secchi, 2003).
The scenario is therefore a collection of hypotheses that question the future, and which allows
to deal with and discuss about the future (Cavalieri, 2013; Pisano, 2016; Viganò, 2010). In
this sense, the scenario has the capacity to assist the correct reconstruction of problems: a

1
The partecipatory process, entitled “Osiamo!Verso ilcontratto di fiumeOmbrone”, was financed by
Toscana Regiona (L.R. 69/2007) and coordinated by Micaela Deriu and Fabio Ferlanda.

© 2019, FedoaPress

problem setting service, able to isolate issues and place them in a reciprocal relationship.
Through the construction of scenarios is therefore possible to separately study and discuss
different thematic systems – hydraulic, naturalistic, economic and social aspects – in order to
ground and specify conflicts and interests.
Fig. 1 The methodological structure of the research
The purpose of the River Contract is however to foster a process in which the different
aspects, related to the river management, can coexist and integrate with one another. This
quest for integration and convergence between the themes, expressed in scenarios, was
approached at the local dimension through the use of the pilot projects methodology. Included
in several theoretical framework, such as Landscape Urbanism (Steiner, 2011), DIY Urbanism
(Sawney, 2015) and Tactical Urbanism (Lydon, 2015) – pilot projects are meant as community
engagement and as instruments to learn about how planning and design decisions actually
hit the ground, thereby improving the final implementation (Gehl, 2017). In the down-scaling
from macro to micro, the regional-scale strategies have been tested in more detailed projects
that, once developed and shared with the community, have been scaled-up in their strategic
assumptions to inform again the final river basin vision.

© 2019, FedoaPress


3 RESULTS
For the reasons described above, the scenarios construction has been chosen as a consistent
methodology to organize the various points of view and the interests that animate the river
and its management. First, an analysis of general and sectoral spatial planning instruments
at Regional and Provincial level has let to provide for a scenario integrating different ways to
conceive the basin area and its future. These projects, together with the results of the
workshops with citizens and school children held in the first participatory phase, provided for
defining three main issues (Tab. 1), at least partly divergent: risk and infrastructure;
environmental and eco-systemic quality; accessibility and local development.
VISION 1 VISION 2 VISION 3

AUTOHORITY - Planning instrument Risk and Environmental and Accessibility and
infrastructure eco-systemic local
quality development
TUSCANY REGION - Regional Spatial L M H
Framework and Landscape Plan (Piano
di indirizzo territoriale con valenza di
piano paesaggistico)
TUSCANY REGION - Regional Mobility H M M
Plan (Piano Regionale Integrato
Infrastrutture e Mobilità (Priim))
TUSCANY REGION – Regional Plan for M M L
Mining Activities (Piano Regionale delle
Attività Estrattive (PRAE))
TUSCANY REGION - Rural Development L M H
Program (Programma di Sviluppo
Rurale)
DISTRICT BASIN AUTHORITY OF THE H M M
NORTHERN APENNINES - Flood Risk
Management Plan (Piano di Gestione
del Rischio Alluvioni)
BASIN AUTHORITY - Basin Plan - H L L
Hydrogeological Plan (Piano di Bacino -
Piano di Assetto Idrogeologico)
TUSCANY REGION – Multi-year H M M
intervention programs (Programmi di
intervento pluriennali)
LAND RECLAMATION CONSORTIUM- H H M
Reclamation activities plan (Piano delle
attività di Bonifica)
SIENA PROVINCE – Provincial L M H
Territorial Coordination Plan (Piano
Territoriale di Coordinamento
Provinciale)
Tab. 1 Correlation between planning instruments and visions (High-Medium-Low)
These three scenarios call for different ways of understanding the river and its future,
conveyed by groups of technical stakeholders, differentiated local interests, often in conflict

© 2019, FedoaPress

with each other and accustomed to different specific languages and terminologies. The three
scenario maps elaborated for the Ombrone river favour a representation of information
organized in systems, envisioning the result of an interpretive action. This interpretative action
is intended to develop different representations of the same river basin, which construct a
reading of the territory organized on issues consolidated in planning practices and in the local
debate (Carta, 2009): the synthesis directed to highlight the system of large infrastructures
and hydrogeological risk and the works aimed at mitigating it; the synthesis focused to
underline the interaction between the environmental and ecological dimension of the territory;
finally, the one aimed at organizing the anthropic dimension, sustainable mobility and local
development (Fig. 2).
Fig. 2 Three scenarios for Ombrone river. From left: risk and infrastructure; environmental and eco-systemic
quality; accessibility and local development
The different scenarios informed and were informed by the participatory process which was
based on the two case studies of Buonconvento and Cinigiano municipalities, which have been
chosen as representative of two very different realities of the river basin. Those two
municipalities are, in fact, located in two territorial areas both along the river, but different
from an ecological, political and topographical point of view (high and low Ombrone, province
of Siena and Grosseto). Through a series of participatory planning workshops, a collective
reflection on the impact of different scenarios in the local area and on possible intervention
strategies was developed.

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The participatory design workshops have shown how the pilot project could be intended as a
tool able to recompose the divergent large-scale scenarios in an integrated design perspective.
Thus, the use of the fluvial territory can, for example, find a point of equilibrium with respect
to the safeguard and enhancement of environmental and ecosystem quality; or the
hydrogeological risk management and mitigation works can coexist with fruitive and
productive activities.
In this way, the local scale becomes the key dimension for the definition of integrated policies
able to guarantee the balanced management and development of the fluvial territories and
its community.
Fig. 3 Pilot project of Buonconvento (SI): the masterplan resulting from the participatory process

© 2019, FedoaPress

4 CONCLUSION
The innovative character of the research-action path undertaken by the Regional Design
Laboratory together with the Buonconvento Committee regards two elements: the structure
of the bottom-up approach and the methodology used to define the vision of the riparian
community.
Concerning the first point, the project seeks to find an integration between representative and
participatory democracy starting from the bottom (bottom-up approach): the shared action
of the local and the scientific community, which is also enriched by local researchers involved
in the research-action process, outlines a concrete approach, based on a clear civic will that
compares itself with the administrations to resolve the division of political competences. With
respect to several examples of River Contracts both in Italy and abroad, generally promoted
by supra-local institutions, in this case the proposal comes from a community that aims to
involve a substantially wider territorial area and, starting from a traumatic event, to develop
a collective reflection on the relationship with the river of the entire riparian community. This
reflection, addressed with Regional Design methods and techniques, can give substance to a
"regional project" that is as necessary as challenging, given the context of historical criticalities
in which it is inserted.
In particular, the methodology consisted of a mutual contamination between scales (from
micro to macro and vice versa) and between policies (from short to long term and vice versa),
acting at the same time at the scale of the river basin – through the surveys subsumed in the
three territorial scenarios – and at the local scale, through the two pilot projects. The results
are then recomposed in a continuous process that binds the different scales of action and
operating modes.
This process is therefore an attempt to overcome the hierarchical visionof the urbanistic and
architectural design, placing in relation, from the first moment, structural and strategic choices
with the design of the single nodes.
The current outcomes of this research-action path, as well as its future developments, through
the definition of integrated pilot projects, shows that the use of Regional Design methods and
techniques in the processes of activation of River Contracts opens wide research prospects
and operational application, linked to the definition of indicative frameworks, images and
visions of the territory and the interaction between the different institutions and projects, and
between these and the stakeholders involved in the project of the future of the coastal
territory.

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AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Carlo Pisano is assistant professor in Urbanismat the University of Florence, Department of

Architecture, Regional Design Lab. He has been researcher, professor under contract and visiting critic
in the field of urban design, urbanism and strategic planning. He has worked as designer and
consultant in numerous international projects in Belgium, Russia, Austria and Italy.
Valeria Lingua is associate professor in Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Florence,
Department of Architecture, Regional Design Lab. Her research interests are concerned with spatial
planning and regional design, with a focus on cooperative governance in strategic planning practices
at regional and local levels. Recent research activities concern the rescaling of planning systems and
spatial planning across local boundaries, in the framework of a research project founded by the Italian
Ministry of Education, Universities and Research within the prestigious SIR Programme (Scientific
Independence of young Researchers) aimed to support young researchers at the start of their
independent research activity.

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GREEN INFRASTRUCTURES IN
THE MASTERPLAN OF ROME
STRATEGIC COMPONENTS FOR AN INTEGRATED
URBAN STRATEGY
LAURA RICCI, CARMELA MARIANO

IRENE POLI
Department of Planning, Design, and

University of Rome - Sapienza, Italy
e-mail: laura.ricci@uniroma1.it
carmela.mariano@uniroma1.it
irene.poli@uniroma1.it

Ricci, L., Mariano, C. & Poli, I. (2019). Green infrastructures in the Masterplan of Rome. In C. Gargiulo & C.
Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature and ecosystem services (pp. 513-523). Naples: FedOAPress. ISBN: 978-88-
6887-054-6, doi: 10.6093/978-88-6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
As part of the research and experimentation activities by the Department of Planning, Design and
Technology, Sapienza University of Rome, the contribution is set in the context of the Research
project “Mediterranean Europe. Strategies of urban and metropolitan rebalancing”, taking as
its central theme the essential role of green infrastructures (GI) within planning processes
aimed at urban and metropolitan rebalancing, and the implementation of urban and territorial
regeneration strategies. The Research, in the conviction that urban regeneration is not feasible,
in Italy, without a reform of the national urban planning legislative framework, adopts the need
to start a process to renew of urban planning instruments involving the entire planning system.
For these purposes, and starting from the awareness that significant disciplinary paradigms
are already present in the experimentation of the plans and projects, as well as in regional
legislative experiences, that have changed the strategies and competences of the urban plan
by developing an effective model of a sustainable local plan, Research has investigated, with
reference to some Italian cities comparing with European cases, the GI’s potential to activate,
as components of planning, ecological connection systems within large metropolitan areas.
Among the cases investigated, the contribution focuses on the emblematic experience of the
New Masterplan of the City of Rome (2008), and, in particular, on the decisive role played by
the Environmental System and the Ecological Network for the purpose of implementation and
managing the overall urban planning strategy of rebalancing and regeneration that inspired it.
KEYWORDS
Urban Regeneration; Ecological Network; Sustainable Planning; Green Infrastructure
L. Ricci, C. Mariano, I. Poli
1 INTRODUCTION
The contribution is set in the context of the Research project “Europa Mediterranea. Strategie
di riequilibrio urbano e metropolitano”, PDTA Department (2017), financed by Sapienza
University of Rome, taking as its central theme the role of green infrastructures (GI) within
planning processes aimed at urban and metropolitan rebalancing, and at putting into play
strategies of urban regeneration characterized by a strong integration between interventions
of morphological, cultural, and social requalification, and actions of an environmental nature
(Oliva & Ricci, 2017).
Extended over the large-area this strategy, in heralding a new decentralized urban
organization that is polycentrically-structured, sustainable and accessible (Ricci, 2014),
provides an integrated response to the demands of environmental regeneration, social
revitalization, and cultural and economic valorization of the city, in accordance with principles
of environmental and socioeconomic sustainability (Arcidiacono et al., 2016; Sbetti et al.,
2016), calling into question certain structural limits of the current urban forms, and implying
“an overcoming of the sectoral approach in favor of an integrated approach to urban
complexity” (Maciocco, 2015).
In this setting, the Research deeply examined the issue of the GIs that appear as territorial
components starting from which new strategies may be developed, aimed at reducing
vulnerability and increasing the territory’s resilience, while making the most of the specific
ecosystem potentials (Mariano & Marino, 2018).
The European Union (EU, 2013) defines GI as “a strategically planned network of natural and
semi-natural areas with other environmental features designed and managed to deliver a wide
range of ecosystem services”. This definition includes three important aspects: the concept of
ecological connectivity, as a network of territorial systems and areas, environments, and
landscapes; the key role of planning; the concept of multifunctionality of ecosystems which,
as the European Commission pointed out in 2012 (EC, 2012), refers to the range of functions
that GIs can guarantee – including protecting ecosystems and biodiversity, improving the
functionality of ecosystem services, promoting society’s health and well-being, supporting the
green economy – in order to ensure the essential conditions for the sustainability of the
transformative processes. GIs, then, are a “cross-cutting network paradigm” (Gambino,
2010a) of the planning process, characterized by a multi-scalar and multi-sectoral approach,
capable, within a broader regeneration strategy, of capitalizing on the interactions among the
various connective and network systems, that traverse the territory (the hydrographic
network, the ecological network, the cultural assets network, the agricultural fabric network,
the soft mobility network).

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Green infrastructures in the Masterplan of Rome

1.1 THE ROLE OF GREEN INFRASTRUCTURES IN URBAN PLANNING

The planning experiences being studied in the Research, with particular reference to French
and Spanish cases, underscore the structural role played by GIs as full-blown invariables for
the development and reconfiguration of the physical and socioeconomic aspects of the
territories.
In these experiences, the networks represent the structure for urban and territorial
regeneration, the framework for implementation and for the sustainable and green
management of the public city, while also reducing costs by implementing systems for
recycling and saving resources. They also contribute towards the change in citizens’ values
and lifestyles, towards a greater attention to and awareness of the environment and its
preservation, and towards the development of new sustainable modes of use. This is also
achieved by promoting new functions capable of restoring a sense and central importance to
the territory’s places of identity, in the context of processes of reclaiming and valorizing
common goods (Ravagnan & Poli, 2017). The features of inter-scalarity and integration of GIs
appeal to the need for a multi-level planning system, from the local one to the territorial,
regional, or metropolitan one, supported by an inter-institutional and integrated governance.
1.2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

In particular, the main objective of the Research was to identify, starting from the debate and
the examination of some European planning experiences, the methodological references and
the tools for implementing interventions of urban regeneration. This is especially the case in
the presence of risks and degenerative processes such as those connected with climate
changes, and those of “dealing, using a systemic approach, with the complex roots of the
environmental and territorial dynamics; of producing adequate knowledge and understanding
of local realities and their development trends; of proposing holistic visions of the problems
to be faced; and of advancing design possibilities capable of anticipating events and of giving
a pro-active role to public leadership” (Gambino, 2010b).
Towards these purposes, the Research puts into play a multidisciplinary, integrated approach
which, has as its central aim the creation of an open dialogue that joins together conceptual,
cultural, and disciplinary paradigms that make reference to the notion of urban planning and
territory on the one hand, and of environment and landscape on the other – notions
traditionally considered in terms of opposition, and the prerogatives of separate and sectoral
planning. In this framework, an emblematic role was place by the experience of the Masterplan
(Piano Regolatore Generale) of the Municipality of Rome, approved in 2008 (PRG ’08).

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2 INTEGRATING ECOLOGY AND URBAN PLANNING. THE ROLE OF

EXPERIMENTATION
From the 1990s in Italy, the experimentation of reformist local plans, aims at an integration
between ecology and urban planning, has profoundly changed content, strategies, and
competences of the urban plan, developing a new sustainable model, centered upon the
conservation of non-reproducible environmental resources, the regeneration of reproducible
ones, and the objective that developing and transforming the city might not erode these
resources.
The ecological regeneration strategy refers to the set of actions, activated directly by the plan,
to improve the quality of the environmental resources, in support of the regeneration natural
processes.
The strategy aims to:
− increased permeability of urban land, tree cover, and biomass;
− increased public and private greenery;
− reduced air pollution;
− preventive restoration of the lands to be reused.
Urban planning sustainability is operatively developed through:
− exclusion of new forms of urban expansion, orienting towards regenerating the existing
city;
− environmental ecological compatibility of the mobility system and of the technological
networks;
− application of principles and rules to increase the potentials of environmental
regeneration and guarantee the compatibility of the plan’s implementation, with
reference to the existing city and to the settings of transformation (re-waterproofing of
urban land; increase public or private greenery; creation of an ecological network
providing connection between environmental, natural, and manmade components).
The PRG ‘08 of Rome refers to this cultural and disciplinary arrangement, making an important
contribution towards developing a model for urban sustainability and, more generally, towards
the process of innovating the planning system for the purposes of a reform of the national
urban planning legislative framework.
3 THE MASTERPLAN OF ROME

The PRG ‘08 of Rome is to date an emblematic case of anticipation, confluence, and
actualization of the most significant elements of output in the discipline over the past twenty

© 2019, FedoaPress


years. Through a system of rules, tools, procedures, and implementation mechanisms, it has
helped herald a new integrated, inter-scalar, and multidisciplinary approach to urban
regeneration.
The Plan, approved in 2008 (City Council approval Decision no. 18/2008), was the result of a
long planning process begun in 1994, which brought into focus and gradually implemented
the overall urban planning strategy of regeneration and of urban and metropolitan
rebalancing.
This strategy, inserted into a metropolitan horizon, heralding a new decentralized
arrangement of a sustainable and accessible polycentric urban structure, within the residential
fabrics and those for activities, such as diffuse settlements traversed and interrelated with the
environmental System and the Ecological Network, are reorganized around the new urban
and metropolitan Centralities.
The implementation of this strategy guides the urban transformations, as a priority, towards
interventions to requalify and modernize the existing city, triggering virtuous processes of
environmental regeneration. Concretely it thus pursues the containment of land consumption
and guarantees environmental sustainability.
The Plan therefore puts into play a regeneration strategy based upon concepts of
environmental compensation and of ecological/environmental potential, which, through
specific rules, links every urban planning transformation to interventions to improve the
quality of the air, water, and land resources. In essence, it guarantees that every urban
transformation will not erode resources but will instead present a positive ecological balance.
3.1 PLAN’S STRUCTURAL COMPONENTS

To implementing and managing the urban planning strategy, the environmental System is
referred to by the first of the three structuring choices constituting the Plan’s scaffolding.
The three choices are grounded in the components to which the Plan attributes a value of
full-blown long-term invariables, which represent the “limits”, the “conditions”, and the
“model” of urban and metropolitan transformation: the environmental System, the System of
infrastructures for mobility, and the System of the urban and metropolitan Centralities.
The environmental System is the first choice adopted also in terms of timing within the Plan’s
construction process. The System of urban and metropolitan Centralities configures a
polycentric urban structure, based on 18 Centralities located in correspondence with
intermodal exchange hubs, the points of maximum accessibility. This model pursuing the
decongestion of the central area and responding to the demand for highly qualified spaces
for innovative activities – is the bearing element of the processes of urban regeneration
through the modernization and revitalization of the more peripheral areas.

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Fig. 1. PRG ‘08 of Rome. Document “Sistema ambientale (Environmental System)”, 1:50.000
3.2 THE ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEM

In addition to the extra-urban areas, the Plan completes the environmental System within the
urban area (inside the Historic city, the Consolidated city, the City to be restructured), also
traversing the new settlement forecasts (the City of transformation).
The components of the environmental System identifies in the prescriptive Document “Sistemi
e Regole (Systems and Rules)” 1:10.000, are: National and regional protected natural
areas;The Water network; Agricultural areas.
Agricultural parks, three large rural settings different from the protected natural areas, but
ascribable to a unitary system of natural, landscape, and historical/archaeological interest to
be protected and valorized, are identified in prescriptive Document “Rete Ecologica (Ecological
network)”, 1:10.000. The design of the environmental System is supplemented with the
environmental components making reference to the other Systems. PRG ‘08 identifies new
components of the settlement System and new rules that respond to the need to confirm and
increase the potential for environmental regeneration, in terms of permeability of urban land
and of strengthening the biomass, precisely within the urban areas potentially subject to
transformation.

© 2019, FedoaPress


The components, which constitute ecological-environmental standards, are:
− Historic villas and open spaces of the Historic city;
− Private greenery of the Consolidated city;
− Public greenery and Equipped private greenery of the System of services and
infrastructure;
− Road and railway environment belts of the System of services and infrastructure.
The new rules are:
− free transfer of areas for greenery and public services in a measure exceeding the
minimum standard and as a percentage of the total territorial surface area for the
intervention (from 30% to 40% of the surface area);
− insertion of a functional mix as quality indicator, with a minimum quantities, as a
percentage of the total gross useful area quota of residential, non-residential, and
flexible uses (to be attributed at the time of implementation);
− prescription of permeability coefficients, of tree and shrubbery densities in all the
transformation settings;
− prescription of an area for private greenery with ecological value in all the transformation
settings to guarantee the sustainability of the urban transformation.
3.3 THE ECOLOGICAL NETWORK

The Ecological Network (EN) restores a hierarchical reading of the different components’ levels
of naturalism, in which the concept of network underscores both the need to guarantee the
areas’ connectivity for the purpose of maximizing their environmental effects, and the
ecological character, the concrete conditioning on the urban environment and on the city’s
livability. It represents the set of the principal ecosystems and the related connections. The
measures and interventions are aimed at preserving, valorizing, and restoring the areas’
values and levels of naturalism, as well as at ensuring their integration in accordance with
criteria and objectives of geographic continuity and ecological functionality. The EN
components are regulated by the combined graphic and text provisions of prescriptive
Document “Rete Ecologica (Ecological Network)” on a scale of 1:10.000, which, in regulatory
terms, is complementary to and at the same scale as the prescriptive Document “Sistemi e
Regole (Systems and Rules)”, 1:10.000.
The EN components are:
− primary components: the ecosystems with stronger naturalism, including mainly
Protected natural areas, Agricultural parks, Water network, less compromised and with
greater connection, the Agricultural Areas of greater environmental and landscape value;

© 2019, FedoaPress

− secondary components: the areas of average nature level of nature and a high level of
integration among the primary components, including areas of the settlement System
and of the System of services and infrastructure;
− completion components: elements that complete and further connect the EN, and this
network to the other Systems with particular regard to flood risk areas.
Fig. 2. PRG ‘08 of Rome. On the left: “Sistemi e Regole (Systems and Rules)”, 1:10.000. On the right: “Rete
Ecologica (Ecological Network)”, 1:10.000
In order to preserve and strengthen the EN, the Municipality takes action with Programmes
pursuing the following objectives:
− protect and expand the areas of natural vegetation;
− implement interventions for the maintenance or renaturation of water courses;
− promote interventions for the arrangement of the archaeological-historical heritage;
− protect scenic sights and the integrity of landscape;
− maintain existing cultivation activities, as part of the characteristics of the landscape;

© 2019, FedoaPress


− limit/reduce land’s waterproofing;

− limit the pollution of land, air, and water, as well as noise, visual, and light pollution, in
accordance with sectoral Plans.
4 CONCLUSIONS
The complexity of the issues relating to the contemporary city requires putting into play a
unitary, inter-scalar strategy of public governance, aimed at urban regeneration and at
territorial rebalancing.
The new themes, as the urban impacts of ecological issues and the role of GIs within the
strategies of urban regeneration, are founding objectives of the European urban Agenda,
thereby underscoring the decisive role played by urban planning as a driver of development
in making cities safe, sustainable, and resilient.
In keeping with these themes, and with the comprehensive characteristic of integration also
appealed to by the European Community (2007), in order to implement green economy
measures aimed at containing the consumption of natural resources, urban regeneration must
be taken on as an integral part of an ordinary policy for the city, and therefore as a significant
chapter in the national urban Agenda.
In Italy this brings up the need for a comprehensive reform of the national urban planning
that systematize policies, procedures, tools and implementation mechanisms in order to turn
the concept of urban regeneration and of government of the territory into concrete substance,
and that can be a reference for a structural reordering involving the entire planning system.
The Research appropriates the need to a reform process, in the awareness that significant
disciplinary paradigms and useful models are already present in the experimentation of the
plans and in the regional legislative experiences that changed the strategies and competences
of the urban plan by developing an effective model of a sustainable local plan.
This model requires a national-level regulatory framework that provides certainty of the law,
while also synthesizing the innovations that have been introduced, which constitute a
significant disciplinary patrimony to start from. At the same time it appeals to the need not
only for technical competence, but for administrative and political competence to govern the
territory.
As the case of PRG ’08 shows, although the instrumentation and the procedures developed
remain innovative and current, the political and cultural crisis and the substantial absence of
technical and administrative skills following the change of administration to the City’s
government led in 2008 to the Plan’s brusque removal and the suspension of its provisions,
made it impossible the transition from the planning phase to that of full operation.

© 2019, FedoaPress

REFERENCES
Arcidiacono, A., Ronchi, S., & Salata, S. (2016). Managing Multiple Ecosystem Services for Landscape
Conservation: A Green Infrastructure in Lombardy Region, Procedia Engineering, 161, 2297-2303.
European Commission (2012). The Multifunctionality of Green Infrastructure.
European Union (2013). Building a Green Infrastructure for Europe Environment.
Gambino, R. (2010a). Lectio Magistralis: Parchi e paesaggi d’Europa. Un programma di ricerca

territoriale, Ri-Vista. Ricerche per la progettazione del paesaggio, 14, 3-20.
Gambino, R. (2010b). Prefazione. In Todaro, V. (Ed.), Reti ecologiche e governo del territorio,
FrancoAngeli, Milano, Italia, ISBN 9788856825008.
Maciocco, G. (2015). Paesaggi dell’acqua come progetto del territorio sicuro, in Moccia, F.D., Sepe, M.
(Eds.), IX Giornata Studio INU Infrastrutture blu e verdi, reti virtuali, culturali e sociali, Urbanistica
Informazioni, 263 SI, Special session 4, 1-2.
Mariano, C., Marino, M. (2018). Water landscapes: from risk management to a urban regeneration
strategy, UPLanD, 3, 55-74.
Oliva, F., Ricci, L. (2017). Promoting urban regeneration and the requalification of built housing stock,
in Antonini, E., Tucci, F. (Eds.), Architecture, City and Territory towards a Green Economy (pp.204-
219). Milano, IT: EdizioniAmbiente. ISBN 9788866272168.
Ravagnan, C., Poli, I. (2017). Green and blue networks: towards a safe future within risk management
and strategic vision, Urbanistica, 160, 141-150.
Ricci, L. (2014). Governare il cambiamento: più urbanistica, più piani, in Franceschini, A. (Ed.), Sulla
città futura. Verso un progetto ecologico (pp.97-104). Trento, IT: List. ISBN 9788898774104.
Ricci, L. (2017). Governing contemporary cities: reform and measures promoting urban regeneration,
Urbanistica, 160, 91-95.
Sbetti, F., Rossi, F., Talia, M., & Trillo, C. (Eds.) (2016). Il governo della città nella contemporaneità.
La città come motore di sviluppo. La rigenerazione urbana come resilienza, Urbanistica Dossier 004.
Roma, IT: INU Edizioni. ISBN 9788876030949.
AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Laura Ricci. Architect, PhD in Territorial and urban planning, Postgraduate Specialization Diploma in
Methods and Tools of Urban Planning, Faculty of Architecture, Sapienza University of Rome. She is
Full Professor of Urban Planning and Director of the Department of Planning, Design, Technology of
Architecture (PDTA), Sapienza University of Rome. She is Director of the Postgraduate Specialization
School in Natural and Territorial Heritage, Faculty of Architecture, and Director of the Postgraduate II
Level Master Course Natural Capital and Protected Areas. Planning, Design and Management,
Department PDTA. She is Member of the Academic Board of the PhD Course in Planning, Design and
Technology of Architecture, Department PDTA. Since 1995 to 2012 she is General Scientific Advisor of

© 2019, FedoaPress


the Municipality of Rome for the editing, approval and execution of the new Masterplan (PRG),
approved in 2008.
Carmela Mariano. Architect, PhD in Urban requalification and Settlement recovery, Associate
Professor of Urban Planning of the Department of Planning, Design, Technology of Architecture
(PDTA), Sapienza University of Rome. She is President of the Master Degree Course in Architecture -
Urban Regeneration, Member of the Academic Board of the PhD Course in Planning, Design and
Technology of Architecture, Department PDTA, Member of the Academic Board of the Postgraduate
Specialization School in Natural and Territorial Heritage, Faculty of Architecture, and Member of the
Scientific Teaching Council of the Postgraduate II Level Master Course Natural Capital and Protected
Areas. Planning, Design and Management, Department PDTA.
Irene Poli. Architect, PhD in Urban requalification and Settlement recovery, she is Fixed-Term
Researcher of Urban Planning of the Department of Planning, Design, Technology of Architecture
(PDTA), Sapienza University of Rome.

© 2019, FedoaPress

SMART CITY GOVERNANCE FOR
CHILD-FRIENDLY CITIES
IMPACTS OF GREEN AND BLUE
INFRASTRUCTURES ON CHILDREN’S
INDEPENDENT ACTIVITIES
ALFONSO ANNUNZIATAa, CHIARA GARAUb
a
e-mail: annunziata.alfonso@yahoo.it
b
e-mail: cgarau@unica.it

Annuziata, A., & Garau, C. (2019). Smart City Governance for Child-Friendly Cities. Impacts of Green and
Blue Infrastructures on Children’s Independent Activities. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature
6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
The research investigates the features of blue/green infrastructure integrated in the built
environment that affect children’s independent mobility and outdoor activities. Independent
activities, including mobility, spatial appropriation, imaginative play and cooperative and social
activities, are instrumental to children’s physical, cognitive, emotional and social development.
Building on previous research, the paper introduces the notion of meaningful usefulness to
signify the potential of public open spaces to enable multiple purposeful, valued activities. The
research aims to structure a synthetic index of usefulness and the Practices of children in open
urban spaces (POCUS), an assessment tool which addresses the potential of public open spaces
incorporating blue/green infrastructure to enable children’s functional, recreational and social
activities.
This research fills a void in the literature, by addressing two issues: i) the complex pattern of
activities by means of which children engage with the material and social environment; ii) the
social impact of affordances incorporated in blue/green infrastructure, in terms of children’s
well-being, agency and right to the city. The assessment tool and its embodied methodological
framework support the design of trans-scalar mosaics of natural spaces, integrating hydrological
function, biodiversity, and usable, safe, stimulating public spaces. Consequently, this research
contributes to governance processes within the smart city paradigm, by supporting policies
and urban planning practices which increase inclusivity and hyper-diversity within sustainable
communities.
KEYWORDS
Usefulness; Blue/Green Infrastructure; Agency; Outdoor Independent Activities
Smart city governance for child-friendly cities: impacts of green and blue infrastructures...
1 INTRODUCTION
This paper analyzes how material, spatial, functional and social conditions of green and blue
infrastructures integrated in the built environment affect children’s propensity to engage in
outdoor independent activities. The research aims to structure a synthetic index and the
Practices Of Children in public Urban Spaces (POCUS), an audit tool which assesses the
potential of public spaces incorporating Green and blue infrastructures to promote inclusion
and healthy lifestyles by accommodating children’s functional, optional/recreational and social
activities. This potential is encompassed in the concept of meaningful usefulness, which is
described in the subsequent sections.
This paper introduces the notion of children’s independent activities (CIAs). Outdoor
independent activities include independent mobility and the complex of practices producing
the meaningful engagement with the material environment: exploration, occupation and
transformation of spaces, intra-active play, structured group activities, imaginative and
creative games (Annunziata & Garau, 2018; Garau et al., 2018). The planning and design of
multifunctional trans-scalar networks, serving biodiversity, water safety and quality, landscape
and heritage, biodiversity, local food production, while promoting inclusivity emerges as a
crucial element in the construction of governance practices within the smart city paradigm
(Chawla, 2015; Tjallingii, 2015). The latter implies in fact investments in human and social
capital and traditional (transport) and modern (ICT) infrastructure that support sustainable
economic development and a high quality of life, with a wise management of natural
resources, through participatory action and engagement (Caragliu, 2009). This research
focuses on the built environment and on urban blue/green infrastructure for two intertwined
reasons: i) coherence with the authors’ existing research on walkability, children’s mobility,
and child-friendly cities; ii) and the emergence of built environments as the main milieu of
children’s development. UNICEF (2012) observes that more than 1 billion children live in urban
settings around the world and in the next future, following the global trends toward
urbanization, the majority of world’s children will grow-up in towns and cities. This research
deals with a subject little discussed in the literature on the blue/green infrastructure and on
walkability and livability of public spaces. In fact, the influence of BGI (Blue and Green
Infrastructure) on children’s spatial practices investigates in this research a specific aspect of
social benefits provided by BGIs. These benefits are, for instance, the correlation of early
nature experiences and the development of human nature connections, which in turn affect
the possibility of the “trans-generational establishment of sustainable futures” (Giusti et al.,
2018). Moreover, this research emphasizes the complex patterns of activities by focusing on
outdoor independent activities instead of solely on physical activity or mobility

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A. Annunziata, C. Garau
The proposed POCUS audit tool incorporates qualitative street audit and quantitative GIS-
based indicators for measuring microscale features specific to single spaces as well as
indicators referred to meso- and macro-scale contextual factors. Moreover, the audit tool is
integrated into an open and adaptable methodological framework which accounts for the
dependence of perceptions and use patterns on socio-demographic individual factors and on
contextual socio-economic and cultural factors. This methodology is applied to a central area
in Cagliari, Italy.
Starting from these assumptions, this paper begins by defining the urban blue/green
infrastructure and by analyzing the literature review on the availability of natural settings and
public open spaces for children’s independent mobility and physical activity. Then, a
methodological framework for assessing the practicability of spaces incorporating the urban
blue/green infrastructure, is presented. In the subsequent section a case study, a central area
in Cagliari (Italy) is described. Finally, results of the study are exposed, by identifying the level
of meaningful usefulness, of the selected public open spaces and individuating critical aspects
to be confronted. The paper concludes by considering the validity of results of the case study
analysis and exploring the limitation of the proposed model as well its relevance for other
similar contexts.
2 LITERATURE REVIEW ON CHILDREN’S INDEPENDENT ACTIVITIES

WITHIN THE URBAN BLUE/GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE
Urban blue and Green infrastructures (Urban BGI) are here defined as an interconnected
network of natural areas and other open spaces that contributes to people’s wellbeing and to
the balance between city and nature by providing ecological, economic and social benefits,
including water purification, retention and drainage, bio-diversity, local food production,
recreation and identity building (Armour et al., 2014; Boyd & Banzhaf, 2007; Millennium
Ecosystem Assessment - MEA, 2005).
This paper focuses on the social benefit dimension of urban green/blue infrastructure, in terms
of its effect on children’s well-being, agency and right to the city. This impact can be better
understood by referring to the notions of affordance and capability. Affordances can be
defined as the functional, emotional and social properties of a space incorporating
opportunities and restrictions that affect users’ active interaction with the environment.
Affordances can be potential, perceived, utilized and shaped. A potential affordance can be
actualized, thus utilized or shaped, only if it is available for children to use (Gibson, 1979,
Jamme et al., 2018; Kyttä, 2003).

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The notion of affordance is instrumental to investigate the spatial, material, social and
functional attributes of urban blue/green infrastructures that affect the use and the
conceptional value of public open spaces and, thus, their potential to enable meaningful
activities. According to Min and Lee (2006) spaces that enable meaningful psychological
experiences are identified by children as places; a place is defined as a setting imbued with
psychological, behavioral, and symbolic meanings.
The concept of capability is here introduced as a structural category for describing the ways
in which the meaningful engagement with natural settings affects children’s well-being and
development. Capabilities refer to valuable states of being or conditions that a person can
access (Sen, 1993). For children, the foundational capability is the ‘‘capability to develop’’.
Chawla (2015) reconceptualizes positive effects of children’s engagement with natural settings
through the capability approach. Therefore, building on findings from research by Nussbaum
(2011), Chawla identifies ten central capabilities associated with children’s access to nature,
including: life; bodily health; bodily integrity; affiliation; practical reason, play; senses,
imagination, and thought; emotions; connection to nature and other species; control over
one’s environment. Building on these premises the notion of meaningful usefulness of a
setting can be defined as the product of its spatial, material, functional and social properties
incorporating opportunities for children’s independent mobility and functional, recreational
and social activities.
Furthermore, the existing literature on Children’s experience of public spaces emphasizes the
relevance of natural settings, including green areas, parks, nature/conservation areas, woods,
wastelands, vacant lots, river banks, as destination spaces, threshold spaces, or transition
spaces supporting children’s independent activities socialization and community life,
(Furneaux & Manaugh, 2018; Witten et al. 2017).
Availability, accessibility, proximity to other important places and sense of territoriality emerge
as fundamental characters of these surfaces, for determining the conceptional and use value
of a natural setting. In particular, the configuration of natural settings, as loose, available
spaces is identified as a correlate of children’s recreational and social practices by Garau et
al., (2018); Jamme et al., (2018); Kyttä et al., (2018) and Min and Lee (2006), underline the
relevance of size and morphological regularity as conditions that increase the openness of a
loose space to diverse recreational and social practices.
Privacy and sense of territoriality are negatively associated to adults’ control of the public
space. Spatial control is exercised through authority constraints, interferences, and physical
manicuring of the landscape: these practices communicate adults’ ownership and result in a
constraint on children’s opportunities to dwell with open public spaces. Witten et al. (2017)
underline that the identification of a setting as a place is profoundly conditioned by its affective

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atmosphere, which results from the combination of material, social and symbolic stimuli. The
concepts of Eyes on the street and “broken window” refer to the nexus between built
environment factors and social milieu attributes, which constitute the ecology of children’s
experience of the public space (Jamme et al., 2018). The former refers to the spontaneous
surveillance of public spaces determined by the density of outdoor activities and the latter to
the presence of signs of neglect and abandonment affecting the perception of social fragilities.
Natural settings and elements are also related to improved conditions of comfort and well-
being, resulting from the control of micro-climatic conditions and from the emotional
affordances incorporated in natural elements and settings (Jamme et al., 2018; Min and Lee
2006). The minimal geometry designed by variations in the morphology of surfaces (Slopes,
steps, terraces, level changes) incorporates potential functional affordances for different
informal or structured recreational and social activities, according to Min and Lee (2006).
Vegetation, grass, dirt surfaces, water features, loose elements, (earth, water, stones, grass,
and branches) pieces of furniture incorporate affordances for creative and imaginative play,
including exploration, manipulation and construction (Chawla, 2015; Pyyry, 2017) observes
that the manipulation, experimentation and appropriation of spatial elements and loose
objects, can result in intra-active play and can generate a meaningful, affectual engagement
with a specific setting. The singular experience of enchantment can emerge from this
profound involvement.
Finally, natural elements, affect the conspicuousness of the public space by reinforcing its
complexity, human scale and imageability.
3 METHODOLOGY
The POCUS audit tool is based on a review of existing assessment procedures for the analysis
of the quality of urban public spaces. In particular, the review of urban quality assessment
tool is focused on audit tools, (Pedestrian Environment Data Scan [PEDS]; Environmental
Assessment of Public Recreation Spaces [EAPRS], Public Open Space Desktop Auditing Tool
[POSDAT], QUality INdex of Parks for Youth [QUINPY], (Mygind et al., 2016; Rigolon &
Németh, 2018; Saelens et al. 2006); and questionnaires (Neighbourhood Environment
Walkability Survey [NEWS]; Garau, 2013; Rosenberg et al., 2009;).
The POCUS tool is structured as an audit tool based on publicly available, secondary data,
and including quantitative and qualitative indicators related to micro-scale site-specific
variables and on macro-scale contextual factors. Indicators related to micro-scale features
account for the functional, social and emotional affordances incorporated in the spatial
organization of individual natural settings. Context-related Indicators assess land use patterns
and density of the surrounding environment, as well as the spatial continuity of the blue/green

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networks and their connection with the networks of pedestrian paths and public
transportation. The combination of site-specific and contextual factors reflects the fact that
the meaningful usefulness of a place is determined both by its inherent attributes and by its
endowed conditions (Blecic et al., 2015; Jabbari et al., 2018; Moura et al., 2017). The POCUS
audit tool is incorporated into an adaptable methodological framework, structured as a 5
stages process. This includes: i) selection and characterization of the case studies; ii) selection
of natural settings correlates of children’s CIAs and definition of their relative importance
through a comprehensive literature review and a session of stakeholders. The latter is based
on the phenomenological approach and the saturation principle and is structured as a
workshop of urban explorations involving 42 children – 18 girls and 24 boys – aged 5 to 13
years. A more detailed description is in Annunziata and Garau (2018); iii) selection of
indicators and sub-indicators representative of natural environment correlates of children
outdoor activities. Indicators are defined building on available audit tools (Mygind et al., 2016;
Saelens et al., 2006; Rigolon & Németh, 2018) and respond to criteria of objectivity,
relevance, measurability and reproducibility, validity, representativeness, comparability over
time and understanding; iv) the definition of thresholds values and/or of value functions for
the normalization of measurements for the selected qualitative and quantitative indicators; v)
data collection, indicators evaluation and aggregation of results. The audit incorporates 19
indicators; six refer to accessibility related factors, twelve indicators refer to factors of the
public space incorporating functional, social and contextual affordances and one refers to
aspects related to children’s participation in governance processes (tab.1). The range of
values for each indicator is established according to the findings from the literature review
and the session of stakeholders. It considers the relevance, quantity, variety, gradient and
size of the affordances incorporated in the related environmental features.
The sum of the partial scores assigned for each indicator determines a global score, ranging
from 0 to 100, which corresponds to the value of an Index of usefulness of specific public
open spaces (IUIPOS) defined by a score, ranging from 0 to 100. The subsequent stage is the
determination of a continuity factor (f) of the blue/green network. The latter measures the
level of connection of natural settings and is determined as the ratio of the aggregate size of
the public open spaces contiguously connected in the largest continuous subnetwork and the
total surface area of the public open spaces considered in the area of study. In the final stage
the values of the IUIPOS Indexes of specific public open spaces are weighted according to the
surface area, aggregated and multiplied for the continuity factor (f).

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Categories Indicators Score
Factors related to functional 0-33

affordances
Spatial Variety of settings 0-10
Material Enabling materials for 0-15
imaginative play
Presence of amenities/ 0-8
equipment
Factors related to 0-45
emotional/contextual
affordances
Material Water features 0-3
Number of trees 0-3
Bio-diversity 0-2
Microclimatic conditions 0-6
Imageability 0-7
Location of lights 0-5
Social Natural control of the POS 0-4
Signs of neglect (broken 0-4
window)
Sense of privacy/territoriality 0-8
Commitment Participation in planning/ 0-3
design/ management
Accessibility 0-22
Spatial connection Connection to mass transit 0-4
Connection to pedestrian 0-4
facilities
Connection to bicycle facilities 0-2
Barrier effect 0-4
Functional contextual Availability of local destinations 0-4
Residential density 0-4
Tab. 1 Indicators included in the POCUS tool
The result is a synthetic index of usefulness of urban blue/green infrastructures within a pre-
determined area (IBGI). The IBGI index is thus representative of individual open spaces and of
the connectivity of the blue/green networks. Data are retrieved from the Sardinia Regional
Informative Territorial Service, the Municipal Cagliari informative territorial service, the Open
Street Map platform, internet-based street level imagery services (Google Street View), and
territorial imagery services (Google Maps, Google Earth, Bing Maps), and are validated
through direct observations during on-site surveys. In the subsequent paragraphs, the authors
illustrate the case study of Cagliari and the application of the POCUS tool.

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3.1 PRESENTATION OF THE CASE STUDY

Cagliari emerged as an optimal case study, because of its rich tradition of policies and projects
developed to promote children’s rights related to accessibility and participation (Annunziata &
Garau, 2018). The study focused on a central urban area of Cagliari, that includes part of the
historic and consolidated districts of Stampace, Castello, Sant’Alenixedda, Is Mirrionis (Fig. 1).
Fig.1. Representation of Public open spaces analyzed via the POCUS tool
The analysis focuses on a form of open space: the urban park. This refers to a man-made
space, whose organization and management depends on a geometric rationality and on the
use of “contrary energy” (Clement, 2005); yet, these spaces are considered as potential
components of a trans-scalar, continuous mosaic of green spaces. The public open spaces
individuated for the application of the POCUS tool are: Monte Claro, Giardino sotto le Mura,
Giardini Pubblici, Orto dei Cappuccini, Orto Botanico, Parco della Musica. These spaces are
selected according to 3 criteria: centrality within the public debate; significance as context of
practices and activities of diverse groups of users; relevance as potential components of a
continuous green/blue network across the compact city. The findings from the application of
the Audit tool are discussed in the subsequent section.
4 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS

The application of the proposed methodological framework demonstrates the potential of the
POCUS audit tool for understanding and evaluating the opportunities for children’s

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independent activities, incorporated in the spatial, material, social characters of public open
spaces.
The results, described in Tab. 2 and in Fig. 2, show that the values of the Index of usefulness
of individual spaces (IUIPOS) ranging from 59 to 73, on a 100 units scale and a value of 38 (on
100 units scale) for the synthetic Index of the quality of urban blue/green infrastructure
incorporating public open spaces (IBGI).
PUBLIC OPEN SPACES IUIPOS Surface Average (ŮUIPOS) f IBGI

(m2) ( IUIPOS*A) / (Area_connected (ŮUIPOS*f)
( A) subnetwork/ A)
Parco di Monte Claro 73/100 224617 - - -
Orto dei Cappuccini 65/100 29673 - - -
Orto Botanico 62/100 65492 - - -
Giardino sotto le Mura 56/100 11337 - - -
Giardini Pubblici 69/100 32856 - - -
Parco della Musica 69/100 48376 - - -
Urban BGI (Area of study) - 412351 69/100 0,54 38/100
Tab. 2 Values of the Indexes of usefulness for the selected POS
Fig.2. Representation of performance levels related to the indicator of usefulness IUIPOS

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The results are determined by the divergence, in terms of utility among the material and
spatial conditions of public open spaces related to the dimension of functional affordances,
the social and environmental properties related to the dimension of contextual affordances,
including the issues of safety, privacy and territoriality and the dimension of spatial properties
related to the accessibility of public spaces.
Therefore, the biotic component of the selected public spaces and the morphology of surfaces
determine a significant variety of spatial and microclimatic conditions and the availability of
different settings and enabling materials (Witten et al., 2017). These spatial and material
properties incorporate functional affordances for meaningful activities and experiences and
are thus fundamental correlates of the meaningful usefulness of a space (tab. 3).
PUBLIC OPEN SPACES Functional factors (Settings + Spatial Connection (to Available local
enabling materials + equipment) - pedestrian facilities + to destinations
Imageability - Social factors Bicycle facilities + mass
(Constraints + broken window + transport+ Barrier effect)
eyes on the POS)
Monte Claro 30/33 - 6/7 - 14/16 5/14 3/4
Orto dei Cappuccini 27/33 - 7/7 - 10/16 6/14 4/4
Orto Botanico 22/33 - 7/7 - 07/16 5/14 4/4
Giardino sotto le Mura 21/33 - 7/7 - 10/16 6/14 4/4
Giardini Pubblici 25/33 - 7/7 - 12/16 5/14 4/4
Parco della Musica 25/33 - 7/7 - 12/16 6/14 4/4
Tab. 3 Relevance, in terms of Usefulness of a set of material, functional, spatial and social features of the
selected POS
As for the contextual affordances affecting the dimension of safety, comfort, privacy and
territoriality, a fundamental issue is the conflict among children’s need for spatial appropriation
and adults’ interferences and constraints. In particular, the analysis reveals different forms of
adults’ control on public open spaces: specialization, competition among adults’ practices and
children’s activities, coupling constraints, and the manicuring of space. These constraints
affect children’s sense of privacy and territoriality by limiting their possibility to spontaneously
engage with spaces, their access to natural settings and by communicating adults’ ownership
of the public space (Chawla, 2015; Min & Lee, 2006; Pyyry, 2017). A general positive situation
is observed regarding the conditions related to concepts of “eyes on the street” and “the
broken window”.
These notions refer to the environmental stimuli determined by the built environment – social
milieu nexus and associated with safety perceptions. The properties considered representative
of the built-social nexus include condition of surfaces, furniture and vegetation, cleanliness,

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presence of services and of intergenerational activities. Conspicuousness, or the potential of

a space to produce a structured, useful and meaningful image, is observed to be a distinctive
positive condition of the selected POS: it results from the complexity and human scale
incorporated in the vegetal structures as well as from the singularity of landscape elements,
pieces of art, spatial elements, buildings and architectural follies. A positive element, in terms
of usefulness, is represented by the variety of primary and secondary functions and services,
located within a walking distance from the selected spaces. Nevertheless, the opportunities
for meaningful purposive recreational and social activities are not supported by the conditions
of inadequate spatial connection among public opens spaces and other meaningful places,
thus resulting in lesser opportunities for children to frequently and independently access to
and engage with the selected spaces. These conditions are determined by the discontinuity
of the system of natural settings and public open spaces and by the configurational and
compositional characters of the networks of pedestrian and bicycle facilities, including
continuity, slope, inadequate dimension and conditions of separation/distinction of the
pedestrian space, poor maintenance and barrier effect. Finally, it is observed the lack of
participatory and co-creation process involving children and the wider community in the
planning, project and management of public spaces. This results in a limitation of children’s
control on their environment (Chawla, 2015).
5 CONCLUSIONS
This paper describes an open, adaptable, methodological framework, for evaluating the
potential of urban blue/green infrastructure to increase the meaningful usefulness, for
children, of public spaces. Building on a comprehensive review of the literature on children’s
experience of natural settings, the POCUS audit tool fills a void in the research on the
assessment of public open spaces and of urban blue green infrastructures. The proposed
theoretical and methodological framework emphasize the meaningful usefulness of public
open spaces as a central component of the social dimension of ecosystem services provided
by the Urban Blue Green Infrastructure, underlining the relevance of childhood nature
experiences, as an issue concerning both the integral development of children and the
establishment of Human nature connections. Additionally, this research operationalizes the
concept of affordance in terms of an auditing tool for investigating, evaluating and describing
public spaces. The application to a case study reveals the potential of the POCUS audit tool
to support timesaving and thorough analysis of the capacity of specific public open spaces
and of the blue/green networks within a pre-specified area to enable children’s independent
activities. The limitations observed concern the validation of the results and the determination
of the weight of each indicator, which is expressed in the scale, or potential score, associated

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to each of them, and which constitutes a fraction of the total score equal to the value of the
IUIPOS Index.
In fact, several inquiries including Garau et al. (2018), Moura et al. (2017), emphasize the
correlation between children’s propensity to engage in outdoor activities and cultural
constructs, contextual socio-economic factors and individual socio-demographic
characteristics. Consequently, future stages of the research will be aimed at addressing two
fundamental aspects: i) establishing procedures for weighting natural environment attributes
and the related indicators, according to children’s individual purposes and cultural and socio-
demographic characteristics ; ii) defining a validation procedure, based on direct observations
or on home based and on site surveys, for comparing the outcomes of the analysis with actual
levels of outdoor activities and with children’s perceptions of spaces.
The POCUS tool contributes to the monitoring and assessment of the quality of the public
space by supporting three actions: i) the comparison of the quality of individual public open
spaces, in terms of their usefulness; ii) a synthetic description of the capacity of the urban
blue/green networks to support inclusivity and social processes by enabling children’s
practices; iii) the understanding of criticalities to be addressed in order to increase the
meaningful usefulness of public open spaces integrating urban blue/green infrastructures.
Consequently, the POCUS tool relevantly contributes to the implementation of governance
processes within the smart city paradigm by supporting planning actions which promote
children’s access natural spaces and consolidate inclusion and equality within sustainable
communities.
This paper is the result of the joint work of the authors. ‘Methodology’, and ‘Findings and
discussions’ were written jointly by the authors. Chiara Garau wrote the ‘Introduction’, and
‘Conclusions’. Alfonso Annunziata wrote the ‘Literature review on children’s independent
activities within the urban blue/green infrastructure’.
6 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
to SmarT urbanism - GHOST (Project code: RBSI14FDPF; CUP Code: F22I15000070008),

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reflect the views of the MIUR. This study was also supported by the project “Healthy Cities
and Smart Territories,” founded by the Foundation of Sardinia and Autonomous Region of
Sardinia (Fondazione di Sardegna—Convenzione triennale tra la Fondazione di Sardegna e
gli Atenei Sardi Regione Sardegna 2016).
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Sen, A. (1993). Capability and Well-being. In Nussbaum, M. and Sen, A. (Eds.), The Quality of Life,
(pp. 30–53). Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press.
Tjallingii S. (2015). Planning with water and traffic networks - Carrying structures of the urban
landscape, in Nijhuis S., Jauslin D. and Van Der Hoeven F. (Eds.), Flowscapes – Designing
infrastructure as landscape (pp. 57-80). Delft, NL: Delft University of Technology
UNICEF (2012). Children in an increasingly urban world. State of the World's Children, 1-11. Available
online:https://www.un-ilibrary.org/children-and-youth/the-state-of-the-world-s-children-
2012_712425ac-en
Witten, K., Kearns, R., Carroll, P., & Asiasiga, L. (2017). Children’s everyday encounters and affective
relations with place: experiences of hyperdiversity in Auckland neighbourhoods. Social Cultural
Geography, 1-18. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/14649365.2017.1347700
WEB SITES
UNICEF (2008). https://www.unicef.it/Allegati/Declaration _of_Rotterdam_2008_1.pdf.
AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Alfonso Annunziata (1984) is a post-doc researcher at the DICAAR (Department of Civil and
Environmental Engineering and Architecture) of the University of Cagliari, Italy. His research
investigates the issues of landscape infrastructure, landscape urbanism, configurational properties of
networks and child-friendly cities. He is author of over 30 scientific publications, including conference
proceedings, articles in national and international journals, chapters of books.
Chiara Garau (1979) is an assistant professor of Urban and Regional Planning at the DICAAR
(Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Architecture) of the University of Cagliari,
Italy. She was a member of the scientific and organizing committee of the YA AESOP (Young
Academics—Association of European Schools of Planning, 2011–2013). She was a scientific and
technical adviser for the Smart Cities Observatory of Rome (2013–2014), and in June 2015, she
received the Best Paper award at ICCSA 2015 with a paper entitled Benchmarking Smart Urban
Mobility: A Study on Italian Cities. In 2015, She won a national research competition (the SIR call
proposal—Scientific independence of young researchers, Domain SH—of the Italian Ministry of
Education, University and Research) with the GHOST project ("Governing the smart city: a governance-
centred approach to smart urbanism"). She is author of over 70 scientific publications, including
monographs, conference proceedings, and articles in books and national and international journals.

© 2019, FedoaPress

RESILIENCE, SMARTNESS AND
SUSTAINABILITY. TOWARDS A
NEW PARADIGM?
SABRINA AUCIa, LUIGI MUNDULAb
a
Department of Political Science and
International Relations
University of Palermo, Italy
e-mail: sabrina.auci@unipa.it
URL: https://www.unipa.it/persone/docenti/a/
sabrina.auci
b
Department of Civil, Environmental
e-mail: luigimundula@unica.it
URL:https://www.unica.it/unica/it/ateneo_s07_
ss01.page?contentId=SHD30530

Auci, S., & Mundula, L. (2019). Resilience, Smartness and Sustainability. Towards a New Paradigm? . In C.
ISBN: 978-88-6887-054-6, doi: 10.6093/978-88-6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
The urbanization and the vulnerability of a city make challenging the ability of remaining along
a sustainable development path. From a sustainability point of view, the smartness concept has
been enlarged up to incorporate the definition of sustainable development with the so-called
smart and sustainable cities. Another aspect is gaining importance in this debate: the growing
challenges posed by climate change and by environmental issue at large. This issue has forced
governments and in particular cities, which represent the main place for the prevention and
the implementation of initiatives against negative environmental events, to develop flexible and
resilient actions, initiatives and plans. In the near future, the majority of the population will be
establishing in cities or urban context, so that the active actions will be based on the need to
adopt solutions that address the principle of resilience. Since policies, plans and projects should
succeed in considering together these three principles – sustainability, smartness and resilience
– the aim of this paper consists in analyzing the common features of these concepts which may
be at the basis of an integrated approach. Adapting the definition already accepted for buildings
in terms of bright buildings, the relevance of brightness issue consists in developing a new
paradigm of reference for a city.
KEYWORDS
Smart City; Resilient City; Sustainable City; Bright City
S. Auci, L. Mondula
1 INTRODUCTION
Cities are the world’s engines for economic growth, generating more than 80 percent of global
GDP. The rapid urbanization as well as the increasing vulnerability to climate change events
rise the risk for a city to maintain itself along a sustainable development path. Cities, therefore,
represents “the cornerstone of a battle to defend the planet” (Bhatia et al., 2019, p. 1).
A city should reinvent itself following a new design of sustainable development. This
improvement, by more efficiency and an advanced technology use, is now a reality in many
medium to large urban centers. The need for cities to evolve themselves alongside this
direction is the consequence of the growing urbanization of the world population, the
increasing demand for energy-efficiency and more in general the management of non-
renewable natural resources that tend to be more and more scarce (Addanki &Venkataraman,
2017).
The analysis of urban development based on the relationship among citizens, environment
and new technology has yielded a bundle of several concepts about city’s goals. These
different issues are related to different stakeholders spanning across different sectors in
pursuing the future development of a city. Many of these concepts are not mutually exclusive
but complementary if not overlapping. Recently, the political debate has expanded considering
a plethora of new city definitions such as: sustainable cities, green cities, livable cities, digital
cities, intelligent cities, knowledge cities, resilient cities (Arafah et al., 2018; Bibri & Krogstie,
2017; de Jong et al., 2015).
These terms are used in an interchangeably way by policy makers, planners and developers,
even though they capture different aspects of a city development. The sustainable city
concept results the most frequent occurring category and the most interconnected node,
related closely to the eco city and green city concepts. The smart city concept represents the
second interconnected node in the academic debate. Finally, resilient city is considered as a
distinct concept with low frequency and an isolate node. Hence, the main issue becomes
whether these city categories are interchangeable due to similar principles and characteristics
or not because of distinct features with limited overlapping (de Jong et al., 2015).
A sustainable city, whose original definition comes from sustainable development of the
Brundtland Commission (WCED, 1987), is such “if its conditions of production do not destroy
over time the conditions of its reproduction” (Castells, 2000). Sustainability is based on human
activities and human ability in using resources and reducing pollution to reach a balanced
socio-ecological system in the long-run (Bibri & Krogstie, 2017). The smartness concept, firstly
related to energy saving and efficiency use issues, it has been developed to include quality of
life, environment, transport net, telecommunication facilities etc. (Auci & Mundula, 2017). A

© 2019, FedoaPress

Resilience, Smartness and Sustainability. towards a new paradigm?

benchmark research by Giffinger et al. (2007) has defined smart city on the base of several
intangible indicators as smart economy, smart mobility, smart environment, smart people,
smart living, and smart governance. The resilience concept consists in creating a better quality
of life, sustainable urban development, and improving environmental condition (Arafah et al.,
2018). Developed by Holling (1973), resilience is based on the ability of a system to recover
from disturbances and disruptions. Thus, urban resilience concept describes a city that (CEN-
CENELEC, 2018): is prepared to resist, absorb, adapt and recover from any shocks; involves
stakeholders and citizens in disaster risk reduction processes; reduces vulnerability and
exposure to natural and man-made disasters; and finally increases its capacity to respond to
climate change challenges and other unforeseen stresses.
Starting from the two by two analysis of smart, sustainable and resilient city, the study
develops a new paradigm for a sustainable, digital, and less vulnerable city which may be
defined as Bright City, where combined actions are implemented in order to maximize city’s
efficiency and management efficacy. This concept is traced back from the definition of bright
buildings and is adapted to cities to develop a new paradigm of reference (Auci et al., 2019).
2 THE CROSSING PARADIGMS IN THE URBAN AGENDAS

In these recent years many cities have stepped up and started setting their own sustainability,
resilience or smartness agendas where actual actions are implemented to solve some main
problems related to urban environments.
To face these challenges some crossing paradigms have been developed in literature. Some
recent researches have focused on how to incorporate sustainability in smart city approaches
for developing a more complex smart sustainable urban model. The increasing awareness
about environmental and sustainability issues related to urban growth and technological
transformation is at the basis of the Smart Sustainable Cities concept (Höjer & Wangel, 2015).
This kind of city which has to face climate change as well as other challenges as concentration
of population within an urban area, has become a concept widely used since mid-2010s (Al-
Nasrawi et al., 2015; Bibri & Krogstie 2017). With smart sustainable city, it is described a city
“that is supported by a pervasive presence and massive use of advanced ICT, which, in
connection with various urban domains and systems and how these intricately interrelate,
enables cities to become more sustainable and to provide citizens with a better quality of life”
(Bibri & Krogstie, 2017 ). The new technology, based on the Internet of Things (IoT) (ITU,
2016), allows citizens to be always connected through several devices. The real-time data
may provide the opportunity of real-time feedback which may support real-time citizens’
decisions in light of sustainable choices. The smart sustainable city allows decoupling high

© 2019, FedoaPress

S. Auci, L. Mondula
quality of life and economic growth from resource consumption and environmental impact
(Addanki & Venkataraman, 2017).
Moreover, sustainability has been closely associated with the concept of resilience (Folke et
al., 2002), since this last term “is often used to describe characteristic features of a system
that are related to sustainability” (Carpenter et al., 2001).
Verma and Raghubanshi (2018) distinguishing among three aspects, economic, social and
environmental, underline how these have resulted in the development of Sustainable
Development Goals (United Nations, 2015). These goals allow both developing and developed
Nations to reach sustainable development through a holistic approach. In particular,
Sustainable Development Goal 11 vows to "Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe,
resilient and sustainable".
However, there are some authors (Timon, 2014) which disapprove this connection considering
resilience as just a label. To be sustainable, cities and urban areas must be ready to face
shocks and stresses which undoubtedly sooner or later will occur and will modify the state
and the operating ways. In other words, they must be resilient (Pierce et al., 2011).
Coherently with this approach, Beatley and Newmann (2013) propose the term of Biophilic
City. The idea is that to make cities greener, more natural or, in their words, more biophilic,
it is important to make them more resilient. This target can be reached in a direct way when
investments in green infrastructure – i.e. a strategically planned network of natural and semi-
natural areas with other environmental features designed and managed to deliver a wide
range of ecosystem services’ in both rural and urban settings (EC, 2013) – achieve resilience
outcomes; or in an indirect way when actions or projects stimulate green and healthy
behaviors that in turn serves to enhance the resilience of a city and of individuals.
Over the past decade and from a political point of view, urban resilience concept has emerged
as one of the core principles of sustainable urban development widely acknowledged among
various agreements such as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with its dedicated
goal on cities—SDG 11, the Paris Agreement on climate change and the Sendai Framework
for Disaster Risk Reduction.
It is worth to note that the urban resilience issue has also been associated with the smart city
concept (Arafah et al., 2018). In fact, both concepts “are operationalized on the basis of
similar or even the same systems, having similar trajectories of development and similar
dilemmas to be solved” (Baron, 2012). Moreover, these notions aim at improving sustainability
and increase the quality of life, although follow different paths. Even if some international
organizations or networks as well as a wide number of cities are fostering integrated projects
and strategies for building up smarter and more resilient cities, a theoretical framework is still
missing. An attempt in this direction is the one of Papa et al. (2015) that develop a conceptual

© 2019, FedoaPress


hybrid model which combines a solid theoretical background with some operational elements.
The authors begin with the identification of the common characteristics of smart and resilient
urban systems to define a model structured as a cyclical process, based on the learning
capacity of urban systems, and characterized by the dynamic interplay of persistence,
adaptability and transformability.
3 A BRIGHT CITY: A PARADIGM SHIFT

In line with Papa et al. (2015) view, our analysis aims at developing a systematic and a holistic
approach combining fragmented knowledge, strategies and objects. This view allows facing
the climate change issue as well as other interconnected challenges within complex urban
systems through the definition and the development of a new paradigm based on cross-
sectoral strategies and multi-objective actions. Smart city, resilient city and urban
sustainability are three concepts which follow different paths and use different instruments to
reach similar and close benchmarks such as the increase of the quality of life and the economic
sustainable development. Since these three concepts complement one another, altogether
they completely define the main problems of a community of citizens and suggest the more
appropriate and mutual solutions to be applied within an urban context. For this reason, smart
city, resilient city and urban sustainability delineate a new paradigm for a city. In line with
Kuhn (1970), the definition of a paradigm is based on how some scientific achievements are
universally recognized and shared among scientists and on how successful is in solving
problems of a group of practitioners who has come to recognize as acute.
Following Buzási & Csete (2017), the interrelation among smart city, resilient city and urban
sustainability may be summarized in Fig. 1, where urban sustainability represents the main
aim of a city planner. The smart city pursues urban sustainability through creating a digitally-
enabled environment which promotes a more efficient use of energy consumptions and a
more effective management of networks. The more a city is innovative, the more information
and communication technologies is used improving the quality of life and the sustainable
development. Uncertain events such as weather and climate negative events at urban level,
together with a growing population which increases the urban sprawl phenomenon, feature
the need of creating and maintaining prosperous social, economic and ecological systems
through sustainable urban systems (Papa et al., 2015). Moreover, the capability of a city
planner to develop a strategic approach that adopts a wide and long-term vision may
contribute to make a city more resilient and less vulnerable. Climate resilience as well as a
digital environment may contribute to support strategies for reducing vulnerability and
achieving sustainability. In fact, the more information and data are available from multiple
sources in a smart city context the more it may facilitate the knowledge of potential climate-

© 2019, FedoaPress

S. Auci, L. Mondula
related risks and damages. This may increase urban resilience due to a more conscious
planning and decision-making process in reducing urban vulnerability. Technology may
contribute to better planning and managing a resilient city through the improvement of city’s
adaptive capacity and the implement of city's mitigation strategies (Buzási & Csete, 2017).
Fig. 1: Interconnections between climate resilience, smart and sustainable city
As a consequence, these three definitions provide a common paradigm of future urban

development and structure. The city’s evolution aims at increasing the quality of life and
reducing vulnerability following a sustainable path of development in the near future as well
as guaranteeing further progress in the future. This new paradigm for a sustainable, digital,
and less vulnerable city may be defined as “bright city”, where combined actions are
implemented in order to maximize city’s efficiency and management efficacy. In Fig. 2, all the
intersections are reported. The three concepts are represented by three circles. Their
intersections delineate three areas in which the two by two concepts are analyzed and a
central area in which all the circles overlaps. While in literature the two by two intersections
are considered and well analyzed, the central area represents a new perspective. In this case,
a city is bright if the main object consists in combining aspects of sustainability, resilience and
smartness. Following Papa et al. (2015), the characteristics of bright cities, as common
features of smart, resilient and sustainable cities, can be delineated as: adaptability,
awareness, collaboration, creativity, diversity, efficiency, flexibility, innovation, learning,
networking and participation. Thus, a bright city means a city which is based on knowledge
and performance-oriented approaches to urban design and planning. This means that

© 2019, FedoaPress


stakeholders from different backgrounds and domains of expertise are involved bringing and
sharing multiple levels of information, at multiple scales of analysis and intervention. In this
way the bright city is a reaction to the growing challenges that urban centers are facing and
could represents a new urban design and policy paradigm. Environmental degradation,
increasing economic inequalities, as well as growing populations may exhaust social and
physical infrastructure and increase the need of improving the operational, service and energy
efficiency of cities, rendering them better places to live for all (Auci et al., 2019).
Fig. 2 Bright city as integration of sustainability, smartness and resilience
According to the evolutionary approach of the resilient city (Drobniak, 2012), the bright city
is assumed to be a complex adaptive system which is dynamic, connected and open with the
ability of evolving in many and varied ways. Thus, there is no a unique equilibrium and growth
path to be reached but several possibilities. A bright city’s economy would be a city that adapts
successfully returning to or improving its long run equilibrium path.
4 CONCLUSIONS
Cities, facing new environmental challenges and social dynamics, are asked to answer with
the adoption of new approaches. To find effective solutions, the actual academic debate
focuses mainly on some concepts such as resilience, smartness, and sustainability.
Consistently with these concepts are not mutually exclusive but complementary if not

© 2019, FedoaPress

S. Auci, L. Mondula
overlapping, the more recent literature combines them two by two, exploring new ways and
strategies. However, these proposed solutions - aiming for example to a more efficient use of
resources and a greater ability to respond to stresses and shocks - achieve a sub-optimal
result because they are not framed in a broader strategic framework which permits managing
these concepts in an integrated way. From this point of view, solutions are optimal when are
framed in a coherent framework with the aim of achieving consistent targets and assessing
reasonable choices. The concept of the bright city, proposed in this paper, although at an
embryonic stage and therefore to be deepened, can represent the answer to these challenges.
Adopting this concept, a city should be considered as a complex adaptive system, i.e. a
dynamic, connected and open city with the ability of evolving in many and varied ways.
Moreover, bright cities are not obliged to reach a unique equilibrium or to follow the same
growth path but several possibilities are allowable and feasible. Finally, a city may be
considered “bright” whether it is able to adapt itself successfully to the challenges and the
opportunities with the aim of returning to or improving its long run equilibrium path. As a next
step for further researches, the characteristics of bright cities through a set of indicators,
weights and relationships criteria should be defined.
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Auci, S. & Mundula, L. (2017), Smartness, City Efficiency and Entrepreneurship Milieu, in L. Carvalho
(Ed.), Handbook of Research on Entrepreneurial Development and Innovation within Smart Cities, 173-
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© 2019, FedoaPress


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S. Auci, L. Mondula
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AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Sabrina Auci, is an Adjunct Professor of Economics at the University of Palermo and a temporary
professor at the University of Cassino and Southern Lazio. Her actual research interests are related to
innovation economics, environmental economics, urban economics with a particular interest in the
impact of climate change on human activities.
Luigi Mundula, is an Adjunct Professor of Economic and Political Geography at the University of
Cagliari and Research Fellow at the Tor Vergata Economic Foundation. His research interests are
related to economic and territorial development policies, urban geography with particular reference to
the role of ICT and innovation.

© 2019, FedoaPress

ENERGY AUTONOMY IN
SYMBIOSIS WITH THE
AESTHETICS OF FORMS IN
ARCHITECTURE
PIETRO CURRÒ

University of Rome - Sapienza
e-mail: architettopietro@libero.it

Currò, P. (2019). Energy Autonomy in Symbiosis with the Aesthetics of Forms in Architecture. In C. Gargiulo &
6887-054-6, doi: 10.6093/978-88-6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
The project contains use, application and development of the results of some structured research, and it aims to build
a methodology for the definition of programs, plans and projects able of set up an energy paradigm for regeneration
into an urban system, in line with the demands of protection of urban landscapes too.This project, related to
the research, becomes more and more a system of demonstrative, informative and aesthetic experimentation of
innovative solutions and technologies; it settles: re-use, energy saving and the use of renewable energy sources
through the circular economy. The worth of quality must regain its role and provide new forms of regeneration and
redevelopment in the systemic design. The transformations must be designed strongly interconnected with their
complexity and no longer divided into different parts, conceiving the entire system as a whole. It is not a matter of
seeing quantities in numbers as a reference, but it is a matter of doing something in order to live better, to create
works that pollute not much, because they are responsible for the emissions they produce and for the quality of
the environment in the product chain. The themes are always ecology and circular economy, in the holistic way
of conceiving interventions, related to terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Therefore a creative and scientific path,
suitable for the enhancement of places through the achievement of systemic and consistent interventions that settle
a unitary vision aimed at restoring formal, energetic and environmental characteristics.The target of the project is
also to suggest the implementation of a data collection and processing platform coming from institutional sources
and not with participated acquisition methods, in fact there are already two Research Poles. The planning and full
management of the project proposal consists of a set of dynamic interfaces, designed to meet the needs of the types
of players involved in the transformation and regeneration processes of the town, promoting conscious styles of
energy consumption (energy efficiency on an urban scale). The application of these concepts has found the proper
definition in the planning of “Area Tempietto”, where the physical and incorporeal connections with the places recover
both the ethical and aesthetic question of responsibility and belonging, disclosing the landscape values in an open
dialogue with architectural and environmental elements
KEYWORDS
Energy; Aesthetic; Architecture; Sustainability
P. Currò
1 INTRODUCTION
For a long time now, the new challenges of architecture have been related to the types of
energy used and to the sustainable economy, with the awareness that the so-called linear
economy: "producing, consuming, wasting" is no longer sustainable and must be replaced
with the circular economy: "producing, consuming, recovering". The approach is to define a
"smart project", which integrates the efficiency of new scientific paradigms in urban
transformation and regeneration, with energy systems integrated into the existing urban
fabric and tools for the representation and the spread of information about energy saving and
community participation issues. The energy requalification is not only a standard-technical
activity which aims at maximizing energy efficiency, but also a involving decision-making
concept; with experts and citizenship together in a structured development aimed at
sustainable redevelopment of the existing eco-system of the whole city.
The increase in consumption and the current limit in the utilization of natural energy resources
and the related partition of these resources on the territory, affect in a negative way some
key areas of development. However, new technologies available allow to develop and increase
a new output of clean energy, both with direct use, and with indirect use. Using energy from
renewable sources (clean and inexhaustible) remains the only opportunity to improve the
environmental conditions of the Earth. Considerations must be made in relation to the selected
criteria to be implemented, to the players involved, to the definition of design solutions and
finally to their implementation through territorial programs and policies.
Renewable energy sources (wind, sun, subsoil heat, biomass from woods and agricultural
crops, underwater currents, high altitude winds, sea waves), with low environmental impact
implants, represent a critical point for our future and for planet’s health. Renewable energy
sources are inexhaustible and produce minimal CO2 emissions. The symbiosis, the close
relationship among different elements, that creates bond, interdependence, interconnection,
coexistence, is really important. Research and a culture of sensitive knowledge (aesthetics
and harmonic structure; search for form and configuration; typology of the elements and unity
of the whole set; physiognomy of concreteness and exteriority of appearance; physical
condition and morphological qualification), express the necessity and the complexity, of being
unquestionably contemporary in the use of materials and technological innovation, connected
to the concept of flow and movement, typical of the progress of human life. European tools
highlight the need to establish a participatory process of knowledge building that involves
decision makers, experts and communities. For the definition and evaluation of urban
regeneration actions and for defining the characteristics of the project system, local

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Energy autonomy in symbiosis with the aesthetics of forms in architecture

administrations play the crucial role of promoter and manager of the processes, despite the
keystone is represented by the community.
A good smart planning and architecture project are often the result of ethical values and
anthropological knowledge. Designing and creating a work means bringing the
aesthetic/ecological scheme and the economic scheme to the same level, in order to exchange
and estimate natural resources and production factors, economic goods and services, waste
and refuses. This is the complex system that must respect: sustainability and physical,
biological and climatic boundaries.
The majority of the world's population lives in cities. These ones progressively moved from a
closed form to a development for directional geometries. After the abandonment of "forma
urbis" (urbis shape), it becomes necessary to identify a "form" that has environmental and
energy sustainability as a new firmitas, which addresses the actuality of urban redevelopment
and regeneration process.
The values of quality must regain their role and ensure a development that requalifies what
has been built, from the city to rural disintegration, proposing a new path on the road to
environmental reconversion and landscape regeneration, focusing on the design of ecosystem
services. This refers to the large green and blue infrastructures, to the critical metropolitan
and rural areas.
Energy efficiency on an urban scale is the result of various physical factors, such as the
geometry of buildings, materials and installations, and of a random nature factors such as
human behavior, but also climatic considerations.
New and multiple skills and abilities are needed; we need to be a little architect, a little bit of
an engineer and a little something else, we need to know the materials and the various forms
of energy. Humanity needs new professionals to talk to. It is necessary to call on to the
instruments that nature gives us (natural air conditioners such as water and green spaces,
surfaces that reflect and absorb solar radiations) and to relocate to a planning scientifically
oriented by a knowledge process that unifies. When natural resources were plentiful and the
ability to soak up changes was in the nature of things, science could specialize in separate
forms of knowledge, it could lose that holistic relationship with an understanding of the world
that previously connected it to epistemology and to philosophy of science, losing sight of the
unitary vision of natural phenomena. The unity (unitarity) of science, in a holistic dialectic, is
an incontrovertible fact.
Lingering on the value of sustainability, does not decrease the poetic potential of a work, but,
in reverse, it increases it through the strengthening of aspects such as nimbleness, lightness
and relations with the landscape. The project must contain great delicacy and technical
knowledge, it must be informed about developments in each field, so that its aesthetic-

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P. Currò
architectural scaffolding will be able to absorb them without showing them. Sustainable
architecture is the one able to find the right balance. There is no doubt that the alliance with
the environment and the smart use of our technologies can preserve physical and mental
resources, regenerate the environment and the human psyche. This represents: savings,
measure, elegance, sustainability. The design attitude to sustainability means awareness of
responsibility. A thorough update of the aesthetic, technological and construction components
of the architecture itself is required. This is the general assumption that activates all the
disciplinary interrelations that can give an innovative character to each specific activity in the
scientific project, characterized by multidisciplinary in synergy with the current
interdisciplinary relationships.
Quality values must resume their role and guarantee a new regeneration and redevelopment
plan in the systemic design. The set of values is part of the way of thinking about architecture
and its contemporary vision.
Every work must answer important questions and not for their own sake such as emissions
and energy savings. Here it’s not about finding quantity in numbers, but doing something in
order to live better, to build works that produce less pollution because, in the production
chain, each element is responsible for the emissions it produces and therefore for the quality
of the environment that he himself has transformed. For this reason, it becomes essential to
introduce the value of energy as a new fixed point of territorial transformations, facing up to
the issues of ecology and the circular economy in the right dimension. In history, architecture
has always tried to be sustainable, setting up a deep connection with the environment. Today
a connection that combines technical imprint and aesthetic vision is necessary. The beauty of
a work also lies in its unique quality, in the materials used for energy and sustainable values.
Sustainable design is based on the aesthetic ideal, in a dialectical relationship. The
architectural project gets inspired by the natural, social and cultural characteristics of places
in a "human-scale" design able to satisfy the social, economic and cultural needs of individuals,
thus allowing the refoundation of comfortable and stimulating environments. Aesthetics and
beauty also lie in what is unseen as in CO2 emission savings. This is why we are often
enraptured by works that have an ethical content and a worth, like any product that carries a
production chain that cares about to the good and the beauty and therefore it owns an
aesthetic quality within,that originates from its ethical content.
2 METHODOLOGY
In latest years, research has increasingly focused on eco-systemic services, from green and
blue infrastructures to the governance and management of natural sites (including sea and
coastal areas), addressing, in particular, urban and environmental problems, and activating a

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continuous exchange of knowledge, which obliges the promoters of the "project" to a concept
of the study area as an experimental, informative and aesthetic space with innovative and
ecological solutions and technologies, with the application of the circular economy that
redefines reuse, energy saving and use of energy from renewable sources. A creative path,
suitable for the enhancement of places through the realization of systemic, consistent and
coherent interventions that represent a unitary vision of the image of the city and of its
relationship with the ecosystems of reference, both green and blue, aimed at restoring formal
and environmental characteristics of the city itself.
Fig. 1 Concept
1. Permanent and temporary exhibition area 2. Thematic botanical gardens 3. Gym and outdoor sports area 4. Playground
area 5. Dog agility area 6. Public parking area, car sharing, electric shuttles and social charging shelters and Wi-Fi 7. New
fluorescent bicycle lane section 8. Floating pier 9. Refrigerium route 10. Ancient Port of Calamizzi Archaeological Area 11.
Pedestrian subway connecting to Lungomare Falcomatà and Villa Comunale 12. Lift and pedestrian subway connection with
Central Station and archaeological area of Piazza Garibaldi
The structuring criteria of the project proposal (of the case study: "Area Tempietto”. Project
drawn up by the associated firm: arch. Sebastiano Altomonte, arch. Pietro Currò, arch.
Maurizio Giovanni Imperio, arch. Giuseppe Penna, ing. Pietro Alessandro Polimeni and arch.
Alfonso Sorrento) were: the park equipped for the city between two research poles;
technological innovations in multiple fields with recycling and reuse; architectural quality and
environmental sustainability; the satisfaction of needs of the community and the health
protection; saving and energy efficiency; the materials used and the life cycle with the
maintainability of the works; the gym and outdoor sports; the multifunctional social shelters
and the phyto-purification tank; the enhancement of bergamot and native plants; thematic
botanical gardens and biodiversity; the pedestrian paths and the “Refrigerium” multi-sensory
walk; the bicycle lane and the fluorescent lighting; new technologies and interventions on
existing structures.

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P. Currò
Fig. 2 Area tempietto entrance

The new cycle-pedestrian path runs along the sea and is made up of draining recycled materials, fluorescent paint and, at
times, punctuated by piezoelectric tiles for the production of electricity when passing bicycles and people.
Performance requirements and design coherence, tell of a range of ideas and design
hypotheses on which to base work in order to respect of the following values: historical-
cultural and landscape-environmental, from urban regeneration to urban landscape, identity
of places and sustainability. The "smart project" represents the opportunity to organize the
social function of the area, to experiment the use of innovative and ecological products and
technologies, such as shelters also designed to play an educational role of information and
services. New functions are integrated, and they are able to provide the experimental
implementation of sustainable mobility systems, through software applications for
“infomobility” and remote management of lighting and irrigation systems, and for the
calculation of emissions and CO2 compensation, partly with the increase and development,
with trees and urban green facilities.

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Fig. 3 The refrigerium route

It is marked by vertical elements which diffuse perfumed nebulized water, in addition to guaranteeing the lighting of the area a
sensory journey that recalls the Roman thermae of the Via Marina.
The intervention on the weaving of the built territory and of the open spaces, has led to
combine the urban with the insertion of new elements in new aesthetic forms. Here, the
"permanences" and those values of the qualities that constitute the structure of the narration
and the signs of the local identity have taken on an important role. The resilience of the city,
the ability to react to external shocks, leads to a new and more pragmatic sense of
sustainability.
It is through the tool of quality in urban planning that cities are protected from external
pressures of climate change and anthropic risks. The Laboratory Park is one of the places of
experimentation of sustainable solutions that can contribute to the promotion of saving limited
resources, such as water and raw materials, and the reduction of energy consumption. The
paved areas, from an all-round experimental space point of view, are used to install
piezoelectric machines and gym equipment, which transform the kinetic energy of the
movement into electrical energy, fostering the organization of collective sports and health
sessions that at the same time promote and practice new and innovative ways of energy
production and consumption.

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P. Currò
Fig. 4 The parking and the social shelters

It represents the southern access to the area, in addition to the private cars, it hosts the stalls for electric shuttles and car
sharing; the shelters allow parking and recharging of electric bicycles and wheelchairs for the disabled people.
In this idea, the history of the city, which represents an extraordinary set of myths,
emblematic architectures, functions and unique cultures with a strong symbolic value, is not
neglected.
Fig. 5 The open-air garden and sports area

Absorbed in the green of the botanical gardens, it is organized with piezoelectric exercise equipment that transforms kinetic
energy into electricity (sustainable and educational leisure and sport).

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Fig. 6 The raso water tank and the "onda" bench

Recessed LED nozzles and projectors allow water and light to play, enhancing the monument to Rhegion. The "wave" seat,
with variable shape in plan and in elevation, recalls the sea waves and is made of concrete covered with colored grit that
recalls the design of the historic “graniglia” benches of the marine street.
The historical connotations find their original element in the myth and in the Tempietto
revisited in a modern key with respect to the correct East-West orientation according to the
canons of Greek culture, claiming a renewed sensitivity towards the landscape and the
ecologies of the city.
The aesthetic structure and the design consistency are realized through the principle that
unites Euclidean geometries and curved and flexible spaces and find the vitality in Kandisky's
formal citation with: point, line, surface.
Both the equipped spaces, the thematic gardens and the walks, and the relationship between
the whole and its parts have been configured by using this elements; the places have been
designed as adaptable spaces, orderers of surfaces and routes and ready to welcome any
additional services for events. Functional and flexible areas, with a space covered by a
tetrahedron-shaped tensile structure: an element of compositional aggregation.

© 2019, FedoaPress

P. Currò
Fig. 7 The exhibitive agora and the materials recycling

The structure for permanent and temporary exhibitions is realized through the reuse of containers. Functional and flexibles
areas divide a space covered by tensile structure, in order to configure a sort of Agora, with the shape of a tetrahedron: an
element of compositional aggregation.
The different processing of surfaces and paving offers moments of delay and observation of
the urban landscape in relation to the sea. So we find the straight lines of the internal paths,
which semantically show harshness and power, in contrast with the curvilinear paths of the
bicycle lane and the wave bench which instead express harmony and fluidity.
Fig. 8 Urban Ecosystem and intervention

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The vivacity of the design system is strenghtened by the use of different ranges of colors in
harmony with those already present in the thematic gardens and in the multiple equipped
spaces.
The relationships of the urban ecosystem with the sea, sometimes calm and flowing,
sometimes changing and overwhelming, are also qualifying elements of narration and history.
The third research laboratory, open-air, represents the themes of sustainable and available
technologies, where citizens and visitors, in addition to expanding the direct knowledge on
the fundamental topics of these days, can also verify the functioning and touch the various
forms that can take on creativity, scientific research and innovation, from a perspective of
Smart Communities, as an aesthetic-experimental space.
Water recovery and the phytodepuration plant guarantee the elimination of effluent spills to
the sea, and the creation of a gravity net that conveys the water into an underground tank in
order to reuse it.
The relationships of the "green and blue" eco-system and the biodiversity of the
“Mediterranean Scrub” become a condition for sustainability. Limiting the depletion of
resources and considering all actions based on resilience, lead to the view of the territory as
a capital to be preserved and regenerated.
Fig. 9 Green and blue” ecosystem

The floating pier It allows the docking of electric shuttles for sightseeing of the city from the sea.

© 2019, FedoaPress

P. Currò
3 CONCLUSIONS
The project contribution defines a good practice for the management of sustainable urban
regeneration and redevelopment of the existing heritage and the landscape, proposing an
idea of smart planning based on the use of technological innovation and participatory
governance. The first condition is constituted by a system of contamination of information,
knowledge and technologies applied in urban space; the second consists of a network of
strategies and actions aimed at development and management with the direct involvement of
citizens and municipality, in the presence of three Research Laboratories, one of which is
open-air. These actively involve citizens in achieving the objectives of a "smart plan" that is
realized through the sharing of the knowledge process, a fundamental vehicle thanks to which
a citizen can modify his behavior, and with the creation of co-management systems in which
the citizen-user is not limited to the use of a service, but becomes an important node within
the economic processes and management of energy resources. The layout of the proposed
idea has the prerequisites and characteristics necessary to redevelop and give functionality to
an area interposed between two terminals: a linear park to the south and a green system, of
the most important infrastructure of the city. An urban hole that demands to be filled in a
smart way, especially in view of the new eco-systemic and aesthetic challenges. In conclusion,
not a simple redevelopment of an urban area but an action of rebirth, a pole of attraction,
and a center of experimentation of new sustainable technologies at the service of the urban
ecosystem and the entire community.
The first results of the research can come from the realization of the intervention, open
different application perspectives in order to test and validate the real effectiveness of the
platform, with the construction of sustainable requalification processes. The study was
directed to the design of the communication and development interface, through smart
networks of energy services. These are the founding elements, which by integrating with the
energy infrastructures, will be able to generate systems of knowledge and interaction in the
production of smart processes of regeneration of the city. The materials used, the life cycle
and the maintainability of the works were evaluated, paying particular attention to the possible
accounting of polluting emissions both during the design phase and during the construction
phase. In this regard, the calculation of the ecological footprint as a compensatory measure
(through the planting of tree species capable of adequately balancing the polluting flows) of
the equivalent CO2 emissions produced was also suggested as a tool.

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Piano R., In viaggio con Renzo Piano, Feltrinelli, 2005;

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Ricci M., Nuovi paradigmi, List, Trento, 2013;
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Vendittelli M., Sostenibilità ed e-governance nella pianificazione fisica. In Zoppi C. (a cura di),
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AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Pietro Currò, has taught several courses at Università Mediterranea of Reggio Calabria, La Sapienza
University of Rome and other several Universities; he deals with urban and landscape design, energy
and aesthetics as an ecologically sustainable process and transdisciplinary languages for systemic
analysis. He has carried out and he performs theoretical-experimental research on these themes at
some universities and he has produced several publications. In addition to teaching, he promotes and
participates in conference activities.

© 2019, FedoaPress

SHARING GOVERNANCE
AND NEW TECHNOLOGIES
IN SMART CITY PLANNING
*PAOLO DE PASCALI
SAVERIO SANTANGELO
ANNAMARIA BAGAINI

Sapienza University of Rome, Italy
e-mail: paolo.depascali@uniroma1.it
saverio.santangelo@uniroma1.it
annamaria.bagaini@uniroma1.it
clara.musacchio@uniroma1.it
francesca.perrone@uniroma1.it

De Pascali, P., Santangelo, S., Bagaini, A., Musacchio, C., & Perronea, F. (2019). Sharing Governance and New
Technologies in Smart City Planning. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature and ecosystem services
ABSTRACT
The paper aims to analyse the impact of new technologies in developing urban sharing governance,
and the consequences on urban planning. New Technologies, smart computing, and monitoring
are at the base of the smart city. Socio-economic warns emerge about the dangers coming
from technological dominance in relation to the political mission and driven by big companies.
The work moves in the opposite direction. The approach focuses on the potential of social
inclusiveness in urban planning and urban management, using new technologies. Many authors
and local authorities are studying the different paths to better integrate new technologies and
increase the “smartness” of cities. Many times, efforts are focused on explaining the opportunities
coming from ICT in raising the quality and efficienc y of city services. Still now few studies focus
on the impact of new technologies in terms of increasing urban sharing governance and how
they can review the way in which urban plans are made, for instance, the implications of energy
decentralisation. The paper wants to understand the effects of new technologies in opening a
new era for urban planning and urban policy-making with a higher impact on citizens’ inclusion.
We pointed out four grades of improving the Urban Planning quality using new technologies:
increase the awareness of urban living impact; increase the monitoring process; increase the
urban security and the urban health; increase the sustainable local development. In conclusion,
the paper shows opportunities in terms of reducing the risk of technological dominance in urban
planning transformation, aspiring to improve the strategic aim of urban planning with a social
impact in terms of inclusiveness.
KEYWORDS
Smart City; Smart governance; Sharing governance; Sustainability; Urban Planning
* The other authors are: Clara Musacchio, Francesca Perrone.
P. De Pascali, S. Santangelo, A. Bagaini et al.
1 INTRODUCTION
There isn’t a shared definition of Smart city, and what would be the impacts on the Urban
Planning. The smart city is based on the increasing awareness about city performance and
quality, which depend on physical infrastructures and the availability of data and information.
Those are related to the increasing of using information technologies in daily life. Authors
define Smart City as “a city well-performing, built on the smart combination of endowments
and activities of self-decisive, independent and aware citizens” (Giffinger & Gudrun, 2010); as
“a city connecting the physical infrastructure, the IT infrastructure, the social infrastructure,
and the business infrastructure to leverage the collective intelligence of the city” (Hartley,
2005); as “a city combining ICT with other organizational, design and planning efforts to de-
materialize and speed up bureaucratic processes and help to identify new, innovative solutions
to city management complexity, in order to improve sustainability and livability” (Toppeta,
2010). Those definitions explain how ICT assumes in the Smart city a crucial role. Therefore,
a major element is the change in city managing, which is about governance improvement
(Batty et al., 2012; Nam & Pardo, 2011).
The citizens' role tends to change. They are more than urban end-user with a passive role.
Citizens would be key-actors in the urban governance and managing process. They can be
considered as urban sensors (Goodchild, 2007), and system managers. Citizens can deliver
urban services, inform about the quality of services, attend to decision-making, increase the
collective business capacity thanks to new technologies. The ongoing transition to a smart
society can deliver also to some problematic issues, privacy security in one side and social
iniquity in the other. New technologies open a path of inclusion and sharing responsibilities,
but the role of controlling and promoting it is in the local authorities’ hands. The paper aims
to understand the impact of technologies on new forms of policy, planning, and governance.
It is part of ongoing research and it wants to display the different implications of ICT use in
Urban planning performance and processes, but also the presence of unexpected problems.
2 FROM SMART CITY TO SHARING GOVERNANCE: IMPLEMENTING

URBAN PLANNINGTHROUGH NEW TECHNOLOGIES
The evolution of Smart City aims to overcome the centrality of technology. The technology
hegemony encourages a development process towards unpredictable “dehumanized and
alienated horizons” (Demichelis, 2018; Fumagalli, 2017). Techno-euphoria strengthens the
domain of techno-capitalism in the form of what has been called “surveillance capitalism”
(Marconi, 2019). In the current phase, social components emerged claiming more sharing

© 2019, FedoaPress

Sharing governance and new technologies in smart city planning

governance, but difficulties and criticisms in meeting such instances were immediately
evident, especially at municipal level: local authorities tried to optimize their own internal
administrative system rather than open to the relationship with citizens (Bolivar, 2018). So,
new technologies tend to replay a centralistic social model with the support of new tools but
without any form of civic and “bottom-up” pervasiveness.
The convergence between the smart city, smart community and sustainability practices of
sharing governance would open new perspectives in the use of technology and influence
planning processes, but they request new forms of engagement. To permit citizens being
engaged in public action, they must be directly involved in technology governance and
networks control. Managing networks becomes a democratic process for building inclusive
communities. Social governance connected to the technological dimension emerges, and the
“Smart” issue transits from big players to local communities. In this way, “city smartness”
results articulated in three levels of public actions for sharing governance (Meeus et al., 2011):
− leading by example;
− governing the private urban operators;
− implementing an integrated approach at the local level. It is characterized by the
presence of decentralized functions and inclusive processes.
In the last years, two other levels of inclusiveness emerged. A fourth level can be recognized
in promoting local networks and sharing management of big data for planning actions. A fifth
level concerns bottom-up and voluntary initiatives that involve citizens, landowners, real
estate operators and final users (Header Fig., inspired by Meeus et al., 2011).
Thus, the urban plan is no more a stable product: it becomes a dynamic action, and, in some
way, it identifies itself in the participatory process, as a communicative, relational and
informational product.
All these planning attributes are supported by ICT, where it supports city managing and the
planning process itself.
Urban plans, with technological support, become tools of inclusion, networking, and
communication between the social, the public and the private sector. Two applications
emerge:
− the plan tends to become a sort of behavioural plan,
− new governance bodies emerge, more contaminated by civic activism, and new forms
of citizenship. Digital networks and relations generate new forms of bottom-up
initiatives. Technology helps to enlarge the range of actors engaged in urban
transformation.

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3 NEW TECHNOLOGIES FOR SMART GOVERNANCE IN THE URBAN

PLANNING PROCESS
The Smart city concept does not find practical implementation yet. The opportunities opened
have often a marketing aim, and it is difficult to understand the real impact on the urban
framework. The research ongoing point out four application fields in which new technologies
can increase shared governance within the urban planning process. The four levels of
interaction between technologies and urban planning highlighted are not complete, but they
represent the most interesting links, at this time. In the four levels of interaction, new
technologies play a crucial role for the urban planning development.
3.1 NEW TECHNOLOGIES FOR SMART GOVERNANCE IN THE URBAN PLANNING

PROCESS
End-users as sensors of urban quality (local services and environment) have a key role in
increasing the shared awareness of urban daily life impacts linked to each citizen behaviours.
The opportunity to understand the impact of one's behaviour using new technologies, which
provide constant information about the consequence of actions, give the power to self-
evaluate personal interaction with the city and environment. It increases the capability of self-
changing behaviours throw better performance. For the urban planning process, based on
shared goals and commitments, the understanding of self-impacts on urban development and
managing is crucial for increasing the inclusion and make it more efficient. At the same time,
continuous bottom-up monitoring can be an effective evaluation system for urban plans. It
can show the urban planning unexpected impacts and opportunities for improvement. This is
evident for the CO2 emission. People who understand the different impacts in terms of
greenhouse emission, depending on their choices, can change their action. The cost of
avoided CO2 emission is strongly related to the type of technologies used (McKinsey et al.,
2010).
Having access to updated information provided by end-users is interesting also for
understanding the emotional relationship between citizens and places. This relationship is the
base of the place identity concept, which means the value assigned by citizens to places. Bio-
mapping1 experiences work on it and aim to draw up emotional mapping, recording and
showing people's feelings connected to urban places. They can be created by using data

1
Emotional Maps by Christian Nold (http://biomapping.net/new.htm).

© 2019, FedoaPress


coming from mobile devices and social networks. Those mappings can now take advantages
from the new developing of Augmented Reality2 (AR).
3.2 NEW TECHNOLOGIES FOR INCREASING THE MONITORING OF URBAN

FACTORS
The shared use of sensors and monitoring systems to control the performance of a settlement
or an urban district (Borga, 2013) can inform the local authorities and the urban planning
about critical and unexpected elements happened within the city. All information and data
provided by sensors (quality of air, traffic problems, lack of public services, etc.) are important
to improve the public action. Monitoring the urban quality trend and having access to spread
and upgraded data can reduce the cost of data acquisition for Urban Plans elaboration. This
configuration changes also the way in which the urban planning is made and its nature,
moving toward the “planning by doing” approach instead of a “command and control” one,
thanks to the possibility to evaluate continuously the previsions and the real evolution.
3.3 NEW TECHNOLOGIES FOR INCREASING URBAN SECURITY, EMERGENCIES,

AND URBAN HEALTH
Emergency and security issues linked to urban areas are now supported by new technologies,
monitoring critical situations, problems and dangers. The information provided aim to prevent
emergencies, risks and solve them when necessary, but also to inform urban planning and
decision-makers for avoiding problems. The information can be used also to improve and
boost more secure and informed behaviours, and even healthier. The healthy city concept can
take advantages from new technologies application. Health protection under an urban
planning view refers to air/land/water pollution reduction and mitigation, risk reduction,
unhealthy behaviours reduction. Many of those dangerous behaviours (psychological and
physical) are linked to the urban form3, for example the relationship between urban sprawl,
car use and obesity. The urban planning can assume the correlation between settlements and
human diseases fostering health prevention through new technologies.

2
http://www.planningtoplan.net/session-5-back-to-augmented-reality-part-
http://www.isprs.org/proceedings/XXXVIII/part1/10/10_01_Paper_106.pdf;
http://www.inria.fr/en/innovation/industrial-sectors/energy-transport-sustainable-
development/demos/artefacto-augmented-reality-and-urban-planning;
http://nguyendangbinh.org/Proceedings/ISMAR/2002/papers/ismar_ishii.pdf
3
Imperfect Health. The Medicalization of Architecture, of the Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montreal
(http://www.cca.qc.ca/en/exhibitions/1538-imperfect-health).

© 2019, FedoaPress

Emergency refers to natural disaster but also to the lack of needed urban services or
infrastructures, the later more recurring. Security refers both to personal security and
collective security. Related to urban security is the concept of dependability. It aims to create
urban systems, services and infrastructures not only secure but also comfortable to boost and
optimise the use. The dependability becomes a synthesis of different characteristics such as
reliability, maintainability, availability, performability, safety, security (Avižienis et al., 200).
The massive use of new technologies linked with the security issue shows some criticism and
problems, as seen before. Graham (2011)4 shows how it can bring to social exclusion
phenomenon, segregation, racism, discrimination between social classes. Those criticisms can
emerge, but the potential of social inclusiveness by using these technologies in urban planning
is evident. There is a good chance that this will happen, the same Graham is optimistic in the
enlargement of the social context, regarding access to these technologies by social
movements and communities.
3.4 NEW TECHNOLOGIES FOR INCREASING THE SUSTAINABLE LOCAL

DEVELOPMENT AND THE ENERGY TURN
The energy liberalization process, in relation to the distributed and decentralised energy
production, opened new paths for increasing sharing sustainability, sharing governance and
boost the local energy turn. It finds opportunities in the changing of the end-user profile, that
becomes a prosumer (energy producer, supplier, and user). The renewable resources show
interesting potential for local development when connected with bottom-up initiatives: when
local communities or citizens enter in the energy chain by becoming social enterprises,
community cooperatives, etc. This innovation path is particularly interesting in terms of high
impact on people inclusion, and urban governance. Citizens become owners of energy plants,
producer of energy services, manager of the business itself. In Europe some experiences
exist. In Denmark5, the energy system is built on many citizens cooperatives supported by
national policies. In Europe, Local energy communities (communities which produce, manage,
use and sell to third energy) are recognised and supported by EU directives6 (Hancher &
Winters, 2017).

4
Urban militarism: excluding the 'disordered', Graham 2011 in:
http://www.opendemocracy.net/5050/vijay-nagaraj/urban-militarism-excluding-disordered
5
http://dbdh.dk/images/uploads/pdf-key-articles/best-practice-in-danish-district-heating.pdf
6
Article 16 of the E-Directive requires that Member States adopt a legal framework that ensures the
possibility for local energy communities to own, establish or lease community networks and to
autonomously manage them.

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The ICT applied to the local energy production and supply can facilitate this democratization
process, especially in managing energy local grid (heating/cooling and electricity) and
balancing the fluctuation between RES production and energy demand. The goal is being able
to control and manage the local energy-mix and the energy network made up by multi-energy
generation systems. The Goteborg7 experience is one of the most recent and interesting. It is
based on a novel district energy system, having as the main focus the balancing of the
demand. The Energy District is based on the mutual exchange of energy coming from different
productions and from different storage sets between different stakeholders, in relation to the
variations in the energy demand. A sort of Energy Exchange Community is formed, also with
effects on urban planning and participatory processes.
4 CONCLUSION
From the study emerge some final considerations, related to Urban Planning. They represent
the base for future research in the field of Urban Planning development and transformation.
− The massive use of big data and ICT systems characterizes the future of the city, linked
to sustainability. They would act on the physical-functional organization of the city, and
they would become an important factor in the evolution of urban planning with a sharing
democracy impact.
− Some criticism and alarms emerge, related to privacy issue and social discrimination
phenomenon. The new ICT age pushes towards new forms of alienation, surveillance
domination, urban militarization, and social inequality. In this critical process, the big
companies, which manage ICT systems and data are playing a big role. The ICT urban
applications, particularly those for security, can bring to segregation, and discrimination
phenomena, which find evidence in the city physical organization.
− Those criticisms can be overcoming with the enhancement of the role of local
governance, which can control and protect final users, or being the provider of ICT
services and the manager of big data provided. The new information technologies and
networks can support the development of democracy in planning processes, but they
need an institutional framework to support the development and local governance.
− New forms of advanced governance regarding decentralization of functions and the
extended participatory processes can find support in new technologies. They can inform
and influence urban planning and urban decision. For instance, the effects of Energy

7
https://www.uia-initiative.eu/en/uia-cities/gothenburg

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decentralization process can open some novelties in urban design and governance in
terms of Energy Districts and Local Energy Communities development.
− ICT can support the physical and functional organization of the city to encourage virtuous
behaviours (behavioural planning). The planning can generate virtuous behaviours,
instead of being shaped by.
− The Smart city concept changes the urban players. There are citizens and the local
associations, cooperatives, consortia, committees, etc., on one hand, the producers of
advanced technologies and services, on the other hand. The smart city opens the
possibility that the traditional urban plans interlocutors are partly replaced in the role of
driving urban transformations.
− Specific fields of technological applications can open interesting possibilities for the
development of planning processes in terms of raising direct and inclusive participation
in planning and urban management. Technology application seeks to go beyond the
simple role of support to become an integral part of the planning methodology. Advanced
technologies, properly implemented, enhance the dynamic and evolutionary value of the
plan; the direction is towards the “planning process” and “planning by doing”. The
dynamic characterization of the plan is likely to drive the dialectic of city–behaviours and
to respond appropriately to the information obtained in real time. The research in moving
in this direction. The next steps look to understand in concrete the consequences of
using ICT and city-user big data on the Urban Planning development path: how they can
transform the Urban Planning practices, the Urban policy-making and governance,
focusing on studying and comparing best practices and examples increasingly influential
worldwide.
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Portugali Y. (2012). Smart cities of the future. The European Physical Journal Special Topics Volume
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Bolivar M.P.R. (2018). Governance models and outcomes to foster public value creation in Smart Cities.
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Milano

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Demichelis L. (2018), La grande alienazione. Narciso, Pigmalione, Prometeo e il tecno-capitalismo.
Jaca Book
Giffinger, R., & Gudrun, H. (2010). Smart Cities Ranking: An Effective Instrument for the Positioning
of Cities? ACE: Architecture, City and Environment, 4(12), 7-25. Available
athttp://upcommons.upc.edu/revistes/bitstream/2099/8550/7/A CE_12_SA_10.pdf
Goodchild, M.F. (2007). Citizens assensors: the world of volunteered geography. GeoJournal, 69(4),
211–221
Graham, S. (2011). The New Military Urbanism. In Nonkilling Geography, James Tyner and Joshua
Inwood(ed), Center for Global Nonkilling. Available online http://nonkilling.org/pdf/NKgeo.pdf
Fumagalli A. (2017). Economia politica del comune. Sfruttamento e assunzione nel capitalismo bio-
cognitivo, Derive e Approdi, Roma
Hall, R. E. (2000). The vision of a smart city. In Proceedings of the 2nd International Life Extension
Technology Workshop, Paris, France, September 28
Hancher, L., Winters, B. M. (2017). The Eu Winter Package: Briefing Paper. Available
athttp://fsr.eui.eu/wp-content/uploads/The-EU-Winter-Package.pdf
Hartley, J. (2005). Innovation in governance and public services: Past and present. Public Money &
Management, 25(1), 27-34.
Marconi F. (2019). No al capitalismo della sorveglianza, colloquio con David Eggers. L’espresso n. 2
anno LXV
Meeus, L., Delarue, E., & Glachant, J.M. (2011). Smart Cities Initiative: how to foster a quick transition
towards local sustainable energy systems, POLICY brief, n.2
McKinsey et al (2010). Impact of the Financial Crisis on Carbon Economics, Version 2.1
Nam, T., & Pardo, T. A. (2011). Smart City as Urban Innovation: Focusing on Management, Policy,
and Context. In Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic
Governance, Tallinn, September 26 - 29
Toppeta, D. (2010). The Smart City Vision: How Innovation and ICT Can Build Smart, “Livable”,
Sustainable Cities. The Innovation Knowledge Foundation. Available
athttp://www.thinkinnovation.org/file/research/23/en/Toppeta_ Report_005_2010.pdf
AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Paolo De Pascali, Full Professor in Urban Planning (ICAR 21), PDTA Department, Sapienza University
of Rome. Chair of Urban Regeneration and Urban Planning Fundamentals. Director of the II level
University Master Course URBAM (Urban planning in public administration). Since 1983 he is the
Saverio Santangelo, Associate professor in Urban Planning, PDTA Department, Sapienza University
of Rome. He carries out research on public action issues in urban planning, and on topics of strategic

© 2019, FedoaPress

planning, social housing, local sustainable development. Member of PhD Department board in
Planning, Design, Technology of Architecture. Scientific coordinator on behalf Sapienza, PDTA
Annamaria Bagaini, Urban and Environmental Planner, PhD in Planning, Design and Technology of
chain.
Clara Musacchio, Architect, PhD in urban and landscape planning. She usually works as development
planning and policy consultant for public administration and private players. She participated in
national and international research groups on planning itineraries for weak social categories. She
currently deals with large area planning, metropolitan cities and instruments for controlling and
rebalancing settlement expansion.
Francesca Perrone, Landscape planner. She received her Ph.D. in Planning, Design and Technology
of Architecture, Sapienza University of Rome. She got her post graduate degree in GEOinformation
and Geographic Information Systems, for systemic analysis of territory and geographic data. She
obtains the international certificate of Esri ArcGIS User. She has engaged in issues ranging from land
take control to soil ecosystem services. Her research interests focus on sustainable landscape planning,
territory management and soil ecosystem services.

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SMART MAPPING TOOLS FOR THE
BALANCED PLANNING OF OPEN
PUBLIC SPACES IN THE TOURIST
TOWN OF GOLUBAC, SERBIA
**$/(.6$1'5$'-8.,û a
%5$1,6/$9$1721,ûa
-8*26/$9-2.29,ûb
a
Department of Urbanism
e-mail: adjukic@afrodita.rcub.bg.ac.rs
antonic83@gmail.com
b
Department of telecommunications
University of Niš, Serbia
e-mail: jugoslav.jokovic@elfak.ni.ac.rs
nikoladinkic@elfak.rs

Djukić, A., Antonić, B., Joković, J., & Dinkić, N. (2019). Smart Mapping Tools for the Balanced Planning of
Open Public Spaces in the Tourist Town of Golubac, Serbia. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature
6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
Cultural tourism is becoming an important factor for local socio-economic perspective today. This
is especially visible in smaller remote locations with rich cultural and natural heritage, where the
other economic drivers are usually limited due to this remoteness. The proper example for this
is the Iron Gates, where local heritage has been isolated by this longest gorge of the Danube.
Nevertheless, the boom of cultural tourism has been noticed last years. The problem is that it is
very concentrated in the main heritage sites, leaving the other parts without observable socio-
economic benefits. Golubac Town at the western entra nce of the gorge is such example. This is
the only town in the Iron Gates with a historic urban core and the variety of open public space.
Although magnificent Golubac Fortress is close and t he Danube is the widest in its flow in the
front of Golubac, local tourism is still underperforming.
This paper aspires to examine the prospects of Golubac Town to become a proper destination of
cultural tourism by the comparison of two methods, both based on spatial networking through
mapping. The first one is customised space syntax, oriented to the use of open public space by
different users as a prerequisite to support the deconcentrated use of wider urban environment.
The second method is newer and “smart” – it the mapping of the use of open public space
extracted from social media (Tweeter, Instagram, and Flick) and it is more attached to visitors.
Using these two methods on the case of Golubac the paper results in the recommendations how
to improve traditional urban planning and design for the potential tourist destinations that face
the high spatial imbalance of tourist visitors between their parts.
KEYWORDS
Smart city; tourism mapping; cultural tourism; space syntax; social networks
* The other author is: Nikola Dinkić.
A. Djukić, B. Antonić, J. Joković et al.
1 CULTURAL TOURISM, PLANNING, AND SMART DEVELOPMENT

Tourism is one of the most promising sectors in global economy. By the recent estimations,
tourism and travel account more than 10% of global GDP (WWTC, 2018). However, more
significant is that tourism is developing fast – it is predicted that tourism will grow by 3.8%
annually in the next decade, far more than general economy. Therefore, it will play more
important role in the socioeconomic prospects in the world (Lyon & Wells, 2012).
Some subsets of tourism are anticipated to have even faster development, becoming
megatrends (OECD, 2018). A right example is a cultural tourism, which refers to traveller’s
aspiration to meet with and experience of the culture of a certain tourist destination, including
many local cultural factors, such as heritage, lifestyle, manifestations, tradition or customs
(ICOMOS, 1997). It is regarded to be a key element of a “quality tourism” (Richards, 2007,
p. 1) The rise of the cultural tourism has been evident in the last decades. It has a constant
increase in tourism share, making almost 40% of tourism arrivals globally (UNWTO, n.d.).
Therefore, this tourism subset is becoming the important generator of the local economy
(Frey, 2019). Finally, the cultural tourism also generates new trends in tourism sector, such
as its geographical expansion and interest on indigenous cultures and traditions (Richards,
2018) or the engagement of the visitors in the local cultural practice, to experience direct
cultural contacts (Chen & Rahman, 2018).
With its rise, the planning of the cultural tourism emerges as a paramount element of its
sustainable development. Knowing that all socioeconomic practices inevitably reflect in a
space (Lefebvre, 1974), the territorial planning imposes its importance in the formation of the
competitive tourist destinations (Risteski et al., 2012). This is noticeable at different spatial
levels. In a regional planning, the concept of the cultural landscapes and their viable use
especially refers to the proper planning of cultural tourism ( imşek, 2017). Then, it is also
related to all levels of the urban planning and all segments of settlement areas (Barrera et
al., 2016).
Nevertheless, the proper planning of the cultural tourism and, even more, the implementation
of these planning actions are an immense task. This is particularly true in the case of small
and underdeveloped towns and communities, which, as it was aforementioned, arising as
new-trend destinations in this sector. The economic, organisational, and human resources of
these communities are usually limited (Jamieson, 1993). Taking into account possible pressure
from mass-tourism, these towns and communities face many spatial problems in their
destination-tourism development. A common consequence is a poor spatial balance in this
development that further implies social and economic polarisation in the destination and its
overall underperformance (Paskaleva et al., 2006).

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Smart Mapping Tools for the Balanced Planning of Open Public Spaces in the Tourist Town of Golubac, Serbia

A good example is the small town of Golubac in the Iron Gates Region along the Danube,
Eastern Serbia. The Iron Gates are unique by the fact that this is the longest gorge of the
Danube, the second longest European river and its first-tier inland waterway. The recent boom
of the mainly cultural tourists, driven by promoting heritage destinations along the Danube,
has had a limited impact on local communities in the gorge due its traditional remoteness and
inherited socioeconomic obstacles. This is also visible in Golubac Town, where the new tourist
flow has not been appropriately utilised for the local prospects, at least partly due to imbalance
in the spatial development of the tourist destination.
The explained gap between tourist potential and limited local resources conditions an
adequate research and assessment of their current state as a prerequisite for a qualitative
planning (Paskaleva et al., 2006). In this situation, the innovative and out-of-the-box
approaches can be especially useful for the efficient planning of the small-format tourist
destinations, such as Golubac. The aim of this research is to present them by the comparison
of two network-based methods: customised space syntax and the mapping of the sentimental
paths from social media. Using these two methods on the case of Golubac the paper results
in the recommendations how to improve traditional urban planning and design for the
prospective destinations of cultural tourism that face the high spatial imbalance of tourist
visitors between their parts.
2 METHODOLOGY
This paper is shaped as a case-study research. Before the presentation of the case study,
relevant theoretical fundamentals are scrutinised. The case study – Golubac Town – is
analysed by two quantitative methods:
− Customised space syntax method, oriented to the use of open public space by different
users during a day; and
− Creating the sentimental path of users - mapping of the use of open public space
extracted from social media (Tweeter, Instagram, and Flick), more related to visitors’
experience.
The both methods are innovative for the urban planning because they are based on the
networks through the concepts of sentimental paths and place attachment. The network
planning has long been neglected instead of the zoning spatial planning; however, the
network-led spatial planning is more adaptive, effective and dynamic (Dupuy, 2008). The
correlation between the methods refers to the postulates of the concept of the place
attachment that explore emotional interaction between a person and an environment (his or
her place). The both methods indirectly identify the complexity of this interaction. Rapoport

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(1990) concludes that environment acquires its meaning through the way people react on it.
In the case of the mapping of the social media, the new sentimental paths are formed by the
experience of the tourists transferred through their use of the social media; in the space
syntax, the trajectories of users in a certain place refer about their habits and the ways of life,
i.e. their feelings, memories and interpretations evoked by space.
Their comparison in the final part of the paper is a guideline to create the recommendations
for a sustainable and innovative urban planning of the small-format tourist destinations.
3 CASE STUDY: GOLUBAC TOWN, THE IRON GATES GORGE
3.1 GOLUBAC TOWN – CURRENT ASSESSMENɌ

The location of Golubac in the Iron Gates Gorge gives this town uniqueness as itself (Fig. 1).
The Iron Gates (Serb. Đerdap) reach many records at European and broader regional level.
With the length of more than 130 km, it is not only the longest gorge of the Danube River,
but also at the entire continent. The narrowest part of the gorge is also the narrowest point
of the Danube in 2/3 of its lower length, downstream from Germany. This 180 m-wide part is
Veliki Kazan (Eng. Great Cauldron) inner narrow (Fig. 2), but it is also the deepest point (82
m) of any European river (Stanković, 2006).
Fig.1 The location of The Iron Gates/ĉerdap Region and Golubac Town (Author: B. Antoniý; Supplementary
maps: Google Maps).
These remarkable dimensions of the Iron Gates have influences on the other specific aspects
of their nature. First, the geomorphologic features of the gorge are extraordinary, with the

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variety of the tectonic structures. The gorge isolation further causes microclimate conditions,
which eventually enable unique flora and fauna, rich biodiversity and many endemic species
(Maran Stevanović, 2017).The natural protection of the gorge was also a crucial to one of first
permanent human settlements in Europe is situated here. The famous Lepenski Vir
Archaeological site from Mesolithic was nicknamed as “the first city in Europe” (Pavlović,
2017). Human activities have been noticeable since that, but by far the major intervention by
man, was the construction of the “Iron Gates (Đerdap) Dam 1” with hydroelectric power
station and the formation of 130-km long artificial lake in the gorge. Iron Gate I power station
is the largest in Europe without Russia by electric power generation capacity.
Fig. 2 The narrowest part of the Iron Gates Gorge (Author: B. Antoniý)
Fig. 3 Golubac Fortress at the upper entrance of the gorge (Author: B. Antoniý)
The name of the gorge – Iron Gates – comes from two Ottoman fortresses that controlled its
upper and lower entrances by iron chains across the river for toll. One of them is Golubac
Fortress at the upper entrance (Fig. 3). The fortress is monumental, with a strategic position
at the entrance of the Iron Gates (Cunjak & Jordović, 2002). It was built in the medieval
centuries, but was more important in the later centuries, when the Danube divided Hapsburg
and Ottoman empires and, even more, the two civilisations and cultures (Tracy, 2015). The
borderland character of the Iron Gates has continued until today. Since the World War I, the
Danube in the gorge is also an international border between Serbia and Romania.
This political division has just emphasised the natural isolation of the Iron Gates and its
communities. The right example is Golubac Town, the seat of one of three municipalities in
Serbian side of the gorge. The town is the only settlement in the Iron Gates that was not
resettled by the formation of the Iron Gates Lake, preserving a historic urban core and the
variety of open public space. Its current position on the Danube where it is the widest in its
entire flow is also a great advantage.

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The economic, social, and demographic profile of Golubac in the last 50 years pretty much
demonstrates the challenging situation of all settlements in the gorge. The town is one of the
smallest in Serbia, with less than 2,000 inhabitants. Golubac has been losing population since
the start of post-socialist transition of the country in 1991. The demographic situation at
municipal level is even more severe; Golubac Municipality, as well as the other two gorge
municipalities, has rapidly shrinking (Tab.1).
COMMUNITY Census Census Census Census Difference Difference

1948 1991 2002 2011 2011/1948 2011/1991
Golubac Town 1,373 1,995 1,896 1,653 145.3% -17.1%
Golubac Municipality 14,844 12,513 9,913 8,331 -43.9% -33.4%
Majdanpek Municipality 19,610 27,378 23,703 18,686 -4.7% -31.7%
Kladovo Municipality 26,161 31,881 23,613 20,635 -21.2% -35.3%
Tab. 1 Demographic indicators of Golubac Town and the gorge municipalities in last national population
censuses (Source: SORS, 2014)
This is the clear reflection of the economic downturn and the overall isolation of Serbia in the
last decades; three Gorge municipalities are among the last ones by the economic
performance in Serbia (MRDRS, 2009-15).
However, the recent rise of the cultural tourism in the gorge has positively shaken somnolent
settlements in the Iron Gates. National level has invested in heritage protection and
presentation, such as the revitalisation of Golubac Fortress, to present local cultural and
natural treasure to visitors. The problem is that this, new vigour has been oriented to a few
main heritage sites, where the state is in charge, leaving the local level stretched between
them. Consequently, the impact of the tourism has limitedly reached declining local
population, which supposedly should be the main target of such projects. Golubac is a
showcase for this gap; although the local community has invested a lot in the reconstruction
of the open public spaces (the Danube quay in the town, the main square, town park) in the
town in last years, local tourism is still underperforming.
The on-site research and discussion with local experts in Golubac confirmed that the main
problem is the weak and unprepared municipal governance, which is not able to back and
guide the development of supplementary tourist services and infrastructure. Moreover, the
local strategic plans are controversial; some important planning actions are internally in
collision and many of the proposed key projects are located without a real connection to the
local community. Their spatial location in a narrow strip along the Danube is also doubtful,
leaving to connections with the mountainous hinterland of the gorge with preserved intangible
heritage and the vernacular villages (Antonić & Djukić, 2018). The local strategies and plans

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are also very conservative in essence; they do not support the innovative and alternative ways
of a tourism development such as creativity and creative industries (Djukić, & Antonić, 2018).
For example, the huge inflow of the tourists in Golubac Fortress in the last couple of years
has not properly reflected in the general development of nearby Golubac Town, which has
played more a “transit zone” towards the fortress than a real attraction.
3.2 ANALYSIS 1: SPACE SYNTAX

The space syntax is a relatively new method in spatial research, developed in the early 1980s,
with the rise of computer modelling (Hillier, 2002). Nevertheless, it is among the rare methods
in urban practice that have gained an international attention from early beginnings (Jiang &
Claramunt, 1999). The method concerns pedestrian flow in the urban nodes (crossroads in
streets and squares) per an hour during the characteristic daytimes and days in a week. The
difference in obtained results during a day or week and their spatial configuration can be good
indicator of the broader spatial and socioeconomic circumstances of the investigated urban
area (Sayed et al., 2013). In the case of the development of cultural tourism, this is related
to the aforementioned newest trends that the cultural tourists want a new experience of the
cultural space, including a “real” interaction with local population. Thus, streets and squares,
as the main urban places for socialisation, are a good showcase to explore the local pattern
that can facilitate and/or enhance the cultural tourism.
The customised space syntax investigation that included the measurement of the pedestrians
flows, cyclists, cars, and heavy vehicles (buses and lorries), was conducted in Golubac in the
Thursday, March 2, 2017 (Fig. 4). This day is intentionally chosen because Thursdays are
market days in Golubac and the weather was sunny and between 15-20°C. In contrast, March
is a month outside of tourism season. Hence, this day was perfect to measure the maximal
exploitation of the open urban space by the local users and ordinary passers-by, e.g. without
disruption by tourists. This stance was important for the research – Richards (2007) points
that local lifestyle is becoming increasingly important for the contemporary consumers of the
cultural tourism. Tourists will follow local people in their lifestyle and “consume” the same
places in the urban structure.
The obtained results in Golubac are very indicative for this matter. Generally, cars and
pedestrians dominate in the open public spaces in central Golubac; on the other side, the
cyclists are quite scarce. If this issue is analysed from node to node, it is obvious that there
is a huge gap between the pedestrians and the other users. The cyclists and all types of the
vehicles tended to use the main west-east transport corridor through the town (Đerdap/Iron
Gates State Road), which is also the widest street in the town. At contrary, pedestrian
movement has a less dispersed network. The numbers of pedestrians and other observed

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users are both similar and highest along the main street and around the main square, with
the highest concentration of the central facilities. However, this is a sharp contrast with the
main tourist attractions, such as the Danube Quay and the nearby city park with the view on
the fortress. These spaces are not appropriately used by local pedestrians to eventually
become magnets for the external visitors.
Fig. 4 The flows of the different users of open public space in central Golubac in two characteristic daytime
period (Authors: M. Zukanoviý, J. Milovanoviý & T. Radiý).

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3.3 ANALYSIS 2: SOCIAL MEDIA MAPPING

The global development of social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, ect) in two
recent decades concurs with the acceleration of the cultural tourism. These two sectors have
become dependent recently. Muscat Declaration (WTO, 2017) highlights the computer-based
activities to post and share or, indirectly, to promote the cultural tourism by distributing
related big data. The social media arises as important segment of this big-data exchange
(Demunter, 2017).
The analysis of posted geocoded data in Golubac were conducted for two social media
networks (Instagram and Twitter) in the period 2011-2017, done by Jugoslav Joković and
Nikola Dinkić.
Instagram: The analysis of location tags (hashtags) by Instagram in Golubac area
demonstrates the general interest on the fortress instead on the town; the tags that include
the words fortress, castle and their Serbian match-words are the most frequent. The only
other Golubac location mentioned in Instagram is the town quay (Fig. 5):
Fig. 5 Golubac hashtags by Instagram (Source: J. Jokoviý & N. Dinkiý).
The same analysis of Instagram data done by also showed several key hashtags related to
Golubac, with the total number of 8,740 these tags. The non-denominational hashtag
#golubac dominates with 76% share. The second ones are the hashtags related to the fortress

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(#golubacfortress and #golubackatvrdjava) – 20%. The last ones are the hashtags that refer
to the town (#golubactownand #golubackigrad) with just 3.7% share.
Twitter: At the first glance, Tweets analysis showed that the interest of users existed just for
Golubac Fortress. Thus, the Tweets analysis is narrowed to the fortress, where an explored
location is defined by the fortress coordinates (44.660241 N, 21.679019 E), with 300-metres
radius. The results of Tweets analysis (Tab. 2 and 3) profoundly show that Golubac Fortress
is becoming an international tourist attraction; eight used languages and the variety of the
applications used for Tweets distribution confirm this statement.
Analysis type Number Application Share (%)
Total number of Tweets 61 Instagram 56.3

Number of users 44 Foursquare 20.8
Number of applications 5 Twitter for 18.3
Android
Number of languages 8
Number of likes 36 Twitter for 3.2
Number of re-Tweets 2 iPhone
Number of followers 85,253 WorldPress 1.1
Number of friends 50,872 ekskursja.pl 0.4
Tab. 2 and 3 Tweeting on Golubac Fortress2011-2017: general figures (left) and the distribution of Tweets by
applications (right) (Authors: J. Jokoviý & N. Dinkiý)
4 CONCLUSIONS
The main findings from two analyses in Golubac Town are given in the following highlights:
The sharp division between western and eastern half of Golubac centre due to their different
character; the western part is more related to retail and transport and the eastern part is
more with public institutions (school, kindergarten, etc.).
The results of space syntax clearly show that the “ordinary” actions of the modern planning
in tourism cannot be predicted in a traditional way. For example, the local government has
invested a lot in the open public space along the Danube Riverfront (town quay or town park),
these space is underused most of the year. Space syntax results reveal that these places are
not on daily routine for the majority of local population. At contrary, the main street, the part
of the Iron Gates Main Road, is not adequately recognised as an important public space even
though its transitive character, also identified by space syntax, means that it is the “gate” of
Golubac Town to the-first time passers-by. Therefore, it can be crucial for the first-time
individual cultural tourists to notice the potential of the town and the nearby Danube riverside
and spend some time in Golubac.

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Interestingly, some places important for local communities are totally unnoticed by local
government and local plans.
For example, the town open market (“bazaar”) is very important for local community by space
syntax research, but cultural tourists do not know about it. However, it can be easily promoted
as an integral part of Serbian life and culture, which is in line with the recent trends in cultural
tourism (traditional culture). Similarly, the tourists are not informed about the upper part of
central Golubac with excellent viewpoints to the lower historic part, Golubac Fortress, Romania
and the 6-kilometre wide Danube. The market, located in this part of town can be included in
this town tour.
The previous findings are further support by the results from social-media analysis. There is
a noticeable gap between the attractiveness of Golubac Fortress, which has already known
internationally, and Golubac Town, which is far behind. This indirectly points out that the
broad surrounding of the fortress, including the town and its open space, cannot currently
enable the same tourist interest as the fortress, which size is negligible comparing with the
town.
For the future planning and design, the following recommendations are crucial:
− Physical improvements of the main street and the open public space around bus station
are the most desirable, with preserving its vibrant life;
− The “softening” of its image of a ‘mental boundary’ between the lower and upper parts
of the town;
− Open public spaces in the eastern part of Golubac deserve a profound regeneration,
which should be based on multi-aspect approach – to include physical, functional
improvements, as well as social and cultural interventions; and
− The better visual and symbolical link with the fortress as an already established major
attraction should be embedded in the future interventions in the town. The new planning
and design projects had to include the view on Golubac fortress and the Danube.
Furthermore, it is necessary to explore the meaning and importance of the fortress by
promoting the design that symbolically resembled the fortress and related matters
(middle ages, knights, etc.). However, it is important to use ICT-driven tools to link
tourism and culture through public space(digitised heritage, augmented reality, etc.).
The future research regarding cultural tourism should be more focused on how to use the
social media and geo-located data derivedfrom user movement in urban planning. Finding the
sentimental paths of the users and missing links between the nodes within open public spaces
is crucial for the successful functioning of the city regarding the cultural tourism. It is also
important to recognise all key tourist spots, to strengthen the links between them and
eventually to form the network based on them. This is the only way to be in touch with the

© 2019, FedoaPress

already mentioned new trend; to wide tourist offer from the main tourist sites to their
surroundings, including local tradition and customs and involving tourists to participate in
them.
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Challenges of Climate Change, Sustainable Tourism Consumption, and Destination Competitiveness
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This paper is done within the Project DANUrB – a regional network building through tourism and
education to strengthen the “Danube” cultural identity and solidarity. The project is co-financed by
INTERREG EU Programme. It present a part of the research published under the official project report.
The authors also thanks to all students who attended “Methodology of Urban Design” faculty course
during the school year 2016-2017.
AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Aleksandra Djukiü, is an associate professor at the Department of Urbanism, University of Belgrade

– Faculty of Architecture, Serbia. Her scientific and pedagogical interests are urban planning and
design, with a special respect on urban morphology and urban renewal and regeneration. She is an
active participant in scientific conferences and exhibitions. She is also a licensed urbanist, planner and
architectural designer – she was the leader of member of working team in numerous documents in
urban planning and design, as well as in architectural design and spatial planning.
Branislav Antoniü, is a teaching assistant at the Department of Urbanism, University of Belgrade –

Faculty of Architecture, Serbia. His scientific and pedagogical interests are urban and spatial planning,
with a special focus on the planning of medium-size and small communities, as well as the spatial
aspect of housing and tourism. He is an active participant in scientific conferences and exhibitions. He
is also a licensed urban and spatial planner with professional involvement in more than 30 spatial and
urban plans and urban design projects.
Jugoslav Jokoviü, is a research associate and teaching assistant, received from the Faculty of
Electronic Engineering, University of Niš, the Dipl.-Eng, M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees, in 2000, 2004, and
2007, respectively. He participated in scientific national projects – in the programme of technological
development, energy efficiency and interdisciplinary research, and also within programme of bilateral
cooperation with Germany, as well as Actions in European COST program. He is author or co-author
of more than 100 scientific papers in the field of communication and signal processing, of which seven
papers in journals with impact factor. He is a reviewer of international journals and conferences and
the member of IEEE (MTT, CAS, GRS).
Nikola Dinkiü, is a research assistant with Dipl.Eng. Degree from the Faculty of Electronic Engineering
– University of Niš. He is a research assistant with Dipl. Eng. Degree from the Faculty of Electronic
Engineering – University of Niš. He joined Department of Computer science in 2014 as a PhD student
and researcher, participating in scientific projects financed by Serbian Ministry of Science. His research
interests include artificial intelligence, geographic information systems and internet applications. He is
co-author of 12 scientific papers in international and national conference papers.

© 2019, FedoaPress

TOWARDS A MODEL FOR URBAN
PLANNING CONTROL OF THE
SETTLEMENT EFFICIENCY
ISIDORO FASOLINO, FRANCESCA COPPOLA

MICHELE GRIMALDI
Department of Civil Engineering

University of Salerno, Italy
e-mail: i.fasolino@unisa.it, fracoppola@unisa.it
migrimaldi@unisa.it
URL: http://docenti.unisa.it/isidoro.fasolino
URL: http://docenti.unisa.it/michele.grimaldi

Fasolino, I., Coppola, F., & Grimaldi, M. (2019). Towards a model for urban planning control of the settlement
efficiency. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature and ecosystem services (pp. 587-594). Naples:
ABSTRACT
The urban model of cities of the future is closely linked to the concept of sustainability. The
current research on the subject does not provide a particularly rich picture of studies carried
out in terms of a quantitative engineering approach and has a poor and incoherent national
regulatory framework. There is no attempt to evaluate the overall performance level offered by
the system elements which make up the settlement. The international relevance of sustainability
issues, when applied to the governance of the territory, is what leads to the need for integrated
innovative strategies in the planning process aimed at reconstructing a balance with the natural
environment. This need is addressed by constructing a model aimed at verifying and planning
the most efficient urban planning of the settlements, by taking into account the environmental,
economic and social contexts and through the definit ion of a specific index of settlement
efficiency. Constructing a model requires the identification of indicators, which can be controlled
on an urban level and are associated with elements and relevant performance in terms of
resilience, energy efficiency and innovative urban f acilities. The subsequent development of
these indicators derives defining appropriate benchm arks and the implementation of multi-
criteria analysis. The model is configured as a tool to support the strategic environmental
assessment of the municipal urban plan and controlling tool, in quantitative terms, of the
impacts on the environment caused by town planning choices while allowing for changes aimed
at raising the quality level of the solutions ident ified. The general objective is to equip the
planning process with tools for the design and construction of inclusive settlements, which are
self-sufficient from an energy point of view and capable of coping with climate change.
KEYWORDS
Efficiency; Settlement; Urban planning
I. Fasolino, F. Coppola, M. Grimaldi
1 THE URBAN PROBLEM

The urban model of cities of the future is closely linked to the concept of sustainability which
implies the capacity of the system to achieve the balance between consuming and
regenerating resources connected to the growth of cities but also the capacity to pursue social
and economic equity, while taking into account that citizens are active elements in the
management and protection processes of their living environment.
The growing interest in the construction of new cities or the transformation of existing ones
in a smart perspective and the international relevance of these problems, applied to the
governance of the territory, determines the need to integrate innovative strategies into the
planning process that aim at sustainability and the resilience of urban settlements and,
therefore, the recreation of a balance with the natural environment.
The relevance of the themes are highlighted in the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)
designed and promoted by the UN (The United Nations). In particular, reference is made to
SDG 11 Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable (UN,
2015).
Today's challenges facing urban areas, such as land use and climate change, make it
necessary to define a methodology for assessing the sustainability of urban planning that will
allow for the creation and validation of a protocol on an urban scale. The city is, in fact, the
place where the majority of economic and residential activities are concentrated and,
therefore, has the highest rate of energy consumption whereby wasted and irrational uses of
resources are common place along with the production of the greatest quantity of waste, not
to mention, the environmental impact which is generated by mobility and social exclusion
caused mainly by economic mechanisms. Although cities occupy only 3% of the Earth's
surface, they are responsible for 60-80% of energy consumption and 75% of carbon
emissions. These aspects are becoming increasingly widespread when placed within the global
trend of urbanization. In fact, nowadays, approximately 3.5 billion people live in the city and
by 2030 the world population will live in urban areas will reach 5 billion1, with the consequent
increase in consumption, demand for resources and environmental impact.
However, the urban realities are able to more effectively counter the negative effects caused
by development processes as well as being able to offer an institutional framework which is
more suited to the drafting and operational implementation of tailor-made policies.

1
https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/cities/

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Towards a model for urban planning control of the settlement efficiency

A sustainable city cannot and must not be thought of only in relation to environmental
protection as well as the protection and restoration of its integrity, but also as a place in which
to extend wellbeing to the whole community.
2 PLANNING PARADIGMS
Settlement efficiency is understood as an urbanistically controllable subset of the more general
concept of sustainability associated with a «a process of change in which the exploitation of
resources, the direction of investments, the orientation of technological development; and
institutional change are all in harmony and enhance both current and future potential to meet
human needs and aspirations» (WCED, 1987). In an approach that goes from the holistic to
the reductionistic, the assessment of the efficiency degree of a settlement cannot be carried
out without considering the different factors that determine its performance: resilience,
energy efficiency, innovative urban facilities.
Resilience, regarded as a resource which should be preserved and increased, is closely
connected to the built environment, in its most general sense, and correlated to the delicate
relationship between the anthropized and natural environment. In relation to urban systems,
resilience can be defined as the capacity to «resist, absorb, accommodate and recover from
the effects of a hazard in a timely and efficient manner» (UNISDR, 2009).
«A resilient city assesses, plans and acts to prepare for and respond to all hazards – sudden
and slow-onset, expected and unexpected»2 associated, nowadays, mainly with climate
change, classified among the main risks on a global level (WEF, 2014). In addition, in order
to achieve settlement efficiency, the need for a more rational use of energy must be
considered through actions and measures aimed at saving energy and using renewable
sources, and innovative urban facilities, aimed at improving the quality of community life.
The problems related to the most elementary methods of fruition of a territory have been
dealt with up to now through the creation of gray infrastructures such as roads, sewage
systems, railways, etc. In order to complement these, within the framework of a global project
aimed at defining a strategy for the sustainability and resilience of human settlements, a
decisive role is played by green and blue infrastructures, as a planning paradigm to articulate
and detail in a system of choices of an eminently urbanistic nature. In fact, the latter are able
to: reduce the fragmentation of natural habitats; restore the conditions for carrying out natural
processes in the city; increase the degree of biological diversity and self-regenerative skills;
construct corridors connecting with external habitats, through favoring the necessary

2
http://urbanresiliencehub.org/what-is-urban-resilience/

© 2019, FedoaPress

biological exchanges; reduce the ecological footprint of cities on the territory and increase the
degree of resilience of the urban ecosystem, by increasing the load capacity and performance
of the constructed environment; improve urban metabolism and the eco-efficiency of its
various components; mitigate the effects of climate change. In this sense, an efficient
settlement can be considered as an urban segment of green and blue infrastructure.
The current research on the subject, from an urban point of view, does not provide a
particularly rich picture of studies carried out in terms of a quantitative engineering approach,
which analyzes the urban settlement fabric and the territory as a whole, with reference to all
the elements that constitute it, in an organic and unitary way.
In particular, the European strategy for sustainable urban planning outlines the prospect of
high density and mixed-use settlements, with the reuse of abandoned soils, and a planned
expansion of urban areas that replaces isolated processes (CCE, 2004), while the Italian,
national and local regulatory framework appears to be lacking in the analysis of social and
environmental aspects, limiting itself, for the most part, to quantitative requirements
(standardization of building, urban planning, environmental standards, etc.) which are not
included in a clear and defined strategy. Any attempt to evaluate the overall performance
level offered by the system of the elements constituting the settlement is lacking.
3 RESEARCH OBJECTIVE
The objective of this research is to define a model aimed at planning and verifying the most
efficient urban planning of settlements, with particular reference to environmental, economic
and social contexts, through the construction of a specific index of settlement efficiency. The
most general purpose is to provide the urban planning process with tools for the design and
construction of inclusive settlements, which are self-sufficient from an energy point of view
and capable of coping with climate change.
4 METHODOLOGY
The scope of the methodology is evaluating the settlement efficiency through the prediction
and combination of the factors that determine it. Constructing the model (Fig. 1) requires,
therefore, the identification of a series of indicators that are associated with elements, which
can be controlled on an urban level, and related performances considered relevant in terms
of resilience, energy efficiency and innovative urban facilities. This is based on the analysis of
scientific and technical literature, including sustainability protocols on an urban scale, and best
practices. The subsequent development of these indicators derives from the definition and

© 2019, FedoaPress


quantification of appropriate benchmarks and the attribution of weights and scores through
the use of multi-criteria analysis techniques.
Fig. 1 Conceptual scheme of research.
4.1 ELEMENTS AND PERFORMANCES

In order to achieve the objective established, the model provides for the identification of a
series of elements in the urban planning of a settlement that contribute to its efficiency. A
large part of these elements is part of green infrastructures, on an urban scale, in other words,
they are tools for the valorization of natural environments which are modified or disfigured by
the development of human activities. However, from the point of view of multi-functionality,
adaptation and flexibility, each element can guarantee one or more performances, namely
oriented towards sustainability, resilience, energy efficiency. According to these
considerations, the interesting elements for the model are to be found in these macro-
categories:
− Resilience devices: elements especially designed and managed to increase the resilience
of the settlement such as: green spaces and parks, cistern squares, green retention,
watersquares, forestation, permeable pavements, urban meadows, etc.
− Nature based solutions (Nbs): solutions designed, managed and enhanced to perform
certain services which are economically advantageous and at the same time able to
provide benefits for the environment in terms of the quality of life of citizens and the

© 2019, FedoaPress

economy. These include: waste water recycling, rainwater harvesting, green walls and
roof, raingarden, wetland, etc.
− Energy efficiency: roofs, canopies and photovoltaic facades, district heating, etc.
− Innovative urban facilities: social housing, cycle paths, urban gardens, natural habitats,
ecological microrets, etc.
− Urban systems: ecological islands, emergency management spaces, etc.
These elements can be considered as the main dowels of an urban segment of green and
blue infrastructure.
4.2 INDICATORS AND BENCHMARKS

The construction of an efficiency evaluation system for a settlement which is able to converge
and integrate environmental, economic and social aspects towards forms of effective
relationships in a synergistic way, is able to identify a concrete solution in the correct
application of suitable indicators through which the performance of the elements defined
above can be measured.
The choice of indicators to be used in the evaluation is a complex and delicate operation which
imposes a series of requirements such as: precision (guaranteed by technical and scientific
substantiation), measurability (accessible and available indicators, statistically documented,
regularly updated, transparent and sensitive to changes in the phenomena monitored),
relevance and potential use (representative of the scope to be analyzed, which are easily
understandable and interpretable, with the possibility of describing temporal trends,
communicative immediacy and comparable with a reference value that testifies its relevance).
The latter are indispensable in order for the selected indicators to perform the task for which
they were designed3, namely «to provide solid bases for decision-making at all levels and to
contribute to a self-regulating sustainability of integrated environment and development
systems» (UNSD, 1992).
In particular, they must be representative of the conditions of the system; the relationships
between human activities, the pressures and the components of the urban structure and they
must be capable of orienting the definition of environmental quality targets and the objectives
of environmental strategies. Furthermore, they can be used to stimulate participation as an
indispensable element to support decision-making processes in the allocation of priorities and
in the selection of possible alternatives.

3
The Indicators were officially introduced at the United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992.

© 2019, FedoaPress


The choice of indicators is carried out through a critical analysis of scientific and technical
literature and the most widespread urban sustainability protocols, both nationally and
internationally, as well as other available sources. This operation highlights some
interpretative, conceptual and applicative problems that make it necessary to select and
reduce them to a set of controllable and significant indicators from an urban point of view and
to which a quantitative or qualitative evaluation can be associated. The choice falls on a limited
number of indicators that makes it possible to define the form and functions of specific
portions of the settlement, in line with the objectives of the model.
In relation to the different measurable elements, we identify three homogeneous areas in
which to group the selected indicators: natural capital, artificial capital and social capital.
The valorization of the selected indicators, which are essential for the formulation of a
synthetic judgment on the global performance of an urban settlement, derives from the
definition and quantification of suitable benchmarks and the subsequent attribution of weights
and scores through multi-criteria analysis. Choosing the latter is necessary due to the
complexity of the issue and the presence of numerous aspects of an environmental, economic
and social nature that are sometimes conflicting. The difficulties encountered at that point in
defining the methodology are linked to the significant lack in both the literature and in the
national and international case studies of threshold values through which a score can be
assigned to the indicators. Furthermore, in the use of these techniques, the estimate of the
efficiency of the settlement will not be univocally defined as it is conditioned by discretionary
hypotheses and value judgments necessary in the definition of the weights and scores.
5 RESEARCH PERSPECTIVES
The research development perspectives are embedded in the potential of the methodology
and in the way it is structured. In fact, the hypothesized model is configured as a controlling
tool, in quantitative terms, of the impacts induced by town planning choices, on the degree
of settlement efficiency, making it possible to make the necessary changes in order to increase
the quality of the solutions identified in the municipal urban plan and to support its strategic
environmental assessment.
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© 2019, FedoaPress

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http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GlobalRisks_Report_2014.pdf, last consultation 14/02/2019.
WEB SITES
https://www.unric.org/it/, last consultation 17/02/2019, https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/, last

consultation 17/02/201, https://www.unisdr.org/, last consultation 17/02/2019 , http://www
.un.org/en/, last consultation 17/02/2019, https://unhabitat.org/, last consultation 17/02/2019,
http://urbanresiliencehub.org/, last consultation 17/02/2019, https://ec.europa.eu/echo /what/
humanitarian-aid/ resilience_en, last consultation 17/02/2019
AUTHOR’S PROFILES
Isidoro Fasolino, Engineer. He has a PhD in Urban Planning Techniques, in an associate professor
in Urban Planning Techniques and teaches Urban Planning and the Fundamentals of Urban Engineering
at the University of Salerno. He is the author of articles, essays and books in these subjects. He is an
effective member of the Board of Directors, both in Campania and in Italy, of the National Institute of
Urban Planning (INU).

© 2019, FedoaPress

SOMERVILLE: INNOVATION CITY
LUNA KAPPLER
Department of Civil, Building and

“Sapienza” University of Rome, Italy
e-mail: luna.kappler@uniroma1.it
URL: www.dicea.uniroma1.it/en/users/

Kappler, L. (2019). Somerville: Innovation City. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature and ecosystem
ABSTRACT
The city of Somerville has answered in the last ten years to the rise of Innovation Districts,
especially in Boston and in Cambridge and its outcomes, complaining that the term “innovation
district” has almost become a slogan, instead that focusing on creative forms of strategic policies.
That is why it has decided not to create a specific district related to innovation but to build its
own economy around innovation, including the use of new economic tools and development
processes to build a solid ecosystem within the whole city. The article aims to present a focus
on the territorial and economic transformation that has affected Somerville, especially in the
areas of Assembly Square, Union Square and Boynton Yards. Those have been considered the
proper field to test new economic tools for a develo pment based on innovation. Still today, the
definition of a community vision is giving the possi bility to innovative businesses and start-up
to locate in a friendly and inclusive live/work environment. The main consequence today is that
the city is becoming compact and benefits from the creation of a dynamic physical realm which
strengthens the proximity and the impact of knowledge. The research is the result of on-the-
spot analysis and interviews with the protagonists in the phases of the process, selected among
promoters, entrepreneurs, citizens and professors.
KEYWORDS
Innovation Districts; Innovation Economy, Vision, Proximity
Somerville: Innovation city

1 THE EVOLUTION OF THE CITY OF SOMERVILLE DURING THE YEARS

Somerville was first settled in 1630 as a part of Charlestown, and was established as a town
in 1842, after being separated from the urbanizing Charlestown because it was still largely
rural. It was incorporated as a city in 1872, due to its growing population and increasing
industrialization.
As a part of Charlestown, areas existing in modern-day Somerville such as Union Square were
critical military positions in the American Revolution.
In 1803, the Middlesex Canal connected Lowell with Charlestown, spurring development of a
textile industry along the Merrimack River. The Assembly Square area’s proximity to, first the
canal terminus, and after 1842, the Boston and Maine Railroad, made it a center for industry
and commerce. Tidelands were filled and factories were built. The Olmstead firm, designers
of Boston’s Emerald Necklace, planned a tree-lined boulevard connecting Broadway (now
Foss) Park to the Mystic River that became the Northwest border of Assembly Square when
built in 1897. The rail station built at the Southwest tip of the site in 1901 served streetcars
and an elevated line. Streets lined with homes and businesses integrated Assembly Square
with East Somerville1. By the early 1900s, Somerville itself had become a densely packed
urban area, featuring immigrants from across Europe. Public transit made Assembly Square’s
thousands of jobs easily accessible. In 1926, Ford built an assembly plant, from which the
square took its name, while one year later First National Stores built a warehouse complex
running from what is now Circuit City to Lowes Theater.
2 THE STARTING CONDITIONS OF THE AREA

Two events changed the city. First, deindustrialization hit Somerville early: Ford closed its
plant in 1958, followed by First National in 1976, each laying off more than a thousand
workers. Most of Somerville’s factories closed between those two dates. Developers converted
abandoned factories to residential uses, which produced only 60% of the tax revenues, but
twice the costs of commercial uses. Secondly, the Commonwealth drew up plans for Interstate
93 (I-93) that would rip out the heart of East Somerville and isolate Assembly Square (
Shelton, 2006). Neighbors formed “Somerville Citizens for Adequate Transportation” to fight
them, while the city administration opposed.

1
”About Somerville”, https://www.somervillema.gov, accessed October 2018.

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L. Kappler
By 1976, Assembly Square was becoming a ghost town. In 1978, city officials began preparing
a redevelopment plan. They declined to develop a master plan, but embraced a developer’s
initiative and presented it as the city’s redevelopment plan.
Then, as now, the site for a new mall was the old Ford plant. FBI agents caught them in a
securities-fraud and tax-evasion scheme, so a decade after it opened, the business began a
decline that would end with its closing.
3 THE CHALLENGE: DEVELOP AN INNOVATION ECOSYSTEM

Somerville has always been suffering of the competition with its most fortunate and globally
known neighbor; Boston.
It had to face and answer to these Boston’s effective policies that were creating incredibly
various scenarios, such as Seaport by the ocean, with its high-rise development and Roxbury,
with its attention to social inclusiveness. So it decided not to create a specific district related
to innovation but to build its own economy around innovation, including the use of new
economic tools and development processes to have a solid ecosystem within the whole city.
For this purpose places of concentration of interests were identified among those that where
in the program of Main Streets: Union Square and Boynton Yards together with Assembly
Square.
The term “innovation district” has almost become a slogan in Greater Boston, referring to
areas in which large scale mixed-use development is centered on major anchor institutions
and related firms, entrepreneurs and companies (Katz, 2014). Anchor institutions typically
come from the education or healthcare fields, but can also be non-profit cultural institutions,
locally-focused philanthropies, libraries, or even large for-profit corporations. Large
companies, universities help spread the fixed costs of research and development and help
support a fledgling innovation ecosystem, which is created when a synergistic relationship
rises between people, firms, and places that facilitate idea generation and accelerate
commercialization. Providing a physical environment where this can take place, requires a
continuum of spaces for companies. Instead of creating isolated scientific parks, the
"Innovation Districts" focus largely on the creation of a dynamic physical realm that
strengthens the proximity and the impact of knowledge. They represent the effort to create
new products, technologies and market solutions, through the convergence of disparate
sectors and specializations. To find an example of an innovative economy twenty years ago,
one was forced to drive to a lost research center, work alone and keep one's ideas secret
(Katz, 2014). Proximity is everything today (Bradley, 2013). People want to be in dynamic
urban places, which can be reached on foot or by bicycle, where they can meet other workers,
share their ideas and appreciate varieties. Companies appreciate the proximity to other

© 2019, FedoaPress


companies, research laboratories and universities, in collaborative spaces, to make it easy to
transform brilliant ideas into attractive products.
3.1 A NEW VISION FOR SOMERVILLE AND ASSEMBLY SQUARE

In the fields of education, social services, health, recreation and open space, Somerville’s
needs were disproportionately large. Nevertheless, the city had an extraordinary potential as
a community, home and workplace.
In April, 1998, residents were invited to discuss this potential at “SomerVision”, a citywide
event with attendees from economic development, real estate, business management, and
environmental backgrounds. First, the best way to meet many of Somerville’s needs was full
employment. Second, regional grants could only meet a fraction of the city’s needs. Third, the
only land left that could accommodate development adequate to produce needed jobs and
tax revenues was Assembly Square and the Inner Belt. The benefits and burdens associated
with different development patterns were investigated and their economic requirements,
market potential, and environmental impacts were analyzed. Degradation changed Assembly
positive features deriving from its close position to the city center into negative ones, but it
emerged that Assembly Square was the best development site left in Greater Boston for high-
density development. Its $6 billion in infrastructure investment, second only to Boston’s
financial district, includes the Orange Line, three commuter rails, Routes 28 and 38, the Mystic
River, and I-93. It’s less than 15 minutes from downtown, the airport, financial centers,
Harvard and MIT. If developed only as parkland, Assembly Square would be a permanent
fiscal and physical burden, instead, housing development would create a greater burden,
offering more than new tax revenues, together with large retail stores. It has been considered
that developed as an office-based urban district with supporting housing, retail, a hotel, and
cultural facilities, Assembly Square could produce $30 million in net taxes and 30,000 new
jobs and 30 acres of new open space. Another point was that developers won’t undertake
projects unless they have assurance that surrounding properties will be well designed,
supported by sufficient transportation infrastructure, and not include uses that would
undermine their investment; so they required a master plan. The citizen activists chose for
themselves the name “Mystic View Task Force” and began to formulate a vision. Candidates
Dorothy Kelly Gay and Joe Curtatone both endorsed it, during the election to replace Mayor
Capuano (Dorothy Kelly Gay became Mayor).
IKEA bought 17 acres of waterfront property in 1999 for $19.5 million. Mayor Gay rejected its
plans because, “it did not include sufficient mixed use on their vital waterfront acreage”. For
the activists like the Mystic View Task Force the store’s traffic impacts were fundamentally
incompatible with Somerville’s interests. In 2000, the Somerville Redevelopment Authority

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L. Kappler
(SRA) acquired title to a 9.3-acre former railroad parcel and issued a RFP for developers. The
City initiated an extensive public planning process, producing the "2000 Planning Study" which
set out a new vision for Assembly Square as a 24-hour mixed use district. In 2004 investors
voted to sell the areas to Federal Realty Investment Trust for $64 million.
Fig. 1 Mystic View Task Force main focus area, photo taken in September 2018
4 THE CHALLENGE: DEVELOP AN INNOVATION ECOSYSTEM

Aim of the city was to reconnect and revitalize marginalized areas, with a special focus on
Assembly Square for its need of being redefined in terms of urban space and uses.
For this purpose in 2009 there was a call to residents: “Help create Somerville's long-range
plan”, that driven by a sixty person steering committee and hundreds of participants at public
meetings led to “SomerVision 2010-2030”2, the City's first comprehensive plan. Shared values
and long-term goals have been vital steps for the next 20 years development.
Each neighborhood answered to the plan’s indications. In 2015, the residents of Union Square
wanted the same process to inform their future. The resulting document is the Union Square
Neighborhood Plan; the first neighborhood plan in Somerville to put policy before physical
development. Union Square residents cared deeply about their community and wanted to
make sure that over time, no matter what type of growth happens, that Union Square would
have been a place for everyone. The “Vision for the Future” chapter details the programs that
would have helped the community to reach goals for equity, public realm, housing, economy
and mobility.
“SomerVision” came from shared learning between residents, the business community,
nonprofit groups and public officials. It was based on a series of research reports prepared
by the Mayor’s Office of Strategic Planning & Community Development (OSPCD) in which
information available on demographics, economics, housing, transportation and land use was

2
In 2009, the city’s community started a three-year process of discussions that culminated in SomerVision
2030; now, after 10 years into the plan’s scope, Somerville has decided to revisit it and extend its vision
to 2040.

© 2019, FedoaPress


assembled to help the citizens to understand and participate in the Comprehensive Planning
process. After these Trends Reports were completed, ten open community workshops were
held to discuss the implications. The Comprehensive Plan is an easy-to-use guide for future
growth and development in the City. The choice was to include both neighborhood and capital
plans with a broader view on diversity, community, economy, accessibility, sustainability and
innovation. The horizon considered was 2030, to guide decisions though a 20 years process.
The plan is the first to have a participatory, long-range and inter-disciplinary view about
Somerville’s future with a specific focus about five themes such as neighborhoods, commercial
corridors, squares and growth districts, resources, transportation and infrastructure, housing.
The “Small Business & Entrepreneurship” policy has connected the five themes to protect and
promote a diverse and interesting mix of small-scale businesses, establishing policies,
regulations and fees for selected activities.
Fig. 2 The “SomerVision Map” of the “SomerVision Comprehensive Plan”, April 2012, p. 17
The main aim was to allow these changings ensuring that appropriate businesses could be
easily permitted in designated areas, such as close to transit stations. As a consequence, the
review of zoning regulation has been a priority. To drive a smart growth process the city had

© 2019, FedoaPress

L. Kappler
to identify a community vision and give the possibility to innovative businesses and start-up
to locate in a friendly and inclusive live/work environment.
4.1 GOVERNANCE ARCHITECTURE AND PARTICIPATION PROCEDURES

A leading role has been played by the economic development office, a division of the office
of strategical planning and community development with a special interest in the fields of
housing, planning, transportation and economic development. The team is still today made of
six full time people who work on real estate with developers, on urban renewal plans and
project management to make sure that the processes driven even by other forces are focused
on administration aims. It has worked with other divisions on innovative economic tools such
as District Improvement Financing (DIF) or I-cubed and community grant contributions. Other
than real estate, it is focused on attracting new companies to Somerville. The third component
of the office is workforce development to prepare residents to work in the companies that the
city is trying to attract (Ben Sommer3, 2018).

Fig. 3 Introduction to DIF, City Staff & RKG Associates, October 11, 2017
The framework of the development was made of new strategic policies from the government
of the city and of new tools to drive the changings. First of all, the “Innovation Fund” or “I-
Fund”, a $1 million loan fund for Somerville businesses with innovative products or business
models, has been used to help promising businesses move to or stay in Somerville.

3
Economic Development Specialist, interviewed at Somerville city hall in September 2018.

© 2019, FedoaPress


In 2017, the City of Somerville, Greentown Labs, and the Northeast Advanced Manufacturing
Consortium launched Form to Factory, a cross-sector partnership to support the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ advanced manufacturing industry. It is meant to create
new workforce pipelines and connect local manufacturers with innovative hardware startups.
The support given ranges from ideation through prototyping, to training new young specialists
to be in manufacturing. The state’s Economic Development Administration’s Regional
Innovation Strategies grant program is funding it for a $1-million three-year initiative for
companies in Middlesex, Suffolk or Essex Counties.
Moreover, a new concept of building has been experimented with the name of FabVille, a
public fabrication space within Somerville High School that complements the collection of
professional, semi-professional, and artist-focused spaces already available in the city.
Always in 2017 the Innovation and Opportunity Lab has been established to complete the
innovation scenery and to give to it solidity. It is a Mayoral advisory committee composed of
technologists, community leaders, and Somerville residents with the mission of building the
innovation ecosystem of Somerville through creative policies, partnerships, programs and
connecting this wave of innovation within the neighborhoods4.
These new solutions enhanced the rise of an innovator spirit around residents and
entrepreneurs which led to animate the interest towards the redefinition of the city.
5 ASSEMBLY: START-UP OF THE INITIATIVE AND ITS FOLLOWING

MODIFICATIONS
From 2010, the 45 acres designed with the name of “Assembly Square” went through a
difficult process to find who could be interested in developing them through a Urban Renewal
Process5 that was driven by the Somerville Redevelopment Authority (SRA) in charge of
creating reports and documents to let the city be able to take the grants and to acquire private
land (Sunayana Thomas6, 2018).
Between 2011 and 2012 a request for proposal was held for 9,3 acres which correspond to
the development now visible in Assembly Square. Federal Realty still owns from Kmart place
to Partners Healthcare (where it was supposed to be IKEA). The presence of Partners

4
Innovation economy in Somerville, https://www.somervillema.gov, accessed October 2018.
5
The urban renewal is a state process, in which the state overseas through DIF and TIF, accompanied
by state policy and investments.
6
Senior Economic Development Planner, interviewed at Somerville city hall in September 2018.

© 2019, FedoaPress

L. Kappler
HealthCare’s in Assembly is ushering in a new wave of development on Somerville’s east side7

and it was made possible thank to the Orange Line, which came there in 2012 through I-
cubed, the Infrastructure Investment Incentive. The city has assembled the site paying the
market value for those properties from different owners and the developer had to pay all the
other costs associated with the project. The city of Somerville and the private developer asked
to have the extension and the new stop of the Orange Line, the first new MBTA station in 27
years. Federal Realty said “if we don’t get it there is no project to the scale that we want”
(Ben Sommer, 2018). A public-private partnership was created before asking for proposals
and there were contractual agreements with Federal Realty to give directions on the project
in order to achieve all the city requirements, represented by SRA along the whole process.
In Assembly Square Community Advocacy Groups played a fundamental role of supervisors,
ensuring that the best intentions of the residents and users of the area were captured, as job
count, open space and facilities. The “Massachusetts Department of Environmental
Protection” followed the preliminary exploration of the conditions of the area and the
remediation process paid by the developer.
5.1 ASSEMBLY: THE URBAN CONTEXT TODAY AND IN PROGRESS

Federal Realty decided to build a neighborhood with the challenge of creating something out
of nothing. Assembly will comprise 1,800 apartments, 635,000 square feet of retail space and
2.8 million square feet of office space (today according to Ben Sommer we are at 40% of the
process). The project had to answer to the South Boston Innovation District in which it was
recognized a sense of desolation and alienation. The Federal Realty team has paid attention
to pedestrian space, especially the sidewalks. A majority of the neighborhood’s retail stores
are intentionally outlets, to respect people’s needs after the recession (Shelton, 2006).
Assembly Square has attracted people who want the convenience of city living along with
easy access to public transit and the highway. Though it’s pricey, rents range from $1,900 a
month for a studio, to $4,200 a month for a three-bedroom, it’s less costly than downtown
Boston. The more than 1,600 residents comprise approximately 2 percent of Somerville’s
population of just over 81,000.

7
Partners selected the Assembly site from 55 contenders because of its size, cost, and proximity to public
transportation.

© 2019, FedoaPress


6 UNION SQUARE AND BOYNTON YARDS: RELATED AND FUTURE

INITIATIVES
The city is now looking for new proposals to improve the underused potential of other
neighborhoods, focusing on innovation in arts and creativity.
Union Square, thanks to a planned new stop of the green line, is going to benefit of a new
transit oriented development comparable to Assembly Square’s one. The plan wanted to boost
the commercial corridors in the area, but they are mostly still to be built. Meanwhile, industrial
agglomerations with plenty of empty space as Inner Belt and Boynton Yards in Ward Two
could benefit from DIF unlocking development through infrastructure, bringing in new tax
revenue to offset borrowing costs.
Union Square's arts and creative economy is a diverse collection of sole-proprietors, small
firms, and larger corporations integrated throughout the neighborhood. By 2011, Somerville
Open Studios became the largest one-weekend open studios in the entire country with over
390 participants. Companies like Greentown Labs and Artisans Asylum along with hundreds
of individuals and small start-ups have clustered together to form a community of innovation.
As Union Square and Boynton Yards evolve into an urban employment center, many of the
existing buildings that creative enterprises call home today will feel market pressures to meet
the demand for housing or even office space. New development so should support an
expanded presence of the arts and creative economy by including space for these uses in new
construction. With the help of Responsible Real Estate Developers and Investors, the City and
community currently have a better understanding of the priorities for community benefits and
each large-scale developer will contribute to community benefits as a part of their permitting
process. The Economic Development office continues working with landowners and
developers in Union Square and Boynton Yards to increase efforts marketing the Square as a
viable alternative for anchor institutions to Kendall Square and the Innovation District.
Open space is created by zoning requirements and through zoning and city acquisition,
renovation and reuse. The neighborhood plan identifies 13.5 new acres of open space through
private funds and reclaiming wasted space, while the other 1.5 acres needed to reach the
SomerVision target goal will be created by the city.
Greentown Labs, an innovative idea incubator for industries of clean energy has moved from
Boston’s innovation district to the Somerville Innovation City. It has brought 24 start-ups to
Union Square in 33,000 square feet and was facilitated through a working capital loan that
utilizes Community Development Block Grant Funds, agreeing to hire Somerville residents in
all available job opportunities. “People are figuring out that this isn’t the innovation district or
the innovation center—Somerville is the Innovation City. We are a city that prides itself on

© 2019, FedoaPress

L. Kappler
innovation, creativity and originality,” Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone said in 2013. “We have
made it a priority as part of our SomerVision plan to bring in companies like this”.
7 RELEVANCE OF THE EXPERIENCE

The focus on innovation economy seems to be the proper answer to years of abandonment
and lack of an urban planning strategy. Within the whole city creative enterprises and
individuals from the creative workforce are a defining characteristic of the local economy and
culture. Policies should be established to both preserve existing buildings with the
characteristics creative industries need to function and create new floor space that remains
accessible and affordable to artists and other creative individuals. The concept that the Office
of Strategic Planning and Community Development has embraced is that Space means Work.
This has driven the most recent policy decisions surrounding the Arts and Creative Economy
in Somerville which will lead the near future of the city.
REFERENCES
Somer Vision (2012). City of Somerville, Massachusetts Comprehensive Plan, 2010-2030, Endorsed by
the Somerville Board of Aldermen.
Shelton, W. (2006). Assembly Square, the Back Story. Latest News, The Somerville Times.
Katz, B., Bradley, J. (2013). The Metropolitan Revolution: How Cities and Metros Are Fixing Our Broken
Politics and Fragile Economy. Brookings Institution, Washington.
Katz, B., Wagner, J. (2014). The Rise of Innovation Districts: A New Geography of Innovation in
America. Brookings Institution, Washington.
WEB SITES
www.somervillema.gov
AUTHOR PROFILE
Luna Kappler, awarded in 2011 by the President of the Italian Republic of the title "Alfiere del
Lavoro". Engineer and PhD student at "Sapienza" University of Rome in "Infrastructures and
Transport", with curriculum "Planning of Transport and the Territory". Researcher in mobility at
"Northeastern University" of Boston for the "Sapienza" FOCUS unit on the topic of "Innovation
Districts", as part of the "MAPS-LED" research, "Marie Sklodowska-Curie RISE", funded by the EU
program "Horizon 2020".

© 2019, FedoaPress

URBAN REGENERATION FOR
SMART COMMUNITIES
CATERINA PIETRA
ELISABETTA MARIA VENCO
Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture

University of Pavia, Italy
e-mail: caterina.pietra@unipv.it
elisabettamaria.venco@unipv.it
URL: http://uplab.unipv.it

Pietra, C., & Venco, E. M. (2019). Urban Regeneration for Smart Communities. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.),
10.6093/978-88-6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
Urban regeneration refers to a process from a functional, economic, social and environmental
point of view. In this study, it is linked in particular to the topic of smart communities defined as
the entity able to promote communication with the individual inhabitants of a neighborhood and
to share contents, knowledge, planning, forms and ways of social action of the new millennium.
The authors studied these concepts referring specifi cally to China: in this reality, planning is
more oriented towards short-term vision of the buildings (about 40% of housing realized before
2000 will be replaced during the next 10-15 years). Therefore, urban regeneration arises in
order to establish new ways of designing that can ensure longer life to architectures and meet
the real needs of population.
To get interesting results, it has been studied a methodology which works for big industrial
areas regeneration. In fact future structures of the cities are conditioned by the evolution of
the industrial areas; in China, in particular, analyzes on the potential of industrial heritage have
been developed only recently. Authors propose a met hodology defined by five main elements
(general strategy) that constitute the starting point for the development of the single projects
and their planning choices (specific tactics and act ions) that enhance the smartness of each
community. By analyzing one case located in Shanghai (megalopolis) and another in Lianshi,
Zhejiang province (town), authors demonstrate how the proposed method and its tools can
perfectly work even applied to complete different u rban contexts and, therefore, can be defined
as a multi-scale approach.
KEYWORDS
Smart Environment; Multiscale Approach; Communities; Urban Function Program; Chinese
context
C. Pietra, E.M. Venco
1 INTRODUCTION
When approaching an urban regeneration process closer to communities, a bottom-up process
begins. In fact, the community furnishes indications to planners, designers and politicians to
develop solutions that, generally, respond to what are the real needs. The community can be
described as a group of people and stakeholders who live or routinely work in a given portion
of the city, and they share a certain urban space, history, interests, goals, culture, economic
and social fabric. Starting from the literature, Smart community could be defined as: “A
community in which government, business, and residents understand the potential of
information technology, and make a conscious decision to use that technology to transform
life and work in their region in significant and positive ways” (Lindskog 2004). Therefore,
smart community is recognized as an active partner, and it represents the entity through
which it is possible to communicate with the individual inhabitants of a neighborhood, in order
to face common problems and to promote participation to decision sharing contents,
knowledge, planning, forms and ways of social action of the new millennium (Sassen 2011).
Beside this, the intervention of regeneration arises to establish a long-term vision of the urban
functions as opposed to the short-term that it is found in many Chinese realities (MOHURD
2010). Indeed, focus on short-term operations leads to solutions that in an urban area are
inefficient, expensive and especially harmful to human relationships of the communities
themselves.
The sense of personal belonging and social cohesiveness comes from a well-defined
neighborhood and by a coherent structure of volumes and voids, buildings and streets, built
and open space functions. All great cities share a specific character, which, in a globalized
world, can only be created within a community that is open to social changes and diversity
and able to respond to the needs of their citizens by discovering new ways of using information
and communication technologies for economic, social and cultural development (AAVV 2013).
Authors intend to define a specific method of multi scale urban regeneration that takes into
account the smart community elements and develop them through different planning
instruments: the general strategy with five main pillars and the related specific tactics and
actions constitute the common basis of the method. Moreover, these actions are applied to
the case studies and further detailed to elaborate the unique New Urban Function Program
that fully meet the necessities of each site and community and, finally, to define the optimal
renewal project.

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Urban regeneration for smart communities: applying methods for megalopolis and towns in China

2 METHODOLOGY
In this study, urban regeneration takes place through specific projects of industrial areas
regeneration: industrial areas play a strategic role in defining the future structures of cities
and defining them as urban voids has often allowed transformation actions up to demolition,
even when the prerequisites were not recognized (Liu et al., 2014, Nijkamp at al., 2002).
The urban voids determined by the industrial abandoning, inside or at the edge of the urban
fabric, characterize the structure of urbanized areas in territory that have been hit by de-
industrialization phenomena. In most cases, these areas have high volumetric concentrations:
the vacuum is determined by the absence of a precise urban role in the complex urban system
and by the urban blight that compromise the level of environmental quality and living
conditions of citizens.
However, it is also true that the same problematic areas can become, and in many cases have
already been, a valid resource for the regeneration of whole parts of the city since they are
related to not only identity, memory or traditions, they belong also to the city, to its sites, and
its transformations (Cossons et al., 2015).
To achieve successful results the research has defined a specific methodology (Fig. 1) that
can be applied to contexts characterized by different urban scales: megalopolis and towns in
China.
Fig. 1 Main methodology

© 2019, FedoaPress

The regeneration project is studied for communities aiming to enhance their smartness in
relation to environment, health, social capital, commerce, work, technologies, education,
cultural issues and so on (AAVV 2013). This assumption generates some tools to take into
account during the design process. In particular:
− To change the perception of the public. One of the first priorities is to identify the suitable
vision or theme for the new urban space. This will determine the main broad functions,
and make it easier to market or promote it. The innovative urban functions are essential
in order to change the perception of the public towards its industrial nature: visitors have
to see it as a new kind of experience (Yifei, 2016).
− To meet the market trends. It is fundamental designing flexible and adaptable spaces
that meet the demand of current market trends and have the ability to transform in a
fast-changing economy context.
− To value the existing built environment. Maintaining the whole composition trying to give
a new characterization without destroying the crucial elements and preserving the key
physical and perceptual features it is essential in order to search for elements of
connection between old and new and to guarantee social acceptance (Rossi, 1978).
− To encourage social interactions. It is necessary to provide and curate accessible, and
livable public spaces designed and programmed to reflect the needs of the population,
the site, and the surrounding neighborhood that can stimulate social interactions and
exchange of ideas.
− To accommodate new economic, social, cultural uses. Innovation and technology offers
new kinds of production that can enhance other activities in the site (Ratti, 2013).
The directly use of community identity in the design process put the architecture within an
extra dimension, due to its intertwined relation with its history, context and culture. It involves
also the need to achieve a balance in the new buildings, that is the balance and harmony
between the uses and the synergy with the building itself.
The non-compatible uses usually drive out the better ones, and uses that might appear to
bring secure money can often undermine the long–term credibility of the project. In general,
the most popular uses include housing, offices, workshops, manufacturing spaces, storage
space, art galleries, restaurants, bars, performance space, shopping facilities, community
facilities, and leisure facilities (Stratton, 2000). All these different uses are able to enhance
the smartness of the community that considers the refurbished building as essential element
to its needs and promoting local interests.

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3 APPLICATION OF THE METHODOLOGY TO DIFFERENT URBAN SCALE

The proposed methodology is applied through two examples taken from the Chinese reality.
The multi-scale component of this specific industrial area regeneration study is what authors
want to highlight. They have common characteristics:
− Industrial site with historical and cultural value, part of the local industrial heritage.
− Presence of water as a reference point.
− Community able to interact with the site directly.
The geographical aspect clearly identifies the reference to the megalopolis and the town: the
first case considers the city of Shanghai, which has about 24 million inhabitants and a
territorial extension of 6.340 sq. km, while the second refers to Lianshi Town, which is part
of Nanxun district, in the prefecture level-city of Huzhou, in Zhejiang province, populated
instead by only 51,000 inhabitants and with an area of 71 sq. km.
The aim is to demonstrate how similar strategy and tactics, applied to contexts that vary for
an urban scale factor (with also all the differentiations regarding the urban, economic,
administrative, infrastructure system, and even social relations) lead to the same valid
solutions regarding industrial area regeneration and enhanced communities’ smartness.
3.1 CASE A
The area is in the East Bund, also known as the Yangshupu Industrial area that develops, for
a length of 15 km, along the north bank of the Huangpu River (the most important symbol of
Shanghai that runs for 114 km). Ideally, it is the third vertices of the triangle of interaction
between Pudong, the south Huangpu Area River (i.e. the Expo area built in 2010), and the
northern area of the river (Fig. 2).
This is the largest riverfront of the city and it has witnessed the history of the modern industrial
development in Shanghai, and the deep historical and cultural accumulation of this place
represents a precious heritage of the city. In China, the conservation and reuse of industrial
heritage have attracted unprecedented attention in recent years and Shanghai has
undoubtedly proved to be the most extraordinary protagonist (Yu, 2012). Therefore, the
research has found a meeting point between the context characterized by the presence of
industries with a defined cultural value, and the community developed around them.
Specifically, the analysis concerns some buildings belonging to the Shanghai Power Station
Auxiliary Equipment (west), at 1900 Yangshupu Road, which is recommended by the
regulation to be kept (Dong 2004) (Fig. 3).
The site is huge extending for about 126.000 sq. m.

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The intervention scale has mostly affected the surrounding area and the outdoor areas and,
finally, the entire city without dwelling on the details of the architectural composition of the
individual spaces of the buildings, but trying to generate harmony and coherence between
the industrial complex, the surrounding living area and the riverfront.
Fig. 2 Location of Yangshupu industrial zone and of the infrastructure and green spaces network
Fig. 3 Context analysis of the factory
As shown in the diagram (Fig. 4), the specific tactics, previously identified, define the New
Urban Functions Program. Here, Cultural and Aggregation, Research and Innovation,
Experience and Consumption become the starting point to develop the renewal of the entire
industrial site and the smartness of the community (the new one in the area and existing one
in the surrounding area, in this case it is possible to refer also to the entire city).

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Fig. 4 Definition of the new Urban Functions Program
The couple of functions Culture + Aggregation is also identified as the first type of experience
that future visitors will be able to test, and includes:
− Generating a new system of connection between the urban functions in order to have
relations on different levels.
− Designing open spaces and green areas where people can easily interact with each other
by creating social mixes.
− Providing exhibition spaces that can involve visitors and make them aware of the history
and evolution of the site and of the entire industrial area of Yangshupu.
Research + Innovation represent another winning couple as they keep the connection with
the other functions alive and it aims to:
− Using principles of adaptive reuse to exploit industrial heritage resources according to
existing needs.
− Programming activities studied for different types of users to generate exchanges of
information and to improve the overall structure of the program.
Experience + Consumption, then, increase the development and maintenance of the project
over time, it refers to:
− Enhancing the attractive aspect of the project that can affect more types of people and
therefore more consumers, establishing a leisure center.
− Transforming the waterfront along Huangpu River into an active area of the site by
installing walkways over the water that extend the public space in a smart way.

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− Organizing specific parts of the plant that can be used by the community to make special
events or any form of aggregation.
The project idea is to create a new system that can integrate with the existing one,
overlapping and generating further characterization. The existing and not-demolished three
buildings can be compared to three big blocks: they create spaces themselves but also around
themselves. The aim is to obtain a composition that looks unique to the view, filling the empty
spaces between the buildings: in particular, the empty space is a green area that differs every
time depending on the kind of activity (spontaneous or well organized) carried out in the
building to which it belongs. The different spaces then will be connected through the
realization of paths, footbridges and walkways, in order to create a new connection system
to add to the existing system (Fig. 5).
Fig. 5 Masterplan and localization of the new urban functions
3.2 CASE B
The second case study is located in Lianshi Town. Lianshi is in the south part of Lake Tai,
China’s third largest freshwater lake, in the central area of the Yangtze River Delta, about 3
hours away from Shanghai. Inserted in a traditional water town environment and a rich
naturalistic context, this area is one of the most developed referring to the entire Chinese
history. In particular, the town is divided in two zones: Zaixing Community and Wanxing
Community (Fig. 6).
The site, which covers an area of 15.000 sq. m, constitutes part of the built heritage: it was
born around the 1950s as a granary for the collection and trade of rice and, to facilitate these
activities, the complex was built along one of the canals that branch off from the main river
that runs through the town.

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Fig. 6 Context analysis of the area
Its evolution then depended on the various historical events that characterized China’s history
(following the foundation of the PR of China). Here the granaries represent the most
characteristic and expressive architectural element of the cultural heritage of that period (Fig.
7). Thus, working in a neighborhood scale, the aim for this project is to demonstrate how the
heritage can be revived in current cities developing the main characteristic of the communities
in order to obtain a living and smart one.
Fig. 7 Views of the site and the granaries
In this specific application, the idea was further supported by the results collected after doing
a direct survey among locals. They remember the site not only linked to industry but also as
a place of meeting and fun, since they were used to meet friends and play chasing each other
running around the granaries. In fact, many of them would like to see the area transformed
and enhanced as a new public space where people of all ages, and also from other
neighborhoods, can interact and engage in diversified activities satisfying more needs.

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To achieve this, the main methodology is supported by an urban study considering three
elements: Preservation, Connectivity and Activation that together become the New Urban
Functions Program and define the final definition of the industrial site renewal including this
particular project in a wider plan that acts on, and connect several parts of the city (Fig. 8).
Fig. 8 Definition of the new Urban Functions Program
In particular, (Fig. 9) the aspect linked to preservation means:

− Transforming the entire urban area along the banks of the canal into a historic district
(where the former granary is also located), enhancing the existing peculiarities of the
built.
− Creating new public and interactive spaces along the canal to re-establish social relations
existing before the area’s decline.
− Encouraging economic growth thanks to special incentives aimed to renew the
architecture of the area.
The idea of connectivity looks at:
− Developing a series of new pathways through the surrounding neighborhoods that will
connect residents to the Granary and historic district along the canal.
− Promoting a better circulation throughout the area using specific signage and open green
spaces.
Finally, the activation element provides:
− Designing more open and landscaped areas where people can gather and interact.

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− Generating ICT hubs in the granaries and giving them new characterization
− Converting south and west area of the granary into a modern residential block.
− Developing a commercial space around the southeast area of the site.
Fig. 9 Urban scheme derived from the defined program
The proposed solution is greatly reflected through the specific design of the new site that
manages to combine all the basic points of the functional program with complete harmony
and coherence, enhancing the existing elements (Fig. 10).
Fig. 10 Aerial view of the new urban functions

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The new center, Community Condenser, has been studied to influence social behavior, hence
the name's justification, to transform it into a community catalyst in Lianshi Town and become
a new point of reference for different categories: young people, children, adults and elderly.

As shown in the previous descriptions, authors want to demonstrate how the presented
examples have developed the common tools of the methodology generating solutions suitable
for two different urban realities. Being regeneration conservation projects, the pre-existing
elements are important. The involucre and the main structure of the individual buildings are
maintained. At the Shanghai plant, the aim was to create new paths through and around the
three buildings thanks to a system of walkways that connect different points, generating flows
of visitors on multiple levels. Also in Lianshi defining a more accurate circulation both inside
and outside the site was fundamental to enhance the individual architectures that constitute
the industrial area, in particular the old granaries.
The general design, then, highlights the concept of sharing spaces, taking advantage of the
landscape element represented by the presence of the water. Preservation measures
integrating functional development and creation of open public spaces has to be adopted to
achieve distinct themes and functional enhancement of riverfront heritage. This is why the
regenerations projects aims to create new aggregation hubs.
Referring to Case A, the methodology has been specified through an analytical program more
related to the site and its buildings. The reason comes from the large scale of the lot that
implied a new and more balanced internal distribution; and from the fact that the area is
located along a road that already has a strong characterization both on urban and historical
level. The definition of the New Urban Function Program themes help to implement and focus
on some specific project aspects and to enhance smart issues defined in the general strategy.
In particular, here, it possible to highlight the importance of meeting the market trends, giving
value to the existing built environment and accommodating new economic, social, cultural
uses. This is clear because of the strategic position of the industrial area and because of the
interest of the potential stakeholders. The existing surrounding community (potentially the
entire city) will live with a new and in continuous movement ones: the participation to the
planning process, the flexible use of the spaces, the new defined functions and a widespread
use of technologies guarantee a high level of smartness to the community and to the site.
Case B presents instead smaller dimensions and an urban definition less precise than Case A
(despite the presence of the water element), that is why the methodology has been defined
with a functional and distributive program that includes, connects and develop other parts of

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the town. At the neighborhood scale (to which the project refers), the definition of the New
Urban Function Program themes highlights the specific tactic “to value the existing built
environment” as the most important and enhanced action implemented by the project. This
is due to the strong maintenance of the anthropological value of the site and the strong
interrelation with the context and the community. Moreover, the tactics “to encourage social
interaction” and “to accommodate new economic, social, cultural uses” are well defined and
implemented by “Activation” and “Preservation”: the project need to find a balance between
the conservation of the heritage (physical and perceptual elements) and the creation of new
smart urban spaces where people can live, work, move, and socialize.
In both examples, Shanghai and Lianshi, the methods applied meet the needs of a modern
community aware of its own smartness and constitute new reference models for industrial
area regeneration.
REFERENCES
Lindskog. H. (2004). Smart communities initiatives. https://www.heldag.com/articles/Smart

%20communities%20april%202004.pdf Last access 18-3-2019
Sassen, S. (2011). Who needs to become ‘smart’ in tomorrow’s cities. Keynote speech at the LIFT
Conference The Future of Smart Cities.
Policy Research Office and China economic Research Institute, MOHURD (2010).
AAVV (2013). Smart cities: researches, projects and good practices. TeMA Journal of Land Use, Mobility
and Environment, vol. 6 nn. 1-2-3. University of Naples Federico II. ISSN 1970-9889
Liu, Y., Van Oort, F., Geertman, S., & Lin, Y. (2014). Institutional determinants of brownfield formation
in Chinese cities and urban villages. Habitat International, 44, 72–78.doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
habitatint.2014.05.005
Nijkamp, P., Rodenburg, C. A., & Wagtendonk, A. J. (2002). Success factors for sustainable urban
brownfield development: A comparative case study approach to polluted sites. Ecological Economics,
40(2), 235–252. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0921-8009(01)00256-7
Cossons, N., Cramer, J., Ringbeck, B. & Watson, M. (2015). Discussing Industrial Heritage
Conservation and Planning. In H Oevermann & HA Mieg (eds), Industrial Heritage Sites in
Transformation: Clash of Discourses. Routledge, New York.
Yifei, L. (2016). Transforming Industrial Heritage Sites in Major Chinese Cities: Reintegrating Minsheng
Wharf into the Life of the City. (Bachelor dissertation, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania).
Rossi, A. (1978). L’architettura delle città. Milano, Città Studi Edizione.

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Ratti, C. (2013). Smart City, Smart Citizen. Meet the media guru. A cura di M.G. Mattei. Egea Editore.
Stratton, M. (2000). Industrial building: conservation and regeneration. E&FN Spon. ISBN 0-203-
37507-6
Yu, Y. (2012). Industrial Heritage in Shanghai - Past, Current Status and Future Direction. Industrial
Patrimony. ICOMOS Open Archive, 49-55. ISSN 1296-7750
Dong, Y. (2004). A Study of the “East Bund” Industrial Heritage and its regeneration and conservation.
(Master dissertation, Tongji University, Shanghai, China).
WEB SITES
http://www.cfguide.com/town/Lianshi_696946363.htm
https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai
AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Caterina Pietra, Architect. PhD student in Building Engineering/Architecture XXXIV cycle,

DICAR/Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Pavia.
Elisabetta Maria Venco, Engineer, Architect. Researcher in Urban Planning, PhD in Building
Engineering/Architecture XXIX cycle, DICAR/Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture,
University of Pavia.

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ENERGY AUTONOMY AS A
STRUCTURAL ASSUMPTION FOR
SYSTEMIC DEVELOPMENT AND
CIRCULAR ECONOMY
MANLIO VENDITTELLI
Architecture Faculty Valle Giulia

Rome’s University La Sapienza, Italy
e-mail: manliovendittelli@gmail.com

Venditteli, M. (2019). Energy autonomy as a structural assumption for systemic development and circular
economy. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature and ecosystem services (pp. 619-629). Naples:
ABSTRACT
Implementing a circular economy program means bringing both the economic and ecological
systems on the same level, a plan in which the two systems exchange natural resources,
production factors, economic goods and services, waste and residues.
The economic-settlement system is found in the wider ecological system, of which it has to
respect physical, biological and climatic limits.
KEYWORDS
Circular economy
M. Vendittelli
1 THE SCIENCE UNITY AS THE FOUNDATION OF THE CIRCULAR

ECONOMY
By the circular economy, we enter the philosophy of the systemic project that evaluates
settlement processes with holistic theories and methods. That means:
to consider every new aspect by the territory modifications as a potential disorder of the
equilibrium, so we need to organize to the way its management can be integrated into
ecologically sustainable economic cycles;
− to transfer the item costs from the schedule of expenses to that of investments,
according to circular criteria and functions;
− to find the economic complementarities that allow the production costs reduction by
circularity of the existing processes.
In the circular economy projects, as a scientific needs, we have to know in a unitary way both
the territorial system and its new configuration produced by the modifications.
When natural resources were large and the ability to metabolize changes was in the nature
of things, science could specialize in different way of knowledge. Today, this is no more
possible, and the unity of science becomes an incontrovertible datum, overcoming the
disciplinary subjectivity that justifies its solutions built without any attention to the
consequences on the systemic balances.
However, I do not disclaim the value of the specificity and the scientific autonomy; I just say
the disciplines must find again their contact with the systemic synthesis. It is exactly this lack
of systemic synthesis that has alienated them from a unitary relocation of knowledge. By this
structural minus, the added value in production processes is reduced in waste and cost.
To address the issues of the circular economy with the right breath, I set three addresses:
− design projects with the control of the systemic balance of the proposed modifications;
− leave out management systems that have little to do with the holistic vision of
modifications;
− leave out false melodies of the speculative economy and the reductive disciplinary and
business difficulties, sectorial and thematic.
2 THE SYSTEMIC DESIGN

Therefore, it is in the nature of the systemic project that the needs of a science resides which
finds the unitary values aimed at the utility of the result.

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Energy autonomy as a structural assumption for systemic development and circular economy

The disciplines responsible to the study of territorial modifications have built their knowledge
by the concept of substitution: naturalness with artificiality, biodiversity with abioticity, natural
systemic equilibrium with a simplified balance in a few elements.
The consequence of this scientific and business distraction was not only to fill the world with
waste but also to clash with the culture of redevelopment.
Therefore, it is not an abstraction to speak of a quality crisis, the result of the persistence of
a number of different and competing elements such as land consumption, use of polluting
and recycling inappropriate materials, lack of interest in energy conservation, health of the
territory and its securing.
In the central or regional government debate, it is not planned to set up large-scale structural
redevelopment projects for territory, production, and economy, which could guarantee
scientific research, investment and work.
In the hypothesis of a new deal based on the processes of territorial redevelopment, the
disciplines about built landscape as an expression of a culture that must be profoundly
modified because it is harmful in economic terms and disqualifying for human activities, must
play an important role. We need to bring energy communities to value by balancing the urban
areas between used sources and their temporal use.
The values of quality must resume their role and guarantee a new large investment plan of
urban regeneration.
The new fragilities of the territories and the bad values of urban settlements are under the
eyes of all. It is the need to give value back to the present and respect the future, by actions
based on the equilibrium of systemic and inclusive economies.
To respect the right of the future, we have to perform two related actions: designing the
future and restoring the present.
We need not only to leave a testimony of the present to the future, but it is necessary that
this testimony does not represent what they will have to demolish or regenerate.
It is the action the institution of systemic evaluation and durability imposes. We must move
from the measurements of the pass phenomena and the proposed modifications to their place
in the systemic balances that they produce.
Territory modifications must be designed no longer divided into parts but strongly
interconnected with their complexity, by regarding the whole system of belonging together.
For the systemic project it is not enough to divide the territory into areas of use, but it is
important to analyze the balances that define and control it as a unit, both in the positive and
negative values that mark its induced fragility.
The projects propose modifications, they produce consequences; this space implies the
passage (project) and the control (management) from one equilibrium to another. The terms

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M. Vendittelli
of balance and waste, valorization and uneven overlap between local resources, load capacity
and modifications occur precisely on the form and substance of this passage.
The design must re-articulate on the concepts of system, district and network: system as a
goal of balance between elements, actions, different relationships; district as an interested
local community; networks as a specific elements junction, they attempt to restore the
capacity for regenerating even to the degraded and compromised places.
Systemic planning must no longer be just a cultural value, but become a normative
instrument, a social instrument of participation and sharing, a tool for structuring planning
and government activities.
The present city is the energetic place par excellence and therefore we must ask ourselves
the theme of the deep conversion of its energy consumption; the conversion of energy cycles
(production and consumption) can become the key for the systemic modification of the city
and the territory.
Case study: The Anzasca valley (Monte Rosa, Piemonte)
Project drawn up by the Vendittelli-Imperio and associates Studio, with architect Pietro Currò
and engineer Piero Polimeni.
The project focuses on the construction of an energy district, that can allow the entire
community to use renewable energies, with the social and individual abatement of energy
costs.
Local authorities, owners of the first and second homes, entrepreneurs in the valley can make
their resources available (biomass, water, unusual surfaces, wind corridors, participation in
capital making for co-financing) in order to contribute to the district construction, directly
benefiting from their share of energy.
3 THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY IN A SYSTEMIC PLAN OF INTERVENTIONS

What we propose is the energetic district where, starting from the exploitation of the woods
and the control of the waters, a plan is implemented that, besides producing energy, is
suitable to revive:
− agriculture;
− sheep farming;
− the arts and works connected to them.
encouraging the revitalization of activities in the mountain pastures, which in turn will allow
the emergence of a new type of tourism linked to the learning of the arts and crafts historically
present in the area.
The Anzasca Valley is experiencing a profound crisis and, retracing its cornerstones, we see:

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− in the valley bottom, industrial settlements detached from the territorial resources of the
overlying mountain areas;
− in the flat areas, concentration of the labor market with the relative growth of urban
and semi-urban areas on the junction lines, without service facilities and with an
inadequate and energy-consuming mobility system;
− progressive depopulation of the human resources of the internal and mountain areas;
− vertical decrease in the use of resources and productive sectors of mountain territories
(agriculture and forests), with subsequent degradation of the landscape and therefore
of tourism value;
− economically and socially insufficient use of the resources present.
So, up to now, and in the best of cases, we have moved the concept of growth to the concept
of development. By the systemic project, organized on the circular economy, we will rearrange
the sectors within them by measuring them with the balance they produce in the wealth
formation, in the complementarity of investments, in the use of human resources.
The systemic project proposed for the Valley will be organized on the structural plan:
− The cultivation of the woods as an initial act for the redevelopment of the landscape,
paths, mountain pastures and mountain agriculture. This regeneration is necessary both
for the direct economic value and the revival of multi-season tourism.
The cultivation of the woods is also the prerequisite for the energy production by biomass
and therefore for
− The construction of the energy district to upgrade and local network of hydroelectric
production, and to built pyrogasification implants of a size consistent with the territorial
balance and localized in places with higher quality and resilient capacity.
For all other forms of energy by renewable sources, the same principle applies: implants
and used technologies must be chosen according to three criteria: congruity, suitable
location and coherent size.
The aim is to create an energy compendium by the construction of production implants
from renewable sources (wind, solar, biomass, geothermal, etc.) always compatible with
the ecological and landscape balance and with the resilience and systemisation of the
implants (especially hydroelectric) for their use in the energy district of the valley.
− Rehabilitation of mountain pastures and paths for ecological, productive (energy and
agriculture) and tourism purposes. This is why the point ‘a’ (proper cultivation of the
woods) is basic.
The values of agriculture and products at 0 Km are growing rapidly, the request for
tourist-business stays to learn cultivation and culinary techniques; these new tourist

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M. Vendittelli
inputs make it possible to balance, by their additional income (tourism and

accommodation), the minus so far present in the alpine production. These minus occur
when the productions depend exclusively on an external market. The value of the
district, the system and the short supply chain is evident. The alpine system must
rediscover its values by the landscape reconstruction with the cultivation of the woods,
the restoration of clearings, the redevelopment of paths and stabling.
Only in this way, we will have the floristic and faunistic recovery, restore correct
ecological-food chains and be able to reintroduce the value of the collection by recalling
a new type of tourists: the "collectors".
− Restructuring of the residential and industrial building heritage, involving the owners in
the advantages expressed by the energy district. In mountain areas, one of the greatest
expenses is represented by energy consumption; it is evident that a shrewd policy on
the recovery of gaseous fuels deriving from pyrogassication, assisted by the electricity
produced in the district, would produce significant savings not only in the management
of public assets and services, but also in private assets. It is precisely on these tangible
advantages, that a virtuous promotion and social action development campaign can
begin.
− Cultural and documentary recovery. The area at issue holds great historical and
documental values. Examples are the ecclesial system, the Walser housing typology, the
mountain pastures. But, one thing makes this area unique: the presence of gold mines.
We consider most important to build a territorial museum of the mine, with the
establishment of a system (and service) of historical-anthropological and productive-
popular values.
on the social level:
− The Plan is finalized to enhancing the value, development and sustainable territory
specialization, by creating a real Park-Laboratory of Social and Economic Innovation,
that can be a network tool for the Communities to develop neighborhood policies,
cultivate converging interests in a perspective of integration and specialization of the
whole territory.
This sizing produces controllable works in casings and executions; these are transformed
into an economic and work plan, which we will call Systemic and Sustainable
Development Project with a circular economy, made up of intellectual and material
activities, research and application, innovation and recovery-restoration-conservation.
Each place will make available its building and technological heritage, no longer suitable
for the current goals, in order to transform it into places and services available to the
new plan. The culture of balance applies not only to ecological and territorial ecosystems,

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but also to social and business hierarchies; this project tries to delineate principles and
actions by a new criterion of wealth formation and its social distribution.
On the management plan, the institutional reference is the Alpine Convention, the agreement
between the states of the Alpine arc and the European Union.
The current protocols are related to the following areas: Territorial planning and sustainable
development; Soil defense; Nature and landscape protection; Mountain agriculture; Mountain
forests; Tourism; Transportation; Power; Settlement of disputes.
There are, at the moment, joint initiatives for the following subjects: Population and culture;
Air quality preservation; Hydro-Economy; Waste economy.
In this framework, the project intends to:
− Implement interventions to create circular economy by innovative technologies
application, such as systems and infrastructures for soft mobility, digital communication
networks, basic and advanced vocational training to catch the opportunities of the 4.0
industry to value local knowledge.
− Implement measures to create a circular and sustainable economy, to retrain
environment and territory, and achieve energy efficiency of the building stock.
− Implement measures to create a sustainable economy by the rational and balanced use
of natural resources, as the supply chains that derive from both the forest and the
biomass from agriculture and livestock.
4 LINES OF DESIGN ACTION

On the basis of the defined criteria and the initial cognitive analysis of the territory, the
following lines of project action can be exemplified:
− Valleys and the Mountain awakening - The Centre of culture, identity and innovative
training for sustainable development.
− Anzasca innovation - The technology Centre with FabLab_Avanza - Promotion of creative
Fablab for business start-ups in innovative sectors.
− The Smart Valley - Reduction of energy consumption and enhancement of local energy
sources in the networks of energy districts.
− ComPensano Valleys - Innovative forestation methodologies and actions for voluntary
and certified compensation of unavoidable CO2 emissions.
− Anzasca welcomes - Creation of the "Anzasca supportive" reception Agency as a
management and services Centre (information, training, promotion and networking) for
the project and for the community district.

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M. Vendittelli
− Eco-districts of Valle and Montagna - Quality, requalification and reuse as adaptation of

services, improvement of quality, safety and decoration of the urban center, renovation
of unused real estate assets.
− M.I.S.P.O.S.T.O. Sustainable - Sustainable Inter-communal Mobility of Organized
Commuters and Oriented Tourists.
− Land and water trails - Responsible multi-season tourism and sustainable land
management.
− Mountains and grasslands - Agro-forestry-pastoral sustainable re-qualification of the
Anzasca rural territory, paths and pastures.
− The Gold Valleys - The territorial museum of the old mines (Pestarena, etc.);
documentary cultural recovery and enhancement of gold mines brownfield sites, their
redevelopment and integration in the tourism systemic economy.
5 THE PROPOSED METHODOLOGY TO LOCAL DEVELOPMENT AND

SOCIAL PARTICIPATION
The proposed model goes in the direction of the enhancement of the main opportunities
deriving from a careful reading of the territory, its ecosystems, its resources and its values.
It is necessary to implement people active participation, and direct involvement of
"stakeholders" and inhabitants (old and new) of the territory.
These activities can be carried out in specific Territorial Laboratories, where the participation
processes of urban and rural planning are developed, by implementing new forms of work.
Accordingly, we propose the activation of the following technical-administrative path,
remembering that: the systemic project and its action plan for the construction of bottom-up
development processes, based on the values of systemic and sustainable economy, has a
value in itself: it allows each body to build its own vision of development in a logic of systemic
use of resources and not of the exaltation of one to the detriment of others; the administrative
territorial system, especially if studied on the ecological values of local development, is for
definition a-scalar and therefore it does not depend on the territorial dimension on which it is
implemented.
if every single territorial reality is endowed, in single or consortium form, with its own vision
and a related Sustainable Development Plan, the advantages are for everyone: for the single
Municipality it is the right tool to think in a structured way to its local development, for the
communities it represents an instrument to activate virtuous processes of territorial
cooperation. The Systemic and Sustainable Development Project contains the following
essential elements:

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− a model of local development built from the bottom in the Territorial Laboratories;
a compendium of the territorial resources, its potentialities and criticalities, analyzed
according to the model of development identified;
− the definition of specific and operational objectives, by indication of the project actions
to be undertaken in compliance with the current regulatory framework;
− the drafting for each individual action of project files, which constitute the basic
document for making funding proposals. Its contents must be developed according to
in-depth analysis required for participation in the various funding lines.
The realization of the necessary activities includes the following articulation:
− definition of the participatory model, and methods of work;
− construction of the Municipio Territorial Laboratory for the participatory process
development, the knowledge making and the Community Vision development;
− elaboration / collection and systematization of preliminary data and studies for the
Systemic and Sustainable Development Project to design the Community Profile, by
composing the cognitive framework about detailed territorial, cultural, social, economic,
landscape and environmental terms;
− participatory drafting of the Systemic and Sustainable Development Project for the
Community, according to the criteria and guidelines specified above;
− possible drafting of the Sustainable Energy Action Plan, according to the Covenant of
Mayors procedure, which represents an essential "conditionality" for the activation of
projects and resources coming from the European Union in these sectors.
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Compiglio E., L’economia buona, Bruno Mondadori, Orio Litte (LO), 2012;
Ceruti M., Evoluzione e Conoscenza, Pierluigi Lubrina Editore, 1992;

© 2019, FedoaPress

M. Vendittelli
Cucinella M., Works at MCA. Buildings and projects, Centauro, 2014;
Currò P., Dalla realtà al paesaggio. Come valori, culture e linguaggi organizzano e strutturano i progetti
di paesaggio, Franco Angeli 2008;
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Research.Monograph.it, pp. 50-53, List, Milano, 2016, EAN: 9788898774425 ISBN: 8898774427;
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resilienza urbana" in "Atti della XX Conferenza Nazionale SIU. Urbanistica e/è azione pubblica. La
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De Pascali P. (a cura di), Temi di sostenibilità eco-energetica per la riqualificazione urbana, Orienta
2013;
De Pascali P. (a cura di), L’energia nelle trasformazioni del territorio. Ricerche su tecnologie e
governance dell’energia nella pianificazione territoriale, Franco Angeli 2014;
Ludwig N., L’energia, MediaGroup, Padova, 2018;
Mancuso S., Verde brillante. Sensibilità e intelligenza del mondo vegetale, Giunti, 2015;
Musco F., Fregolen L. (a cura di), “Pianificazione urbanistica e clima urbano, Manuale per la riduzione
dei fenomeni di isola di calore urbano”, Il Poligrafo casa editrice , Padova, 2014, ISBN 978-88-7115-
867-9;
Odum E. P., Basi di ecologia, Piccin, Padova, 1988;
Pallante M., Meno e meglio Decrescere per progredire, B. Mondadori, Milano, 2011;
Piano R., In viaggio con Renzo Piano, Feltrinelli, 2005;
Ricci M., Nuovi paradigmi, List, Trento, 2013;
Rovelli C., Sette breve lezioni di fisica, Adelphi Edizioni S.p.a , Milano, 2014;
Vendittelli M., Sostenibilità ed e-governance nella pianificazione fisica. In Zoppi C. (a cura di),
Valutazione e pianificazione delle trasformazioni territoriali nei processi di governance e di e-
governance, Franco Angeli 2012;
Virdis, Maria Rosa; Gaeta, Maria; Martini, Chiara Enea “ Decarbonizzazione dell'economia, Scenari
energetici nazionali 2014-2015, Emissioni di gas serra, Scenario di riferimento sul settore elettrico,
Impostazione dell'analisi di impatto macroeconomico”, Editrice ALKES,2017;
Wilson E. O., Metà della Terra-Salvare il Futuro della Vita, Roma,2017;
Zumthor P., La misura del mondo, il Mulino, Bologna, 1995.

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WEB SITES
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Successione di Fibonacci;
https://energiaclima2030.mise.gov.it/,
Proposta di Piano nazionale integrato per l’Energia ed il Clima (PNIEC)2018;
https://www.anit.it/norma/nuova-direttiva-europea-sullefficienza-energetica/
Direttive UE: sulla prestazione energetica2010 nell’edilizia, sull’efficienza energetica2012;
sulle Nuova direttiva 844/2018;
www.ea.ancitel.it, - www.ancitelea.it
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http://hdl.handle.net/10840/9249
Direttiva UE: sul PNIRE 134/2012, sull’Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Directive2014, sulla
realizzazione di un'infrastruttura per i combustibili alternativi2014.
AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Manlio Vendittelli, Degree in architecture in 1971, Professor ICAR 21 at Architecture Faculty Valle
Giulia, Rome’s University La Sapienza. The study of environment, territory management and of
strategic evaluations to implement participated planning processes left a deep mark on my theoretical
track, the research programs, the teaching and project activity.

© 2019, FedoaPress

LANDSCAPE AND SPECIES
INTEGRATION FOR A NATURE-
BASED PLANNING OF A
MEDITERRANEAN FUNCTIONAL
URBAN AREA
ERIKA BAZZATO, MICHELA MARIGNANI
Department of Life and Environmental Sciences

Botany Division, University of Cagliari, Italy
e-mail: erika.bazzato@hotmail.it
marignani@unica.it

Bazzato, E., & Marignani, M. (2019). Landscape and species integration for a nature-based planning of a
mediterranean functional urban area. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature and ecosystem
ABSTRACT
In the last two centuries the impact of human activities on land has grown enormously.
Anthropogenic land use change result in land alterations in the form of habitat loss and
fragmentation that affect populations demographic structure, communities, and the ecosystems’
dynamics. A growing need to incorporate fundamental ecologically-based methodologies
into urban planning suggested to adopt multiple approaches to design appropriate regional
planning strategies for the protection of the remaining natural areas and the species therein. At
landscape level, we calculated landscape measures based on land composition and structure;
multivariate analysis were performed to evaluate conservation and fragmentation status. At
species level, we investigated the use of six generalist, alien and synanthropic beetles species to
assess the conservation and fragmentation status of a Mediterranean functional urban area. To
consider multiple levels of organization for a better nature-based planning, a pattern-oriented
and a species-oriented approach were joined together. More than 400 original records were
georeferenced. We observed a significant relationship between landscape-based measures
describing fragmentation and species-based measures: species richness of functional group
showed a gradient of richness intensification around the bigger city, decreasing towards natural
and semi-natural areas. Results suggested that functional group show a strong response to
conservation and fragmentation status and it can be usefully used as indicators for monitoring
landscape evolution in time. Further studies are ne eded to sustain scientifically-sound decisions
to design appropriate planning strategies to preserve biodiversity in the Mediterranean areas.
KEYWORDS
Land use planning; Conservation planning; Landscape management; Landscape fragmentation;
Landscape and species approach integration
Landscape and species integration for a nature-based planning of a Mediterranean functional urban area

1 INTRODUCTION
In the last two centuries the impact of human activities on land has grown enormously. Human
activity dominates ecosystems at multiple scales, transforming the natural heterogeneity of
landscapes (Forman, 1995), biogeochemical cycles (Tilman, 1999), and plant and animal
species diversity and community composition (Tylianakis et al., 2008). Anthropogenic land
use change result in land alterations in the form of habitat loss and fragmentation:
fragmentation process produces discontinuous habitat fragments, isolated from each other by
a matrix of dissimilar habitats (Laurance, 2000; Bennet, 2003).
Transformation, destruction, reduction and the consequent isolation of remaining patches of
habitat affect populations demographic structure, communities, and the ecosystems'
dynamics (Saunders et al., 1991; Forman, 1995; Fahrig, 2003). Due to habitat fragmentation,
specialist species decrease, whilst generalists or non-native species increase, leading to
species turnover at the community level (Fahrig, 2003). In particular, arthropod species in
remnant fragments could be subdivided in functional groups or feeding guilds differently
sensitive to fragmentation (Gibb & Hochuli, 2002). Generalist feeding species, more likely than
specialists, find sufficient resources within a fragment and have the highest chance of success
in a fragmented landscape (Collinge, 2000).
Because of this, arthropods are considered as appropriate indicators of ecosystem integrity,
because are sensitive and closely linked to the state of the environment (Dufrêne & Legendre,
1997). This is particularly true for species groups such as insects, which new estimates foresee
14 million species, 1.5 million of which are beetles (Stork et al., 2018), contributing to
important ecosystem services (Losey & Vaughan, 2006).
From this perspective, insects can be used as a reliable and sensitive indicator that echoes
the interactions between human activity, landscape fragmentation and the natural
environment. Sustainable landscape planning requires fundamental ecologically based
planning theories and methodologies founded on an interdisciplinary approach (Botequilha
Leitão & Ahern, 2002).
Ecological studies are becoming more important in understanding how current and future
planning strategies and decisions will affect ecosystem services and biodiversity conservation
(Li et al., 2005). Ecologically based programs and project for biodiversity conservation tackle
the complex problem of meeting the multiple and often competing goals of land use planning
(Botequilha Leitão & Ahern, 2002).
Based on previous experiences (Blasi et al., 2008), we joined together a pattern-oriented and
a species-oriented approach to consider multiple levels of organization for a better nature-
based planning. Aim of this paper was to test the use of generalist, alien and synanthropic

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E. Bazzato, M. Marignani
beetles species as functional group to study and assess the conservation and fragmentation
status of a Mediterranean medium-sized functional urban area, using a multidisciplinary
approach. We tested this methodological framework in Cagliari (Sardinia, Italy).
2 METHODOLOGY
2.1 STUDY AREA

The Metropolitan City of Cagliari (MCC hereafter) is a medium-sized functional urban area of
about 125,000 hectares located in the Mediterranean basin (south Sardinia, Italy); MCC is
composed by seventeen municipalities.
Given its large extension, MCC is characterized by a complex orographic pattern on different
geological substrata, generating heterogeneous landscapes and hosting a wide variety of
natural habitats. Geology and geomorphology of MCC is quite heterogeneous for age and
typology: 21 geological units has been recognized (RAS, 2017b) including granite complexes
(Gerrei, Sarrabus, Sulcis-Iglesiente); tectonic units (Sarrabus and Arburese); two volcanic
districts (Sarroch and Siliqua); sedimentary successions from Oligocene and Miocene,
Paleogene and Post “Discordanza Sarda” (Sardinian Unconformity) and sediments of various
origin (alluvial, aeolian, lacustrine, littoral and slope movement related).
Climate is typically Mediterranean with an upper/lower thermomediterranean or
mesomediterranean thermotype (Canu et al., 2014). Vegetation is mainly composed by
evergreen oak matorral, Oleo-lentisc brush, Meso-Mediterranean silicicolous garrigues and
maquis and lagoons, which collectively comprise more than 70% of MCC (Biondi & Blasi, 2009;
Camarda et al., 2015; ISPRA, 2009).
2.2 DATA INTEGRATION

The flow chart of the methodological framework started with these two parallel entries (Fig.
1): the first entry represents the use of land use data to assess the conservation and
fragmentation status at multiple spatial scale (medium and local scale, i.e. entire MCC and
single municipalities).
The second entry represent the contribution of biotic data (beetle species-data) to quantify
species-richness of the selected functional group.
Consequently, we combined multiple outputs to assess the relationship between landscape-
based and species-based measures. All data processing and analysis were carried out using
ArcGIS, Patch Analyst extension (Elkie et al., 1999; Rempel et al., 2012), R studio software
(RStudio Team, 2016).

© 2019, FedoaPress


Fig. 1 Flow chart of the methodological framework
2.3 LANDSCAPE LEVEL

We assessed the status of conservation and fragmentation of each territorial local authority
(i.e. entire MCC and single municipalities), using landscape-based measures based on land
use composition and structure. We adopted a Land Use Map at the third hierarchical level of
detail (scale 1:25.000; RAS, 2017a). We evaluated the conservation status with the Index of
Landscape Conservation (ILC) (Pizzolotto & Brandmayr, 1996; Ferrari et al., 2008): ILC varies
between 0 and 1, where 0 corresponds to a high anthropization level and 1 corresponds to a
high conservation status and naturalness. To perform the assessment to each land use class
we assigned an anthropization coefficient, derived by Corona et al. (2011). To portray patterns
of conservation status of each municipality in the study area, ILC values were classified in
three groups, in relation to their conservation status; accordingly, we produced maps of
conservation status for each municipality. The structure of landscape and spatial relationships
between patches were studied considering several metrics at landscape level (see McGarigal
et al., 2002 for a complete description of each metric, Tab. 1). Landscape structure
heterogeneity, in term of composition and configuration, were assessed combining all
landscape-based measures: we assessed the fragmentation status performing a hierarchic
clustering and Principal Components Analysis (PCA), in order to identify groups with higher
similarity and reduce the original number of attributes into a small number of highly correlated
factors. Groups identified through agglomerative hierarchical clustering were projected on the
scatter plot of PCA, in order to subdivide cluster groups on the base of their structural and
compositional features.

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ACRONYM NAME OF METRIC TYPE OF METRIC
NumP Patch number Dimension

MPS Mean patch size Dimension
PSCoV Patch Size Coefficient of Variance Dimension
TE Total edge Edge
MPE Mean Patch Edge Edge
MPAR Mean Perimeter-area ratio Shape
AWMSI Area-weighted mean shape index Shape
AWMPFD Area-weighted mean patch fractal dimension Shape
Tab. 1 Landscape-level metrics calculated for the analysis
2.4 SPECIES LEVEL

At species level, we selected a functional group of beetles composed by six species which take
advantage from the fragmentation, being able to exploit a wide range of resources: common
generalist species, alien species and synanthropic species (Tab. 2).
FAMILY SPECIES AUTHOR
Carabidae Licinus (Licinus) punctatulus (Fabricius, 1792)

Cerambycidae Phoracantha recurva Newmann, 1840
Cerambycidae Phoracantha semipunctata (Fabricius, 1775)
Tenebrionidae Akis trilineata barbara Solier, 1837
Tenebrionidae Blaps gigas (Linné, 1767)
Tenebrionidae Scaurus atratus Fabricius, 1775
Tab. 2 Selected species that benefit from landscape fragmentation: generalist, alien and synathropic species
Species occurrence were derived from public (Universities of Cagliari and Sassari) and private
collections (Alamanni F., Ancona C., Atzori M.G., Bazzato E., Cabitta N., Cillo D., Lecis A., Leo
P., Fancello L., Fois F., Rattu R.). Collectors’ data were integrated with unpublished and
published lists (CKmap project, Ruffo & Stoch, 2005); species occurrence was georeferenced
following the levels of accuracy used in Ruffo & Stoch (2005).
For data analyses, we adopted a grid representation of the georeferenced records, assigning
each species record to a 4 km2 grid cell; the study area was subdivided into 387 grid cells.
Grid cells with aggregated point information were used to assess species richness and its
spatial distribution on MCC; species richness was correlated to the status of conservation and
fragmentation, using the Pearson correlation coefficient.

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3 RESULTS
3.1 LANDSCAPE LEVEL

The conservation status showed a high value (ILC=0.63) in the MCC. However, a more
detailed analysis showed a heterogeneous degree of naturalness and conservation status on
the municipalities, ranging from 0,20 to 0,83 (Fig. 2), related to a gradient of land use
intensification from the central and northern part of the entire planning area to the peripheral
ones.
Fig. 2 On the left (a): Scatterplot showing the relative position of the 17 municipalities and landscape metrics;
On the right (b): clusters subdivided on base on their structural and compositional features projected on the
scatter plot of PCA
As regards the landscape heterogeneity, the number of the redundant metrics at landscape
level was reduced using the PCA. The first two components accounted for 79% of total
variance (Fig. 2a): The first component (47% of the total variance) was negatively correlated
with the conservation status (ILC) and the size and edge metrics (MPS and MPE). The second
component (32% of the total variance) was positively correlated with the structural
parameters describing the shape of polygons (AWMSI e AWMPFD). The projection into the
scatter plot of PCA of the three groups identified by hierarchical clustering allowed the
groupings to be distinguished according to the highly correlated factors (Fig. 2b). The first
cluster brought together municipalities (Villa San Pietro, Sarroch, Maracalagonis, Sinnai, Uta,
Pula and Assemini) characterized by: high conservation status index; high average size of
polygons (MPS) for the presence of large patches; high average edges of polygons (MPE),
typical of landscapes characterized by patches with complex shapes. The second cluster
brought together municipalities (Sestu, Capoterra, Quartu Sant’Elena, Quartucciu,
Monserrato, Elmas, Decimomannu and Cagliari) characterized by: low average size of

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polygons (MPS) due to the presence of small patches; low average edges of polygons (MPE),
typical of landscapes characterized by patches with regular shapes, as also confirmed by the
equally low values obtained for the shape index weighted on the average area (AWMSI);
uniformity in the patch size (low values of PSCov). The third group included the municipalities
of Selargius and Settimo San Pietro, characterized by: low average size of the polygons (MPS)
for the presence of small patches; average shape complex and irregular as suggests by the
high values assumed by the form indexes (AWMSI, AWMPFD and MPAR); low conservation
status. Analysis at landscape level confirmed the presence of three different levels of
fragmentation (Fig. 2b): a low level of fragmentation (Cluster 1) for the municipalities
characterized by patches of larger average size and more natural environments with a better
degree of conservation.; a medium level of fragmentation (Cluster 2) characterized by patches
with uniformly smaller dimensions and more anthropized environments; a high level of
fragmentation (Cluster 3) defined by patches of small dimensions, complex shape and a low
ILC conservation status. Conservation and fragmentation status maps show the value of status
across municipalities (Fig. 3).
Fig. 3 Synthesis maps of conservation and fragmentation status, and species-richness at municipality level

© 2019, FedoaPress


3.2 SPECIES LEVEL

We collected a total of 484 records for six species: species richness showed a gradient of richness
intensification around the bigger city, decreasing towards natural and semi-natural areas (Fig.
3). Correlation among landscape-based measures and species-based measures showed that
richness of the functional group (generalist, alien and synathropic species) was negatively
correlated (r-value 0,26; p-value < 0.01) with conservation status index and negatively
correlated (r-value 0,26; p-value < 0.001) with fragmentation status. Results show that areas
with a higher conservation status are characterized by a low presence of generalist, alien or
synanthropic species while, on the contrary, areas characterized by a high fragmentation and a
low conservation status host a high number of alien, synanthropic species.
4 DISCUSSIONS
Decision-makers or planners have a difficult job, because they are called upon to make
decisions that involve the future of many living organisms, in addition to human wants and
needs: strengthen the collaboration between ecologists and planners and promoting a joint
planning, can support this task. We propose an approach that combined pattern-oriented
approach (with landscape-based measures) and species-oriented approach (with species-
based measures) at multiple scales, as an instrument that can assist this multidisciplinary
contamination. Synthesis maps show the conservation and fragmentation status and the
species-richness at municipality level (Fig. 3), highlighting the municipalities with the most
critical values. Species richness of the functional group of generalist, alien and synathropic
species is correlated with landscape-based measures describing fragmentation, showing a
strong response to conservation and fragmentation status in this Mediterranean medium-sized
functional urban area. This functional group of species can be usefully used as indicators for
monitoring landscape evolution in time. In the future, to support to the generality of this
framework, it would be necessary to test this correlation in other study areas. We believe that
this framework will be useful to local planning authorities: decision-makers and planners
could, for example, use our outputs to determine where additional efforts or corrective actions
are needed to achieve a long-term conservation of habitats and species.
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AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Erika Bazzato is a Ph.D. student at University of Cagliari, Botany Department. She has a doctoral
project to define a methodology to assess and study the landscape fragmentation and the ecological
network of Metropolitan City of Cagliari (South Sardinia), using plants and several groups of arthropod
(ants, beetles, pseudoscorpion, ect.).
Michela Marignani is a Researcher at University of Cagliari, Botany Department. Her main research
interests are the use of floristic and vegetation data to prioritize sites for the conservation of botanical
diversity, the multitaxa approach, the landscape scale analyses, the studies on the effects of
fragmentation on biodiversity, definition of ecological networks at different scale, planning and
assessment of the effect of scale in monitoring actions of restoration ecology.

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TOURISM AND NATURAL
DISASTERS
INTEGRATING RISK PREVENTION INTO THE PLAN
FOR TOURISM
SELENA CANDIA, FRANCESCA PIRLONE
Department of civil, chemical and environmental

engineering, University of Genoa, Italy
e-mail: selena.candia@edu.unige.it
francesca.pirlone@unige.it
URL: http://www.dicca.unige.it/ita
URL: http://www.dicca.unige.it/ita

Candia, S., & Pirlone, F. (2019). Tourism and natural disasters. Integrating risk prevention into the plan for
tourism. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature and ecosystem services (pp. 640-648). Naples:
ABSTRACT
Recent floods occurring in parts of Europe helped us to remember how tourism is exposed
to natural events. Normally we are inclined to consider that tourist security depends only on
human actions: thefts, terrorist acts ... but natural disasters are often more deadly than acts
perpetrated by humans. Proper planning is necessary to prevent the negative effects caused
by these disasters. Tourists are more at risk than the inhabitants are because they do not
know what to do in places and situations that are often very different from their daily life.
Furthermore, tourists are not aware of the civil defence plans and they do not know how to react
to the different levels of risk. This paper seeks to solve this lack by integrating risk prevention
methods into the Plan for tourism. In recent years, many European countries have introduced
plans and measures to manage tourism in a sustainable way. These plans provide useful means
to improve sector policies and strategies. However, there is no mention about tourist security.
The paper proposes new measures to be included in regional tourism plans. The authors apply
the proposed methodology to a concrete case study: the plan for tourism of the Liguria region.
This region is at high hydrological and geological risk and it is a popular tourist destination. In
2017, Liguria exceeded 15 million of visitors. One of the most fragile places, the Cinque Terre,
is also one of the most visited with more than 2,5 million of people a year.
KEYWORDS
Plan for tourismL; Risk management; Natural disasters
Tourism and natural disasters

1 INTRODUCTION
The tourism sector is one of the largest industries of the world. Over the past decades,
international tourist arrivals have almost doubled: from 855.000 to 1.32 million of people.
Tourism has positive impacts in terms of gains in income and employment, for these reasons,
many countries rely on it to boost their economies. The tourism sector is, however, fragile in
nature (Maditinos & Vassiliadis, 2008). It is extremely vulnerable to economic, social, and
political changes in either the generating or host countries.
Many external factors can influence tourist arrivals: crime-related incidents, political instability,
civil unrest, diseases, natural disasters, etc. Empirical evidence so far shows that the higher
the frequency of such incidents and the more media coverage they obtain, the greater the
negative impact on tourist demand (Mansfeld, 2006).
Therefore, relying only on this unstable sector of the economy is potentially risky. This paper
proposes a new comprehensive approach – from theory to practical aspects - to help policy
makers and planners in tourism management. In the first session, it assesses the close
relationship between tourism and natural disasters. In the second one, the authors analyze
the main existing tools in the field of tourism and risk management planning. The third session
proposes an innovative approach to the creation of a single planning tool by integrating risk
prevention into the plan for tourism. In the last session, the authors analyze a case study –
the Liguria Region - to make the proposed methodology more concrete giving guidance to
local authorities all over the world.
2 TOURISM AND NATURAL DISASTER

Normally we are inclined to consider that tourist security and safety depends only on human
actions: thefts, kidnapping, terrorist acts; but natural disasters are often more deadly than
acts perpetrated by humans. There were numerous cases in the world where natural disasters
had a relevant impact on tourists and on the tourism industry such as the tsunami in the
Indian Ocean in 2004, the eruption of Eyjafjöll volcano in Iceland in 2010 and the earthquake
in Nepal in 2015.
Almost every year, Italy is affected by natural disasters that directly or indirectly, interest
tourist destinations. Just to mention some recent examples: the flood in the Cinque Terre in
2011, the avalanche that destroyed the hotel Rigopiano in central Italy in 2017 and the
earthquake in central Italy in 2016 and 2017. Every year the World Risk Report features an
update of the World Risk Index (WRI), which calculates the vulnerability and exposure to
natural hazards of over 170 countries and then ranks them based on their disaster risk. The

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S. Candia, F. Pirlone
risk of a natural event turning into a disaster only partly depends on the force of the natural
event itself. The living conditions of the people in the regions affected and the options
available to respond quickly and to provide assistance are just as significant (WTO, 1998).
Those who are prepared, who know what to do in the event of an extreme natural event,
have a greater chance of survival (Heintze et al., 2018).
In the event of natural disaster, tourists are more at risk than the inhabitants are because
they do not know what to do in places and situations that are often very different from their
daily life. Furthermore, tourists are not aware of the civil defense programs and they do not
know how to react to the different levels of risk. Although the literature on tourism
sustainability often projects it as a process that demands professional management and
planning, it has only recently addressed the issues of preparing for risks, crises and disasters
(Cioccioa & Vassiliadi, 2008).
3 THE RISK MANAGEMENT PLAN AND THE TOURISM PLAN IN ITALY

Currently in Italy, the issue of risk management is addressed by Plans and Civil Defence
Programs, according to the recent Law 100/2012 "Provisions for the reorganization of civil
protection". These tools concern different scales of reference and consider, at the same time,
all types of risks (natural and anthropogenic). The Regional Risk Prevention Program identifies
the portions of territory most at risk and intends to reduce risk exposure and territorial
vulnerability. It also contains the guidelines for provincial and municipal risk prevention plans.
The Provincial Emergency Plan and the Municipal Emergency Plan, in principle, have the same
functions but at a different scale. An emergency plan provides a set of operational measures
to coordinate prevention and rescue activities to help people in danger.
Initially, it is necessary to know: what is happening and what will happen next; the kind of
actions to be taken to mitigate the damage; the resources needed; the priority actions. The
Plan analyses the territory, the civil defence measures, the risk scenarios and the intervention
models. Municipal Emergency Plansare focused on emergencies even if they consider
different risk scenarios that can be applied during the “peacetime”. In fact, planning is
essential to prepare local communities and authorities during the ordinary period to respond
to a crisis. All the sectors of the civil protection system should implement operating procedures
in a coordinate manner, in order to prevent and mitigate the impacts of natural disaster on
people and things. Risk scenarios, apart from danger and vulnerability factors, should consider
the exposure, of goods and people. These people could be also tourists. Regarding the tourism
sector, in Italy, in 2017 the Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities established the
Strategic Plan for Tourism Development (PST, 2017-2022). This tool proposes an "organized
system" to promote the territory according to strategic lines and four main objectives:

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innovate, specialize and integrate the national offer; increase the competitiveness of the
tourism system; develop an effective and innovative marketing; realize efficient and
participated governance. This Plan is an important milestone in the tourism sector. It aims at
giving a unified vision of Italian natural and cultural heritage, and it puts tourism policy at the
hearth of Italian politics. Also, at the regional level there are different plans to promote and
develop the tourism sector. At the local level there are few Plans for tourism, even for very
important art cities such as Rome and Florence. In general, tourism plans in Europe, and in
particular in Italy, do not take into account the concept of tourist safety and security. Some
Plans consider man-made risks related to mugging, bag-snatching or terrorist attacks;
however, no one analyzes and manages natural risks. Therefore, the paper wants to create a
point of contact between Civil Defense Plans and Tourism Plans. Civil Defense Plans do not
consider, among the exposed subjects in the risk scenarios analysis, the fluctuating population
including tourists. Tourism Plans consider interesting parameters such as accessibility, but
they do not concern security against risk. In paragraph 3, the authors report an approach
aimed at integrating tourist safety and security within the Plans for Tourism. This study is of
particular interest if we consider recent episodes (floods, earthquakes…) that had a relevant
impact on tourists all over the word.
4 INTEGRATING RISK PREVENTION INTO THE PLAN FOR TOURISM

In recent years, many European countries adopted plans and measures to manage tourism in
a sustainable way. These plans provides useful means to improve sector policies and
strategies. However, there is no mention about touristsecurity and safety. For this reason, the
authors recommend new risk prevention measures for regional tourism plans.The paper
capitalizes different studies carried out by the research team in urban and territorial planning
of the University of Genoa. In particular, this team developed the guidelines for preparing a
Sustainable Tourism Action Plan – STAP: an innovative tool to manage and support
sustainable tourism in European Countries. The authors want to update the STAP model
introducing the concepts of risk prevention and tourist security. The STAP is different from
existing tourism plans; it recommends a series of actions for tourism management considering
all the topics which have connections with tourism – mobility, transport, waste, water
resources, energy... – (Pirlone & Spadaro, 2017). The STAP promotes slow and sustainable
tourism and considers tourists as an integral part of the place they visit. An eco-responsible
tourist is a “temporary resident”, who knows and follows the rules of the host destination. An
informed and trained tourist decreases his risk exposure. The exposure is one of the three
variables (exposure, vulnerability and danger) necessary to calculate the global level of risk.
The risk perception of tourists may vary considerably in relation to social and cultural factors

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(Garg, 2017), for this reason, Tourist Plans should require precise measures to be followed to
avoid dangerous situations. An Action Plan according to the Agenda 21 contains the following
items: objectives, indicators, best practices, actions, actors involved, economic feasibility,
participatory planning. Taking into account these elements, the STAP includes six different
phases:
− phase 1. Background - problems related to territorial tourism management; European
and national tourism legislation; working groups;
− phase 2. Diagnostic of the state of the art – status quoanalysis; data collection; goals
assessment – SWOT analysis;
− phase 3. Planning part – design and identification of actions/best practices;
− phase 4. Plan application;
− phase 5. Plan monitoring – through the identification of specific indicators;
− phase 6. Awareness and participation - it is important to specify that this last phase is
transversal to the previous ones (Candia et al., 2018).
Risk prevention should be included in all phases of the STAP, especially in the first three
sections:
− phase 1, introduction of the security issue as a general objective to be pursued,
− phase 2, analysis (using also the SWOT methodology) of all the possible risks considering
the risk scenarios identified in Civil Defence Plans;
− phase 3, identification of measures to explain to tourists the procedures to be followed
in case of an emergency (choice of the best alert systems such as information panels,
Wireless Emergency Alerts…).
STAP
Risk
Sustainable
prevention Tourism plan
Tourism
program
Action Plan
Fig. 1 Steps for the development of a Sustainable Tourism Action Plan
The authors apply the proposed methodology to a concrete case study by defining new risk
prevention measures for the Tourism Plan of the Liguria Region. Furthermore, the paper
proposes how to organize a safety conscious STAP for one of the most popular Ligurian
destinations.

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5 CASE STUDY: THE LIGURIA REGION

The Tourism Plan 2020 of the Liguria Region (2017) indicates the main tourism development
strategies of the Region starting from the analysis of current scenarios and trends. According
to the Regional Tourist Observatory, tourism in Liguria accounts for 7.8% of the regional GDP,
generating more than 10% of the workforce. In 2016, tourism grew both in terms of tourist
numbers and arrivals with a growth rate of 4.35%. The plan analyses the tourism industry
from an economic point of view and proposes a series of objectives to develop the sector
(strengthening the region’s international position as a tourism destination; promoting new
tourism products…). This strategic tool does not take into account the concept of tourist
security even if the Liguria Region is at high hydrological and geological risk.Over the past
decades, recurring flood events and several landslides caused severe damage to coastal and
inland areas of Liguria, sometimes involving human casualties.The SWOT analysis, included
in the Plan, does not mention the risk prevention issue. Amongst the strengths are: the
expansion of the tourism sector; the significant increase of international arrivals and the
presence of natural and cultural beauties. The plan mentions as weaknesses: tourism
concentration on the coast; strong seasonality; poor accessibility; poor coordination between
the public and private sectors and short-term vision of marketing strategies. If this analysis
was carried out in the light of risk management, the results would be very different. The
presence of an increasing number of tourists is undoubtedly a strength from an economic
point of view, but it can be a critical issue in the event of a natural disaster. The authors
identified corrective measures for each paragraph of the Tourist Plan of the Liguria Region in
order to increase tourist security (Tab. 1).
One of the most fragile places of the Liguria Region, the Cinque Terre1, is also one of the
most visited with more than 2,5 million of tourists a year. In 2011, storms and torrential rain
caused extensive floods in the Cinque Terre.
The neighbouring village of Vernazza had to be evacuated by sea, with the Coast Guard
rescuing stranded foreign tourists and locals. Nevertheless, there is no system to alert tourists
in real time about the procedures to be followed in the event of a disastrous event. The
tourism plan of the Liguria Region should force the Cinque Terre - and all other tourist
destinations in hydrogeological risk zones - to realize a STAP. This plan should promote
sustainable and safe tourism.

1
The Cinque Terre is a portion of coast on the Italian Riviera. It is in the Region Liguriaand comprises
five villages: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore.

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PARAGRAPHS TO RISK PREVENTION MESURES RECCOMENDED

BE INTEGRATED
1.1 Background Regional map of risk where every tourist destination is classified according to
analysis its exposition to risk and its vulnerability
1.2 Legal Main contents of the Civil Protection Programme and the Regional
framework RiskPreventionProgram
1.3 Objectives Tourist safety and security should be one of the main objective
2.3.2 Weaknesses Difficulty in explaining to tourists the level of risk and the security measures to
be followed; lack of communication between Tourism Plans and Risk
Prevention Programs; lack of alert systems to inform tourists about natural
disaster.
2.3.4 Threats Almost every year, the Liguria Region is affected by natural disasters that very
often, directly or indirectly, interest tourist destinations.
4.1 Methodology The approach is aimed at integrating risk prevention within the Plans for
Tourism. The Regional plan for tourism should suggest that the main tourist
destinations prepare a STAP. The STAP includes also how to improve tourist
safety and security.
4.5 Hospitality A tourist destination is hospitable if and only if it is a safe place.
5.1.1 Performance The level of tourist safety/security must be included among the performance
indicators indicators
5.1.3 Budget Funds to increase tourist destination security and to place alert systems to
inform tourists on the level of risk
Tab. 1 Risk prevention measures for the Tourism Plan of the Liguria Region
The risk management approach to tourist health and safety highlights the importance of
identifying sources of risk as a first step and then using this information to realize actions to
decrease the level of exposure of tourists. Below are some measures to be included in the
STAP to contribute significantly to the safety/security of tourists:
− SMS alert system;
− evacuation rotes by land and by sea;
− flyersand posters, in hotels and railway stations, explaining the measures to be taken in
case of emergencies;
− selection of safe alternative tourist destinations to visit in case of emergencies;

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− incentives to reduce seasonality and the number of touristsexposed to risk (such as

discount in hotels, museums or train tickets);
− closure of risk areas;
− safety“tips” app, which provides disaster information to international visitorsinto various
languages;
− a flowchart showing evacuation actions to be taken in the light of surrounding
circumstances.
The STAP should understand how the Cinque Terre can best respond to the threats natural
disasters pose to tourist safety and wellbeing. Travelers should be familiar with risks for
natural disasters at this destination and its warning systems, evacuation routes, and shelters.
The best way for travelers to stay healthy and safe when journeying to a new place is to stay
well informed. For this reason, the STAP should provide different practical solutions, like the
aforementioned ones, to inform and train tourists. This case-study support the theoretical
approach presented in the previous session by using it in a real world situation. It gives some
indications and allow further elaboration and hypothesis creation on the same subject. The
approach described is dynamic and it can be easily adapted to specific situations. As
demonstrated by the application to the Ligurian case, local and regional authorities should
develop Sustainable Tourism Action Plans striking a good balance between tourism
development and tourists’ security and safety. Worldwide many destinations are struggling to
cope with natural disaster. With increasing global surface temperatures, the possibility of more
droughts and increased intensity of storms will likely occur (Maarten, 2006). It is not just a
security issue; natural disasters are affecting the tourism industry and are damaging local
economies. The paper focus on the Liguria Region where these negative effects are evident.
However, the paper could help policy makers, from all over the world, manage tourism in a
sustainable way.
REFERENCES
Candia S., Pirlone F. Spadaro I. (2018). Sustainable development and the plan for tourism in the
mediterranean coastal areas. Case study: the Liguria Region. WIT Transactions on Ecology and the
Environment, WIT Press,Vol. 217, UK, Pages 523-534
Cioccioa L., Ewen J. M. (2007). Hazard or disaster: Tourism management for the inevitable in Northeast
Victoria, Tourism Management, Volume 28, Issue 1, Pages 1-11

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Garg A. (2017). Tourists' Risk Perception Impact on Their Decision-Making, in book: TRENDS, ISSUES
AND WOMEN IN HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM INDUSTRY, RET International Academic Publishing,
Pages 218-227
Heintze H. J. et al. (2018). World Risk Report, Bündnis Entwicklung Hilft and Ruhr University Bochum
– Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict (IFHV)
Maarten K. (2006). The impacts of climate change on the risk of natural disasters, Disasters
journal,Vol. 30, Pages 5 18.
Maditinos Z., Vassiliadi C. (2008). Crises and disasters in tourism industry: Happen, locally, affect
globally. MIBES Conference, Technological Institute of Larissa. School of Business and Economics
Mansfeld Y., Pizam, A.(2006). Tourism, security and safety: from the theory to practice, Butterworth-
Heinemann
Pirlone F., Spadaro I. (2017). A Sustainable Tourism Action Plan in the Mediterranean coastal areas,
International Journal of Sustainable Development and Planning, WIT Press, Vol. 12, UK, Pages 995-
1005
World Tourism Organization (1998). Handbook on Natural Disaster Reduction in Tourist Areas, WTO
publisher, Madrid
AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Selena Candia is graduated in architecture and construction engineer. Actually, she is working for
the University of Genoa – DICCA– as research fellow. She managed different European projects on
sustainable development, eco-tourism and urban regeneration. She worked for the Municipality of
Genoa – Culture and Tourism Department - as European project manager.
Francesca Pirlone is associate professor in town planning at Polytechnic School - University of

Genoa, PhD, engineer. She is a teacher in three university courses of three Degree Courses. She has
developed different lines of research, from requalification, natural risks, sustainability, waste, tourism,
infrastructures and mobility, activities carried out in EU and national programs. Author of numerous
publications and speaker at International and National Conferences.
ANNEX
Selena Candia: the author has done paragraphs 2 and 5. Francesca Pirlone: the author has done the
paragraph 3 and 4.

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INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT OF
WATER RESOURCES
AN OPERATIVE TOOLTO SIMPLIFY, DIRECT AND
MEASURE INTERVENTIONS
VITTORIA CUGUSI, ALESSANDRO PLAISANT

Planning, University of Sassari, Italy
e-mail: vcugusi@yahoo.it, aplaisant@gmail.com

Cugusi, V., & Plaisant, A. (2019). Integrated management of water resources. An operative toolto simplify,
direct and measure interventions. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature and ecosystem services
ABSTRACT
The aim of this research is to support policymakers and technicians that perform integrated
management of water resources through an operative evidence-based assessment tool, in order
to analyse and simplify water planning processes. The tool provides objective outcomes: to
overcome legislative fragmentation, to simplify the analysis process and to define integrated
management policies. In particular, the tool is org anized into four phases. The first defines
the analysis processes, the second consists of acquiring data, the third analyzes the results
and the fourth identifies intervention lines. To prove the feasibility of the tool, it was tested
at a preliminary level in the basin area of the Posada river (Sardinia) where it was possible
to systematize dimensions, define elements through c areful analysis of water legislation and
management processes, and identify areas of interes t and specific objectives inherent to
integrated management in order to overcome legislative fragmentation. Subsequently, through
the identification of actors, criteria and indicator s related to each specific objective, it was
possible to simplify the process of analyzing critical issues related to water management in
order to define integrated policies. Thus, the propo sed tool was able to simplify, direct and
measure coherent interventions of water resource management, enhancement and protection,
as well as support strategic planning tools such as the river contract.
KEYWORDS
Integrated water resource management; water resource protection; water rights
V. Cugusi., A. Plaisant
1 INTRODUCTION
The management of water resources requires the integration of ecological, economic and
socio-political elements, which operate in the territory within an interdisciplinary framework
that seeks to guarantee resource protection (Bernasconi, 2005; Dir. 2000/60/CE; Dlgs
152/1999; Piano Stralcio di Bacino per l’utilizzo delle risorse idriche). Within a broader
framework, water has an important "ecosystemic function", as it is able to provide "goods and
services that directly or indirectly satisfy human needs and guarantee the life of all species"
(“Cosa Sono I Servizi Ecosistemici,” n.d.). The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005)
provides four ecosystem function classifications (Support, Regulation, Provisional, and
Cultural), defining ecosystem function as a service provided by natural and semi-natural
ecosystems (“Cosa Sono I Servizi Ecosistemici,” n.d.).
The protection of ecosystems therefore directly affects the quality of the resource, and it
becomes part of the management process; to guarantee integrated management means that
ecosystem functions should be protected, enhancing the river asset and spreading the culture
of the water landscape as a matrix of territorial development (Scolozzi, Morri & Santolini,
2012). Accordingly, integrated management implies the need to pursue a transdisciplinary
process between government and water policy.
The varied use of the resource has led to legislative fragmentation, resulting in the
proliferation of legislative and planning interventions.
Furthermore, water resource management is based on the consensus and participation of all
the actors operating in the water basin/body, which results in planning complexity and
difficulty in designing coherent governance strategies (Previdi, n.d.).
Based on these premises, it is clear there is need for simplification of management processes,
which requires analysis of intervention areas and problems at the level of the river basin,
defining integrated policies and lines of intervention.

The construction of the tool was based on the methodology used in construction and operation
of Decision Aid Systems (DAS) proposed by a study from the University of Girona (Poch et al.,
2012). Originally, the tool was applied to sewage treatment systems, but it can be adapted
to any complex problem that requires the evaluation of qualitative and quantitative processes
applied to environmental systems, as does the integrated management of water resources.
The flexibility of the tool comes from integrated analysis of the spatial dimension through
Geographic Information Systems (GIS, ArcGIS, etc.) (ibid.).

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Integrated management of water resources

Furthermore, it is necessary that the instrument allows:
− data management on a theoretical basis;
− combination of data and results from different areas;
− easy data recovery for the user;
− discussion of the proposals through explanation of the results obtained.
The utilization of the instrument consists of four phases that must be developed sequentially
as follows.
Definition of the processes to be analyzed through:
− identification of the dimensions through the analysis of legislation; the dimensions
represent the macro-categories into which the integrated management of the water
resource is divided;
− identification of the defining elements, representing the sub-categories of the
dimensions and defining the general topic to be investigated;
− identification of the areas of interest, which represent specific topics that are closely
linked to the resource management tools and the legislation that generated them,
helping to determine the instruments and plans that program the specific topics;
− identification of the specific objectives through the analysis of the legislation, which
represents the purpose or the results that are intended to be achieved.
Acquisition of data, which requires:
− identification of the criteria relating to the specific objectives, i.e., the characteristics that
can be evaluated to define the objective;
− identification of the actors involved in the processes examined;
− identification of indicators concerning the qualitative and quantitative criteria.
Analysis of the results and selection of models (artificial intelligence techniques, statistics,
GIS, numerical simulation and/or optimization models) through:
− elaboration of the results related to the indicators in order to identify possible areas of
intervention.
Identification of intervention lines. Once the results are obtained, actions can be defined to
support territorial policies. Thus, the tool has two functions:
− identification of the critical issues inherent to the various integrated management
processes;
− explanation of intervention lines that can lead to effective management of the resource.
The tool has the purpose of simplifying and, therefore, speeding up the evaluation process of
integrated management within a river basin, providing support to decision makers.

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3 APPLICATION OF THE TOOL: THE RIVER BASIN OF RIO POSADA

In order to prove its feasibility, the tool was applied in the Posada River basin area, which
was chosen as a study area because it is involved in numerous protection initiatives and water
resource enhancement projects within the territory, such as the Tepilora Regional Natural
Park and the UNESCO MaB award.1
As previously described, the first phase involves the identification of key dimensions. The
following three were identified for the Posada River:
− Protection of the resource,
− Protection against water hazards, and
− Rights to the resource.
Secondly, for each dimension the defining elements, the areas of interest, the specific
objectives, the criteria, the actors involved, and the relative indicators were identified, as
described in the model construction phases (Section 2).
This section describes the process inherent to the dimension of the "resource right" (Fig. 1).
Fig. 1 Summary scheme, right to the resource. Own processing source

1
For further information, please consult the following websites: http://www.parcotepilora.it/;
http://www.unesco.it/it/ItaliaNellUnesco/Detail/186; ttp://www.unesco.it/it/RiserveBiosfera/Detail/365

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As defined by the first phase, the "resource right" dimension and the respective defining
element "resource accessibility" were identified through the analysis of international,
European, national and regional regulations.
Subsequently, the areas of interest and the specific objectives were identified through the
analysis of the resource planning and management instruments.
For example, with regards to the area of interest "water supply," one of the specific objectives
identified was "meet the water needs" (Tab. 1). Once the specific objective has been
identified, the second phase begins. For example, in order to assess whether water needs
were being met, we evaluated:
RELEVANT WATER GOALS PRACTICES AREAS OF

LEGISLATION RESOURCES INTEREST
PLANNING
TOOLS
L. n. Piano Govern the Update of the new Water supply
129/1963 Regolatore drinking water PRGA (2004):
Generale degli requirements Determines the water
Acquedotti needs and the related
(PRGA) L. n. equipment,
129/1963 construction of water
Revision 2006 purification, transport
and distribution
infrastructures
L. n. Piano stralcio di Achieve the Defines infrastructure Water supply
183/1989 Bacino balance of water and management
Regionale per supply and demand interventions in the
l’utilizzo delle at the regional short- and medium-
risorse idriche level term time frames.
(PSURI) L. n.
183/1989
d.lgsl Piano di Plan, implement Second planning cycle Environmental
152/1999: gestione del and monitor 2016-2020 protection,
91/271/CEE Distretto measures for the Strategic Environmental water supply
91/676/ CEE Idrografico protection, Assessment (SEA)
d.lgsl (2015) remediation and List of environmental
152/2006 Dir. improvement of objectives to be
2000/60/CEE 2000/60/CEE surface and respected
L. R. n. underground water
19/2006 bodies and
D. R n. 67/ facilitate
2006 sustainable use of
water resources
Tab. 1 Summary table, analysis of legislation and resource management tools for defining areas of interest and
related objectives
− the criterion of volumetric water availability;

− the stakeholders and figures that work in pursuit of the objective (in this case
represented by EGAS, ENAS, Abbanoa, municipal administrations, consortia, etc.);

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− the indicator of percentage of water losses in the basin distribution network, which
indirectly measures the satisfaction of needs based on decreases in water supplied per
year and water losses (Istituto Statistico Nazionale, 2015).
After the indicators have been calculated, the third phase involves analysis of the results and
implementation of the models.
To summarize the results of the evaluations coming from each analysis file, a summary table
(Tab. 2) was built to describe the actual integrated management within the river basin. In this
way, it was possible to quickly identify the critical points at which to intervene.
The construction of the table required the evaluation criteria to be applied to each result
coming from the calculation of the indicators, divided as follows:
− ++ Equivalent to a situation where the objective is fully achieved;
− + Equivalent to a situation in which the objective is reached, but completion operations
are still necessary (such as planning policies or actions);
− - Equivalent to a situation where the objective is not achieved.
As indicated by Tab. 2, the critical issues inherent to integrated management of water
resources within the Posada River hydrographic basin can be divided into three categories:
− the quality of the water body;
− the scarce availability of the resource for supply, attributable to the almost total
dependence on artificial basins in conjunction with long dry periods and considerable
water losses during distribution;
− the prevention of flood risks, which is indicated by the numerous evacuation orders seen
by the inhabited center of Torpè.
According to the analyses, the intervention lines should act on three levels:
− water quality;
− supply;
− prevention of risks caused by floods.
After analyzing the results, phase four identifies and monitors intervention lines. Where
possible, the graphic representation of the possible areas of intervention (geo-referenced by
QGIS) is reported. For example, with respect to the indicator of water losses (Right to the
resource, Tab. 2), a possible line of intervention could be the reduction of transport losses
through improvement of the efficiency of distribution networks. The intervention, once put
into practice, can be monitored through the same indicator.

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DIMENSIONS DEFINITION GOALS INDICATORS RESOURCE
ELEMENTS MANAGEMENT
++ + -
Protection of Protection of Protect aquatic Forecast of the minimum
the resource ecosystems and related vital outflow DMV
ecosystems
Protected ecosystems
Quality of Reach a "good" "Good" state of surface

the resource status of water waters
bodies "Good" state of lake water
bodies
"Good" status for
transitional water bodies
Quantitative Ensure supply to Planning of uses of the
conservatio future generations resource
n of supply Reuse of wastewater
sources
Differentiation of supply
sources
Right to the Usability of Meet water needs Alert status of the basin
resource the resource
Water losses
Guarantee quality Compliance with

water for different regulatory parameters
uses
Guarantee Cost impact
affordability
Incentives for
economically
disadvantaged families
Ensure the use of Design supporting use of
water spaces the resource
Ensure access to Internet sites
information
regarding the
resource
Prevention of Floods Minimize the risks Evacuation orders
natural risks from floods
from water
Landslides Minimize the risk Potential erosion avoided
of hydrogeological
instability
Tab. 2 Evaluation results using the analysis forms; own processing source

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4 CONCLUSIONS
The application of the instrument has highlighted its own limitations, which should be
optimized. It is proposed that implementation of four operational phases (definition of the
analysis processes, data acquisition, analysis of results and selection of GIS models, and
identification of lines of intervention aimed at integrated management of water resources)
allows the professional using the tool to encounter less difficulty because it facilitates:
− Overcoming legislative fragmentation by defining dimensions, elements, areas of interest
and specific objectives, which are derived from the study of the legislation and the
instruments applied to the territory;
− Simplification of the analysis processes by identifying actors, criteria and indicators that
provide general information on the territory, with respect to the fields of interest
analyzed;
− Defining integrated policies with respect to the results obtained by the indicators, and
focusing the lines of intervention only in the occurrence of a negative outcome, through
the involvement of the bodies taking part in the process.
However, it is useful to note that challenges have been found in the attribution of the criteria
for the evaluation of the indicators, as there is no universally calibrated evaluation system
available. It is therefore recommended that further shared and accurate encoding modes for
criteria should be defined through research. Difficulties have also been found in the definition
of indicators based on the findings of data, as it is possible that additional indicators should
be included. Improvements in these areas could allow the professional to take full advantage
of the tool. Nonetheless, in a context of normative and managerial fragmentation, the
operational tool simplifies, directs and measures planning interventions aimed at the
integrated management of the water resource. In addition, it helps to build greater
consciousness and awareness among local actors and communities, providing valid support
for decisions or intervention proposals defined within negotiated planning instruments such
as the river contract.
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© 2019, FedoaPress


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Piano di Gestione Rischio Alluvioni.

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Piano Forestale Ambientale Regionale.

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=13&tb=8374&st=13
Piano Stralcio delle Fasce Fluviali.

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&na=1&ni=1&tb=8374&st=13
Piano stralcio di bacino per l’assetto idrogeologico (PAI).

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=13&slu=1&tb=8374&st=13
Piano Stralcio di Bacino per l’utilizzo delle risorse idriche.

URL: https://www.regione.sardegna.it/documenti/1_5_20060207171754.pdf
Poch, M., Cortés, U., Comas, J., Rodriguez-Roda, I., &S ànchez-Marrè, M. (2012). Decisiones en
lossistemas de saneamiento: un poco de ayuda. Girona: Universitat de Girona. Pp. 33, 42
Previdi, L., (n.d). Verso il contratto di Fiume: aspetti tecnici e procedurali.

URL:http://www.parcodelmincio.it/forumdelmincio/pdf/Intervento.Previdi.pdf
Scolozzi, R., Morri, E., Santolini, R. (2012). Pianificare territori sostenibili e resi: la prospettiva dei
servizi ecosistemici in "Territorio" 60/2012, pp. 167-175.
WEBSITES
http://www.parcotepilora.it/
http://www.unesco.it/it/ItaliaNellUnesco/Detail/186
http://www.unesco.it/it/RiserveBiosfera/Detail/365
AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Vittoria Cugusi, graduated (December2018) in "Planning and policies for the city, the environment,
and landscape" (LM-48) at the Department of Architecture, Design and Urban Planning, Alghero, Italy,
University of Sassari. In 2016 she received a degree in "Urban Planning. Planning of the city, the
territory, the environment and the landscape" at the same university (L-21). During her university

© 2019, FedoaPress


career, she focused on issues related to the integrated management of water resources through the
three-year the sisen titled, “From the Rio Posada to the Tepilora Park. A proposal for the integrated
use of landscapes of water" and the master’s thesis entitled "Integrated management of water
resources. An operative tool to simplify, direct and measure the interventions." During the specialist
course, she obtained the European master's degree in "Planning and policies for the city, the
environment and the landscape" and collaborated as a curricular trainee at the LEQUIA research studio
at the University of Girona, where she studied to pics related to aiding decision-making for purification
plants.
Alessandro Plaisant, an associate professor of the Department of Architecture, Design and Urban
Planning, at the University of Sassari, where he teaches Urban Planning and Analysis of urban systems.
He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Cagliari, after spending eight months as a fellow at the School
of Anthropology, Geography and Environmental Studies, at the University of Melbourne, focusing his
pluralism-oriented tools. He combines my research activities with higher education, international and
institutional cooperation activities as director of the level II International Master’s Program “Advanced
Methods and Tools for Sustainable Planning,” developed in academic cooperation with Harbin Institute
of Technology, and as scientific coordinator of the activities planned for the funded national call
suburbs,” specifically in the Sant’Avendrace district of the Municipality of Cagliari (Sardinia, Italy).
Among his recent publications: Urban regeneration of peripheral areas: the critical role of the
connective space in an Italian city. (Aa.Vv) Urban Design Journal, 2018; Risk Prevention and
Management. A Multi-actor and Knowledge-Based Approach in Low Density Territories (Aa.Vv.),
Computational Science and its Applications (ICCSA 2017), in Gervasi, O., Murgante, B. et. al. (Eds.),
Springer (ISBN 978-3-319-62397-9), Switzerland.

© 2019, FedoaPress

APPLICATION OF NBS TO
THE CITY PLAN OF SEGRATE
MUNICIPALITY: SPATIAL
IMPLICATIONS
ROBERTO DE LOTTO
Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture

University of Pavia, Italy
e-mail: roberto.delotto@unipv.it
URL: www. http://uplab.unipv.it

De Lotto, R. (2019). Application of Nbs to the city plan of Segrate municipality: spatial implications. In C.
ISBN: 978-88-6887-054-6, doi: 10.6093/978-88-6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
The aim of the paper is to describe and analyze the various Nature based Solutions applied in
the 2017 City Plan of Segrate municipality (Italy, Milan Metropolitan city) with reference to the
spatial implications. The new Segrate’s City Plan aimed to increase the green urban patrimony
in two main spatial dimensions: the metropolitan scale and the very local scale. In particular,
with specific reference to the Lombardy Region struc ture if the City Plan (so called: Piano di
Governo del Territorio – PGT, that means plan for the government of the urban territory), in
the paper the various aspects of the application of NbS are described and analyzed for their
consequences in the spatial urban organization. At first author define NbS in relation with the
recent and diffused environmental measures applied in city planning, then the city of Segrate is
described together with the past planning solutions. Then, author describes the 2017 city plan
focusing on main strategies and normative clarificat ions; during this description for each aspect
the spatial implications are declared.
Finally, starting from this practical example, author discuss about some enabler and barriers in
the applications of NbS in city planning.
KEYWORDS
New city plan for greener city; Nature based Solutions; spatial planning at the Municipality level
in Lombardy Region; Segrate Municipality
Application of NbS to the city plan of Segrate Municipality: spatial implications

1 INTRODUCTION
In last decades scholars several times destabilized and re-assembled city planning following
the changing of paradigms of “planning theory” (Thomas, 1979). According to the complex
system approach, the urban development and management is still based on the relations
among social groups and physical elements (Portugali, 2000). This approach carried to focus
also on the procedure together with specific spatial aspects (that were the basis of the modern
urban planning); the spatial analysis and planning developed fast in the last decades with the
availability of computer-based instruments.
The “environmental issue” has been always a part of the classical city and regional planning
and, even if the theme of respecting and safeguarding environment has become more and
more relevant and urgent, it is not possible to consider this as a “new” theme for urban
planning. In example, considering the urban expansion (sometimes a real explosion happened
in ex-emerging economy contexts – such as China), the measure of soils consumption and
the spatial implications in the relation between enlargement of cities and natural or agricultural
territory have been underlined with the critics to the sprawl (Duany et al., 2000). To reinforce
this statement, in Italian context the territorial plans have the main goal “to protect
environment” and landscape, as well as to pursue social and economic development.
The whole process that carried to recognize sustainability as main strategical behavior for all
human beings, started in the early seventies (with the U.N. Conference on the Human
Environment in 1972, in Stockholm) and the principles exposed in 1972 should be applied to
every human action (individual and collective), considering urban and regional panning as a
key point. The goals of sustainability, developed during time by UN and EU until the New
Urban Agenda, always refer to behaviors more than to specific spatial indications; so it is an
interesting issue to analyze in which way these goals may be achieved throughout spatially
oriented actions.
The ecological planning has been schematized by the landscape ecology (among all, Steiner,
2000), that is the science of studying the complex relationships between ecological processes
in the environment and ecosystems. Key research topics in landscape ecology include
ecological flows in landscape mosaics, land use and land cover change, scaling, relating
landscape pattern analysis with ecological processes, and landscape conservation and
sustainability (Douglas & James, 2015). From the introduction of the Strategic Environmental
Assessment (SEA), defined in Europe by the Directive 42/2001, the process of regional, urban
and city planning has been sustained using specific techniques, methodologies and indicators
(see i.e: Meadows, 1998; Clark, 2000; Weber, 2001; Feldman, 2001).

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R. De Lotto
Nature-based Solutions (NbS) emerged in the last years as answer to critical forecasts about
the impact of urbanization on the environment. So, a basic question could be: in which way
NbS can be translated in specific spatial actions in urban and city planning?
1.1 METHODOLOGY
The methodological structure of the paper starts from the definition of NbS according to the
most diffuse annotations; then the planning situation of Segrate is presented with reference
to NbS introduced in the 2017 city plan.
Segrate’s new city plan is strongly oriented to environmental protection: according to
Lombardy Region legislative structure, the strategic decisions and the actualization of small-
scale actions belong to different documents. So, the environmental goals are translated at the
big scale and at the small one in a complementary way. In the paper authors specify the
Segrate’s city plan big scale strategies that have a NbS nature, and for each of them the
spatial implications are underlined. Also, specific actions are described according to the NbS
classification (see Chapter 2), and remarks about spatial implication are introduced. Finally,
comments and conclusions argue about enablers and barriers in the activation of cited NbS
measures.
2 DEFINITION OF NBS
Nature-based Solutions were defined to synthesize the different approaches and actions that
work “with” and “for” the environment; they are a multi scalar and interdisciplinary strategies,
tactics and operational actions that directly involve city planning and in general the
management of the city.
Following Eggermont et al (2015) there are three types of NBS:
"Type 1 consists of no or minimal intervention in ecosystems, with the objectives of
maintaining or improving the delivery of a range of ES both inside and outside of these
preserved ecosystems. Examples include the protection of mangroves in coastal areas to limit
risks associated to extreme weather conditions and to provide benefits and opportunities to
local populations; and the establishment of marine protected areas to conserve biodiversity
within these areas while exporting biomass into fishing grounds (Grorud-Colvert et al., 2014).
[…] Type 2 corresponds to the definition and implementation of management approaches that
develop sustainable and multifunctional ecosystems and landscapes (extensively or intensively
managed), which improves the delivery of selected ES compared to what would be obtained
with a more conventional intervention.

© 2019, FedoaPress


Examples include innovative planning of agricultural landscapes to increase their multi-
functionality; and approaches for enhancing tree species and genetic diversity to increase
forest resilience to extreme events. […]
Type 3 consists of managing ecosystems in very intrusive ways or even creating new
ecosystems (e.g., artificial ecosystems with new assemblages of organisms for green roofs
and walls to mitigate city warming and clean polluted air). Type 3 is linked to concepts like
green and blue infrastructures (Benedict & McMahon, 2006) and objectives like restoration of
heavily degraded or polluted areas.”
From these definitions, that have been acquired by the scientific associations, it is quite clear
how much NbS keep origin from classical studies about the relation between human beings
and ecological systems. All these three types can have a direct translation into city plans, but
Type 3 is the one that best fits with artificial actions to improve natural capital. Some already
known “labels” can now be considered as part of NbS: Green Infrastructures (Benedict et al.,
2006), ecological networks, eco-building, city greening, and so on.
3 SEGRATE’S 2017 CITY PLAN

Segrate is a Municipality in Milan metropolitan area, close to Milan on east. It is 17,49 sqkm
wide, it has 35.234 inhabitants with a density about 2.000 inhabitants per sqkm. As it
happened in many municipalities in the close ring of Milan, Segrate is a recent settlement that
grew from the sixties of the XX century from a rural origin. Segrate never had a strong
industrial core and it developed mainly as residential settlement with some tertiary
excellences: Mondadori (designed by Niemeyer), Fininvest, IBM, Microsoft (now moved).
The city was designed by separated neighborhoods, some of which with a very high quality
of urban fabric and architecture.
The 2017 city plan is a revision of the 2012 city plan that supposed to cover all the greenfield
with urban transformation, mostly for residential function. The new city plan has a clear
orientation toward environment protection, sustainability and limitation of built volumes
(together with the restriction of soil consumption) and it was the occasion to test how much
Nature-based Solution could be translated into real spatial actions both at the strategic level
and in the normative one.
The Lombardy Region City Plan (so called: Piano di Governo del Territorio – PGT, introduced
in 2005 by Regional Law n. 12) divides the strategic phase (in the so called: Documento di
Piano - DdP) from the design of the public city (so called: Piano dei Servizi - PdS) and from
the normative apparatus regarding the existing city (so called: Piano delle Regole - PdR).

© 2019, FedoaPress

R. De Lotto
3.1 STRATEGIC DECISIONS

In the strategic phase (DdP) there have been defined some objectives regarding NbS as
follows:
− 1, preservation of greenfield and limitation of soil consumption;
− 2, construction of a local Ecological Network (Segrate is not involved in the Regional
Ecological Network);
− 3, definition of three main territorial big scale parks;
− 4, usage of SEA verification in every step of actuation planning.
− 5, limitation of buildable volumes in already planned transformation area (reduction of
density indexes);
− 6, improvement of ecological performance of existing city;
It is easy to recognize all these 6 strategic lines into the previously stated definition of Type
3 of NbS.
3.2 SPATIAL IMPLICATIONS OF STRATEGIC DECISIONS

Objectives 1), 2) and 3) (Fig. 1) are related to a general approach to urban land that aims to
preserve the green spaces and to improve quality, identity and awareness about the existing
environmental territorial potentialities. Looking at classical definitions of such NbS objectives,
they are very close to the “green infrastructures” improvement. The spatial implications are
immediately evident: specific parts of the territory are devoted to maintain their original
characteristics of green spaces. If the simple maintenance of an existing green function is
strong enough to be considered a Type 3 NbS, the effects on the close space depends on the
specific function forecasted. In this sense, Objective 1) expresses the wish to preserve a
quality of the space, while Objective 2) inserts it in a wider scale.
The local Ecological Network has a multifunctional character and it involves parks and green
spaces in order to have a spatial continuity with other green spaces; in particular, the southern
part, composed by agricultural land belonging the Agricultural Park of South Milan (Parco
Agricolo Sud Milano) and by the Idroscalo area (with leisure and sport attitude) are connected
with the “Grande Parco Forlanini” that is a big scale park that will link the eastern part of Milan
to the Idroscalo lake.
The spatial implication of such a new cross-urban green structures, involves the perceived
and real quality of all the near neighborhoods and implies the definition of new collective
functions and the necessity to use private and public spaces in a sustainable but usable way.
These functions imply the need of bicycle and pedestrian paths and diffused parking area. In
the central part of the city, the presence of a big lake (that is the result of 40 years of

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excavation activities) and the existing ex-excavation sites, suggest the creation of a mixed
“blue and green” infrastructure with the aim to create a new central park with the extension
of almost 1 sqkm.
Fig. 1 Segrate 2017 city plan: Environmental System
This specific park cannot be considered as a pure natural context, because in the past decades
the territory has been tormented by hard human activities. In this site, many ex-excavations
sites have been filled with low quality material (i.e. rests of buildings demolitions) so a
renaturalization is desirable but maybe not really effective in all the site.
So, NbS solutions have to focus on letting nature recover the space where it is possible and
focus on some leisure and sport functions for people.
The spatial consequence are the modification of the functions and the need by the Municipality
to acquire the property of the area. This means to use expropriation processes (that is possible
only for small area) or perequative instruments (that imply the creation of building rights). To

© 2019, FedoaPress

R. De Lotto
be more effective considering the wideness of the area, some spaces were defined as building
area (around 10% of the whole park surface), and the rest is now under a design process. Of
course, the leisure functions need to have accessory functions that guarantee control and
maintenance.
On north, the third park has been characterized as agricultural park. In this case NbS strategy
is in between Type 2 and Type 3 because it aims to preserve actual agricultural destinations.
The spatial implications in a preservation strategy is easily defined by the limits of the area.
No specific other accessory functions are planned, so there is not the need to use further
spaces to let the area reach the planned functions.
The implications are at the legal level, as long as the owners of the area, in 2012, were offered
to have a conspicuous economic advantage transforming the agricultural land in buildable
land. Objective 4) is a procedural NbS strategy, that does not have any direct spatial
implication.
Objective 5) aims to limit the built density in all approved development plans in greenfield.
The spatial implications of such a strategic NbS is the preservation of green land and the
reduction of spaced devoted to streets, parking area and public services.
So, both directly and indirectly this objective has positive spatial consequences on the
environment.
Objective 6) is enounced in the strategic document (DdP), but it finds application in the
normative part of the city plan (PdR).
3.4 OPERATIVE AND NORMATIVE DECISIONS

In Lombardy Region the operative aspects are specified in the Services Plan (PdS) end in the
Regulation Plan (PdR). In Segrate 2017 city plan NbS were specifically defined by regulations
and spaces in the PdS (that considers all the urban green public equipment), and only by
regulations in the PdR about the diffuse private already built space. Moreover, in PdS they
were defined specific NbS measures to improve trees equipment in all transformations area.
The PdS considered all the green spaces and the total number of existing trees as a starting
point to improve urban quality. Generally speaking, Segrate Municipality has a very big
quantity of public services measured in sqm for each inhabitants: 44 (sqm/inhab). So, the
main issue of 2017 PdS was not quantitative but qualitative, not only for the usability but
mainly for the environmental quality.
The PdR, according to the strategic Objective 6., aimed to improve the environmental quality
in existing private city. To reach this goal, a specific parameter has been defined: the Biotope
Area Factor (BAF). It comes from Berlin’s Landscape program
(https://www.berlin.de/senuvk/umwelt/landschaftsplanung/bff/index_en.shtml) and it is a

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parameter that measure the evapotranspiration of soil and built spaces. The related studies
started in the middle of the nineties and from the beginning of the millennium many other
urban indexes developed in Italy and abroad. The decision to use the BAF instead of other
indexes (such as, in example, the RIA used in Bolzano, Italy) is that it is simple to be used
and it is not a building parameter but a city planning one. This aspect reflects the sphere of
application of NbS that is surely related to artificial objects like Type 3. (i.e. green roofs and
green walls) but can be opportunely applied also at the city planning scale. Defining the
appropriate indexes, and apart from the big strategical objectives (already seen in the
previous chapter), NbS may find place also in the normative and more detailed parts of the
city plan; then they can be applied in the building regulatory documents (in Italy:
Regolamento Edilizio). In Segrate 2017 city plan, from the technical point of view BAF was
used imitating the Berlin data and targets: for each urban functions, and depending on the
covered ratio, specific BAF targets are defined according to an abacus of parametric elements
that evaluate the biotic capacity of certain surfaces (at the ground floor, in the roofs, in the
facades). Then, a specific incentivization measure was defined in order to enable NbS
application. This measure can be synthesized as: one a set of targets are defined for each
urban zone, if a private stakeholder is able to overcome the minimum requested, it receives
a volumetric premium calculated as 50% of the better reached environmental performance.
In example, in a certain urban context:
− BAF target: 0,6;
− Obtained BAF: 0,66;
− Hypothesis of Percentage of better performance: 10%;
− Hypothesis of Volumetric bonus: 5%.
This means that, in general, the urban density of existing city may raise, but only respecting
good environmental efficiency. This is an NbS that involves different typologies of intervention
(from limiting soil sealing to improve garden spaces) and that is applicable to all the territory.
3.5 SPATIAL IMPLICATIONS IN OPERATIVE AND NORMATIVE DECISIONS

In PdS NbS measures have limited spatial implications, because they are concentrated on the
environmental efficiency of existing green spaces and not in the creation (or regeneration) of
new green spaces (public or private). The NbS in PdR are mainly related to BAF. The spatial
implications of BAF are difficult to be evaluated with precise detail: the spatial application of
BAF is for the whole existing city, and the tendency is to improve the use of NbS to renature
existing city, having a volumetric bonus to enable this measure. Because the increase of BAF
implies a cost, the volumetric premium permits to have a partial or total coverage of this cost.

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R. De Lotto
But because it is referred to specific and territorially diffused phenomena, the spatial
implications must be monitored to evaluate the efficacy of this measure. Very recently, a
proposal arrived to the Municipality: a quite big tertiary building (around 10.000 sqm) was
designed to be renewed, and with the appropriate use of BAF the stakeholders are able to
arrive to a premium of volume around 1.500 sqm. That is a very good results both for the
stakeholders (who have a substantial increase of real estate value) and for the Municipality
(that has a very good increase of environmental performances). On the other hand, the direct
spatial implications are related to: occupation of space for new volumes, new space needed
for parking area, possible need of new private roads. The undirect spatial implications regard
the modification of fluxes (of people and goods) from and to the new settlement, the need of
accessory functional spaces for new offices users (such as cafeteria, gym, commercial
activities, …). In another example, related to a request regarding a private villa around 200
sqm, the bonus was about 12 smq (more or less a new room); so spatial implications are
limited to the building itself. Generalized to the whole urban fabric, the volumetric bonus (that
is an enabler of NbS application), may have spatial consequences that could imply
considerable modifications in urban settlement.

From the analysis of the 2017 city plan Segrate Municipality, it emerged that various kind of
NbS can be defined according to different scales and to different semantic roles of strategies
and actions in a city plan.
Because NbS were born to include under the same “umbrella label” a multiplicity of technical
and practical solutions toward a better quality of urban and territorial space; so the city plan
is a privileged place where to specify and actualize sustainability objectives oriented to
improve urban quality. Blue and green infrastructures, ecosystem services, ecological
networks, green improvement, usage of artificial technical solutions that increase urban
environment, are all measures included in NbS definition.
In 2017 Segrate city plan, the attempt was to enclose the larger number of NbS typologies in
the same “container” in order to better organize and monitor the reaching of certain results.
The spatial implications of NbS have been carefully analyzed before the measure were defined.
For what discussed Chapter 4 the strategic objectives, that usually are quite fuzzy, have
precise geographic and spatial definition. Related NbS can be clearly observed in their process.
The relevance of strategic big scale NbS, does not need specific drivers because the
knowledge about them is nowadays diffused.
It is not the same about small scale and diffused solutions: once the NbS depends on the
private actions, it is necessary that some enablers come directly from the public

© 2019, FedoaPress


administration. The level of knowledge about the efficiency or, better, about the collective
advantage in using NbS is still weak in population. Moreover, tomotive the initial investment
it is not clear whether a certain investment in NbS can (or could) create certain advantages
(economic, healthy, wellbeing…) that, or not. So, for strategic NbS the role of public
administration is necessary and often sufficient; for operative NbS the role of public is
necessary but not sufficient. From the spatial point of view, NbS are often considered as
intangible measures or small-scale activities (like green roofs and facades), while the range
of applications and the spatial and visible physical spheres are many and wide.
REFERENCES
AAVV, (1993) Environmental Appraisal of Development Plans: A Good Practice Guide, Department of
the Environment – Great Britain
AAVV, (2017) Variante al Piano di Governo del Territorio, Segrate Municipality, Italy
Benedict. M.A., McMahon, E.T. (2006) Green Infrastructure: Smart Conservation for the 21st Century,
Sprawl Watch Clearinghouse, Washington D.C.
Bundesministerium für Verkehr, Bau und Stadtenwicklung (2007), Leipzig Charter on Sustainable
European Cities, Presented at the Director- General Meeting, Berlin, March 15-16, 2007
Clark R., Partidario M. R.(2000) Perspective on Strategic Environmental Assessment, CRC-Lewis, Boca
Raton, FL.
Douglas I., James P.,(2015) Urban Ecology: An Introduction, Routledge, New York
Duany A., Plater-Zyberk E., Speck J., (2000) Suburban Nation: the Rise of Sprawl and the Decline of
the America Dream, North Point Press, New York
Eggermont, H., E. Balian, José Manuel N. Azevedo, V. Beumer, T. ,Brodin, J. Claudet, B. Fady, M.
Grube, H. Keune, P. Lamarque, K. Reuter, M. Smith, C. van Ham, Wolfgang W.Weisser, X. Le Roux
(2015) Nature-based Solutions: New Influence for Environmental Management and Research in
Europe, GAIA, Vol.24, n.4, pp. 243 – 248
European Commission (2015) Towards an EU research and innovation policy agenda for Nature-Based
Solutions and re-naturing cities. Final Report of the Horizon 2020 expert group on Nature-Based
Solutions and re-naturing cities. Brussels
Feldmann L., Vanderhaegen M., Pirotte C., (2001) The EU's SEA Directive: Status and Links to
Integration and Sustainable Development. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, vol. 21, n.3, pp.
203- 222.
Meadows D., (1998) Indicators and information systems for sustainable development, The
Sustainability Institute (http://sustainer.org/)

© 2019, FedoaPress

R. De Lotto
Portugali J., (2000) Self-Organization and the City, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg, ISBN 978-3-642-
08481-2, DOI: 10.1007/978-3-662-04099-7
Santiago Fink, H. (2016) Human-Nature for Climate Action: Nature-Based Solutions for Urban
Sustainability. In Sustainability, 8, 254; doi: 10.3390/su8030254
Senate Department of Berlin, Landscape Planning, Biotope Area Factor,

https://www.berlin.de/senuvk/umwelt/landschaftsplanung/bff/index_en.shtml
Steiner F., (2000) The living landscape, McGraw-Hill Professional Publishing, New York
Thomas M. J., (1979) The procedural planning theory of A. Faludi, In Planning Outlook, 22:2, 72-
76,DOI: 10.1080/00320717908711582
Weber J.L, Hall M., (2001) Towards spatial and territorial indicators using land cover data, (Technical
report 59), European Environment Agency.
WEB SITES
http://www.comune.segrate.mi.it
https://www.berlin.de/senuvk/umwelt/landschaftsplanung/bff/index_en.shtml
https://ec.europa.eu/research/environment/index.cfm?pg=nbs
AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Roberto De Lotto is Associate Professor of Urban Planning, Department of Civil Engineering and
Architecture (DICAr), University of Pavia. Director of the Urban Project Laboratory of DICAr. Editorial
Board Member of the ISI “Journal of Urban Planning and Development” of the American Society of
Civil Engineers (ASCE) since 2008, Editorial Board Member of the Journal of “Urban Transportation
and Construction”, reviewer for many international ISI and Class A Journals. Director of the Double
Master Degree in “Building Engineering and Architecture” between University of Pavia and Tongji
University in Shanghai. Visiting Professor at Tongji University, College of Architecture and Urban
Planning (CAUP) since 2013. Member of the Association of Italian Academics in China (AAIIC). Author
or more than 150 scientific publications among papers, book, chapter of books, and other scientific
products. Consultant for Public Administration in City Planning and Strategic Environmental
Assessment. Council Member for Urban Planning in Segrate Municipality (MI).

© 2019, FedoaPress

NATURE-BASED SOLUTIONS
IMPACT ASSESSMENT:
METHODOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK
TO ASSESS QUALITY, FUNCTIONS
AND USES IN URBAN AREAS
CLAUDIA DE LUCA, SIMONA TONDELLI
Department of Architecture, Alma Mater

Studiorum, University of Bologna, Italy
e-mail: claudia.deluca5@unibo.it
simona.tondelli@unibo.it
URL: www.unibo.it/sitoweb/claudia.deluca5
URL: www.unibo.it/sitoweb/simona.tondelli

De Luca, C., & Tondelli, S. (2019). Nature based solutions impact assessment: a methodological framework
to assess quality, functions and uses in urban areas. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature and
ecosystem services (pp. 671-678). Naples: FedOAPress. ISBN: 978-88-6887-054-6, doi: 10.6093/978-88-
6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
Urban Green Areas quality assessment has been at centre of the discussion in planning disciplines
for decades already but has rarely been effectively and efficaciously integrated into planning
tools and strategies. Building on several methodologies to evaluate public space quality (Mehta,
2013), on the millennium ecosystem assessment (MEA, 2005) and on the expert groups report
of the EKLISPE framework on the impact evaluation on NBS (Reynolds et al. 2016), in this
paper we propose a comprehensive methodological framework to evaluate Urban Green Areas
(UGAs) quality and performance aiming at integrating the ecosystem services they provide
as parameters able to guide urban planning strategies and choices, thus boosting both the
implementation of high quality and performant green urban areas and enhancing the overall city
quality and liveability. Within the scope of this paper, we will focus on the so-called ecosystem
based NBSs and we propose and introduce three different indexes to be assessed: i) Green
space quality index ii) Green space services index iii)Green space uses index.
KEYWORDS
Nature Based Solutions; Quality and performance assessment; Urban GreenAreas; Ecosystem
Services
C. De Luca, S. Tondelli
1 INTRODUCTION
Urban areas in Europe and beyond are now bordering a fundamental dilemma; they are
facing, and they will more severely face, many controversial and multifaced challenges, among
which climate changes, social inequalities, environmental degradation and economic crisis. On
the other side, cities are at the core of the economic, social and environmental innovation and
are fertile environments for problem solving and innovative solutions. The knowledge hubs
they nurture represent a valuable resource to switch the paradigm towards development of
sustainable strategies and plans to cope with climate change, increase urban resilience and
make cities more livable. In this direction, cities can rely on nature to tackle these challenges.
Nature Based Solutions (NBSs) include diverse types and scales of intervention and range
from green and blue infrastructures to ecological based solutions, as, for instance, areas of
green coverage, wetlands, green walls and roofs, creation of artificial water bodies, rain
gardens, etc. Within the scope of this paper, we will focus on the so-called ecosystem based
NBS, hereinafter also called Urban Green Areas (UGAs), examples being urban parks, urban
gardens and orchards, natural embankments, and green squares. These NBS are embedded
in the urban environment and they are expected to perform diverse functions, delivering
numerous ecosystem services to citizens and to the environment. Moreover, the focus of this
study is limited to open public green spaces and do not include private spaces.
The paper proposes a methodological framework to evaluate UGAs quality in terms of
performances and relevant uses and functions provided by the space, discussing different
approaches and methodologies (section 2). Also, it provides insights on how to further
integrate ecosystem services and NBS in planning tools, and how multi- criteria analysis can
support decision makers in doing so (section 3).
2 EVALUATING QUALITY OF URBAN GREEN AREAS: A PROPOSAL FOR

A METHODOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK
The functions that UGAs can potentially provide to the city in terms of climate adaptation and
mitigation, health and wellbeing of citizens, food security, water management and heat waves
reduction are well known (Reynold et al., 2016; Wolch et. al 2014). Nevertheless, the mere
presence of UGAs doesn’t ensure the provision of the relative benefits, functions and services.
Indeed, the services and functions that UGAs produce are strictly connected with physical,
functional and usage characteristics of the space and in general terms with its overall quality.
Space quality assessment has been at center of the discussion in planning disciplines for
decades already but has rarely been effectively and efficaciously integrated into planning tools

© 2019, FedoaPress

Nature-based solutions impact assessment: methodological framework to assess quality, functions and uses in urban
areas

and strategies. Building on several methodologies to evaluate public space quality (Mehta,
2013), on the millennium ecosystem assessment (MEA, 2005) and on the expert groups report
of the EKLISPE framework on the impact evaluation on NBS (Reynolds et al., 2016), in this
paper we propose a comprehensive methodological framework to evaluate UGAs quality and
performance aiming at integrating ecosystem services as parameters able to guide urban
planning strategies and choices, thus boosting both the implementation of high quality and
performant UGAs and enhancing the overall city quality and livability.
The proposed framework considers three main indexes to be evaluated:
− green space quality index: it defines the quality of a space based on indicators evaluating
the structure and the physical characteristics of the space (accessibility, connectivity,
safety, and maintenance, and urban design features)
− green space services index: it assesses the services and functions provided by the space
and it is based on the Mapping and assessing Ecosystem and their services (MAES, 2016)
− green space uses index: it aims at assessing the effective use of the space and builds
on different potential approaches (surveys, direct observation and big data analysis)
2.1 GREEN SPACE QUALITY INDEX

The UGAs quality index aims to assess different characteristics of the space; this index doesn’t
aim at being comprehensive, but it identifies the main categories to be assessed:
− Accessibility of the area: in accordance with SDG N11.7, each city should work on
providing ‘by 2030, universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public
spaces, in particular for women and children, older persons and persons with
disabilities.For decades already, several authors (Harrison et. al., 1995; Van De Voorde,
2016) proposed methods to assess accessibility. In this context we consider as a
comprehensive method the one proposed by Pafi et al. in 2016. The methodology clearly
explains how to evaluate the intersections and the nodes of access to green areas in
urban environment and provide practical example on how to do it in a GIS environment;
− Connectivity among different areas: connectivity among urban and peri-urban green
areas is of great importance for biodiversity functions and resilience and it influences the
use and the access to the area itself. An interesting example of connectivity analysis
has been proposed by Tian et al. (2017), where resistance weight, structural connectivity
index and the ecological barrier effect index are evaluated through GIS;
− Safety and maintenance: perceived safety from crime is affected by the physical
condition and maintenance of the area. Moreover, the presence of people and of stores
and other non-residential properties the maintenance and the design of a place contribute

© 2019, FedoaPress

to make it perceived as safer (Sakip et al., 2012). There’s no one agreed index to assess
safety and maintenance, but we suggest including in the evaluation at least: physical
condition of the features, lighting conditions, presence of external security devices;
− Urban design and features: quality of such structures is crucial in relation with the
potential use of the space (i.e children playgrounds, sport facilities, etc.) and the
assessment of urban features is an important part of the overall concept. Interesting
insights on this have been provided by King et al. 2015.
2.2 GREEN SPACE SERVICES INDEX

UGAs have so far mostly been considered in terms of aesthetics quality and use, as playground
for children and relax areas for adults and elderly, but increasing attention is now focused on
the whole range of benefits that UGAs can bring to the society. In this context, the benefits
derived from UGAsare called services in accordance with the definition given by the MEA, 2015.
Ecosystem services are divided into 4 main categories:
− Supporting services: they refer to basic services for ecosystem healthy maintenance such
as nutrient recycling, primary production, soil formation, habitat provision and
pollination. These services are fundamental to keep alive most of other relevant
provisioning and regulating services;
− Provisioning services: they include basic functions of the ecosystem that provides
necessary goods for humans such as food, crops, wild foods, and spices, raw materials,
genetic resources, water, medicinal resources, energy, ornamental resources;
− Regulating services: they are mostly related with climate regulation and purification
services, carbon sequestration and climate regulation, predation regulates prey
populations, waste decomposition and detoxification, purification of water and air, pest
and disease control;
− Cultural services (CES): they refer to spiritual and historical recognition of a particular
place, recreational and tourism experiences (mostly eco-tourism, hiking and outdoor
sports), therapeutic effects, culture and education.
Most of the provision, regulating and supporting services are assessed through quantitative
indicators and modelling systems while more qualitative assessment methodologies have been
developed for CES. Moreover, the Mapping and Assessing ecosystem services framework was
firstly developed and used to evaluate and to further estimate the economic value of
landscapes, natural features, Natura 2000 sites, etc. Only in the last years, the attention on
potential benefit that urban ecosystem can bring to population raised enormously. The Urban
MAES pilot and the following report form the JRC ‘Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems

© 2019, FedoaPress

areas

and their Services Urban ecosystems’ (2016), provides indicators and methodology on how to
apply the ecosystem services framework to the urban ecosystem. Moreover, the EKLIPSE
framework (Reynold et al. 2016) proposed some valuable inputs to assess those services in
urban areas, relating them to 10 categories of identified urban challenges.
On the other side, cultural services are related with the design, features and historical value
of the place and with the perception that people get from them. To get a clear perception of
the effective value of ecosystem in terms of cultural ecosystem provision, there is the need
to analyse the effective use of the space and the relative perceptions of the users.
2.3 GREEN SPACE USES INDEX

To evaluate and assess the effective use of the space, this contribution considers three main
methods that can be applied:
− Survey the users of green public spaces: to better understand the perceived benefits of
the users of UGAs, dedicated survey campaign can be used (Burges et al., 1988). This
methodology can provide some valuable evidences, but it also presents several
limitations. The design and the submission methods of the survey is crucial not to incur
in potential leaning evaluation and it could be problematic and really time-consuming to
get a valuable number of answers;
− Direct observation of the space: observing and knowing the space is fundamental to be
able to extract sound conclusions from the analysis mentioned above. Direct observation
of the space in different days, time of the day, seasons, and from different position of
the space has been used to evaluate users’ habits and activities (i.e Parra et al., 2010).
Nevertheless, observations can be limited in time and are subject to the personal
evaluation of the observers;
− Big data analysis: in the last years, big data analysis coming from social media and other
sources (App, Google, etc.) is raising as an innovative way to evaluate users’ perception
of UGAs. This method allows to analyse geo-referenced and open access data, with fast
coding support or pictures observation. As for the social media, FlickR and Instagram
seem to be the most interesting platforms for this kind of analysis (Tenkanen, 2017),
main limitations being the cohorts of users and the quality of the data uploaded. FlickR
is used mainly by semi-professional photographers that provide high-quality professional
pictures, but the numbers of the users is often pretty low; Instagram, it is really useful
to understand the different uses of the spaces, but limitations are given by the
demographic cohorts of the users, being almost 60% of the users aged 18-34; also it is

© 2019, FedoaPress

difficult to infer how reflective a user’s online behaviour is of their offline behaviour
without information on them from other sources (GSR, 2016).
Each of the 3 methods presents benefits and limitations, but the integration among the 3
could bring interesting results.
3 FROM ASSESSMENT TO ACTUAL INTEGRATION OF NBS IN

PLANNING: RECOMMENDATIONS AND FUTURE DEVELOPMENT
The methodological framework presented aims at evaluating UGAsquality, services and uses
through the assessment of the 3 different indexes presented.
Nevertheless, it is important to underline that all the variables considered can assume different
importance in different contexts.
It is then suggested to use a multicriteria analysis to assign different weightsto the different
indicators based on a deep knowledge of the area analysed, the objective of the analysis and
experts’ and decision makers’ judgement.
A clear assessment and understanding of the quality, services and uses of UGA as NBS can
then strongly support a further integration of those into planning strategies and tools. Indeed,
the three indexes could be use in different planning strategies and phases:
− Green space quality index: it is already partly integrated into technical guidelines and
requirements (Green Public Procurement, technical guidelines on green maintenance,
minimum legal requirement and planning standard for green area), but further work
would be necessary to adapt those to evaluate constant cities’ transformations;
− Green space services index: required performance and needed functions of UGA should
be included in urban and metropolitan plan objectives, starting from a mapping and a
supply and demand analysis of related Urban Ecosystem Services;
− Green space uses index: to improve the use of UGAs, public engagement and civil society
participation in the planning and design is crucial and can strongly support better use,
maintenance and management of the area.
4 CONCLUSION
The main difficulty in developing a methodological framework to evaluate NBS quality, services
and uses in urban areas is to provide universal applicable recipes, since the territorial and
context information (in terms of socio-economic, climate, environmental and cultural features
and background) highly influences the choices to be made and the different features and
services to be analyzed.

© 2019, FedoaPress

areas

Both in the planning and in the assessment phase it is then recommended to embedded
specific objectives, and context related information, integrating and valorizing existing
strategic impact assessment procedures. Further research would be needed for the test, tailor
and integration of the proposed framework in real case study areas, evaluation protocol and
procedures and planning strategies.
REFERENCES
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comparison of the Green ESM with other datasets in four European cities. EUR 28068 EN.
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Burgess, J., Harrison, C.M., & Limb, M. (1988 ). People, Parks and the Urban Green: A Study of Popular
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Feliu, E., & Faehnle, M. (2014). Mitigating and adapting to climate change: multi-functional and multi-
scale assessment of green urban infrastructure. Journal of Environmental Management, 146 (2014),
107-115
Eggermont, H., Balian, E., Azevedo, J.M.N., Beumer, V., Brodin, T., Claudet, J., Fady, B., Grube, M.,
Keune, H., Lamarque, P., Reuter, K., Smith, M., van Ham, C., Weisser, W.W., & Le Roux, X. (2015)
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24(4), 243–248
Harrison, C., Burgess, J., Millward, A., & Dawe, G., (1995). Accessible natural greenspace in towns
and cities: A review of appropriate size and distance criteria. English Nature Research Report N.153
King, D.K., Littb, J., HAlec, J. Burnieced, K.M, & Ross, C, (2015). ‘The park a tree built’: Evaluating how
a park development projectimpacted where people play. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening 14, 293–299
Maes, J., Zulian, G., Thijssen, M., Castell, C., Baró, F., Ferreira, A.M., Melo, J., Garrett, C.P., David, N.,
Alzetta, C., Geneletti, D. Cortinovis, C., Zwierzchowska, I., Louro Alves, F., Souto Cruz, C., Blasi, C.,
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E., Barton, D., Stange, E., Perez-Soba, M., van Eupen, M., Verweij, P., de Vries, A., Kruse, H., Polce,
C., Cugny-Seguin, M., Erhard, M., Nicolau, R., Fonseca, A., Fritz, M., & Teller, A. (2016) Mapping and
Assessment of Ecosystems and their Services. Urban Ecosystems. Publications Office of the European
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Mehta, V. (2013). Evaluating Public Space. Journal of Urban Design, 19(1), 53–88.
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Parks in Brazil Using Systematic Observation, American Journal of Public Health 100, 8, 1420-1426

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Raymond, C.M., Berry, P., Breil, M., Nita, M.R., Kabisch, N., de Bel, M., Enzi, V., Frantzeskaki, N.,
Geneletti, D., Cardinaletti, M., Lovinger, L., Basnou, C., Monteiro, A., Robrecht, H., Sgrigna, G., Munari,
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24750/GSR_Social_Media_Research_Guidance_ -_Using_social_media_for_social_research.pdf
AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Claudia de Luca is a Ph.D. candidate at the department of Architecture, University of Bologna.

Environmental scientist (MSc), now focusing on sustainable urban planning and urban regeneration
processes related with the use of nature into the cities (Nature Based Solutions). Involved in the
Planning and Regeneration research groups, leaded by Prof. Simona Tondelli, she is actively involved
in several H2020 and INTERREG funded project (RURITAGE, ClimateKIC NBS and MATCH-UP).
Simona Tondelli is an Environmental engineer, Ph.D. in Building&Spatial Engineering and Associate

professor of Urban Planning. She has 20 years of research experience in sustainable urban planning
and regeneration. She is the scrintific responsible of the Refurbishment and Restoration division of the
UNIBO Interdepartmental Centre for Applied Research on Buildings and Construction (CIRI-EC).
Coordinator of RURITAGE H2020 project, of MATCH-UP INTERREG EUROPE project, ECOTALE
INTERREG IVC project, and currently partner in one ERA-NET JPI Urban Europe project (SPN),
SHELTER H2020 project, SEERRI H2020 project and many Erasmus + projects, and scientific
responsible of many regional/local Research Projects. Vice-Director of the Emilia-Romagna section of
the National Urban Planning Institute - INU. Member of the scientific board of the UNIBO Ph.D.
Programme in Architecture and Design Cultures. Author of over 100 publications.

© 2019, FedoaPress
THE RECOGNITION OF THE
ASPROMONTE NATIONAL PARK
ECOSYSTEM NETWORKS IN THE
85%$16758&785(352-(&72)
METROPOLITAN CITY
OF REGGIO CALABRIA
CONCETTA FALLANCA, NATALINA CARRÀ

ANTONIO TACCONE
Department of Heritage, Architecture, Urban

Planning, Mediterranean University
of Reggio Calabria, Italy
e-mail: cfallanca@unirc.it, bncarra@unirc.it
cataccone@unirc.it

Fallanca, C., Carrà, N., & Taccone, A. (2019). Measuring Multimodal Accessibility at Urban Services for Elderly.
An application at primary health services in the city of Naples. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature
6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
The Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria is characterized by a complex territorial system with
different fields and contexts from the morphological, settlement and economic point of view.
Inside of the metropolitan city we find the Aspromon te National Park, which takes the role of
a ‘metropolitan garden’, a mountainous park of more than 65,650 hectares, which is a very
representative example at the European level. The Park is in fact one of the five homogeneous
territorial areas as identified in the latest Statut e of the metropolitan city. The territory of
the Aspromonte National Park is a kind of programming, full of history and culture provide
the established communities with a sense of belongi ng, also for the significant relationships
between man and nature which could become a source of interest to the potential opportunities
of project. The paper emphasizes how an overall and coordinated planning strategy of the
Aspromonte National Park’s ecosystem networks, aimed at combining territorial and economic
capital and enhancing the systems of cultural and landscape resources with environmental
protection, and which is optimal to imagine a different model of development.
KEYWORDS
Enhancement strategies; Metropolitan City; Social capital; Connective and Networks
C. Fallanca, N. Carrà, A. Taccone
1 THE TERRITORIAL CONTEXT, STRATEGIC SCENARIOS FOR THE

DESIGN OF PLACES
The territory of the metropolitan city of Reggio Calabria is complex and fragile; such
complexity derives from its territorial and social structure, the consequence ad millennia of
man’s relationship to nature, resulting in the correlation between the natural environment and
those anthropic elements which forge its shape and structure. The fragility lies in the physical-
urban dimension1 and to aspects of building for social structures, whilst also concerning itself
with the management of services and public spaces, connections and urban and territorial
infrastructures, as well as certain demographic aspects: many of these urban centres have,
over the last decade, undergone abandonment and depopulation at levels often above the
national average2.
The south east side Reggio Calabria territory, in particular, is characterised by the presence
of small villages dotted along the hillsides, overlooking valleys and rivers that have suffered
from the depopulation phenomena, often following natural disasters, yet with one common
element: the breaking up or replacement of the old city centre with new settlements; city
centres that have suffered, since the 60s, from another phenomena attributable to the
economic miracle; that of migration towards the north of the peninsula.
Over the last thirty years, the development of this territory (as with many others with equal
conditions) has been conceived as a paradigm of the capitalisation of goods and resources,
concentrating funds and planning on individual redevelopment interventions aimed at forms
of cultural tourist development. This paradigm is strongly limiting as it focuses attention only
on landscape value to the detriment of other equally qualifying places, with a clear separation
of the formal from the structural question, without therefore taking into consideration the
problems linked to the fragility of the territory, the risks or the territorial endowment and/or
urban infrastructure and primary services (De Rossi & Mascino, 2018).
Interventions on a territory with these characteristics are therefore primarily linked to a
requirement to adapt to new needs, and therefore in this specific case; to a change in the

1
Aspromonte Park Authority, Park Plan, art. 12, paragraph 4, of Law 394/1991 and subsequent
amendments, in January 2007. Consultants for the Mediterranean University of Reggio Calabria, Group
Environments settlement, Scientific Director prof. Concetta Fallanca with archh. Natalina Carrà, and
Antonio Taccone.
2
https://osservatorio.urbanit.it/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Allegato_III_-
_RC_Strategia_di_Sviluppo_Urbano_Sostenibile.pdf

© 2019, FedoaPress

The recognition of the Aspromonte National Park ecosystem networks in the urban structure project of…

concept of efficiency which is rigidly related to the notion of use, function and quality of space
and of places, aimed at the new metropolitan territorial structure.
The conception of an all-embracing and coordinated planning strategy for the Aspromonte
National Park eco-social networks with village networks, the beating heart of this context,
means imagining a metropolitan area aimed at increasing the efficiency of services, spaces
and common area. It means strengthening the cultural level of the community to create
awareness and commitment towards the protection and enhancement of the identities of
places. Networking also means facilitating physical and social accessibility to places and
services; this plays a fundamental role in the equilibrium of the metropolitan area because it
affects the propensity of users to experience the metropolitan space in conditions of safety.
The Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria is characterised by a complex territorial system with
different settings and contexts for each morphological form, natural settlement and level of
economic growth. The territory encompasses the administrative boundary of the old province
of Reggio Calabria, linking alternative vocations found in other territorial systems marked by
their differing detail and identities. The Aspromonte National Park is one of five homogeneous
territorial areas composing the metropolitan city of Reggio Calabria (the others being the plain
of Gioia Tauro, the Strait, Locride and the Grecanica area)3. This choice represents one of the
most innovative aspects of the Statute that recognises the Park Area as a metropolitan
territory on a par with other territorial contexts in order to activate forms of development and
enhancement consistent with the peculiarities of those places. The presence of a protected
area (the Aspromonte National Park, a mountainous park covering more than 65,000
hectares) included in the metropolitan perimeter, is a unique example on a European level. It
is an area which is characterised by an extraordinary landscape, cultural heritage and a rural,
but also mountain settlement system, in which the residential side is ever more connected to
attracting tourism through cultural, landscape, historical, archeological, enogastronomic and
naturalistic goals. Inside the park lie a mixture of locations characterised by their rural worlds,
combining a thousand different narratives, yet pushing toward a common future whilst
maintaining their own peculiarities. The territory of the Aspromonte National Park is a slide-
show of historical and cultural riches unique in each established community4. Its barycentric
position in the ‘vast’ context of metropolitan territory, which includes 37 municipalities, one

3
Article 39 of the Metropolitan City Statute, approved by the Metropolitan Conference on December 29,
2016, BURC January 13, 2017
4
Natura e cultura. Le aree protette, luoghi di turismo sostenibile, created by the Ministry of the
Environment with the collaboration of Unioncamere, the Sustainable Development Foundation and
Federparchi, 2017,
https://www.minambiente.it/sites/default/files/archivio/allegati/biodiversita/Rapporto_Natura_Cultura.p
df, last accessed April 2019

© 2019, FedoaPress

third of those that make up the entire area, represents a strength in the metropolis process
of the city of Reggio Calabria. In addition, the multiplicity and variety of so many local contexts
give rise to a plethora of settlement systems, which are most often fragile within the
metropolitan context. They also produce a geography, taking on a different view, for which
forms of aggregation and specific areas for intervention in the process of constituting the
Metropolitan City are necessary, especially in preserving the homogeneity that characterises
the territory of the Park. Geography, therefore, reveals a territory that has experienced more
or less positive events, the depopulation phenomena, demographic and economic crisis, and
ultimately the phenomena of physical degradation of the territory, all accompanied or
otherwise resulting in a general depletion of the Territory itself. Here, therefore, processes
are opening up to new geographies that intercept new issues: environmental, cultural-identity,
strategic-infrastructural, bringing attention to the upgrading of the territory and the
infrastructure network, the reorganisation of services and public space, on the necessity of
physical accessibility, not of places and things, but of reconnecting different parts of the city
and of the territory through the recognition and the planning of social and ecological networks
within the territory.
2 THE RECOGNITION OF ECOSYSTEM NETWORKS IN THE ASSET

MODEL
The evolution of the concept of ecological network identifies the construction of polyvalent
ecological networks in which the ecosystem connects culturally with the landscape, producing
functional results which fit effectively into consolidated and innovative territorial governance.
Ecological networks have become a common tool for spatial planning, but their role in the
overall system of governance needs to be better understood. The recognition of ecosystem
networks, understood as polyvalent networks (which include environmental, cultural,
economic values) involves the integration of three strategic approaches: the latest generation
of polyvalent ecological networks; the territorialisation of policies through the enhancement
of local identities; the increase of local resilience capabilities against critical changes in
progress5. The ecosystem networks6 are here considered as a natural evolution in the field of

5
RETIPOLIVALENTI.it (edit by S. Malcevschi et al.), 2014. Reti eco-sociali locali e nuovi strumenti
informativi; una ricerca attraverso sistemi di luoghi a Pavia e dintorni. URL: www.retipolivalenti.it/i-
ricerca2014, last accessed April 2019
6
Defined as the expression of close and recognized relationships between humans and their places of
life, the eco social networks have always existed. The small populations of prehistory could not survive if
they did not understand the ecosystem (its resources, its pitfalls) in which they were inserted. The small
villages of the middle ages have had to do the same. It is in the twentieth century that it was thought to
be able to disregard respect for its environment, but the disconnections and breakages produced are

© 2019, FedoaPress


traditional ecological networks that have been developed in recent years in Italy; alongside
those components which are most closely related to biodiversity (safeguarding natural
connectivity, reducing ecological fragmentation), it was opportune to consider contextually
the relationship with human activities and with the environmental impact produced by them.
Fig. 1 Spatial planning model. Ecosystem components and networks
The awareness of the ecological landscape and cultural value of locations, and the positive
opportunities offered to the territories by ecosystem services, are essential prerequisites for
rebalancing fragmented ecological and social networks.
The fragmentation of complex ecological landscape systems, such as the PNA in the
metropolitan context of RC and the networks of relations that cross them, has increased and
has grown exponentially in recent years. In particular, the problem of fragmentation remains

producing ever greater damage and risks. We need answers through an improvement in the relationship
with the places of life and the remote ecosystems that can condition them, and many experiences are
already already going in this direction.

© 2019, FedoaPress

one of the most serious in terms of sustainability prospects, both from an ecological and social
point of view. Fragments produced by the existence of different types of barriers:
− ecological barriers: the functionality of ecological networks and ecosystem services is
one of the premises, through the provision of ecosystem services, to provide better
functioning of the territorial and social system;
− generational and technological gaps: the historical knowledge of past generations
related to the best relationships with environmental risks (for example hydrogeological
ones) are currently disappearing at a time when such risks are actually increasing due
to an ever greater unpredictability of the system; such knowledge is almost never
transmitted to new generations, at least as awareness or attitude towards risk;
− fragmentation of knowledge: information, perceptions; despite the enormous increase
in the volumes of information produced at each level, the fragmentation of knowledge
is increasing, local identities are being diluted, reducing the levels of cohesion and the
capacity for an organised collective response;
− regulatory and administrative fragmentation: despite the declared subsidiarity
objectives, the multilevel administrative between Municipalities and supra-municipal
bodies has not always functioned at its best in the recent past; on the contrary, the
ongoing abolition of the Provinces imposes redesigns in modes of governance and
governance, even in very delicate sectors such as that of Civil Defence;
− cultural fragmentation: to a degree, cultural fragmentation is the most worrying element;
where social segments are oriented differently to issues of sustainability and the
effective recognition of its foundations (for example the value of natural capital and the
importance of its protection through the system of protected areas)7.
The need to integrate complex interests, which exceed individual municipal boundaries, leads
to the configuration of some urban areas as a single whole, strongly integrated or
hierarchically organised, with a huge demand for common services and essential places for
life social. This phenomenon, amplified over the years, and more generally the extension of
the settlements on the territory adjacent to the existing conurbations, gives rise to places of
intersection and, at the same time, to the fragmentation of different economic, social and
cultural relations, with a variety and complexity of spatial and social problems that must be
faced with governmental models, which go beyond administrative boundaries.
The urban structure project of the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria represents a complex,
articulated and laborious goal, achievable through a cultural / socio-political process / process

7
Retipolivalenti.it op. cit.

© 2019, FedoaPress


between citizens and institutions, through the establishment of forms of physical, social and
cultural activities to communities which are larger than those original ones, which share
means, capacities and problems of a wider scope, and consequently need innovative forms of
governance, constituted by structural frameworks that are also compliant and adapted
towards the complex and complete time and reticularity that respect the peculiarities and the
identities of the places8.
3 THE STRUCTURAL CHARACTERISTICS AND THE IDENTITY

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SETTLEMENT SYSTEM
The identity of the settlement characteristics of the Aspromonte National Park system have
created structured links between urban centres and defines active contexts in local projects
that are expressed in the search for forms of related development. From a functional point of
view these areas present types of integration and exchange, identifying the character of
settlement systems, which are strongly influenced by various morphological configurations,
allowing the aggregation associated the primary vocation of unitarily supporting a
comprehensive metropolitan city project. The settlement of the Aspromonte Park land
characters singles out macro cultural areas, according to different homologous and identity
matrices and functional relationships that are present in the park territory, which have created
structured links between centres and areas. The configuration of the metropolitan city territory
is therefore closely linked to the presence of the Aspromonte massif. The rugged orography
does not favour the establishment of inhabited centres and productive settlements; the
greatest concentration of soil is recorded along the coastal strip of the territory with the poles
of greater aggregation species in the municipalities of Reggio Calabria, Palmi and Gioia Tauro
on the Tyrrhenian side and in the municipalities of Marina di Gioiosa Ionica, Siderno, Bovalino
and Locri on the Ionic slope9. The most impervious centres and least accessible areas of the
territory do not reach a thousand inhabitants. Analysis of the metropolitan city’s territorial
system reflects the twentieth-century settlements dynamics and is characterised by the
presence of a fragile infrastructure web both in connection with the vast territory and in the

8
Reference is made to the theories expressed in: Dematteis G. (1994), Nodi e reti nello sviluppo locale,
in Magnaghi A. (edit by), Il territorio dell’abitare. Lo sviluppo locale come alternativa strategica, Milano,
Franco Angeli.
9
The territory of the metropolitan city of Reggio Calabria has an extension of 3,183 sq km (about 1/5 of
the regional area) and includes 97 municipalities with a total population of about 28% of the population
of Calabria, of these, 26 are those with a population of more than 5,000 inhabitants, while 71 are those
with a population of less than 5,000 inhabitants, or 73% of the municipalities of the metropolitan area
have a resident population of less than 5,000 inhabitants, a percentage that is higher than the national
population of around 70%.

© 2019, FedoaPress

relationships between the inner areas and the progressive abandonment of the inner centres
for the benefit of Coastal areas, a process that tends to increasingly marginalise them. These
considerations lead to the definition of a settlement system in the heart of the metropolitan
city, that is, regarding the Aspromonte National Park, functional to the design of the
metropolitan city, determining the structuring of a polycentric territorial armour made up of
carriers, over-local systems and Local area systems that require both a functional system of
services and an accessibility network to converge and contribute to the design process of the
metropolitan city. The system can be read through its features:
Settlement centres are the urban centres that represent the central settlements of the Park
territory, as the ‘directional’ poles of a network of related mountain settlements. Equipped
with discreet accessibility, they permit easy penetration to the highest points. The territories
of these municipalities are rich in interesting landscapes and have no significant environmental
detractors. The factors of tourist attraction, in particular for Gerace and San Giorgio Morgeto,
are distinguished by the rarity of the offer, enhanced by urban quality, image and atmosphere.
The level of services for residence and tourism is satisfactory and excels Gambarie in winter
sports, with the presence of interregional reconnaissance facilities.
Centres with strong identity and landscaping have compact and closed urban planning
matrices and locations with impressive landscapes and views. Characterised by a perched and
defensive position, camouflaged in the landscape and not visible from the coast, dominating
the surrounding area with a wide view of the Mediterranean. They mainly belong to the
Grecanic area and the Ionian hinterland, and are united by urban matrices, dwelling forms
and building technologies, which together define a cultural lab that feeds and is renewed even
under unfavorable conditions. The territories of the communes are rich in interesting
landscapes and the factors of tourist attraction are predominantly historical-cultural and
landscaping. In the case of Bova, the particularly striking atmosphere of urban locations is
enriched with numerous monumental-testimonial emergencies. Accessibility has critical
elements in the Grecanic area, which appears more appropriate to local needs. The level of
services for residence and tourism is very modest despite the presence of tourist
accommodation along the coast.
Sea-mountain integration centres are located in the ‘pre-pard’ spatial area. These centres are
characterised by a barycentric or strategic position in the coast-mountain relationship in a sort
of ‘hinged areas’ between the strong coastal settlement system and the weak mountain
linkage system. On the Tyrrhenian side, these centres represent the crown of hilly centres
with a good level of infrastructure – logistic and cultural – that mark the Plane as a fan whose
summit is Gioia Tauro with the corresponding arch of the coastline stretching from Palmi to
San Ferdinando. In the Strait area, the integration axis between Gambarie and the coastal

© 2019, FedoaPress


area is strengthened by the presence of Santo Stefano d’Aspromonte, which marks a crucial
stage of introduction to the strategic park infrastructure. The Ionian side can be interpreted
as a kind of bijective mountain-coast relationship by linking the centres to an area
characterised by the possibility of passing, in little more than half an hour, from mountain
tourism to coastal-bathing. Overall development is achieved through a dense integration of
the roles and the mutual support of mutual collaboration between mountain and coastal
centres and the strengthening of relations between the Tyrrhenian and Ionic side.
The centres of the rural economy are not otherwise characterisable, but as agricultural centres
that experience a difficult balance between the landscape quality of the sites and the extreme
weakness of the territorial dynamics. They exhibit weak identity matrices and are affected by
the progressive phenomena of depopulation and the consequent shrinking of valuable crops.
Bosch and Forestry Economics Centres are characterized by rather fragile development
dynamics that are amplified in relation to depopulation processes. The urban matrices from
the centers have characteristics typical of fragile economy agglomerations, often associated
with low quality and recognizable building growth.
Settlement islands of great cultural and landscape interest have strong elements of fragility
both from a physical and socio-economic point of view. The process of depopulation of some
centres due to flooding and instability is associated with the abandonment of other villages
such as Amendolea of Condofuri for the migration processes towards the coast and the
progressive demographic decline of the entire cultural area of Grecanica. The pyre of potential
can be a considerable opportunity for settlements of great potential, such as places of
pilgrimage (Polsi of San Luca), of solidarity (meeting community of Don Gelmini in Zervò) and
of high altitude and climatic settlement. The future of these places and the highlands around
is closely linked to the ability to understand the various potentialities in a network logic.
The Rural Fractions of the Rural Economy are characterised by the close relationship between
residence and the agricultural management of funds. They are affected by the progressive
phenomena of depopulation and have very weak identity matrices.
The rural nucleus of the territory consists of the rural nuclei of the Grecanica and the Ionian
slopes that serve as a function of mountainous territory. They are linked to the valorisation of
hiking trails, as they compose, together with the forty-two forest trails, a potential network of
hiking service (huts, shelters, information).
In the typology of the Places of Memory, ancient settlements fall under the condition of no
longer recoverable ruin that can be of tourist interest as sites of memory (organised in
thematic networks) that further offer areas of extraordinary landscape interest. The creation
of thematic networks and integrated nature-culture-memory routes is of extreme interest to
the metropolitan city project as they allow the relationship between little known natural

© 2019, FedoaPress

resources, the network of memory centres, complex archeological works and the numerous
Architectural testimonies of Calabrian history in favour of a cultural tourism which is strongly
rooted in the complex character of the Aspromonte territory (Fallanca et al., 2017).
4 DESIGN THEMES AND LINES OF ACTION

Besides the natural elements (the PNA is the European park with the highest rate of
anthropisation), the territory of the PNA houses the works of man: monuments, individual
buildings, gardens and parks, urban areas, population centres, infrastructure and remarkable
historical artefacts. Particular is these groups are their common histories, identities
recognisable by local populations, senses and meanings that intertwine in decipherable
landscapes through the gaze and knowledge of what has been written about them. The design
themes that emerge from the interpretations of the settlement system lead to the possibility
of exploiting the potential expressed by the ‘new metropolitan city’ to overcome their current
fragmentation. The strengthening the prospects for functional integration through conscious
and innovative use of resources as an important complex challenge could potentially produce
important benefits for the metropolitan area in its entirety. Any analysis can be summarised
into four values to guide all formation process planning by the metropolitan city: quality,
vivacity, identity and productivity.
Quality of landscapes, beginning with those most frequently perceived by the main axes of
penetration and quality of settlements and built in terms of image and atmosphere of the
resort, urban furnishings, characteristics of the settlement and urban fabric.
Vivacity in seizing the opportunities and in the ability to valorise strengths and to transform
fragile elements into favourable ones; Vivacity in adopting a new level of technical procedures
and methods and expressions of hospitality, receptivity, cordiality and conviviality.
The propensity to innovate can certainly coexist with sentiments of tradition and the concept
of identity that can be combined with the historical, cultural and environmental peculiarities
of places, whilst the area of typical enogastronomic products, more than any other issue,
attracts attention and Tourism.
Productivity as the capacity to enhance visibility and recognition in a precise market segment
and progressively refine the product, gain quality awards, promote its diffusion and marketing.
It certainly represents an advantage for the planning of the Park’s residential environment, in
the metropolitan context, pursuing these values that already belong to the context, yet
stunted however by the many obstacles to development that permeate most of the internal
territories.
Working on the progressive implementation of these values means directing all energy, every
opportunity that is determined by the Park territory project towards the metropolitan context,

© 2019, FedoaPress


outwardly towards the guiding principle of the continuous, progressive and shared
improvement process.
The design vision should aspire to a model of structure that sets in motion, even in the outlying
areas, reticularity aimed at enhancing the environmental, cultural and economic opportunities,
through functions and attractors able to profoundly affect the quality of the life-styles of the
city as a whole. This set-up model requires the overall redesign of the infrastructural system,
with actions aimed at creating new urban centres, attractors and enhancing environmental
and cultural resources, intended as quality catalysts and urban regeneration.
Recognition and systematisation of eco-social networks understood as new competitive
places/contexts, which preserve historical identity on the one hand, and individual specificities
on the other, highlighting new ways of involving and activating processes which are capable
of preserving small communities and projecting them into the future.
The administrative level, of the metropolitan city, constitutes a fundamental step to re-
appropriating its territory while contributing to its revitalisation. Activating development
processes by investing in the enhancement of ecosystem networks means focusing on local
identities, on the environment and on cultural and human heritage; that is, putting the
territory and its identities in the field, leading to new networks of relationships that go further,
they go towards local development models that need social cohesion and authenticity for the
promotion of development.
The phenomena of spatial development as an effect of the innovative processes and synergies
that occur on the territory due to the good governance/management of territorial capital,
understood as a set of relationships that lead to a unity of the local system of production and
management of nature and of culture, generating a dynamic process of learning and collective
innovation, are at the base of the construction of the future structure model.
The setting up of tools for the qualitative growth of the territory, operates on different levels
of intervention, but the specific objectives through which this model is built, tend towards a
process of integrated enhancement, in infra-sectorial and inter-sectorial terms of the
culture/nature resource identity of the metropolitan area, with the ability to influence design
choices related to different areas, from transport infrastructure, to urban planning, to the
planning of activities for the promotion and enhancement of locations.
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AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Concetta Fallanca, Professor of Urban Planning (ICAR 21), PAU Department, Mediterranean
University of Reggio Calabria. Architect, she conducts research in the ambit of design and urban
planning, territorial and environmental at the Department of Architecture and Analysis of the
Mediterranean City, of which she is the director from 2005 to 2012, and then to the Department PAU.
Member of the board in the Master in Planning and Design of the Mediterranean city since 2001; since
2007 scientific director of curriculum in PPCM within the doctorate „Architecture“. From 2013 she is a
member of the international research doctorate Urban Regeneration and Safety Assessment.
Component of the internal Evaluation Committee; from 2014 to 2016 she is member of the Presidium
of Quality of the University of Reggio Calabria. She is the scientific coordinator of the Research
Laboratory LASTRE, Integrated Laboratory for the Strait area for the development of the territory.
From 2016 she is the coordinator of the 2nd Cycle Degree Course: Architecture – Restoration (LM4).
Natalina Carrà, University researcher for the scientific-disciplinary field ICAR/21 Urban planning, at
the University of Mediterranean Studies of Reggio Calabria. Qualified as second-level university
professor for the Scientific Disciplinary field ICAR / 21, in the first round of 2012. PhD in Urban and
Urban Planning, (XII cycle) "La Sapienza" University of Rome. Member of the Board of Professors of
the Research Doctorate Urban Regeneration and Economic Development. Both in teaching and
research activities, as in applications, it mainly deals with environmental planning issues and urban
and territorial recovery issues.
Antonio Taccone. University researcher for the scientific sector-ICAR/21 Urban planning, PAU
Department of the Mediterranean University of Reggio Calabria. Architect, he is doctor of research
(PhD) in "Territorial planning" (2000). From 2013 he is Member of the board of the international
research doctorate Urban Regeneration and Safety Assessment. He is the technical director of the
Research Laboratory LASTRE. From 2016 he is member of the Presidium of Quality of the University
of Reggio Calabria. He has obtained the Italian National Scientific Habilitation (ASN) as Associate
Professor in Urban Planning (Icar/21).

© 2019, FedoaPress

SHAPING THE URBAN
ENVIRONMENT
FOR BREATHABLE CITIES
*MICHELA GARAU, M. GRAZIA BADAS

GIORGIO QUERZOLI
Department of Environmental, Civil Engineering

and Architecture, University of Cagliari, Italy
e-mail: mi.garau@unica.it

Garau, M., Badas, M.G., Querzoli, G., Ferrari, S., Seoni, A. & Salvadori, L. (2019). Shaping the urban environment
for Breathable cities.. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature and ecosystem services (pp. 692-
703). Naples: FedOAPress. ISBN: 978-88-6887-054-6, doi: 10.6093/978-88-6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
Nowadays, cities occupy 2% of the world soil, collecting 50% of global population. In an urban
environment so complex and fragile, 75% of pollutant and 80% of CO2 are emitted. As a
consequence, finding healthy way to live cities is p ressing, especially in relation to the continuous
urbanisation process. Inside the urban pattern, ventilation plays a key role in dispersion and
comfort, so that many researches dealt with it by facing several specific subjects and by
employing different models, scales and techniques.T he influence of two specific geometrical
parameters was investigated with the aim to study t he wind flow and ventilation mechanism: the
building aspect ratio (i.e. the building width to height ratio) and the gable roof slope variability
instead of the more common flat roofs were studied i n case of 2D street canyons by means
both numerical (Large Eddy Simulation) and experime ntal (water channel) techniques. By fixing
the canyon aspect ratios (ARC=0.5,1.0,2.0),the building aspect ratio (ARb=0.1-2.0) and the
roof slope variability (0°, 10°, 20°, 30°, 45°gabled roof)where analysed, then the influence of
the extreme cases was investigated by exploring the entire range of flow regimes (Oke 1988).
All the outcomes demonstrate the positive influence of roofs on ventilation and air exchange
mechanism related to the turbulence increment especially in the upper part of the canyon. This
study represents a first step toward suggesting that more attention in urban planning and in
building design could positively affect comfort and healthy air into urban canopy.
KEYWORDS
Urban Built Environment; Air Quality in Cities; Numerical Simulations; Roof Shape
* The other authors are: Simone Ferrari, Alessandro Seoni, Luca Salvadori.
Shaping the urban environment for breathable cities

1 INTRODUCTION
Air quality is a key environmental and a social issue since pollution has got significant impacts
on health, especially in urban areas, which continue to grow, becoming very densely
populated. Pollution is a considerable economic problem since it reduces life expectation and
increases medical assistance costs. Indeed, many cities in the world still exceed the pollutant
concentration limits suggested by the World Health Organization Air Quality Guidelines or, in
Europe, by the Air Quality Directive. In the meantime, ensuring good air quality is a complex
problem that poses multiple challenges in terms of management and mitigation of harmful
pollutants. Due to the complexity and the multidisciplinarity of the problem, solutions, rules,
research arguments and methods involve different subjects, ranging from the mathematic or
chemical science to the legal and social matters. Among these, studies on fluid dynamics
through buildings play a crucial role: ventilation promotes pollutants removal from streets to
the highest levels of the urban boundary layer where air is cleaner. The pioneering works, as
discussed in a review paper by Vardoulakis et al., (2003), were able to understand the main
features of ventilation and transport in basic element compounding a city, such as the street
canyon. However, international directives and the increasing population in cities request a
more accurate assessment, to provide previsions of the present and future scenarios, that, in
turn, request to model air quality both at different temporal and spatial different scales (i.e.
Blocken, 2015).As a matter of fact, spatial scales involved in the Urban Boundary Layer (UBL)
that is the region of the Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL) closest to the ground, can vary
depending on the objectives of the study: street scale (of order 10-100 m), neighborhood
scale (100-1000 m) or city scale (1-20 Km).
Taking into account all these aspects, the urban environment for the air quality research
studies can be shaped considering two- or three-dimensional basic elements, such as the
street canyon configuration or a series of identical parallelepiped elements regularly disposed,
or with more complex geometries and increasing level of details, depending on the objectives,
the simulation method and the available tools. But of course, the dynamics by employing
heterogeneous instead of homogeneous or detailed instead of simplified urban canopies, differ
substantially (Fernando, 2009). Complicated arrays of obstacles are usually employed with
the aim of understanding the influence of density in 3D areas or the interaction between
different elements such as building heights. Semi-idealized canopy are considered to
understand the mechanisms at street intersections (i.e. Carpentieri & Robins, 2015), or more
complex morphology interactions. Finally, very detailed urban models are sometimes
employed to study specific cases in cities. Anyway, street canyons or single building arrays
are usually preferred to understand the dynamics of basic topics like the influence of

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M. Garau, M.G., Badas, G., Querzoli et al.
geometrical elements (Rafailidis, 1997) or the stratification (Nazarian et al., 2018) or the basic
flow structures and dispersion mechanism around buildings (Stabile et al., 2015). Indeed,
attention was extensively paid in literature to simple building configurations such as the street
canyon unit. Focusing on the latest, the majority of literature works, both numerical and
experimental, employed square buildings with the aspect ratio equal to (defined as
the ratio of the building height, , to its width, ), the canyon aspect ratio
(defined as the ratio of the building height, , to canyon width, ), and the flat roof instead
of different shapes like the gabled one. Particular attention was spent in varying the in
order to investigate different flow regimes from the narrow canyons ( ) in the
skimming flow regime, to the widest ones, in the so-called isolated building regime (Oke,
1988; Badas et al., 2017).
The present work deals with the influence of two building geometrical characteristics on the
flow and dispersion. In particular, we focus on the building width and the roof shape, that
are interesting topic not yet deeply tacked. To this aim, the 2D street canyon configuration
was employed with both numerical and laboratory experiments, firstly by varying the building
width or, in turns, the , secondly by varying the gable roof slope.
The main results and implication for urban planning are discussed in the follow (section 3),
after the experimental techniques description.
2 METHODS
We focused on the flow in urban canyons formed by a virtually infinite array of identical
buildings immersed in a neutrally stratified boundary layer. Buildings were modelled like
parallelepipeds and the wind direction was established orthogonal to the canyon axis in all
cases. Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) simulations were employed for two series of
analysis. The first one was aimed at studying the effect of the variability of the building aspect
ratio , by keeping constant the canyon width (
), for a total number of sixteen different cases.
The second one aimed at investigating the roof role: the gable roof slope changed from to
( ), by fixing the canyon width ( ). Laboratory experiments
were carried out by means the water channel facility, where 2D street canyon series were
performed with variable aspect ratio ranging from 1 to 6, with either flat or gable roof (
sloped).
The canonical case with canyon spacing was experimented in order to validate the CFD
simulations and results were reported in a previous work (Garau et al., 2019).

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2.1 NUMERICAL SIMULATIONS

Following the classical LES scheme, we directly solved the filtered governing equation and
modelled the sub-grid scale (SGS) motions for which we have employed the Smagorinsky
model (Smagorinsky, 1963) with OpenFOAM 2.3. The computational domain includes
fourparallelepipedal buildings perpendicular to the wind direction and the three canyons
between them, resulting in a ( ) length in the stream-wise direction, while in the
vertical and span-wise directions is (where is the height of the building). Employing
cyclic boundary conditions both in stream-wise and span-wise faces of the domain allows us
to reproduce an indefinite series of canyons of indefinite longitudinal length, i.e. an idealised
two-dimensional canopy.The symmetry condition was employed on the top and the Spalding
law (Spalding, 1962) was applied both on the ground and in the building walls. A structured
mesh with grid stretching both in stream-wise and vertical direction was employed and an
expansion ratio lower than was used for both the horizontal and vertical axes (x and z,
respectively). The resolution was defined as in the proximity of the building
walls and the ground, whist in the canyon central cell size is doubled. The configuration
respects the best practice guidelines (Franke et al., 2011; Blocken, 2015; Tominaga et al.,
2008). All LES runs were initialized by means of a RANS solution, and data managed for
computing statistics were collected after a sufficient interval of time for the complete
development of turbulence. The mean stream-wise velocity was imposed to obtain a Reynolds
number at the building height , i.e. higher than the minimum value
( ) suggested by Hoydysh et al., (1974)for the flow to be independent of the Reynolds
number. The dimensional time-step increment was set in order to assure that the Courant
number was always smaller than at all grid nodes. The results were averaged both in time,
over a minimum of time steps, and spatially in the span-wise direction in order to
enhance the statistical robustness of the dataset. As regards numerical methods, the second
order-accurate schemes were used for the time and space derivatives. More details can be
found in (Garau et al., 2019).
2.2 EXPERIMENTAL SIMULATIONS

The closed-loop water channel of the Hydraulic Laboratory of the University of Cagliari was
employed to reproduce a neutral boundary layer above an ideal infinite array of 2D street
canyons built by employing twenty identical prismatic obstacles. The same characteristics of
about the facility and the model are here reported, however more details are feasible in Garau
et al., (2018).The facility is long with the cross section equal to wide and m
high. The array of obstacles were placed downstream from the head of the channel. To

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allow a complete evolution of the turbulence and to achieve a logarithmic velocity profile, a
grid with a honeycomb structure was placed at the head of the channel and a long series
of panels with loose gravel was set on the channel bottom. A sharp-crested weir at the end
of the channel regulated the water depth to . The vertical stream-wise mid-plane of the
channel was illuminated by a diode laser, 2W in power, emitting green light ( thick,
in wavelength), through an optical system consisting of a cylindrical lens and a mirror.
A high-speed camera ( pixels resolution) recorded images at a frequency.
The imageswere recorded in sessions ( images in a period of each, for a total of
images) separate by a proper time interval that assure statistical independence, in
order to increase the statistical robustness of the velocity dataset. Velocity field was evaluated
by tracking neutrally buoyant particles (pine pollen) homogeneously dispersed in the flow
through an image analysis technique called Feature Tracking Velocimetry. This technique is
better described in (Besalduch et al., 2013, 2014). The incoming velocity profile follows the
typical logarithmic law of the turbulent boundary layer up to about (corresponding
to ), with a maximum velocity of , and it was found in good agreement with the
data of Farell, Iyengar, (1999). At the building height ( ), a Reynolds number
was obtained.

The vertical velocity component is firstly discussed as it have a key role in driving the air
exchange between the canyon and the overlaying air; the vertical velocity fields are reported
in Fig.1, with variable (Fig. 1 a, b, c) and roof slope(Fig. 1 d-h). The streamlines are
superimposed on the velocity component colour map showing the flow structure
variability. Qualitative results obtained for the flat roof cases and the canyon aspect ratio
variability show a completely different behaviour inside the canyon in accordance with other
literature works(i.e. Soulhac et al., 2008): instead of a single main vortex (Fig. 1b), two
counter-rotating vortexes vertically disposed are shown in the narrower canyon (Fig. 1a),
while in the largest case (Fig. 1c) the two counter-rotating vortexes are horizontally disposed.
Differences in magnitude are relevant especially at the pedestrian level: the narrow canyon
gives lower velocity values and this could represent a negative aspect for air quality,
depending on the pollutant source location. The entire region included into the lower vortex
(for ) is characterised by very small values. Furthermore, areas with large vertical
velocities are smaller respect to the case with and lower values are observed at the
roof level too. In case of wider canyon ( ) ventilation is better and highest values are
visible in larger part of the canyon both at pedestrian and at roof levels.

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(a) (b) (c)
ŀ = 0° ŀ = 10° ŀ = 20° ŀ = 30° ŀ = 45°
(d) € (f) (g) (h)

Fig. 1 Streamlines of the mean velocity field and mean vertical velocity component, made non dimensional by
the free-stream velocity ( ). Flat roof with (a); (b); (c). Canyon aspect
ratios, , (d); (e); (f); (g); (h). Colour scale is common
for all the panels
In case of unitary aspect ratio (skimming flow regime), a unique main vortex with two small
recirculation vortexes is everywhere present. Main vortex centre move up in from
in the flat roof case to in the slope roof configuration, where the difference do
not appear justifiable with the increased building height. Indeed, looking at the entire series,
the increasing height of the vortex centre appears moving up regularly with the increasing
height of the building since the sloped roof: ratio between the centre and the edifice
heights was estimated around from flat roof to sloped and
for the sloped case. Regarding the interface flow, between the canyon and the overlaying
air, the streamlines appear more and more perturbed with the increasing slope of pitches.
The higher perturbation is sit in the downwind building, where the reattachment point
gradually move up from the windward building corner (flat roofs), to the windward pitch above

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the eaves. Looking at the vertical velocity fields, another big difference is visible between the
sloped roof and all the other cases: the lowest quantities are registered at pedestrian
levels, and the highest velocity areas are smaller, positioned around both the downwind and
the upwind eaves corner. As already mentioned in the previous works (Garau et al., 2018,
2019), the bulk air exchange between the canyon and the external boundary layer occurs at
the interfacial surface at the roof level and, under the ideal case of a well-mixed box, where
the pollutant concentration is assumed constant within the canyon, the outflow rate on the
top would be sufficient to describe the phenomenon. Anyway, considering the real world, the
pollutant concentration may significantly vary into the canyon with height thus it is important
to estimate this behaviour. With this aim, the outflow rate per unit span-wise length across a
generic horizontal section of the canyon at height , from the bottom to the top, was estimated
as in Eq. 1:
(1)
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
0 0.01 0.02 0.03
(a) (b)
Fig. 2 Non –dimensional vertical profiles of outflow rates ( ) calculated for (left panel) and
(right panel), for different heights ( ) inside the canyon. Values were made non dimensional by the free
stream velocity at and the canyon width ( ). Different colours and styles, indicate different building
aspect ratios
Vertical profiles were computed by integrating the instantaneous velocity fields over 32
horizontal lines connecting the canyon sidewalls. Results are reported in Fig. 2a, b respectively
for narrow and unitary canyons and considering the variability. The qualitative
comparisons between the two series of data shown completely different trends according to
the different topology of the flow, and quantities appear very low in the narrow canyons,
where pecks are quite halved respect to the larger canyon widths.Indeed, while on the right

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panel curves present only one maximum around , on the left panel curves are not
monotonic and presented one maximum at around and a relative minimum around
are visible. For the lower vortex generates only a weak vertical air
exchange, and the turbulence contribution is predominant. Anyway, in that region, the overall
outflow rate is meaningfully smaller compared to the region corresponding to the upper
vortex, confirming a poor air ventilation in narrow canyons, especially at the pedestrian level.
Despite differences, these two scenarios are highly influenced by the building aspect ratio.
Discrepancies are more appreciable at the maximum point and at the roof level and values
increase with a decreasing for the entire canyon depth and even if they are very small,
are not negligible.In order to understand the influence of roofs on the exchange mechanism,
both the medium and total flux exchange indexes were evaluated, where the mean quantities
are calculated with Eq. 2:
(2)
Results are reported in Fig. 3 a,brespectively for the unitary canyon aspect ratio and the
doubled one, and levels are in all cases made non-dimensional respect to the eaves level .
Results confirmed the influenceof roofs on ventilation, not only at the roof level, but also into
the canyon. As matter of fact, looking at solid lines in Fig. 3a, a little slope in roofs (orange
line) seems able to increase ventilation around the 23% considering the maximum point at
. By increasing the slope, differences grow up in the upper part of the canyon since
the 30° sloped roof, for which the maximum is reached at and it is higher
than the flat roof case. Down to the maximum, differences tends to be minimised and at
, curves from 1 ° to overlap each other in a singular line, with a smaller and
smaller gap respect to flat roofs. Above the maximum point, where turbulence level became
significant (see the differences between the dashed and the solid lines), differences grow up
faster and at roof top the higher discrepancy is registered between flat roof and tilt angle,
approximately equal to . Similar observation can be done by focusing on the eaves level,
for which the viola line appear around higher than the blue one. The green lines
representing the 45° roof case, completely differs from the others, assuming a quite linear
trend, with increasing values from the ground to the half part of pitches for both the two
quantities (medium and total exchange fluxes respectively represented with dashed and solid
line). This curves intersect the flat roof lines (blue) only around and above eaves
became similar to the case (viola).This behaviour confirmed the previous analysis and
support the idea that the slope represent a critical case for which a different flow regime
have to be identified. In addition to this this is the only configuration in which differences
between medium and total quantities substantially differs for the entire canyon depth. Looking

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at the larger canyon configurations (Fig. 3b), trends became more similar and regular,
reducing discrepancies for the entire profile height. The case tend to the others even if
registered the minimum flux index values since . Turbulence levels, which can be
identify by the differences occurring between dashed and solid lines, do not substantially
varied up to the eaves level with the increasing roof slopes.
(a) (b)
Fig. 3 Non-dimensional vertical profiles of exchange fluxes, (solid lines) and (dashed lines) calculated
for flat roof with variable slope in case of (a,b), at different height ( ) inside the canyon. Values
were made non dimensional by the free-stream velocity ( ) and the canyon width ( ). Different colours
indicate different canyon aspect ratios.
4 CONCLUSIONS
In this work the flow above arrays of two-dimensional, prismatic obstacles was analysed with
the aim of highlighting the effect of gable roof as building covering and the building aspect
ratio variability.As the importance of the two geometric characteristics in ventilation process
was demonstrated in this work, this study represents a first step suggesting that more
attention in urban planning and in building design, could positively affect comfort and healthy
air into urban canopy.For some specific simple configurations, such as the street canyon for
various regime, analysis on model with high level of simplification, can be extensively applied
in order to create tables of roof shapes air ventilation efficiency, with respect to the building
geometric parameters and the wind direction. This tables could be employed by designers as
guidelines not only for new construction, but also for refurbishments or building extensions.
If urban shapes are more complex and interactions through buildings very influent, tabulated
values are not eligible and specific experiments or numerical evaluations will be
needed.Anyway, with particular regards to old cities, by classifying and studying the traditional

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shapes behaviour, some generalisation should be individuated and put forward to urban
planners and designers. The development of guidelines for ‘wide-ranging construction’ will
allow to give an additional value to projects. In addition to this, tabulated values could be
employed for a multi-criteria analyses to estimate the breathability performance certificate of
a building, such as the already existing energy performance certificate. Paying attention to
these aspects would be relevant not only for existing cities (new construction, rehabilitation
projects of derelict areas, vertical extension of existing housing), but also in the developing
countries, where the urbanisation process has recently begun and very fast increase without
a proper control on ventilation and the future air quality problems.
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AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Michela Garau received her PhD in Civil Engineering and Architecture from the University of Cagliari
in 2019. Her main research interests include atmospheric boundary layer, numerical modelling of urban
canopies and dispersion models.
Maria Grazia Badas has been an Aggregate Professor in Hydraulics II at the University of Cagliari
(Italy), since 2006. She received her PhD in Territorial Engineering from the University of Cagliari in
2005. Her research topics include turbulence and mixing in civil, environmental and biological flows.
Giorgio Querzoli has been a Full Professor in Fluid Mechanics at the University of Cagliari, Italy since
2006. He received his PhD in Environmental Monitoring at the University of Florence, Italy in 1996. He

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teaches ‘Hydraulics’ and ‘Environmental Hydraulics’. His research topics are turbulence and dispersion
in biologic and environmental flows, such as atmospheric boundary layer and ocean outfalls.
Simone Ferrari has been an Aggregate Professor in Fluid Mechanics at the University of Cagliari
(Italy), since 2011. He received his PhD in Territorial Engineering from the University of Cagliari, in
collaboration with the Imperial College London (UK) in 2007. His research interests include turbulence
and mixing in civil, environmental, industrial and biological flows.
Alessandro Seoni has been a Graduate Technician in Hydraulics and Hydraulic Structures and
Infrastructures since 2007. He has been teaching assistant at the University of Cagliari in Hydrology
and Hydraulic Structures since 2008, and in Hydraulics since 2013. He received his PhD in Territorial
Engineering in 2014 from the University of Cagliari, Italy. His research interests include turbulence,
hydrology and flow measurements.
Luca Salvadori is a PhD student in Civil Engineering and Architecture. His main research topics are
about pollutant dispersion in environmental flows, especially related to problem solutions like urban
sites characterization methods.

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DEFENSE, ADAPTATION
AND RELOCATION
THREE STRATEGIES FOR URBAN PLANNING OF
COASTAL AREAS AT RISK OF FLOODING
CARMELA MARIANO, MARSIA MARINO
Department of Planning, Design

and Technology of Architecture
University of Rome - Sapienza, Italy
e-mail: carmela.mariano@uniroma1.it
marsia.marino@uniroma1.it

Mariano, C., & Marino, M (2019). Defense, adaptation and relocation. Three strategies for urban planning of
coastal areas at risk of flooding. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature and ecosystem services (pp.
ABSTRACT
The term Anthropocene was coined in the 80s of last century to indicate the current geological
era. This stands out from those that preceded it for the decisive impact of man on the
climate and the environment. In order to understand how it is possible to direct a sustainable
development of the planet, it is worth considering that for at least twenty years there has
been a considerable increase in the world population and that this tends to concentrate, with
increasing percentages, in urban areas. It is therefore understandable that urban areas will
be the part of the planet where the major social costs of global warming will be paid (Musco,
Zanchini, 2014). The purpose of this contribution is to frame the strategies adopted in contexts
degraded by the action of climate change, which respond to the guidelines suggested by the
European Union regarding territorial adaptation. Starting from studies on the subject so far,
at least three differential approaches have been id entified, and these are applied to as many
specific manifestations of the phenomenon: defense, adaptation and relocation. The authors’
intention is to underline the relevance of the issue and to stimulate debate on the adaptation of
cities to disasters, proposing, even in a very concise manner, a systematization that considers
as a priority, a transdisciplinary approach.
KEYWORDS
Defense; Adaptation; Relocation; Urban resilience
Defense, adaptation and relocation. Three strategies for urban planning of coastal areas at risk of flooding
1 WELCOME TO THE ANTHROPOCENE

The term Anthropocene was coined in the 80's of the last centuries by the American biologist
Eugene Filmore Stoermer, to indicate the current geological era, which is different from those
that preceded it for the decisive impact of human beings on the climate and the environment.
The Dutch scientist Paul Crutzen, Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1995, says that, geologically
speaking, in a very short time our species has radically altered all the existing ecosystems, up
to generate comparable, if not even superiors, concentrations of greenhouse gases to those
that, in the past, put an end to the glaciations (Crutzen, 2005).
The fifth IPCC report, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,1 dated back to 2013,
represents the current state of knowledge on climate change and its potential environmental
and socio-economic impacts, starting from the assumption that humans beings responsibility
for such changes is now undeniable.
In order to understand how it is possible to direct a sustainable development of the planet, it
is worth considering that, for at least twenty years, there has been a considerable increase in
the world population, as emerges from the World Population Prospects 2017,2 which shows
how the numerical data are growing compared to what they should be according to the 2015
predictions. Together with the above-mentioned forecasts regarding to the demographic
increase, the same authority draws up the World Urbanization Prospects,3 where estimates
and projections of urban and rural populations of all the countries in the world and their main
urban agglomerations are made. The latest version, updated to 2018, highlights that more
than 50% of the world's population is currently living in urban areas, a percentage that is
destinated to increase by 2050; also, again by this date, the population increase could add
about 2.5 billion people to urban populations.4
1
Scientific group, formed in 1988, from two organisms of United Nations, the World Meteorological
Organization (WMO) and the United Nation Environment Programme (UNEP), with the specific scope of
studying world global warmingand climate change in general.
2
Estimates and official projections about United Nations population, elaborated by the "division for the
population" of the "Department for Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat". The
results, presented in Excel files, show the key demographic indicators for each development band, income
group, region, sub-region and country or area for the period between 1950 and 2100.
3
Estimates and official projections about United Nations population, elaborated by the "division for the
population" of the "Department for Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat", from
1988. The results, presented in Excel files, show revisions and projections of urban and rural populations
of all the countries of the world and their main urban agglomerations.
4
Data collected in the Excel file WUP 2018-F02-Proportion Urban.xls, in the "Urban and Rural Population"
section of the World Urbanization Prospects 2018, downloadable from the dedicated section of the United
Nations website.

© 2019, FedoaPress
C. Mariano, M. Marino
In light of these data, it is possible to understand how urban areas will be the part of the
planet where the major social costs of global warming will be paid (Musco & Zanchini, 2014).
It is therefore necessary to assume the question of adaptation to climate change from a
transdisciplinary point of view. Starting from the analysis of statistical data, it is needed to
pass through the deepening of the Community policies concerning this matter, also taking
into account the aspect linked to the territorial planning and urban planning; this is done in
order to guarantee a resilient development of the territories in the current new geological era
(Mariano & Marino, 2018a).
2 TERRITORIAL ADAPTATION STRATEGIES: THE EU APPROACH

The purpose of this contribution is to frame the strategies adopted in contexts compromised
by the action of climate change, which respond to the guidelines suggested by the European
Union regarding territorial adaptation.
The European Environment Agency (EEA)5 in the report "Climate change, impacts and
vulnerability in Europe 2016", shows the need for European countries to define strategies and
plans for territorial adaptation at national, regional and local levels for prevention and
management of the risk linked to the climate crisis.
Specifically, it is here intended to limit the field of analysis to those coastal areas, in an urban
environment, which are subject to flood risk due to the combined effect of rising sea levels
and disastrous meteorological phenomena (Mariano & Marino 2018 b).
The EU strategy for adaptation to climate change (The EU Strategy on adaptation to climate
change, 2013), later declined at national level (in Italy in 2015 with the National Strategy for
adaptation to climate change), shows, among other numerous documents, an in-depth
analysis on the topic called "Climate change adaptation, marine and coastal issues,
Commission Staff Working Document, (SWD 133, 2013), in which the phenomena linked to
the events of hydrogeological instability and coastal erosion are specifically addressed:
reported data and reference regulations are provided, together with initial approaches of
integrated management of coastal areas, to promote resilient urban development (COM 216,
2013).
Furthermore, the European legislation, with the "Protocol on the integrated management of
the Mediterranean coastal zones" (ICZM), has placed the burden on the Member States to
draft a National Strategy for the integrated management of coastal areas, as a tool for
governance, with binding effects for coastal-marine areas.
5
The European Environmental Agency (EEA) is an agency of the European Union that has the role of
providing reliable and independent information on the environment.

© 2019, FedoaPress
In this regard, the Protocol, in art. 23 "Coastal Erosion", establishes the parties' commitment
"to take the necessary measures to preserve or restore the natural ability of the coast to adapt
to changes, including those changes caused by rising sea levels", in order to prevent and
mitigate the impact of coastal erosion on the territory.
3 SYSTEMATIZATION OF THE PHENOMENON

Within this thematic framework, it is here intended to propose in an extremely concise
manner, while remaining in the sphere of strategic planning, a schematization of three
different strategies corresponding to as many identified cases.
Starting from the state of the art, it was found that, from the point of view of urban and
territorial changes, the floods in question have had, and continue to have, different
repercussions on the affected territories, according to the orographic and geomorphological
characteristics of the territory (Abbate et al., 2009).
If it is true that these manifestations require appropriate differentiations that take account of
their singularities, it is possible, however, to find some common characteristics that would
allow a systematization of the cases, consideredfundamental for the progress of knowledge
on the subject.
At least three differentiated approaches, applied to as many specific manifestations of the
phenomenon, have been identified. These will be presented in the following paragraphs in
relation to some analyzed case studies. It should be noted that this systematization derives
from the awareness that such a complex subject needs a transdisciplinary and integrated
approach.
3.1 DEFENSE: THE ENGINEERING-ENVIRONMENTAL APPROACH

In some cases, such as those that will be exposed in this paragraph, the public administrations
have deemed it appropriate to deploy impressive defensive strategies.
The MOSE (Electromagnetic Experimental Module), is undoubtedly the best-known case in
Italy and it consists in the construction of mobile disappearing sluice gates, placed at the so-
called "port mouths"6 (the gates that connect the lagoon with the open sea, through which
the ebb and flow of the tide is put into effect).
The aim of the project is to protect the urban lagoon area from the phenomenon of high
water, which has become increasingly frequent due to the combined effect of subsidence
(lowering of the ground level) and eustatism (rising sea level), due to natural and
6
In italian: “bocche di porto”.

© 2019, FedoaPress
anthropogenic phenomena and to disastrous events (Spampani, 1996). The MOSE has been
designed to protect from tides of up to three meters7, and it is hoped that it will be able to
ensure the protection of the lagoon even if sea growth of up to 60 cm should occur (recent
IPCC estimates, provide for a rise of the sea in the next hundred years between 18 and 59
cm).
It should be noted that this impressive project is not an isolated work, but falls within the
General Plan of Interventions for the protection of Venice and the lagoon (Piano Generale di
Interventi per la salvaguardia di Venezia e dellalaguna)8, within the framework of the Special
Law for Venice (Legge Speciale per Venezia)9, defined as a consequence to the flood of
November 4, 1966 (Consorzio Venezia Nuova, 2015).
This intervention is inspired by a larger scale structural project carried out in the Netherlands
at the end of the 1990s.
The Delta Plan (Deltawerken) had the ambition to increase the security of the topographically
most depressed areas of the Rhine, the Meuse and the Schelde deltas, defending them from
flooding. It is important to remember that more than a third of the country is below sea level
and, therefore, the target was particularly complex to reach: first, the coastal dunes have
been raised of over five meters, and the islands of Zeeland have been connected by dams.
The most complex of the actions of the Plan is the Oosterscheldekering, a 9-kilometer barrier
that can be closed to protect the bay, but which usually remains open to maintain its salinity
(Bobbink, Meyer & Nijhuis, 2010). Although the Oosterscheldekering is considered by some
to be the "eighth wonder of the world" and the America Society of Civil Engineers has named
it among the "seven wonders of the modern world", there is still a heated debate around the
Delta Plan, which is due to the awareness that the altimetry of the earth level is lowering,
while the level of the sea is rising.
The dams will certainly have to be reinforced and raised, intensifying the process of
subsidence of the ground. For these reasons, there are those who believe that more resilient
measures should be adopted, limiting defense works in favor of interventions of territorial
adaptation (Bell, 2017).
7
More information on the link: https://www.mosevenezia.eu/cronologia/
8
More information on the link: https://www.mosevenezia.eu/piano-general-interventi/
9
The Special Legislation for Venice, is constituted by the law n. 171/73, which declares the safeguard of
Venice and its lagoon, as a problem of pre-eminent national interest, to which law n. 798/84 and the n.
139/92 are following: a regulatory system that defines the general objectives of the interventions, the
most appropriate procedures to implement them and the responsibilities of the various implementing
entities.

© 2019, FedoaPress
3.2 ADAPTATION: ECOLOGICAL REGENERATION STRATEGIES

In this paragraph, it is intended to underline the second of the identified approaches, which
more specifically relates to the field of urban transformations.
The theme, in this case, is that of adapting the urban form to the environmental context of
reference, through actions of reconfiguration of the morphological components that consider,
as priority elements, the flexibility and diversity (Boller, 2017), characterized as real
opportunities to implement an ecological transformation of degraded territories, due to the
aforementioned effects of climate change.
Although this contribution is part of the EU Union framework, it appears necessary to cite the
sensational event that affected the city of New York in October 2012, when Hurricane Sally
hit hard the coast of Manhattan, causing an economic damage of about 19 billion dollars (The
city of New York - Department of city planning, 2013).
Following this event, again in 2013, the "Rebuilt by Design" competition was announced by
the public administration to make the city resilient to the effects of climate change: the project
"The Big U" by the Danish firm BIG - Bjarke Ingels Group, won the competition imagining a
barrier between the city and the water, able to act as protection and not as a limit, a "bridge"
between the natural element and the anthropic product.
This design proposal is configured as an urban project that arises from the need for an
ecological transformation of the area and it provides for the regeneration of the entire south
coast of Manhattan with resilient interventions; in some cases, these interventions allow the
entry of water into the project area (Mariano & Marino, 2018 a).
The work will start in the spring of 2019, becoming one of the most interesting urban projects
aimed at adapting an urban area to the effects of climate change, which can be counted as
one of the few structural measures in this field of study.10
It is also important to remember how the administration of the city of New York decided to
include the problems related to the coastal floods, caused by disastrous phenomena, in the
agenda of its urban resilience strategy: One New York The Plan for in Strong and Just City
(2015), which is still in force (The city of New York - Department of city planning, 2015).
3.3 RELOCATION: THE MIGRANTS OF THE CLIMATE CRISIS

The third identified approach, is certainly the most experimental, which still does not find
space between the strategic policies outlined by the European Union.
10
More information on the link: http://www.rebuildbydesign.org/our-work/all-proposals/winning-
projects/big-u

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The term "environmental refugee" was coined by Lester Brown, founder of the Worldwatch
Institute,11 in the 1970s.
According to the proposed definition, the category of "environmental refugees" includes
individuals forced to leave their traditional habitat, temporarily or permanently, due to a
serious environmental upheaval that has endangered their existence and/or has severely
affected on the quality of life (El-Hinnawi, 1985).
However, there is no agreement yet on the term to use for this case. The United Nations, for
example, criticize the definition of "refugee" since the 1951 Geneva Convention grants refugee
status only to those who are persecuted by race, religion, citizenship, for belonging to a social
group or for their political opinions.
For what it concerns Italy's position on the matter, there was some opening by the National
Commission for the right to asylum with the recognition of some cases: in case of floods with
loss of the house and of all goods as a form of vulnerability that requires protection
(Maccarone , 2017), but even in this case, there are no guidelines, and above all, no legislation
in this field, capable of providing an adequate management address.
In this regard, the study conducted by Professor Brent D. Rayan, from the MIT of Boston,
appears to be very relevant, which questions the situation of the city of Boston following the
floods expected in 2100, caused by the rise in sea level: “Several conclusions were drawn
based on the initial impact study. Given six inches of sea level rise by 2100, much of coastal
metropolitan Boston will experience population displacement. Fifty percent of the population
of towns such as Hull and Salisbury stand to be inundated under current scenarios. Boston
stands to see almost 120,000 people displaced, with Cambridge enduring displacement of
nearly 40,000, or 37% of its population. While these displacement statistics are in some ways
misleading, given the overall timeframe of impact and the land use and policy changes likely
to respond to different scenarios, they provide a rough outline of the potential for risk and
damage at a significant scale. In addition to widespread population displacement, the initial
study revealed significant losses in critical infrastructure and businesses. Interstate 93 and
Route 1, both major regional arteries, stand to suffer significant damage due to their proximity
to the imperiled coast. The city's subway network, moreover, a hub-and-spoke system
centered on downtown Boston, will be among the hardest hit elements of the transportation
network, a significant challenge in a coastal region with the fourth-highest subway ridership
in the nation” (D. Ryan, Vega-Barachowitz & Perkins-High, 2015).
11
The Worldwatch Institute was born on 1974 and is considered, since decades, the most influential
observatory of the environmental trend on our planet.

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Furthermore, the aforementioned study proposes three relocation strategies, depending on

specific cases: within the same city, in neighboring cities, in other urban centers.
This position opens up still in-depth research scenarios that this contribution aims to stimulate.
4 CONCLUSIONS
The authors' intent was to highlight the relevance of the issue and to stimulate debate on the
measures to adapt cities to disasters, highlighting, in an extremely concise manner, three
strategies of intervention. This was done starting from the analysis of some case studies,
through a systematization that considers as a priority a transdisciplinary approach. The
authors' intent was to highlight the relevance of the issue and to stimulate debate on the
measures to adapt cities to disasters, highlighting, in an extremely concise manner, three
strategies of intervention. This was done starting from the analysis of some case studies,
through a systematization that considers as a priority a transdisciplinary approach.
REFERENCES
Abbate, A., Giampino, A., Orlando, M., Todaro, V. (2009), Territori costieri, FrancoAngeli, Milano.
Bell, S. (2017), Formations of Terror, Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
Bobbink, I., Meyer, H., Nijhuis, S. (2010) Delta Urbanism. The Netherlands, American Planning
Association.
CLIMATE CHANGE 2013 - IPCC (2013), The Physical Science Basis. Sintesi per I decisoripolitici,
Intergovernal Panel on Climate Change.
COM 216 (2013), The EU Strategy on adaptation to climate change, European Commission.
COMUNE DI VENEZIA (2019) Distribuzione decennale delle alte maree (>110 cm) dal 1872, su
comune.venezia.it diponibile al sito: https://www.comune.venezia.it/it/content/distribuzione-
decennale-delle-alte-maree-110-cm.
Crutzen P. (2005), Parlangeli A. (a cura di), Benvenuti nell'Antropocene. L'uomo ha cambiato il clima,
la Terra entra in una nuova era, Mondadori.
D. Ryan, B., Vega-Barachowitz, D., Perkins-High, L. (2015) Rising tides: relocation and sea level rise
in metropolitan Boston, Norman B. Leventhal Center for advanced urbanism.
EEA REPORT (2016), Climate change, impacts and vulnerability in Europe 2016 — Key findings,
European Environment Agency.
El-Hinnawi, E. (1985) Environmental refugees, United Nations Digital Library.

© 2019, FedoaPress
Maccarone, C. (2017), Profughi ambientali in cerca di protezione, Osservatorio diritti. Articolo

disponibile al sito: https://www.osservatoriodiritti.it/2017/09/20/profughi-ambientali-immigrazione-
asgi/.
Mariano C., Marino M. (2018 a). Gli effetti del climate-change come opportunità di rigenerazione
ecologica dei territori costieri, Urbanistica Informazioni special issue, XI Giornata di studi INU
Interruzioni, intersezioni, condivisioni, sovrapposizioni. Nuoveprospettive per ilterritorio, a cura di
Francesco Domenico Moccia e MarichelaSepe, ISSN: 0392-5005, pp. 24-27.
Mariano C., Marino M. (2018 b). Water landscapes: from risk management to a urban regeneration
strategy, UPLanD Journal of Urban Planning. Landscape & environmental Design, vol. 3, ISSN: 2531-
9906, pp. 55-74.
Musco, F., Zanchini, E. (2014), Il clima cambia le città. Strategie di adattamento e mitigazione nella
pianificazione urbanistica, Franco Angeli, Milano.
United Nations (revision 2017), Word Population Prospect.
United Nations (revision 2018), Word Urbanization Prospect.
Spampani M. (1996), Perché l’acqua alta è sempre più alta, Corriere della sera.
SWD 133 (2013), Climate change adaptation, marine and coastal issues, Commission Staff Working
Document.
The city of New York - Department of city planning (2013), Coastal Cimate Resilience. Urban
Waterfront Adaptive Strategies.
The city of New York - Department of city planning (2015), One New York The Plan for a Strong and
Just City.
WEB SITES
https://www.osservatoriodiritti.it/2017/09/20/profughi-ambientali-immigrazione-
asgi/www.dolomitiunesco.info/
https://population.un.org/wup/
https://population.un.org/wpp/
http://www.nyc.gov/html/onenyc/downloads/pdf/publications/OneNYC.pdf
AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Carmela Mariano is an Associate Professor of Urban Planning, Department of "Pianificazione, Design

e Tecnologia dell'Architetura" at Sapienza University of Rome.PhD in “Riqualificazione e Recupero
Insediativo”, President of the CdLm in “Architettura – Rigenerazione Urbana”, Department of
"Pianificazione, Design e Tecnologia dell'Architetura" at Sapienza University of Rome, Coordinator of
the Commission “Progetto didattico PDTA”; member of the Academic Board of the PhD Program
“Pianificazione, Design, Tecnologia”, member of the School of Specialization in “Beni Naturali e
Territoriali” of the Faculty of Architecture, member of the Scientific Teaching Council of the II level

© 2019, FedoaPress
Master “Capitale Naturale e Aree Protette. Pianificazione, Progettazione e Gestione“ of the PDTA
Department.
Marsia Marino is an Architect and Ph.D. student in "Pianificazione, Design e Tecnologia

dell'Architetura" at Sapienza University of Rome.She graduated with honors in 2016, after a period of
research at Aalborg University (Denmark) where she carried out part of the studies related to
hermaster's thesis, which was an urban project in a central area of Aalborg (DK) involved from flooding
caused by the progressive rising in sea level. After the graduation she get a Master's Degree in
Landscape Design (CURSA, A.S.B., UNISCAPE) and she is currently a PhD student in “Pianificazione,
Design e Tecnologia dell'Architettura” at La Sapienza - University of Rome, where she carriyng out a
research on the territorial and urban planning of coastal areas subjected to flooding as a result of
climate change. She is author of some publications on the subject.

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THERMAL URBAN NATURAL
ENVIRONMENT DEVELOPMENT
FRANCESCA MORACIa, CELESTINA FAZIAa

MAURIZIO FRANCESCO ERRIGOb
a
Department of DARTE
University of Reggio Calabria, Italy
e-mail: fmoraci@unirc.it, celestina.fazia@unirc.it
URL: www.unirc.it
b
Faculty of Engineering and Architecture
University of Enna Kore, Italy
e-mail: maurizio.errigo@unikore.it
URL: www.unikore.it

Moraci, F., Fazia, C., & Errigo, M.F. (2019). Thermal urban natural environment development. In C. Gargiulo &
6887-054-6, doi: 10.6093/978-88-6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
Thermal wells are a historical, cultural identity space; but often a fragmented and marginal
sector of the city; it has characterized by an unplanned development. Sometimes there is a lack
of regional and municipal management of this resource; wellness tourism is not developed or is
weakly linked to tourist flows involving provincial or regional area in which this resource is present.
The management often suffers from a lack of professionalism and planning but also a lack of
knowledge and attention. Four cities will be studied as best practices and front runner in this
area, the city of Viterbo in Italy, Turnhout in Belgium, Heerlen in The Netherlands and the town
of Caldes de Montbui in Spain. In the whole process will be engaged all partners and followers
cities to take advantage from the relationship and from involvement in the experimentation of
nature based innovations procedure and technologies for cities and environment. Viterbo is
front runner for the enhancement of the thermal resource from an health and economic point
of view; Caldes de Montbui as regards the use of waste water of the spa process for agricultural
purposes. Turnhout and Heerleen for an energy transition with the use of geothermal energy
as a lever towards a carbon neutral society. The front runner cities are conceived as “living
laboratories” and are coaching cities; the followers city will carry out a local implementation
of achievements developed in the front runner cities and will enhance the development of
sustainable urban planning.
KEYWORDS
Sustainable design; Integrated water management;Thermal springs
Thermal urban natural environment development

1 INTRODUCTION
The project is based on the use of the environmental resource of thermal waters to create a
redevelopment of the whole urban system, favoring the creation of a project that is able to
locate the hot springs and the ability of pumping of each of them and thus creating a project
of territorial development that, based on the aims already synthesized and on a compatible
and sustainable use of environmental, historical and cultural resources, can promote the use
of thermal springs of Viterbo, Turnhout, Heerlen and Caldes de Montbui, developing attention
to the waste water spa treatment that will be used for the creation of urban gardens and for
the upgrading of existing urban gardens, with promotion of biological agriculture, and for an
energy transition with the use of geothermal energy as a lever towards a carbon neutral
society. The main goal of this project is to pursue leadership in "innovating with nature"
through locally implementable actions (in the four front runner cities of Viterbo, Turnhout,
Heerlen and Caldes de Montbui) aimed at developing natural urbanization, promoting the
reuse and enhancement of elements that are part of their territorial capital. Overall goal is to
create healthier and greener living environments in some European cities through the widest
possible participation of civil society, implementing of nature-based solutions focused on
improving the quality of life in the study contexts. The methodology and organization of the
proposed work plan allows to maximize the effectiveness of environmental improvement
projects and also the faster replication of the processes and operations, even in contexts in
different regions and states. The presence and distinction between front runners and followers
is dictated by the desire to increase the effectiveness of actions and to pursue the replicability
of the results in different contexts. The development of nature-based activities is promoted in
relation to two main environmental systems, two ecological trails, as stated in the call: blue
infrastructure and green infrastructure. The blue infrastructure corresponds to the network of
the water, water and groundwater surface; springs and thermal waters are at the center of
an enhancement process and of urban and regional regeneration also able of acting on
occupational improvement, also economic because less not renewable energy will be imported
and replaced by locally bought renewable energy. Green infrastructures are the environmental
routes that connect together the area's resources; are ecological paths that develop urban
links "creating a system of environmental resources"; they are high natural spaces included
in the thermal basin and are spaces that link the different spatial areas using bioengineering
and so innovative mobility solutions, able to create added value in the project. Moreover the
geothermal energy can be an enabler in abating climate change, supporting a transition
towards carbon neutral cities. Projects and actions that will affect the spaces of the water and
the high natural areas will be implemented in Viterbo, Turnhout, Heerlen and in Caldes de

© 2019, FedoaPress

F. Moraci, C. Fazia, M.F. Errigo
Montbui; these actions will produce a sustainable development connecting territories, and will
get social, environmental and economic consequences and benefits; social because they will
contribute to improving the quality of life and will be participatory; environmental, as they will
favor the nature-based solutions, attribute to transformation of cities and the full respect of
the environment; economic, as they will have very significant implications for employment in
related sectors (hospitality industry and agriculture especially).
From a landscape point of view, the actions are important because the different thermal baths
that form the thermal basin, are, themselves, landscape units characterized by high
naturalness and historicity; urban gardens, which are promoted, are natural actions of control
of spatial morphology but also actions that lead to an improvement of the urban naturalness
through discovery and exploitation of a sector, the agriculture, that is strategic for
environmental sustainability and capable of triggering autopropulsive actions (agricultural
cooperatives, 0 km products, slow food) able to increase the employment. Geothermal energy
as a heat source can be integrated in the existing environment, without jeopardizing the
existing historical buildings and city quarters. As such a solution is provided to reconcile the
challenges in climate change with cultural heritage, which cannot be made energy efficient.
These nature-based activities will increase urban and regional resilience, especially water
resilience, and encourage climate change adaptation.
The challenge facing the proposal, is to improve, on the one hand, climate and water
resilience, and, secondly, to pursue an inclusive urban regeneration, promoting employment.
Another result to be achieved is the protection and enhancement of biodiversity; biodiversity
protection that belongs to the thermal environments and increasing the biodiversity of urban
gardens using organic farming experiments. The research aims to demonstrate the feasibility
of such interventions, using the project as a space of verification and knowledge. One of the
aims is to contribute, through the landscape and architectural project, to improve the
preservation and enjoyment of thermal areas, the recovery of water through nature-based
architectural interventions; to rationalize and optimize the use of thermal fields and sources,
encouraging both "new abstraction, rationalization, restructuring and protection of the
existing intake structures of mineral water for spa use ..." that "investigations and
hydrogeological studies for the discovery of mineralized aquifers suitable for thermal use and
promote studies of the therapeutic qualities of the different waters".
2 METHODOLOGY
The project is based on the use of the environmental resource of thermal waters to create a
redevelopment of the whole urban system, favoring the creation of a project that is able to
locate the hot springs and the ability of pumping of each of them and thus creating a project

© 2019, FedoaPress


of territorial development that, based on the aims already synthesized and on a compatible
and sustainable use of environmental, historical and cultural resources, can promote the use
of thermal springs of Viterbo, Turnhout, Heerlen and Caldes de Montbui, developing attention
to the waste water spa treatment that will be used for the creation of urban gardens and for
the upgrading of existing urban gardens, with promotion of biological agriculture, and for an
energy transition with the use of geothermal energy as a lever towards a carbon neutral
society. Four cities will be studied as best practices and front runner; the city of Viterbo in
Italy, Turnhout in Belgium, Heerlen in The Netherlands and Caldes de Montbui in Spain. These
cities will be assumed for pilot projects and they will test and implement the project activities
according to the priorities listed in the four-master plan for urban development. Viterbo was
chosen because, within the territory, for years has been present a heated debate on the spa
town (not yet built), because inside there are numerous hot springs, some of which are not
used in thermal plants but are lost in the territory, because of the spa district area it is very
large (30 sq km) with a pumping capacity of 105 l/s; Furthermore Viterbo Baths are
characterized by exceptional historical, we also find traces in famous works such The Divine
Comedy by Dante. Caldes de Montbui was selected for the innovative contribution of
wastewater reuse projects of thermal process that made it possible to create a strong circular
economy and to use resources, diversifying the uses and thus creating the greatest economic
and environmental sustainability. Turnhout was chosen because of the good experiences with
thermal water at the municipal swimming pool from the 1950’s until 2005. Since then, a
strong support has grown in the city region to use this geothermal resource as a key enabler
in the transition towards a low-carbon society. A very proactive plan to provide sustainable
heating in the city region, involving various sources inclusing geothermal energy is being
worked out. The masterplan includes a sustainable heat net in the city, with a planned
integration of using geothermal heat. In 2016, the first small district heating grid in the city
(one of the first in the country) was taken into service with a bio mass boiler as the transitional
technology. This system is being expanded as we speak, to supply 600 homes an office
building. The goal is to scale the system up, to be able to support a business case for additional
wells to be drilled for geothermal sources. At this moment a second area in the city could be
integrated in a heat grid, including 2.800 new houses and an existing, but to be expanded,
large regional hospital. Historical heritage (eg. The Castle of Turnhout, built in the 12th
century, today in use as a court house) that could be connected to a heat grid with renewable
geothermal energy, can be converted to a sustainable building, without impacting its Cultural
and historical value. Heerlen implemented a strong use/recovery of energy from water;
Heerlen has an actual grid of heat and colling provided from minewater at 25 °C. They are
very advanced in getting heat and cooling energy out of water; the water is in mine pits all

© 2019, FedoaPress

over the city. Mijnwater BV is the operating company of the Municipality of Heerlen to develop,
exploit and innovate the low-exergy DHC-grid based on shallow geothermal energy. In the
different areas of study have already been drawn up studies and projects for the exploitation
of thermal, energy and agricultural fields; considerations that make the pilot project very
interesting and especially implementable given the copious amount of work that has been
produced. The five follower cities, which should benefit the project are the city of Maribor in
Slovenia, the city of Levico Terme in Trentino Alto Adige, the city of Cahul in Moldova Republic
with involvements of Ecological Counseling Center Cahul, the town of Sassari in Sardinia and
the island of Pantelleria in Sicily. The last two seats, belonging to two islands and then forming
a unified and concluded territory, were chosen because they have many undeveloped thermal
resources and could benefit from the pilot actions undertaken in the project, because they
could duplicate it. Sardinia has already undertaken a regional project on "System of Sardinia’s
spas". On the island of Pantelleria there are many events of secondary volcanism. Nowadays,
the use of the island's thermal system is presented as "ancillary" activities to the most popular
summer tourism. Slovenia's spa facilities are a strong attraction for tourism, which focuses on
spas not only as treatment centers, but as places of relaxation and fun; in Levico Terme we
have a lot thermal springs and University of Trento and Edmund Mach Foundation are
developing topics related to enhancement of quality of life through very strong attention to
biological agriculture and energy saving. In the follower cities will carry out a local
implementation of some achievements developed in the front runner cities and will be
enhanced the development of sustainable urban planning that will replicate and adapt to the
local context, the based solutions tested in pilot projects. The Followers will have a privileged
contact point with research partners and will have access to all the know-how experienced
and to all achieved outputs and actively participate in the definition of the methodology that
has to be implemented to allow replication of the results. The other universities of the
networks are located on very important thermal basins and have developed an expertise level,
distinguished by particular projects relating to the spas, that will be very useful and will be
applied within the four pilot projects in Viterbo, Turnhout, Heerlen and in Caldes de
Montbui.The methodology allows to maximize the effectiveness of environmental
improvement projects and also the faster replication of the processes and operations, even in
contexts in different regions and states. The presence and distinction between front runners
and followers is dictated by the desire to increase the effectiveness of actions and to pursue
the replicability of the results in different contexts. To improve this, we plan to build a a e-
learning, co-creation and participation platform (DEDiP) that will enable the synchronous
exchange of experience and expertise among the various partners and the continuous
updating of the actions. The platform will alos provide a Geographic Information System,

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which will also ensure the updating of maps. The DEDiP platform, with its participation
function, informs and involves the local community to express and participate along the whole
project activity, in the various phases of implementation; in that way ensuring a collaborative
project implementation. For mediating conflicts and to reduce the complexity while increasing
the efficiency, we will use participation with all stakeholers or selected stakeholders or actors,
depending on the issue and implementation phases. In Viterbo, Turnhout, Heerlen and Caldes
de Montbui will be designed a master plan that will provide the promotion of the whole spa;
Municipal Basin will be divided into zones that constitute the priorities for action in case of
European funding. Masterplan will provide a design that will take place on four elements:
− Enhancement spas basins and architecture creating public baths based on
bioengineering actions compatible with the environment but which helps to highlight the
spa area;
− Actions on urban mobility. It will include a set-system of the whole spa area. Will be
developed actions as creations of green infrastructures and of sustainable mobility to
connect the areas with each other and with the city center, in respect of environmental
characteristics of the area;
− Agricultural production enhancement: will be developed a design of urban gardens in
areas close to the thermal areas; in these urban gardens will be developed the
production of fruits and vegetables farm through the use of the thermal waste water
that will be conveyed into special tanks phytore mediation to lower the temperature and
to purify water; the waters are so used for agricultural purposes. This method, tested
by the University of Barcelona to Caldes de Montbui in Spain, has already received two
prestigious European awards for agriculture in 2016;
− Exploitation and innovation through the low-exergy DHC-grid based on shallow
geothermal energy.
3 AMBITION AND EXPECTED IMPACTS

TUNED aims to contribute to the improvement of the attractiveness of thermal areas, to the
diversification of the economic base of the involved cities, to the creation of urban circular
economy that values the natural aspect and the primary sector, to the improvement of quality
of life, innovation and quality of governance. The involved cities, Viterbo, Turnhout, Heerlen
and Caldes de Montbui, but also the followers, must be designed and treated as environmental
testing laboratories, living landscapes, based on innovative practices and a wide popular
participation which results in a mutual cultural enrichment. From an operational point of view,
the project wants to be an element of urban and environmental regeneration of the thermal

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territoriesthrough the implementation of engineering and architectural solutions characterized

by the highest environmental sustainability.
STATE OF ART PROJECT HOW IS ACHIEVED

AMBITION
The thermal resources are used Creation of Through a complete use of thermal water
in a poor way; each city often urban circular (for baths, for care and therapeutic aims,
promotes a single or (at least) economy for the creation of urban gardens and for
double use of thermal resources the use in the heating system with energy
saving. There is no waste of waterand it is
created a circular scheme with the use of
water from the spring till the end of their
life in agricolture with the enhancement of
urban gardens and biological products.
Thermal water are often lost and Regulating the Through a constructed wetland process tha
there is no resuse of them (except use of waste lowers tha temperature and allow their use
in Caldes de Montbui). thermal waters. in irrigation farming.
The thermal springs are not Rationalize the With the implementation of a masterplan
razionalized. use of hot that describe the total amount of water
springs. that could be used by each thermal spring.
There is no urban or policy project Develop a Will be implemented a masterplan with
that managew the thermal sector. design pilot projects based on funding and
implementation. priorities established and agreed with the
City Council
The employment in private or Develop In both the Spa industry, which in those
public sectors involved with employment sectors linked to its supply chain, that in
thermal re source is not well able to check the management of urban gardens and
defined and developed. There is the results in social management co-operatives.
no engagement between thermal the four main
springs and Energy sectors except cities.
in Belgium and in the
Netherlands. The employment in
thermal sector is low in each
thermal city.
Today is not well definde and Develop energy Enlarging the methodology developed in
development the use of water for use of water Heerleen project, replicating it in the pilot
heating and for the promotion of (especially for projects and encouraging the replication
sustainable heating using hot heating). on a larger scale. Develop a very proactive
springs. plan to provide sustainable heating
involving various sources.
Tab. 1 Explanation of the main achievements
The assumed project, and its territorial implementation, in line with what is stipulated in the
field of Smart and Sustainable Cities, is aimed at achieving efficient management of natural
resources through a number of actions concerning energy efficiency (which you get with the
reuse of thermal waters), mobility (through the development of a system of green
infrastructures and means of electric and hybrid mobility), water quality (through constructed
wetlands trails and sewage for agricultural purposes), air quality through solutions aiming to
favor the development of alternative mobility (also in TPL) to that of rubber, at least in the

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front runner cities. The key challenges actions on mobility, on air and water quality, on energy
efficiency, will involve deep economic, social and environmental effects, which would affect
an improvement in urban and regional quality parameters, in particular concerning the
territorial competition and improvement of employment. The Consortium has a strong
portfolio concerning the ambition; Ciclica and Caldes de Montbui received two european grants
regarding urban gardens; Herleen won the European Geothermal Innovation Award in 2015;
Viterbo has developed recently a rationalization of thermal spring sources commissioned by
Lazio region and almost all involved academies has a strong relationship with municipalities
and sme with the aim to develop thermal resources. All the actions will be evaluated through
the Lycfe Cycle Assessment (LCA) that will evaluate the enviromental impact of the supposed
actions. So the ambition is to produce a better quality in environment and in social life.
Through dissemination of results, which is realized through the implementation of DEDiP
platform and the drawing up of the Dissemination Plan, the benefits of the experimentation
carried out will help to create a "community of practice" based on efficiency of policies and
governance and an interactive decision making process. The tested and implemented actions
inside pilot projects (and supported by the project partners, especially by followers,
strenghten the achieved benefits and, through comparison of the case studies and the
obtained results (analyzed by appropriate quality and performance indicators), will emphasize
the role of transformations and nature-based innovations as key role for the enhancement
and urban and regional regeneration. It is also planned the implementation of Community
policies such as the "EU Water Framework Directive", the "EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020",
the "EU Climate Change Adaptation Strategy", "The Blueprint to safeguard Europe's water"
and the "Communication on Green Infrastructures ". The expected results are to bring the
cities together, not only at the level of experts and the entire project of a city, but also down
to the level of stakeholders and elaboration of specific ideas, to facilitate the cities’ experience
exchange throughout the entire process in different digital and physical participation and co-
design steps and to link the innovations that are taken from other cities from the start with
what the citizens experience as needs, challenges and opportunities in the city who wants to
adopt those ideas (not just copying, but smart adoption, taking all aspects into account).
REFERENCES
Baiocchi A., Lotti F., Piscopo V., (2012), Conceptual hydrogeological model and groundwater resource
estimation in a complex hydrothermal area: the case of the Viterbo geothermal area (centralItaly), J
Water Resour Protect, 4:231-247.

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Baiocchi A., Lotti F., Piscopo V., (2013), Impact of groundwater with drawals on the interactions
between overlapping aquifers in the Viterbo geothermal area (Central Italy), Hydrogeol J., 21:1339-
1353.
Braudel F. (2005)., Il Mediterraneo - Lo spazio la storia gli uomini le tradizioni, Tascabili Bompiani,
Milano.
Cassano F. (2005), Il pensiero meridiano, Laterza, Roma-Bari.
Centro studi Pietro d’Abano (2016), Il termalismo euganeo, Abano Terme.
Claudiani M. (a cura di) (2004), Viterbo e le sue terme. Una Lunga storia tra miseria e nobiltà,
BetaGamma editrice, Viterb.
Errigo M.F.,( 2018), Waterscapes. Progetti d’acqua. Città termali, fluviali e costiere in Italia e in Olanda.
Le Penseur editore, Potenza.
Fonti L. (2010), Porti – città – territori. Processi di riqualificazione e sviluppo, Alinea, Firenze.
Foti G. (2004), I luoghi della trasformazione: metodologie conoscitive e tecnologie, Rubbettino editore,
Soveria Mannelli (CZ).
Milioni A. (2014), Le terme romane di Viterbo, Archeoares editore, Viterbo.
Moraci F., Bevilacqua C., Fazia C. (2007), Guida all’analisi e all’interpretazione dei fattori-progetto delle
fiumare calabresi, Iiriti editori, Reggio Calabria.
AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Francesca Moraci is Full Professor of Urban Planning at Mediterranea University of Reggio Calabria.
PhD in Urban Planning. Master of Science in Economic Policy and Planning (UNBoston), Fulbright ('84-
85 and 85-86) at Northeastern University and American institutions (MIT, Coastal Zone MP). She
Coordinates various researches in urban, territorial and environmental planning. She is senior
Consultant for prestigious institutions, and She is now Member of Administrative Board of FS (Italian
National Railways).
Celestina Fazia, Architect, Ph.D. in Territorial Planning. Conducts research at the Università
Mediterranea di Reggio Calabria, in LABSTUTeP. She is consultant for Companies and Organizations in
planning, territorial and environmental assessment (Component EIA, SEA, IPPC, Calabria region).
National Enabling for Associate Professor in Urban Planning.
Maurizio Francesco Errigo, Researcher and Assistant Professor in Urbanism at the Faculty of
Engineering and Architecture, University of Enna Kore. National Enabling for Associate Professor. PhD
in Urban Planning (2007). Advanced Training Course in Design of the coastal landscape (2004) Master
in Management of Local Authorities (2010). From 2007 to 2011 He is Professor at Mediterranean
University of Reggio Calabria. From 2011 to 2013 Post Doc researcher at Delft University of
Technology, where He is Professor at MsC in Urbanism (2012-2013).

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A NETWORK APPROACH FOR
STUDYING MULTILAYER
PLANNING OF URBAN GREEN
AREAS: A CASE STUDY FROM
THE TOWN OF SASSARI
(SARDINIA, ITALY)
*MARIA ELENA PALUMBOa

SALVATORE MANCAb, SONIA PALUMBOb
a
Department of Chemistry and Pharmacy
e-mail: m.palumbo@studenti.uniss.it
b
Civil - Environmental Engineer, freelancee
e-mail: sonia.palumbo@ingpec.eu
ing.salvatore.manca@ingpec.eu

Palumbo, M.E.,Manca, S., Palumbo, S. & Farris, E. (2019). A network approach for studying multilayer planning
of urban green areas: a case study from the town of Sassari (Sardinia, Italy). In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.),
10.6093/978-88-6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
Urban development determines some of the largest local biodiversity extinction rates
(McKinney, 2009), mainly by means of habitat fragmentation (Kong, 2010).The Theory of Island
Biogeography (TIB) of MacArthur and Wilson (1967) applied to biological conservation suggests
the need to project widespread ecological network seven in urban environments (Massa, 2002).
The adoption of a network approaching the urban green areas (UGAs) planning is fundamental
to make cities more permeable to the biological components; however, to do this it is important
that the pieces of the planned landscape do not become sink-type areas (negative biological
traps). Applying the principles of landscape ecolog y, in this work flora and structure of UGAs
of the town of Sassari (NW Sardinia, Italy)were studied in order to identify the main structural
drivers that determine the observed plant biodivers ity and create a scientific base on which to
root an UGAs planningimplemented at the landscape level. Preliminary results suggest that native
plant diversity is conditioned more by green patche s configuration than spatial arrangement of
patches within the urban matrix.The main application of our data is the re-development of each
area, that from monovalent becomes polyvalent, thanks to the multilayer overlapping of single
layers, each focused as a key issue for city life, as inspired by the network approach.
KEYWORDS
Source-sink dynamics; Urban flora; Urban sustainabil ity
* The other author is: Emmanuele Farris
M.E Palumbo, S. Manca, S. Palumbo, et al.
1 INTRODUCTION
Normal levels of biodiversity contribute to the maintenance of ecosystems’ resilience,
therefore able to adapt to climate change (Mant et al., 2014). In this sense, biological diversity
is a guarantee of stability and functionality of the biosphere and ensures adaptation to
environmental changes (Primack, 2003). Loss of biodiversity and degradation of ecosystems
undermine the supply of ecosystem services essential for human well-being and adaptation
to extreme events (De Groot, 2002), increasing the vulnerability of ecosystems (Mant, 2014).
It is therefore essential to implement actions that create resilience by increasing the natural
ability to recover ecosystem services (Mooney, 2009).
However, adaptation strategies tend to focus on technological, structural, social, and
economic developments, and linkages between biodiversity and adaptation are often missed
(Campbell, 2009). This is worrying, as the issues of climate change and biodiversity are
interconnected in a one-to-one manner (CBD, 2009).
Among the various factors that contribute to undermining biodiversity, urban development is
the process that determines some of the largest local extinction rates, often eliminating most
native species (McKinney, 2009).
During urbanization, large areas of natural habitat have been converted into impervious
surfaces, causing habitat loss (Liu et al., 2016). Fragmentation and loss of habitats threaten
biodiversity and are among the primary causes of the current extinction crisis (Primack &
Carotenuto, 2003). Urban growth often replaces native species that are lost with non-native
species. This constitutes the process of biotic homogenization that threatens to reduce the
biological uniqueness of local ecosystems (Blair, 2001). Urban-gradient studies show that, for
many plant taxa, the number of non-native species increases toward centers of urbanization,
while the number of native species decreases; that the lowest species diversities along the
urban–rural gradient occur in the intensively “built” environments of the urban core, and the
much of the reduction in richness is obviously caused by the loss of vegetation (McKinney,
2009). The number of species of animal taxa tends to correlate with the number of plants in
an area. Also, area covered by vegetation is a good predictor of species numbers for many
taxa (McKinney, 2009). In Italy, the settlement model that was imposed from the 1970s
onwards is dispersive, and has caused an expansion of artificial areas, especially at the
expense of the soils closest to the pre-existing settlements, easily accessible and with
morphologies more favorable to construction, affecting this especially in agro-ecosystems
(Romano & Zullo, 2010).
The proportion of the world’s population living in cities is expected to surpass 65% by 2025,
and dramatic population increases have been accompanied by intensified urban development

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A network approach for studying multilayer planning of urban green areas: a case study from the town of Sassari…

(Kong, 2010). The general trend due to urbanization tends to increase habitat fragmentation
over time and to decrease mean patch size, total core area, and cohesion of habitats (Liu et
al., 2016). From 2010 to 2050 the built-up area will increase by 3 times (Liu et al., 2016).
Because urban areas may contain a rich flora that contributes significantly to biodiversity,
urban biodiversity conservation should receive more attention (Kong, 2010). Urban planners
should find ways to preserve biodiversity as cities expand outward by changing the natural
habitat (McKinney, 2009).
The need to create ecological networks in which protected areas connected by "corridors" or
stepping stones with other natural resources (Phillips, 2003) is becoming more and more
urgent, and the consequent decline of the traditional concept of conservation by park-islands
is accompanied by the affirmation of the need to project widespread ecological networks also
in urban environments (Massa, 2002). This network approach in cities can also leave the
strictly biological field to assume different meanings: connection networks can not only
enhance biological processes between habitats, but also assume a more complex meaning
integrating nature with cultural and historical aspects (Talia & Sargolini, 2013). From a
landscape ecology perspective, areas with significant amounts of vegetation called Urban
Green Areas (UGAs) are "patches" (remaining fragments of the original habitat) within an
anthropogenic matrix (Farina, 2001).
Therefore, in UGAs planning processes it is important to pursue the network approach not
just to conserve habitats consumed by sprawl, but also to make cities more permeable to
biological processes.
To do this, it is in fact important that the pieces of the planned landscape do not become,
due to isolation and fragmentation, areas of the sink type (negative biological traps in terms
of contribution to the dispersion of species). This means that the planning of an ecological
network that aims to connect green areas must be implemented at the landscape level.Also,
spatial configuration of UGAs (natural and semi-natural) within the urban (anthropogenic)
matrix is of utmost importance, because large patches can accommodate a greater variety of
habitats (Smith & Smith, 2009) and guarantee many functions, but small cards provide other
types of benefits (Forman, 1995). To this end, an optimal landscape model should have small
tesserae dispersed in the matrix in addition to large patches that guarantee the most
important functions (Massa, 2002).
In this study we explored the richness and diversity of native vascular plants in a variety of
UGAsin the urban matrix of the town of Sassari (NW Sardinia, Italy), with the aim to determine
if plant diversity is conditioned by patches size, location in the matrix, or configuration of each
patch. The goalis to obtain objective data useful for the development of UGA's planning based
on the principles of urban sustainability.

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2 METHODOLOGY
The city of Sassari (40°43ō36ŎN, 8°33ō33ŎE) is located in the NW of Sardinia (Italy), lies at
225 m a.s.l. in the limestone outcrops of Miocene deposits, and belongs to the lower sub-
humid mesomediterranean phytoclimatic belt of the Pluvi seasonal Oceanic Mediterranean
bioclimate (Canu et al., 2015). Urban structure,established since Middle Age as a fortified
town with 36 towers, isasymmetrical and surrounded by a olive grove strip. Sassari has an
extension of 546 km2 with a 2017 population of 127.533 witha quite stable demographic trend
since 2013.
The study area (Fig. 1) consists of the oldesturban fabric of Sassari (Sardinia, Italy) bordered
to north by the Rosello and EbaGiara valleys, and its most recent expansions towards other
directions, up to where the widespread urban settlements give way to the surrounding areas
with a lower urban density.
Fig. 1 Map of the study area containing the sampled UGAs, classified by an alphanumeric code
In order to have an overview of the UGAs in the city, for each sampled site the following
features have been defined:
− area
− perimeter;
− perimeter / area ratio;
− distance from the edge (greenbelt);
− distance from the nearest UGA;
− type of management;

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− accessibility;
− number of native plant taxa;
− density of native plant taxa;
− number of exclusive native plant taxa (plant taxa only recovered in one UGA);
− % of exclusive taxa on total native plant taxa recovered in each UGA.
Maps of the studied area were realized and implemented in GIS and Google Earth software.
Other relevant information was obtained from the municipal urban plan of Sassari (P.U.C.)
and inspections in order to verify contrasts between the use reported on P.U.C. and the
effective status.
UGAs with a surface area of less than 100 m2 and/or linked to the road network (traffic islands,
road edges) with a markedly linear shape were excluded from sampling.
Native vascular plants were sampled from May 2018 to May2019. They concerned
spontaneous herbaceous, shrub and vine species. Artificially planted (ornamental) and alien
(casual or invasive) species were excluded from sampling and determination. The samples
taken were stored after drying and subsequently determined using the Flora d’Italia (Pignatti,
1982, 2018) dichotomous keys.
This sampled UGAs became the object of connectivity analysis in integrated planning. The
integrated urban planning process used QGIS and AutoCAD software, and was divided into 3
phases. Preliminary phase, that is a study on the state of art of:
− The current planning instruments (supra-municipal, municipal and sectorial) and the
planning in force;
− The peculiar and distinctive features of the city: uniqueness and potentiality (features
that can bring benefits at different levels)) and shortcomings for various planning
spheres.
In this phase are highlighted: typical characters, genius loci and potential values that
characterize UGAs, but also waste of space, inefficiencies and distribution inhomogeneities, in
order to have a comparison parameter with which in the final phase evaluate benefits brought
by the intervention designed.
Second phase: contamination of the urban planning criteria with the ecological ones. Among
those UGAs which require ecological connections (small and with a stretched shape UGAs),
three sub-groups of them has been selected, one for every thematise detected in the
preliminary phase. The aim is to optimize spaces and create new strategic connections
between different areas of territory. Third phase: the city masterplan. A proposal for a UGAs
and related urban services plan, strengthening and completing local social and urban service
needs, is suggested. The plan redesigns the urban green texture, creating a balanced

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uniformity that reconnects the UGAs, assigning them according to their own intrinsic features
and to existing road connections.
3 RESULTS
The total sampled UGAs were 56, for a total sampled area of 26.08 ha, of which 56.47% is
freely accessible (Tab. 1).
TYPE OF UGAS TOTAL AREA (ha) % AREA #UGAs %UGAs ACCESSIBILITY
Parks and gardens 8.44 32.36 19 33.92 Yes

Military 8.27 31.71 2 3.57 No
Private gardens/parks 3.08 11.82 8 14.28 No
Abandoned 1.69 6.50 2 3.57 Yes
Parking areas 1.36 5.23 5 8.92 Yes
Sanitary 0.95 3.63 3 5.35 Yes
School 0.88 3.36 5 8.92 Yes
Public flowerbeds 0.58 2.24 10 17.85 Yes
Sport 0.51 1.95 1 1.78 Yes
Archaeological 0.31 1.20 1 1.78 Yes
Total 26.07 100.00 56 100.00
Tab. 1 Classification of the sampledUGAsaccording to type of management
The average area of the sampled sitesis 0.47 ha, with a maximum area of 4.51 ha and a
minimumarea of 0.02 ha. Only 12.07% of the sampled sites exceed one hectare of extension.
Out of 236 total species sampled, the average number of sampled species detected in each
UGAwas 30.11, with a maximum of 85 species at site I9 (1.586 ha), and a minimum of 6
species at site C5 (0.046 ha). To quantify the effect of UGA's shape on species richness and
density, the ratio between perimeter and area was analyzed. On average the studied UGAs
showed a perimeter/area ratio of 1,741.93 m / ha with a maximum value calculated of
5,754.45 m / ha, while the minimum was 200.97 m / ha. 70.90% of the sites have a perimeter
/ area ratio > 1000 m / ha. The 29.31% of sampled UGAs had a distance from the greenbelt
> 500 m, whereas the remaining 70.68% of the sites had a distance from the greenbelt <500
m. To investigate the structural connection of UGAs, the distance from the nearest UGA was
calculated in terms of minimum distance between the relative perimeters. The 32.72% of
sampled sites have a distance from the nearest patch< 100 m.
A significant relationship appears from the data between area and species richness (R= 0.65;
N=56; P<0.001; Fig. 2A), whereas a negative relationship was found between species

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richness and perimeter/area ratio (R=-0.57; N=56;P<0.001; Fig. 2B).Furthermore, significant
negative correlation was found between species density and area (R=-0.88; N=56; P<0.001;
Fig. 2C), whereas a positive correlation was found between species density and
perimeter/area ratio (R=0.72; N=56; P<0.001; Fig. 2D). No significant correlation was found
between species richness, species density and other parameters (distance from green belt;
distance from nearest UGA).
Fig. 2 A Linear trend between area and species richness; B: correlation between shape (perimeter / area ratio)
and species richness; C: negative exponential trend of species density (no.species / area ratio) as the area
grows; D: linear trend of the ratio no.species / area to the increase of the perimeter / area ratio (N=56 in all
graphs)
Preliminary results suggest that native plant diversity is conditioned more by green patches
configuration than spatial arrangement of patches within the urban matrix. In particular,
maximum values of specific richness are in large and compact areas. This species-area
relationship can be explained by the Theory of Island Biogeography (TIB) of MacArthur and
Wilson (1967), according to which larger habitats (geographical or ecological islands) tend to
accommodate more species than smaller ones.
Most UGAs in city are small (almost 88% of UGAs are less than 1 hectare), and most have a
shape not very compact (70.90% of the sites have a perimeter / area ratio > 1000 m / ha).
Because it is almost impossible to increase the areas size, in order to support biodiversity in
the city, green corridors between UGAs can be designed. The creation of ecological corridors

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and "steppingstones" involves the habitat extension of many species and facilitates the genetic
exchange between native plant species (Farina, 2001).
In order to increase the ecological connectivity between UGAs, three design layers have been
developed by connecting small and poor of species UGAs with larger and with high biodiversity
levels UGAs. At the same time, a thematic criterion was applied. The layers created can be
read severally and simultaneously at an integrated level (Fig. 3):
− A - Educational green,
− B - The sporting city,
− C - The widespread park.
Fig. 3 Conceptualschemeofthe "multilayer" overlappingof selectedthematism:

A =educational green; B = thesporting city; C = the widespread park.
The level A triesto create organicitybetween sports areas already present by creating green
linkages, by creating new ones through the re-thinkingof un-used areas and by adding sports
featuresto UGAs suitable for developing this thematism. For this level, the creation of aurban
sport circuit spread all over the cityis proposed, in order to promotea healthy and more livable

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urban mobility. The level B tries to create organicity between UGAs ofvarious didactic
structures, including schools of different order, universities and cultural institutionssuch as
museums. For this level, the creation of a widespreadcircuit of knowledgeis proposed, aimed
at offering the opportunity for a great variety of users to be able to learn naturalistic and
cultural notions. The level C proposesto uniform and enhance recreational UGAs, which
includes areas likeparks or gardens,by reconnecting them with agreen network of recreational
paths. The masterplan proposal of UGAsobtained by the overlapping of the three layers, as a
result,proposes a detailed UGAs and related urban services plan in which the individual green
areas, currently equipped with only one or none type of use, become multifunctional. The
resulting projectis a multilayer planningin which each thematic level is coherent and
strengthened on its own, but receivesadditional values by the overall masterplan, of which it
is an integral part.
4 CONCLUSIONS
The analysis of the vegetation and thegreen areas study through basic parameters has
allowed acquiringan overall picture of the current connection and state of the green areas in
the city of Sassari. The most significant parameters related to the biodiversity studied in terms
of vascular plant richness appear those related to species-area relationships and area-
perimeter relationship. The report, which could be further studied by increasing the number
of surveys and investigating the impact of other factors and their different effects on
biodiversity, could have an important meaning in UGAs planning. Small and stretched areas,
which correspond to the majority of UGAs in the city, are more exposed to biodiversity loss.
However, they show the highest specific density levels. The remaining large areas can serve
as a source area. Each type of area, in a connected green system, cangenerate specific
functionality at the ecosystem level. In order to improve the current connectivity of the
system, in the present project a sector-based approach has been replaced by an approach
based on complementary synergies between the ecological and anthropic fields.This
multidisciplinary approach allowed us to obtain, as a synthesis, a planning proposal consisting
of a detailed plan of services and UGAs functional from the point of view of ecological and
urban sustainability. On the one hand the ecological gaps between green areas and potential
or exploitable ecological connection elements are identified, on the other hand the potential
improvement of urban quality obtained based on ecological principles is underlined.The result
is a "diffused park" that offers a strategic mending of different city's portions that have a
potential urbanistic value, and that also preserves urban ecosystem's resilience by linking
areas that host native vegetation and exploiting their strategical position for enhancing urban
biodiversity.This case shows how a multidisciplinary UGAs planning can suggest new

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functional approaches and can offer better solutions because more complete from a holistic
point of view that ultimately includes the importance of quality of life in cities.
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Campbell, A., Kapos, V.(2009).Review of the literature on the links between biodiversity and climate
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(Italy). Journal of Maps, 11, 1-8. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/17445647.2014.988187
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valuation of ecosystem functions, goods and services. EcologicalEconomics, 41,393–408. doi:
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Farina, A. (2001). Ecologia del paesaggio. Torino, IT: UTET. ISBN: 9788877507389Forman, R.T.
(2014). Land Mosaics: The Ecology of Landscapes and Regions (p. 217).Cambridge, UK: University
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strategica.(pp. 127-135) Milano, IT: SIEP-IALE. ISBN: 88-900865-0-5
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AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Maria Elena Palumbo, Graduated in Natural Sciencesat the University of Cagliari, ispursuing a Master
Degree in Environmental Management at the University of Sassari. Hermaster thesis deals with the
urban ecologyof the city of Sassari. Her main interest is thestudy of ecological roles played by
interaction between plants and birdsin ecosystems.
Salvatore Manca, Civil engeneer graduated with a Master Degree at the University of Cagliariin
Building Engeneeringand Architecture, with a thesis in city planningentitled "The historic urban
landscape of Cagliari: lines for protection and enhancement". Co-founderofSOSAstudio design, he
works in design, planning, and constructionsupervision.
Sonia Palumbo Civil engeneer graduated with a Master Degreeat the Universityof Cagliari in Building
Engeneeringand Architecture, with the thesis "Strategic lines for the planning of a widespread urban
park of the knowledge of the historic center of Cagliari", which won firstprize for best thesisin
the"Premio CEI" award, established by the OIC (OrdinedegliIngegneri di Cagliari) in 2014.Co-founder
of SOSAstudio design. She is a civilengineer, planner and interior designer.
Emmanuele Farris, Associate professor of Botany at the University of Sassari, his main research
interest is related to the study of plant biodiversity at both the species, population, and landscape
levels. He teaches Plant Ecology for Natural Sciences and Landscape Ecology for Environmental
Management courses.

© 2019, FedoaPress

URBAN AREAS MORPHO-
METRIC PARAMETERS AND
THEIR SENSITIVITY ON THE
COMPUTATION METHOD
*LUCA SALVADORI, MARIA GRAZIA BADAS

MICHELA GARAU

e-mail: luca.salvadori@unica.it

Salvadori, L., Badas, M.G., Garau, M., Querzoli, G. & Ferrari, S. (2019).Urban areas morpho-metric parameters
and their sensitivity on the computation method. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature and
6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
This work aims to underline the relevance of a site -specific characterization of urban sites,
needed both for Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations (e.g. for micro-climate or
local air quality studies) and urban larger scale air quality studies. We consider the Italian town
Cagliari as a case study, which presents heterogeneous urban texture, as many of European
historical towns, quite different from large, regular sized texture of American cities, that are
generally considered in literature. Starting from the computation of the main morphometric
and fluid dynamics parameters from Digital Elevation Models (DEM),it is possible to identify
some possible caveats on using gridded DEM analysis for the site statistics detection. Finally,
results show how site-specific analysis is necessary to provide better and more representative
parametrizations compared to those obtained by literature results, which cannot be transposed
to other urban contexts. Morphometric site-specific analysis represents a key issue in urban
numerical simulations, since the application of non-representative morphometric input data may
dramatically affect their results.
KEYWORDS
Morphometric Parameters; Urban Aerodynamic Roughness; Urban Canopy Model
* The other authors are: Giorgio Querzoli, Simone Ferrari.
Urban area morpho-metric parameters and their sensitivity on the computation method

1 INTRODUCTION
Interaction between air flows and built environment is essential when performing numerical
simulations, and it has to be described appropriately, whatever it is the target application and
for whatever involved spatial scale. Actually, using mesoscale models for weather forecasting
and air quality prediction on large areas, the parametrization of the average effect of the
small-scale atmospheric processes is needed. The latter is highly complex, due to the
nonlinear processes involved as well as to land heterogeneities, especially in urban context
(Arnfield, 2003; Pelliccioni et al., 2016). Eventually, the positive effect of an adequate
characterization has been widely demonstrated ( Chen et al., 2011; Salamanca et al., 2010).
This kind of characterisation (Chen et al. 2011) of the urban areas is fundamental for
microscale models too, which require more detailed descriptions of the urban morphology, as
required by mesoscale models, in order to represent the average effect of the physical
process. Moreover, at neighbourhood or building scale simulated by means of Computational
Fluid Dynamics (CFD) models, the proper description of the urban surrounding is still
necessary for setting the urban roughness length in the regions surrounding the target area,
which are not explicitly modelled although included in the simulation domain, as well as to
define appropriate approaching wind boundary condition (Blocken, 2015; Pelliccioni et al.,
2015). Urban canopy parameterization and fluid dynamic parameters are generally developed
on the basis of simple urban configurations. Considering the urban canyon as fundamental
unit, and the broad division of urban canopy models used in large scale numerical simulations
into single-layer (e.g., Masson, 2000) and multi-layer (e.g. Martilli et al., 2002) models, studies
performed on simple configurations, including two-dimensional urban canyons are valuable
(Badas et al., 2017; Garau et al., 2018).
In his pioneering work, Oke (1988) highlighted how canyon flow characteristics depend on
the Canyon Aspect Ratio ( ), defined by the ratio between the canyon width ( ) and the
mean building height ( ) (Fig. 1a).
(1)
Other authors, e.g. Hang and Li (2011), showed the influence of the Building Aspect Ratio
( ), i.e. the ratio between the building width ( ) and the building height ( ):
(2)
Canyon morphology affects the street canyon ventilation (Badas et al. 2017; Bernardino et
al., 2015; Garau et al., 2018b), in particular, when thermal effects are considered or when
the urban morphology interacts with different atmospheric conditions.

© 2019, FedoaPress

L. Salvadori, M.G. Bades, M. Garau et al.
The main method to estimate aerodynamic parameters was proposed by Grimmond and Oke
(1999). In their approach, the morphometric characterisation leads to the empirical
determination of the aerodynamic parameters. They schematically described building shapes
and proportions, referring to an elementary unit on which the morphometric study is based.
Basic measurements involved in the elementary unit description are sketched in Fig. 1b. Apart
from the yet cited , the other parameters are the building planar area , the building
frontal area, along a specific direction, , and the total planar area of the element
(considering the building pertinent area, as defined by the chosen urban area partition) .
Two morphometric parameters, namely Plan Area Index ( ) and Frontal Area Index ( ) can
be defined:
(3)
(4)
When two-dimensional canyons are considered, and the direction is the same as the
longitudinal development of the canyon, the relationship between the two set of parameters
becomes:
(5)
Today, morphological analysis is well aided by geospatial data availability. Recently, the urban
boundary layer parameterization project, NUDAPT (National Urban Database and Access
Portal Tool), was created to provide accurate and homogeneous urban dataset on more than
40 American cities (Ching et al., 2009). Other initiatives have been developed in this field;
however most studies are performed in American cities, whilst European and, in particular,
Italian urban areas have received less attention. Without a specific and accurate morphometric
parameter dataset, the input model parameters related to urban structure must be derived
from available datasets and reference values. However, these ones not necessarily correspond
to the specific analysed condition, and this may have not negligible effects on the simulation
outcomes. Moreover, another aspect must be considered: generally morphometric studies are
performed on gridded data on a regular grid (Burian et al., 2002; Ratti et al., 2006). Results
can be significantly affected by element selection, and the choice of the most appropriate
methodology should be investigated. Concluding this introduction, a fact deserves attention.
Until air quality simulation models continue to be used relying on a simplified built environment
representation, poor information can be obtained about the link between urban morphology
and air quality in cities. Indeed, only a deep knowledge of the first one can help managing
this task, and high-resolution data is required, to support urban planning process. Based on
it, the whole simulation process may lead to a larger dataset to analyse, which cannot always

© 2019, FedoaPress


be reached using only in field measured data. This work presents a morphologic analysis of
Cagliari, an Italian town, quite representative of many historical European towns, with the
aim to discuss the outcomes of a regular or irregular grid choice.
(a) (b)
Fig. 1 Basic parameters to define (a) urban canyon aspectratios ( , ); (b) planar
and frontal area indexes.
2 METHODS
The procedure here implemented is based on a Digital Surface Model (DSM) and a Digital
Terrain Model (DTM), both at 1 m resolution. These datasets were retrieved for our case
study, Cagliari, thanks to the open access guaranteed by the local dataset “Sardegna
Geoportale”. The computation of and parameters has been useful to derive Zero Plane
Displacement Length ( ) and Roughness Length ( ) values. These fluid dynamics
parameters are used in CFD models to define the incident wind profile:
(6)
where is the flow speed at height , is the friction velocity and is the von Karman
constant.Several methods have been developed and tested in order to get and values
(Grimmond and Oke, 1999). In the following, we present the results obtained applying the
MacDonald method, among the proposed in the study, because of its more suitable
experimental derivation to an urban context:
(7)
(8)
where and are empirical coefficients and is the drag coefficient. The authors suggested
using , , , and we adopted the same values. In order to compare
the outcome of the analysis performed on regular square grids and irregular elements,
assessments were carried out by means of three different settings: an irregular grid whose

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elements are defined on the street graph, hence following the shape of the building blocks
(Fig. 2a), a 50 m × 50 m gridded map (Fig. 2b), a 100 m × 100 m gridded map (Fig. 2c).
Actually, different grid scales were employed for morphometric analyses (Burian et al., 2002;
Ratti et al., 2006;) and a consensus on defining a standard methodology has not been
achieved by the scientific community yet (Fernando et al., 2010). Here, small scale grids were
chosen to compare regular and irregular grid outcomes at similar resolutions as well as to
investigate the town heterogeneity.
(a) (b)
(c) (d)
Fig. 2 colormap distribution on Cagliari urban area computed from subdivision in irregular blocks (a, top
left), gridded elements at 50 m (b, top right) and 100 m (c, bottom left). Yellow lines highlight
neighbourhoodsubdivision: Stampace (1), Castello (2), Villanova (3), San Benedetto (4), Marina (5),Bonaria (6),
asdisplayed in plot (d, bottom right)
Indeed, the morphometric analysis was applied to Cagliari central area (Bonaria, Marina,
Castello, Villanova, San Benedetto and Stampace – displayed in Fig. 2d), which have a

© 2019, FedoaPress


different historical development that is reflected in their morphometric features. The obtained
data were statistically analyzed at each neighborhood scale as well as considering the whole
gridsrepresenting central Cagliari mean parameters.
3 RESULTS
Fig. 2 shows colour maps of over the analysed urban area, computed on the three adopted
grids. All the maps display a heterogeneous distribution, with notable difference from one
neighbourhood to another one, whilst less variation is shown within each district. We also
analysed the directional value, to better evaluate anisotropies of urban texture. Results
obtained for three of the analysed districts are displayed, as an example, inpolar plots of Fig.
3a. A remarkable difference is apparent: while data obtained from a regular grid show
maximum values on the diagonal direction irrespective of the district analysed, polar plots
computed on irregular element grids are notably different from each other.
Fig. 3 (a ) polar plots computed for the corresponding wind direction for three Cagliari neighbourhoods,
using subdivision in irregular blocks (black line), regular gridded elements at 50 m (red line) and 100 m (blue
line).(b) polar plots for the whole Cagliari area usingsubdivision in irregularblocks (black line),
regularelementsat 50 mside (red line) and 100 m side (blue line) compared with other study casesperformed on
regular grids (dotted lines)

© 2019, FedoaPress

The behaviour observed for the regular grids is prevalently driven by its geometrical
properties, more than being a result of the specific urban layout. The same outcome is
apparent from the polar plots obtained for whole Cagliari area and displayed in Fig. 3b.
Cagliari values for the regular grids resemble those obtained by Ratti et al. (2002) for other
cities (London, Tolouse, Berlin) using regular 100 m grids: they all have maxima around 45°
directions, with Cagliari 100 m grid data almost overlapping Toulouse ones. Conversely,
Cagliari irregular block results display an isotropic distribution, since the effect of the
anisotropies highlighted in some neighbourhoods (and discussed above) are lost when
averaging data at larger scales. Actually, we compared mean morphometric values since it is
a common practise to use them as a reference in this context (Pelliccioni et al., 2016).
The heterogeneous distribution of and values is reflected into the heterogeneous spatial
distribution of the roughness length , computed according to MacDonald formula. In
absence of such detailed studies, when urban roughness length or zero displacement length
are needed, it could be possible to choose the appropriate values following the urban area
classification by Grimmond and Oke (1999), whose reference values are displayed in Tab. 2.
According to the description given by these authors, Cagliari should be classified as a C urban
area (i.e. residential-closely spaced < six-story row and block buildings or major facilities like
factories, university, etc., town centre). However, comparing Tab. 1 and 2, while falls within
the proposed range, from the morphometric analysis is quite different from those obtained
by Grimmond and Oke (1999). Moreover, distribution is highly heterogeneous; hence its
mean value may not be representative. This confirms that using parameterizations obtained
in other regions can be misleading, providing different mean parameters.
4 CONCLUSIONS
Getting information about relations between cities air quality and urban morphology, reliable
as base to shape well breathing new urban zones, requires an aerodynamic analysis. The
latter, in turn, requires input parameters, which are supposed to synthetically represent the
complex interactions between the boundary layer and the built environment (Amicarelli et al.,
2012).Simulation results can be heavily influenced by these urban context parametrisations,
both in case of air quality models (Di Bernardino et al., 2018) or in CFD context (Ferrari et al.,
2016). Considering the analysis performed on Cagliari and here presented, some general
conclusions can be extrapolated. As main result, it must be noted that caution is necessary
when using literature data obtained in different urban contexts. Secondly, the complex town
historical development leads to a heterogeneous distribution of morphometric parameters.

© 2019, FedoaPress


SITE
Cagliari 21 0.33 0.10 10.7 0.47

Berlino 20 0.35 0.23 12.1 1.18
Tolosa 16 0.40 0.32 10.9 0.92
Londra 15 0.55 0.32 11.9 0.30
Tab. 1 Comparison between aerodynamic properties obtained for Cagliari and available literature data for some other
European cities
CLASS URBAN SURFACE FORM
A 5-8 2-4 0.3-0.8 Low height and density

B 7-14 3.5-8 0.7-1.5 Medium height and density
C 11-20 7-15 0.8-1.5 Tall and heightdensity
D >20 >12 >2.0 High-rise
Tab. 2 Aerodynamic parameters for the four urban area classes defined by Grimmond and Oke, (1999), ordered
by height and density
Hence, their mean values computed over the whole urban area may not be meaningful and,
in some cases morphometric parameters should be first assessed at a homogeneous
neighbourhood level. Then, their bulk effect should be estimated, by focussing on the upwind
fetch area. Moreover, the comparison of computation for grid dataset showed misleading
results that can be conveniently overcome using irregular elements extracted from the street
graph.
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10.1007/s10546-014-9987-2

© 2019, FedoaPress

Blocken, B. (2015).ComputationalFluid Dynamics for urbanphysics: Importance, scales, possibilities,

limitations and tentips and trickstowards accurate and reliablesimulations. Building and
Environment,91, 219–245. doi: 10.1016/j.buildenv.2015.02.015
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canyons. Urban Climate,24, 80–93. doi: 10.1016/j.uclim.2018.02.002
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WEB SITES
“SardegnaGeoportale”
http://www.sardegnageoportale.it/
AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Luca Salvadori is a Ph.D. student in Civil Engineering and Architecture. His main research topics are
about pollutant dispersion in environmental flows, especially related to problem solutions like urban
sites characterization methods.
Maria Grazia Badas has been an Aggregate Professor in Hydraulics II at the University of Cagliari
(Italy), since 2006. She received her Ph.D. in Territorial Engineering from the University of Cagliari in
2005. Her research topics include turbulence and mixing in civil, environmental and biological flows.
Michela Garau received her Ph.D. in Civil Engineering and Architecture from the University of Cagliari
in 2019. Her main research interests include atmospheric boundary layer, numerical modelling of urban
canopies and dispersion models.
Giorgio Querzoli has been a Full Professor in Fluid Mechanics at the University of Cagliari, Italy since
2006. He received his Ph.D. in Environmental Monitoring at the University of Florence, Italy in 1996.
He teaches ‘Hydraulics’ and ‘Environmental Hydraulics’. His research topics are turbulence and
dispersion in biologic and environmental flows, such as atmospheric boundary layer and ocean outfalls.
Simone Ferrari has been an Aggregate Professor in FluidMechanicsat the University of Cagliari (Italy),
since 2011. He receivedhis PhD in Territorial Engineering from the University of Cagliari, in
collaboration with the Imperial College London (UK) in 2007. His researchinterests include turbulence
and mixing in civil, environmental, industrial and biological flows.

© 2019, FedoaPress

PRESERVATION AND
VALORISATION OF SMALL
HISTORICAL CENTRES AT RISK
MARIA ANGELA BEDINI

FABIO BRONZINI, GIOVANNI MARINELLI
Department Simau
Polytechnic University of Marche, Italy
e-mail: m.a.bedini@staff.univpm.it
f.bronzini@staff.univpm.it
g.marinelli@staff.univpm.it

Bedini, M.A., Bronzini, F. & Marinelli, G. (2019). Preservation and valorization of small historical centres at risk.
In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature and ecosystem services (pp.744-756). Naples: FedOAPress.
ISBN: 978-88-6887-054-6, doi: 10.6093/978-88-6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
The fragility of the territories in Italy represents a problem of enormous dimensions, which
seems extraneous to the priority choices of the political agenda. It manifests itself with the
acceleration of abandonment, in large territories, of hundreds of small widespread historical
centres. Abandonment generated by a rapid reduction in the possibilities of work and livability,
which has led to the removal of young residents and the natural disappearance of the older
population. To this widespread phenomenon the absence of strategies able to improve the level
of safety and protection from hydro-geo-morphological and seismic risks is superimposed. The
aim of this paper is to evaluate possible strategies to slow down the escape from fragile areas,
favoring the return of the population. Particular attention will be paid to the weak rehabilitation
processes implemented in some post-earthquake experiences in Italy.
KEYWORDS
Risk Protection; Historical Centres; Rebirth; Fragile Territories
Preservation and valorization of small historical centres at risk

1 INTRODUCTION
Today, the many scattered settlements in the territory of the Apennines and high hillsides,
that are at the mercy of rain, snow storms and earthquakes, or will be left alone to their fate
or will have to be protected by a inclusive and technological network at local level and at vast
area level.
This could be done with initiatives planned and agreed with residents, that ensure effective
relations between the different social and economic components, and may be concretized
through integrated operational actions, carried out rapidly, at different levels of intervention:
from the municipal district level to the Vast Area level (Gambino, 2008). As Campos Venuti
has said, «it is necessary to invest, through post-earthquake interventions, not only in the
affected area, but in the territorial system as a whole», taking the Vast Area as reference for
preventive programming, given the possibility of future earthquakes.
A system should therefore be planned, on a detailed scale, to define the relationship between
the urban fabric and free areas, the spaces used for public buildings and emergency structures
and roadways, far from risks caused by falling masonry or landslides, that guarantee, even in
the case of natural disasters, internal and external access, and network systems that in any
case ensure the continuation of services.
In this settlement network of small centres scattered throughout the territory, a system of
“functional hubs”, should also be planned as strategic protection outposts to defend the
territory, equipped with landing spaces for rescue helicopters. Such territorial nodes should
constitute "terminals" of a network of protected roads, along which buildings, electricity poles
or columns of data of any kind should not be constructed, whose collapse during a natural
catastrophe could obstruct the streets. These protected access and escape routes could lead
to what were once called “pomerium areas”, namely a tract of land denoting the formal,
“sacral” ambit of ancient cities. A space where only super-equipped wooden structures may
be constructed: a safe shelter, similar to wartime shelters, with a certain degree of privacy
for citizens who find themselves having to sleep in these shelters. As well as protected feeding
troughs, for the animals. Shelters that may be reached from the ring roads of the small
centres, where elderly people and children may find a place to stay for short periods of time
if necessary.
Small municipalities should be fully equipped with generators, turbine snow sweepers and any
other equipment that may be needed to deal with emergencies. And if these micro-
municipalities, that are very often kept as administration districts only for electoral reasons,
are not able to protect the lives of citizens, they will simply have to be grouped with larger
communities.

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M.A. Bedini, F. Bronzini & G. Marinelli
According to the database of the Civil Protection Department (updated on 26 May 2017),
1,141 Municipalities do not yet have a protocol for dealing with natural disasters, such as
earthquakes or floods (Department of Civil Protection, 2017). Many of these are in seismic
zone 1, which corresponds to the highest level of danger.
The Municipalities in the “earthquake damaged area” of Central Italy are all required to have
plans in place to deal with hydro-geological disasters or earthquake, as set forth by a law
dating to 2012. What this means though is that these Civil Protection plans, as such, are
useless.
In order to keep the few remaining residents and the facilitate the return of those temporarily
transferred, it is necessary to draw up and implement a plan to ensure that former residents
can return in complete safety, even in the event of new shocks or other natural disasters such
as landslides or hydrogeological events, in the coming years. It should not be forgotten that
on 18 January 2017 in the locality of Rigopiano, Abruzzo in the municipality of Farindola
(Pescara), an enormous block of ice, earth and mud broke away from the mountain, during
earthquake shocks, and fell into the valley, destroying the large hotel complex of Rigopiano,
built on the confluence of a detrital valley at very high risk of landslides.
Viewers who from abroad watched the live TV coverage of the tragedy of the great Rigopiano
Hotel, where a column of cars and rescue vehicles travelling in a 3-meter tunnel of snow,
stopped desperately behind a turbine sweeper that were unable to reach, after many hours,
the people who were dying, they must have thought that Italy was an extremely backward
Country.
And viewers watching the very few heroes who faced the snowstorm simply on skis, walking
the last seven miles, must have wondered at this generous but backward society, where not
even the simplest form of planning was present.
It was noted, at a very high cost in terms of human lives, that buildings can not be built on
streams, creeks or small rivers channeled into great pipes, covered with earth, on precarious
natural or artificial balconies, on lands at risk of landslides or hydrogeological disasters, or on
areas that are unstable from a geotechnical point of view.
2 PRIORITY SOCIO-ECONOMIC OBJECTIVE FOR THE REBIRTH OF

FRAGILE TERRITORIES
To keep the population in the foothills settlement of the interland, it is not enough to build
houses, but it is necessary to bring back not only the original citizens, since their sense of
attachment is part of its genius loci, but also new members of the community.

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In order to encourage these residents to return (Alexander, 2013), it should be remembered
that reconstruction is closely linked to the financial situation of citizens and businesses before
the disaster, given that it is citizens with more money who are better equipped to face a
disaster. And as researchers have observed, reconstruction may lead to a “boom-and-bust”
economy, where the reconstruction process fuels a temporary economic growth, at the
expense however of the long-term sustainability of the local economy.
That is why it is so important to choose which economy to support.
For example, the decision may be made to support the so-called “Production Landscape”
(Abbasi, 2017; Bedini & Marinelli, 2017), with a programme of strategic incentives.
The investment in rural settlements of landscape and environmental value may therefore be
a driving force for development, for a new growth model based on the social and production
reconversion of the countryside and the environmental and cultural revaluation of the network
of widespread settlements, typical of central Italy.
An investment made, for example, with the substantial funds allocated by Marche Region to
the so-called “Advanced Cultural District” (Regional Law 4/2010, involving 13 regional
projects, 3.05 million Euro; 4 regional initiative projects, 1.75 million Euro), based on the
concept that financing cultural and creative projects in areas of historical, architectural and
environmental value, may attract businesses and people to the area.
Numerous studies have made it easier to understand the mechanisms and interrelations
between policies, the landscape and social-economic and benefits (Zasada et al., 2017).
In some Italian regions, above all in Central Italy, there are new potentialities for this type of
development, based on the rural dimension and a new production-settlement model, such as
that proposed by the rural policy of the CAP, the approach of Urban Agriculture (Fleury, 2005;
Torquati et al., 2015; Poulot, 2007) and the new Agropolitan forms (Donadieu, 2005; Droz &
Forney, 2006), Agrourbanism (Fleury & Vidal, 2010), the Food Plans applied in Europe and
the USA, or the urban horticulture projects (Daly, 2015) which appeared, in the late 90s, as
a way to reorganise Irish agriculture.
In order to reconvert the agro-zootechnical industry, in line with food and production
requirements, and social, tourist and cultural needs, agricultural planning should include the
introduction of Vast Area Plans in Associated Municipalities Districts.
This is confirmed by the successful experience of small groups of associated municipalities in
Marche Region (in the hinterland of Pesaro) and other towns in Emilia Romagna, where it has
been demonstrated that small Municipalities are unable to plan new and existing farming
activities, that can only be done at district level.
An economic-territorial policy is therefore required with diversified operational tools: urban
plans, farm park plans (Giacchè, 2014), agro-urban programmes (SDRIF) (agro-urban

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programmes to protect farming areas and encourage the active participation of farmers in
territorial planning choices) (Bernard & Dufour, 2005), agriurbanism projects (Maraccini et al.,
2013; Vidal & Fleury, 2009), Integrated Territorial Projects (PIT), (PSN, 2006), and tools to
implement the structural funds of the European Union.
Consequently, in this moment of instability caused by the global and local crisis in Central
Italy, and the difficult resurgence of lands devastated by the earthquake, the settlement
filaments, the urbanised countryside and the hundreds of historic-rural buildings may
represent an opportunity to reconsider values, in order to relaunch local values and lifestyles
in areas of high environmental-landscape value with small populations.
The multi-scale strategy suggested hinges on the desires and involvement of residents
(Buttarelli & Ortu, 2008), who are determined to return to the places where they born. The
identity of these contexts should therefore be strengthened and supported more carefully.
Plans for the hinterland areas, the intermediate hillside areas and coastal areas should be
reconsidered as a whole, in order to create a new pact between city and countryside, an
understanding of reciprocal usefulness, in order to overcome the current deadlock, and
relaunch the development and integration of resources which are, on one hand, widespread
and underused, and on the other hand centralised and consolidated (Bedini & Bronzini, 2016;
Bronzini & Bedini, 2015).
The pact for an integrated strategy between city and countryside becomes a coherent pact
between the coastal and hinterland areas, the areas of the capital and neighbouring territories,
putting aside one-sided development of competing Municipalities, in order to develop common
territorial services (water supplies, maintenance of sewerage systems, waste disposal sites,
waste recycling, distribution of zero-mile foods, health facilities and schools for several
Municipalities, supra-municipal public transport systems for the hinterland areas, cooperatives
of city-countryside consumers, etc.)
In the territories of Central Italy, the city-country dualism, that has been studied in great
detail in other contexts (Clementi, 2008; Secchi & Viganò, 2011), has different and peculiar
aspects. And these environments are perfect to regenerate a close relationship between
consolidated systems and the rural environment, securely linked to the cultural, food and wine
system, environmental and tourist networks and the network of over one thousand small
historical-artistic “treasure troves”, to which the “advanced cultural districts” (in which cultural
and creative projects create new production activities) are connected.
But an effective strategy must be adjusted according to the endogenous potential of places,
involving different levels of operators:
− local government authorities (responsible for protecting farm lands and functionality);

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− groups of agricultural entrepreneurs (Milone & Ventura, 2009) (whose responsibility is

to increase the quality of products and offer recreational, educational and social-
environmental services);
− tourist or food and wine entrepreneurial groups (who also supply sports, social services,
environmental recreation);
− cultural groups (in order to insert the historical rural and natural heritage in the economic
network);
− artisanal businesses (with typical products);
− old and new local residents (with whom the preservation and functionality of places
should be agreed).
This leads to a new planning approach of public spaces in the extensive territory, suggesting
elements of recognisability, identification, the boundaries of the settlements and
environmental qualification.
This approach was examined in great detail in the book published by Paolo Colarossi (Colarossi
& Latini, 2008) and in the Urban Plans developed by the same author in Cisterna Municipality
(Rome).
It should also be considered that “modifying an economic policy variable may produce
different responses in different territories, in other words, modifications of this kind may have
different local values rather than a single global value” (Pecci & Sassi, 2007). It is therefore
necessary to «evaluate and develop the endogenous potential of rural areas [...] with
differentiated typologies» (Mennella, 2006) and to plan interventions according to the
different relationships between the rural areas and linear settlements of the territory.
Despite these strategic approaches however, there is a gap in the governance of the regional
territory, at Vast Area level, and a total lack of programming-management for these scattered
settlements.
Given the shortcomings of the public bodies, that are evident in the governance of these
territories with scattered high-risk settlements, the Productive Landscape approach and the
new city-countryside relationship offers a new and unrepeatable opportunity for the economic
and social development of production landscapes. It suggests a policy, which is perhaps the
only possible option, to relaunch local values and lifestyles in more balanced man-environment
settings. Planning should be holistic, given that it is not only a question of substituting
damaged assets and infrastructures, but also a question of reconstructing communities, to
ensure equity, access to resources and equal opportunities for disadvantaged persons. Only
in this way will it be possible to reduce the community’s vulnerability to risks.
In a precarious economic and social scenario, the intellighenzia of urban-territorial knowledge
is called to take a stand against the deplorable shortcomings of risk protection and prevention,

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combating the abandonment of the hinterland, while focusing on a culture to safeguard the
territory and regenerate the products of the landscape-environmental system. Without a
regulatory front of this kind, the academic world will end up being an accomplice of the
deplorable choices of political power.
3 FRAGILE TERRITORIES AFFECTED BY SEISMIC EVENTS

The experience in Emilia Romagna, 2012, represents a milestone in the approach to dealing
with the aftermath of earthquakes. For the first time in Italy, this was an earthquake that
struck an enormous area with a dynamic industrial, urban and agro-industrial fabric. An
experience that was developed with a laborious bottom-up process.
The Reconstruction Plan (Law No. 16/2012) for Emilia-Romagna (Nerozzi & Romani, 2014),
the 2015 Special Area Programmes for 24 Municipalities (Regional Law no. 30/1996) (Franz,
2016) and the Plans for the historical centres, all reconfirmed the fundamental importance of
the established fabrics, while the Operational Plan (OP) defined an innovative urban plan
associated with economic and financial programmes for the social and economic regeneration
of the urban historical centres (Isola & Zanelli, 2015).
In other words, this was a shared and planned urban planning strategy, which was part of a
vision whose aim was to strategically relaunch a very large territory, that risks abandonment,
by introducing preventive measures of earthquake planning. The plan focuses on supporting
the population, by reprogramming new production and tourist-cultural functions for the tiny
historical centres scattered throughout the territory.
The experience of Emilia-Romagna (where reconstruction was carried out under a new
Regional Law and Urban Plan), including the new Special Area Plan, is an example of effective
concerted urban planning (in compliance with Regional Law 30/1996), that ensured cross-
functional collaboration between municipal and private administrations. The 2012 experience,
involving the smaller centres of the Ferrara district, whose infrastructures dated to the
Romanesque period and the early Middle Ages and later, the Renaissance period, revealed,
with very few exceptions, the degradation and abandonment of the historical centres. These
settlements were mostly occupied by low-income immigrant families, who were unable to
carry out maintenance or renovate buildings.
In the case of Umbria (1979; 1984; 1997) on the occasion of the earthquake dating to
September 1997 (Nigro & Razzio, 2007), the choice of “light” reconstruction made it possible
for residents to return to the district within a reasonable period of time, when it was possible
to repair the damages incurred with anti-seismic technical solutions. In this case, seismic
microzonation made it possible to identify areas with different geological and
geomorphological characteristics, over and above the seismic aspect.

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Pursuant to Regional Decree no. 64 dated 8 February 2010, the Region approved the
guidelines to define the Minimal Urban Structure for the Reduction of Seismic Risks, pursuant
to article 3.3.d of Regional Law no. 11 dated 22.02.2005. And with Regional Law no. 1 dated
21.01.2015, the SUM was structurally included in Urban Planning, in order to identify
approaches, spaces, urban functions and strategic buildings to ensure an urban response to
earthquakes during the emergency, and maintain and resume urban, economic, social and
relational activities, after the earthquake.
The SUM includes the lifelines, the main railway communication routes and nodes, the escape
routes, the secure open and closed spaces, key centres, collection points for the population.
The SUMs include the critical elements: historical urban gateways, steep or very narrow
sections of roads, sharp bends, hydrogeological hazards, buildings close to the road, etc.
Far from the media spotlight (and with a logic opposite to the abnormal one of the historical
centre of L'Aquila), in Abruzzo (57 municipalities in 3 provinces) the model of negative
recovery in progress in the historical centre of L'Aquila was not followed. In contrast, a
completely different regeneration model for small Municipalities was being developed and
proposed by university groups 9 uniform Areas were identified, where the scope was to ensure
coordinated administrative management and pooling of services between different
Municipalities. Forms of governance involving several municipalities, interrelated at Vast Area
level, were also introduced the Reconstruction Plan also acts as a Strategic Plan. The
Reconstruction Plan, that involves other building aspects, also acts as a Strategic Plan, namely
for social-economic and territorial planning. The Minimal Urban Structure (SUM) was again
used, at an urban and territorial level. The possible locations and conditions of collapse of the
Minimal Urban Structure were also identified. The places, with the highest level of protection
and urban connecting areas, were on the other hand identified. It was in this way possible to
integrate the historical centre and the rest of the urban area. And these locations will moreover
be safe and beautiful, becoming not only functional elements of the SUM but also areas of
cultural, environmental and social value with which the local community can identify itself.
4 OPERATIONAL STRATEGIES
This paper can only limit itself to proposing simple and clear procedural and planning
suggestions, that could be used as a Road Map for public initiatives.
Examining the experiences of previous difficult post-earthquake situations, it is apparent that
there has been a general difficulty to capture the right opportunity to rethink sustainable
settlement models: population, activities, urban and rural homes, historical-artistic artefacts
and environments, services scattered over enormous territories that are inadequately
protected in the case of natural disasters and have no technological rescue networks, super-

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equipped urban shelters, or a constantly accessible network of central structures, located in

strategic hubs at the service of the territory.
An earthquake breaks the existing fragile balance of the territory and makes it necessary to
rethink the lifestyle model in these places, based on:
− a territorial urban risk protection system;
− a system of Smart land projects, that improve the services to the community and
businesses in the territory;
− a system of new functional relationships between small urban centres in earthquake
damaged areas and urban centres outside earthquake damaged areas (transport,
cooperatives, itinerant services for production activities etc.) and intangible relationships
that strengthen the new ties between residents in mountain, hillside and coastal areas
(historic-cultural memory, visual perception, identifying oneself with the emotional
enjoyment of beautiful environmental areas, awareness of the quality natural and
anthropized areas, etc.).
The experiences in the past have produced successful (Emilia Romagna, Umbria, Marche),
but also negative (historical centre of L’Aquila) results. The lack of a permanent guidance
center in the prevention, emergency, and post-earthquake rebirth phases is a particularly
negative aspect, given that all these phases should be addressed simultaneously and not
successively: there should be no emergency Plan without preventive Plans for protection
against risks. There should be no emergency Plans with temporary settlements and building
reconstruction as a separate and distinct phase, prior to the planning-management of
resurgence. The management protocols should impose, in the case of an earthquake, the
simultaneous implementation of emergency plans and social-economic regeneration plans.
The post-earthquake environmental situation makes it necessary deal with the phase of social,
economic and urban-territorial regeneration, very attentively. A phase, that focuses on the
absolute priority of repopulating the territories, that is even more important than
reconstruction alone.
This objective should be coded by law and become a cultural, social and economic choice,
even though a different allocation of resources to reconstruction and territorial regeneration
planning strategies.
The latter should, moreover be based on detailed urban planning projects (SUM Minimal Urban
Structures) prepared by experienced urban planners, with concerted urban planning practices
and without forcing private individuals to become members of expensive consortia.
The use of these valid urban planning tools (SUM) ensures greater safety in earthquake
damaged areas, encouraging citizens to return to the area to take up their business activities
and services.

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This practice is applied in Umbria where, with Umbria Regional Law 11 dated 22.02.2005
called “Law for Governance of the Territory”, the SUM is included in Territorial and Urban
Planning. This practice is currently examined and tested at the weekly workshops of the
national University Master (2017-2018) “City and Territory. Innovative tools and strategies for
protection against risks for territories in difficulty”, in which 40 Universities and Research
Centers participate.
As already confirmed by experimentation carried out in Lazio, different planning tools must
be integrated, given that the territory regeneration system entails a more complex security,
protection and maintenance system of the territory:
− SUM, Minimum Urban Structure to reduce urban seismic vulnerability.
− QSV Strategic Valorisation Framework of Historical Centres.
− Civil Protection Plan.
− PAI, Hydrogeological Structure Plan.
− Seismic microzonation and risk maps.
The resurgence of fragile territories could be based on the economic and social model of the
so-called “productive landscape”. In other words, an investment in the human capital
entrenched in these places, in the historical rural settlements, the environmental values and
products of excellence, and on a new relationship of solidarity between abandoned areas,
hillside areas and coastal areas.
This solidarity already exists in some environments, and consists of introducing common
social, health and emergency services including assistance to businesses, producer-consumer
associations, etc.
An integrated economic and settlement system that may become a driving force for a new
lifestyle model: social and production reconversion of the countryside and protected
regeneration of the extensive settlement system, with its historical and cultural values.
A model where services to agro-zootechnical companies in the territories, as in the case of
Valnerina (Umbria), will once again become, itinerant: the itinerant Teaching Post of
AgriCulture (Giacchè, 2017), the itinerant butcher and many other “door-to-door” activities,
including advisory services for production, access to credit, cooperation.
The above-mentioned Marche Region funding of 16 strategic operational projects uses a
different approach, but in any case aims at supporting the driving force of the production
Landscape. Projects for employment development based on the knowledge of local
entrepreneurs of excellence, driven by cultural and environmental excellence, that are the
true unalienable resources of the territory.

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Rodriguez-Entrena, M., Manrique, R., Ungaro, F., Zavallon, M.i, Delattre, L., Piorr, A., Kantelhardt, J.,
Verburg, P.H., & Viaggi, D. (2017). A conceptual model to integrate the regional context in landscape
policy, management and contribution to rural development: Literature review and European case study
evidence. Geoforum, 82, 1-12
AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Maria Angela Bedini, Associate Professor of the Technical and Urban Planning sector, Department
Simau, Faculty of Engineering, Polytechnic University of Marche. Responsible for editing coordination
of the International Journal Mterritorio, Journal of Planning, Socio-economic and Cultural Testimony
and of the parallel online magazine Mterritorio (www.mterritorio.univpm.it). She has written over one
hundred and sixty publications on urban planning and techniques, the city and its emotional and
sensorial implications. Books and papers published in the last years: M.A. Bedini, F. Bronzini, The post-
earthquake experience in Italy. Difficulties and the possibility of planning the resurgence of the
territories affected by earthquakes, in Land Use Policy, Elsevier, 2018; F. Bronzini, M.A. Bedini, The
City-countryside embrace, Franco Angeli, Milano, 2015; F. Bronzini, M.A. Bedini, P.N. Imbesi, Elementi
di qualità in vecchie e nuove forme di piano, in Territorio, n. 74, Franco Angeli, Milano, 2015M.A.
Bedini, F. Bronzini, G. Marinelli, Il respiro italiano. Expo 2015 – The Italian breath. Expo 2015 – El
respiro italiano. Expo 2015 – Der italienische Atem. Expo 2015 – 2015ফ਼ੀ೗妯ἁ——ਔপਹ橓⯻⇖
⤎⌡䲥䥅㯻ざ, Gangemi Editore International Publishing, Roma, 2015; F. Bronzini, M.A. Bedini et alii,
The Measurement of the Plan. Tools and strategies, vol. 2, Gangemi Editore, Roma, 2014.
Fabio Bronzini, Full Professor of the Technical and Urban Planning sector, Department Simau, Faculty
of Engineering, Polytechnic University of Marche. Scientific Coordinator of II level master “City and
Territory. Strategies and Innovative Tools for the Protection of Risk in Areas in Crisis” (2017-2018 and
2018-2019). Director of the Giovanni Astengo Urban and Territorial Planning Laboratory. Director of
the new international magazine Mterritorio, Ancona University Press. Director of the parallel online
magazine Mterritorio (www.mterritorio.univpm.it). Books and papers published in the last years: M.A.
Bedini, F. Bronzini, P.N. Imbesi, Italian Urban Plans. Diversified Approach Methods to Quality, in
Planning Practice & Research, Taylor & Francis; M.A. Bedini, F. Bronzini, Old and new paradigms in
pre-earthquake prevention and post-earthquake regeneration of territories in crisis, in Archivio di Studi
Urbani e Regionali, Franco Angeli, Milano, in press; M.A. Bedini, F. Bronzini, The New Territories of
Urban Planning. The Issue of the Fringe Areas and Settlements, in Land Use Policy, Elsevier, 2016.
Giovanni Marinelli, Researcher of the Technical and Urban Planning sector, PhD, Department Simau,
Faculty of Engineering, Polytechnic University of Marche. He obtained the qualification for associate
professor. He coordinated study sessions and presented research products at important international
conferences promoted by INU, SIU, AISRe and is the author of numerous articles on urban and
territorial planning.

© 2019, FedoaPress

MATERIAL AND IMMATERIAL
CULTURAL HERITAGE:
IDENTIFICATION,
DOCUMENTATION, PROMOTION
AND VALORIZATION
THE COURTYARDS AND HALLWAYS OF MERIT IN
THE MURATTIANO DISTRICT OF BARI
ANTONIA VALERIA DILAURO

REMO PAVONE, FRANCESCO SEVERINO
Department ICAR, Polytechnic of Bari, Italy

e-mail: dilaurovaleria@hotmail.it
remo.pavone.88@gmail.com
fra.severino@gmail.com

Dilauro, A. V., Pavone, R. & Severino, F. (2019). Material And Immaterial Cultural Heritage: Identification,
Documentation, Promotion and Valorization. The Courtyards and Hallways of Merit in the Murattiano District
of Bari. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature and ecosystem services (pp. 757-766). Naples:
ABSTRACT
The contribution intends to bring out the possibility of creating an iconographic atlas that
can provide an example, therefore an instrument, of investigation of the territory, identifying,
cataloging and preserving cultural heritage assets. Then, what is the role assumed by the design
as a conceptual and interpretative tool, as a practical and critical act, as a means of documentation
and communication in the context of conservation and enhancement of architectural and cultural
heritage? Taking inspiration from the research activity of the professors Valentina Castagnolo
and Anna Christiana Maiorana of the Department ICAR of the Polytechnic of Bari, conveyed
in the proposal of a visual archive on the city of Bari (BDA - Bari Drawing Architecture), the
contribution intends to implement their cataloging work, thickening the network of data already
present, identifying and cataloging, in order to enhance and promote its use, the courtyards,
gardens and hallways of the Murattiano district of Bari. Drawing, through survey and archival
research, takes on the role of linguistic system, of taxonomic cataloging, which, depending
on the scale of representation, makes recognizable different information about the city. The
conservation and enhancement of the architectural and cultural heritage, be it on the urban
scale or on the individual building, moves parallel to the themes of design and architectural
survey, and the contribution intends to underline this aspect, trying to answer the questions:
‘What to draw? How to draw?’.
KEYWORDS
Relief; drawing; cultural heritage; atlas; taxonomy
A.V. Dilauro, R. Pavone, F. Severino
1 MATERIAL AND IMMATERIAL CULTURAL HERITAGE

The definition of the term cultural heritage is rather recent and is the culmination and
synthesis of a laborious legal-legislative itinerary.
The term heritage also alludes to the economic value of the asset to which reference is made,
but also it is intended to indicate the existence of a reference regulation that regulates and
protects the assets themselves.
Essentially the cultural heritage is an open system, a dynamic reality, constantly changing and
expanding, containing all those historical, artistic, landscape-environmental and/or
archaeological testimonies belonging to the community, subject to protection and
enhancement in order to avoid a mnemocide.
The assets that become part of this open system of cataloging become bearers of
unrepeatable and irreproducible values, of formal characters, but also aesthetic and symbolic,
such as to render the asset a unicum, belonging to the society that produced them, whose
replication cannot exist.
An asset, be it movable or immovable, material or immaterial1, so that it can be protected,
enhanced and, for example in case of architectural assets, made available for knowledge,
visibility or possible re-functionalization of places, requires a fundamental operation of
cataloging, closely correlated with the preliminary phase of identification of the assets
themselves, meaning by cataloging an operation that becomes a cognitive tool, therefore an
ordering principle.
This operation of a purely practical nature is accompanied by an important phase of historical-
interpretative analysis and only the sum of these operations allows on the one hand to
establish and organize the set of peculiar and valuable assets, object of protection, and, on
the other hand, it also becomes a time of investigation and study of the territory within which
they are inserted. This is why the Rogers slogan of 1952 takes on substance also in the context
of the protection of cultural heritage: from the spoon to the city, or rather from the single
artifact or from the single experience steeped in tradition, to the territoriality, to the historical-
geographical identity relegated to the urban scale. The interrelation between cultural and
natural capitals, between human and natural activities, between material and immaterial

1
From the site of the Italian National Commission for UNESCO: “Cultural heritage is not only monuments
and collections of objects but also all the living traditions transmitted by our ancestors: oral expressions,
including language, performing arts, social practices, rituals and parties, knowledge and practices
concerning nature and the universe. traditional craftsmanship. This intangible cultural heritage is
fundamental in maintaining cultural diversity in the face of globalization and its understanding helps
intercultural dialogue and encourages mutual respect for different ways of living.”

© 2019, FedoaPress

Material and immaterial cultural heritage: identification, documentation, promotion and valorization

heritage, is thus made to emerge through this taxonomic cataloging, made by an open and
continuously evolving system that, in its development, aims to define a linguistic system
whose design becomes a means of communication and knowledge, but also a useful tool for
documentation passing through the survey.
But if, as claimed by Umberto Eco without memory no future is planned, it is therefore good
to preserve the traces of the past, knowing and analyzing the experiences of antiquity to
create a network of development, whether they belong to a recent past rather than to a past
more distant from our time.
After all, the reality of the present is also historical, as a further fundamental element for what
we could call ‘temporal stratigraphy’.
If already Marc-Antoine Laugier in the frontispiece of his Essai sur l'Architecture (1753)
represents the close relationship that must be established between the contemporary work
and the work of antiquity, depicting architecture as a cultured woman lying on the rubble of
history and indicating with the right arm the intertwining of the branches of a tree, which are
identified with the primitive hut, then what can be the relationship between antiquity and
actuality today, passing through the protection of these same assets of antiquity, a mirror of
past traditions and cultures?
The intervention aims to bring out the possibility of creating an iconographic atlas, whose
ultimate, but fundamental, purpose is a census useful for the protection, enhancement and
fruition of assets, thus making a possible methodology suitable for recognition and cataloging.
taxonomy of realities and artifacts. An example to refer to and from which to draw a valid
starting point, as well as the start of the research to be carried out, is represented by the BDA
archive, the result of the research work of professors Valentina Castagnolo and Anna
Christiana Maiorano of the ICAR Department of the Polytechnic of Bari2, whose investigation
in the Bari area has given rise to a "visual archive of the city, in which the design of the
architectures, represented through the graphic reference model, is connected to the other
visual data, both material and immaterial, acquired through the investigation still in progress".
(Castagnolo & Maiorano, 2018).
2 CONSERVATION AND ENHANCEMENT OF ARCHITECTURAL

HERITAGE: THE ROLE ASSUMED BY THE DRAWING
If therefore it is not possible to protect what is not known and if the census of assets is the
only means by which it is possible to pursue policies of protection and enhancement, not only

2
Please, refer to the consultation of the text BDA - Bari Disegno Architetture by Valentina Castagnolo
and Anna Christiana Maiorano, within the URBAN SURVEY series published by Aesi Editore.

© 2019, FedoaPress

of goods as materials, but also of goods in the landscape sense or immaterial cultural, what
in this context can the role assumed by design as a conceptual and interpretative tool, as a
practical and critical act, as a means of documentation and communication in the context of
conservation and enhancement of architectural and cultural heritage, be?
"Drawing «is the true view of the architect». The work of recomposition [...] goes through
this look. And «since the architect must know the physical world in order to intervene on it,
and the physical world is composed of objects, their in-depth and repeated analysis becomes
essential for understanding living in its various articulations.»" (Castagnolo & Maiorano, 2018)
In this sense, drawing becomes a conceptual and interpretative tool, a practical act, but at
the same time critical, a means of documentation of existing reality, but also of
communication, a method of knowledge and analysis that allows the asset to move into a
theoretical-perceptive dimension.
In a sort of conceptualization process, drawing becomes an instrument of investigation and
expression, and the underlying geometry becomes an instrument for investigating the form:
as claimed by Purini drawing is idea, thought, communication and memory, but "the drawing
is important for many reasons, the drawing today has become electronic, a design that keeps
away from that material exercise that was once the design" (Anselmi, 2013), but despite the
change in the means of representation, the evocative and communicative aspect of visual
techniques remains unchanged.
3 FOR AN ICONOGRAPHIC ATLAS: IDENTIFICATION, DOCUMENTATION,

PROMOTION AND VALORISATION OF ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE
In 1751 Denis Diderot, flanked by Jean-Baptiste Le Rond D'Alembert, in an attempt to propose
a unitary and universal knowledge, in the context of that revolution that was taking place in
the spread of culture and thought in Europe, elaborated the cyclopean work of Encyclopédie,
a work of dissemination, a reference point for the illuminist and progressive culture of the
time.
But what and how to draw? What is the design useful for the codification of a univocal but
open system of representation of reality, meaning drawing as a datum of the present,
therefore as restitution and documentation, passing through the survey, understood as a
mirror of the past?
How it is possible to tell a reality through images? Or again, how can the kaleidoscopic and
changing image of the city be made legible?
What is wanted to represent through the drawing is the faithful interpreter of what is being
analyzed or a filtered instrument according to arbitrary logic of ‘censorship’?

© 2019, FedoaPress


The intent is to answer these questions, so that the conservation and enhancement of the
architectural and cultural heritage, be it on the urban scale or on the scale of the single
building, can move parallel to the themes of design and architectural survey, through
cataloging actions that, depending on the case, identify categories of representation and
therefore of investigation, but also to restore centrality to the disciplines of design and relief,
within the interpretative context of urban dynamics.
But why is Diderot's work so revolutionary, but also exhaustive in its heterogeneity? The
answer is probably to be found in the classification table with the original tree of the figurative
system of human knowledge (Fig.1), proposed as an introduction to the work, which, taking
up the Baconian classification system and therefore inspired by the principles of English
philosophy, organizes human knowledge according to the generic categories of memory,
reason and imagination, including every human activity, from the most abstract philosophical
speculation, up to the most concrete artisanal and industrial techniques.
Fig.1 The figurative system of human knowledge
As observed by Barthes in the essay L’Univers de l’Encyclopédie (1964 - later published in the
Einaudi edition of Il Grado zero della scrittura), starting an interpretation of the iconography
accompanying the Encyclopédie and underlining its poetic nature beyond the merely didactic

© 2019, FedoaPress

one, the plates included in the Encyclopédie seem to start a real philosophy of the object; the
encyclopedic object is in fact captured by the image along three different levels of vision: an
analog level, where it appears isolated from any external context; the anecdotal one, where
it is instead reproduced within a living scenario (we are in front of an object inserted in its
productive context); and finally what Barthes himself defines a genetic level, that is when the
image shows its path from raw material to the finished object. In this way, the tables reveal
different dimensions and aspects of the same object: they fragment, dissect, work
metaphorical shifts, enlarge and shrink.
Then the reciprocal arrangement of the images gives life to a narration to which it is possible
to ascribe a reading at multiple levels, according to a double trend: reading the table from
the bottom upwards the epic path of the object is revived, or rather we go from nature to
society; instead, if we read the image from above downwards, we progressively descend to
the causes, the materials, the first elements, to the materiality of the object itself.
We could juxtapose what we could define degrees of vision to those identified by Alois Riegl
in his Historical Grammar of the Visual Arts (1897): Riegl in fact speaks of normal, close and
distance vision, referring to three different moments of perception dictated by the distance
between the eye and the object, which allows a three-dimensional or two-dimensional reading
of the object, but also a material and sensorial reading of the same, depending on whether
the object is viewed as a whole or that only one detail is observed. What might seem to be
an ineffective excursus compared to what was said, could instead represent an important
starting point for reflection, a procedural system valid for the identification and cataloging of
assets for protection and enhancement. Imagining a univocal and homogeneous cataloging
procedure is unthinkable, but the creation of a database capable of collecting information that
is so inhomogeneous and discontinuous, recreating a recognizable image, transcription of the
real, restitution of the true form, is necessary for protection, becoming a tool of research and
knowledge, but also a guiding tool, in fact through the consultation it would be possible to
identify and document any interventions or transformations, dictated by the needs of the
artifact or by the various processes taking place within the urban and cultural sphere.
Returning to the reference example identified in the BDA archive, "the city is conceived as a
complex system, a network [...] on which data is distributed (to know, analyze, study,
interpret, represent) linked by relationships [... ], different in meaning and size, establishing
rules " (Castagnolo & Maiorano, 2018), but being a system that is also open, flexible and
implementable, in an attempt to create cross-readings that offer new reflections and
interpretative keys, how could the example of the tree of the figurative system of human
knowledge of Diderot refine the cataloging system? Certain, it would be possible, taking up
the introductory outline proposed by the Encyclopédie, to think of working and cataloging,

© 2019, FedoaPress


analyzing and intervening on every asset, whatever its nature, according to three moments
that can be parallel to those of Diderot: Survey | Drawing | Interventions, like Memory |
Reason | Imagination, closely related to each other. But if the three faculties of Diderot give
rise to a synthesis of knowledge that, starting from the cataloging of experiences (connected
to memory), passing through a reflection on them (connected to reason), finally reaches the
original reworking (connected to the imagination), then the survey (documentation phase),
passing through the critical design (classification and cataloging phase) of what is intended
to be cataloged, can identify the critical points of the asset itself, becoming a guiding system,
whose ultimate goal is the possibility of intervening (preservation and conservation phase) on
the asset, for the purpose protection and enhancement, but also of fruition.
But "to try to reactivate and revitalize an iconographic culture [...] it is important to try to
explore the visual universe" (Rossi et al.,2009) therefore the proposed system is configured
as a method of investigation and reading, of restitution and historical reading, a method of
codification, which, implemented with information on the state of degradation and / or
abandonment, in the perspective of reading the artefact within its context (anecdotal level),
but also in its being as such, also on a material-constructive level (analogue level and genetic
level), allows to establish the possible interventions to be performed, for the purpose of
exploitation and possible use. Recognized the value of the existing through taxonomic
cataloging, then the proposal becomes part of a wider research and will, which involves all
the assets, for example of the same surrounding area, bringing out its value, whose direct
consequence is their knowledge and fruition, not only of local citizenship, but of a much wider
public, also triggering a tourism system around the innumerable assets of the city. The intent
is to propose a fruition of valuable assets through a network of public open spaces, also
privately owned, scattered around the city, signaled through appropriate guides provided to
the users, thus connecting together fragments of the city worthy of note, within which we can
also foresee the possibility of organizing events.3
4 CASE STUDY: COURTYARDS AND HALLWAYS OF MERIT IN THE

MURATTIANO DISTRICT OF BARI
On the basis of what has been said, the intervention tries to fit into the research started with
the BDA archive, in particular it aims to offer new insights on the city of Bari, new categories

3
In this regard, see the guide 'Secrets of San Francisco - A guide to San Francisco's privately-owned
public open spaces' by SPUR: a series of interesting buildings in the city have been made accessible as if
they were public spaces, while maintaining their own private nature; the spaces are accessible at certain
times of the day, or with specific modalities.

© 2019, FedoaPress

of analysis and investigation of the Borgo Murattiano (and not only) , with the intention of
implementing the documentation already archived, but above all with the aim of shedding
light on all those places that, although of architectural merit, are too often not made accessible
and usable.
"The visual space of the Borgo, despite its apparent unitary nature of the plant, is
characterized by a multiplicity of architectural languages" (Castagnolo, Franchini, & Maiorano,
2014), despite the fact that the Murattian Statutes almost imposed very specific building
regulations, together with administrative regulations to be applied to building areas that the
municipality was yielding to private individuals. Among these rules, in particular, article 7
defined specific guidelines about the constraints related to the use of lots, establishing a
minimum mandatory portion of the lot surface to be used for the use of the courtyard or
garden: from this, the desire to identify, classify and analyze the aforementioned courtyards
and gardens, including the valuable entrance halls of the same buildings.
In his book 'Bari, il borgo Murattiano', Marcello Petrignani unravels the development of the
village by analyzing some of the blocks that, articulated along the orthogonal grid, have given
light to the plan of 1813 for the development of the city: it is evident that each block is
inevitably characterized by the presence of a courtyard, but why not map the aforementioned
courtyards and gardens and make them public spaces of private ownership, in order to make
the spaces usable, also annexing the possibility of revaluing the value of the building,
hierarchizing the spaces according to systems of mileage and/or collective sharing areas?
After all, the buildings that are to be considered, constitute an important trace in the
intramoenia and extramoenia architectural panorama, therefore the proposal aims at the re-
evaluation of the spaces and the return of these to the community.
The mapping of spaces (Fig. 2) shows the articular complexity of the Murattiano district, but
at the same time, it makes clear the image of a possible use of space, following the example
proposed by the guide 'Secrets of San Francisco' drawn up by SPUR.
The individuation phase is followed by the survey and restitution by means of the drawing,
which becomes a filter between the real urban space and the cataloged one.
The hope is to be able to give life to a new database that implements the already existing one
of the BDA archive, defining a real iconographic atlas of the city of Bari, on whose example
other realities can move.
− From the site of the Italian National Commission for UNESCO: “Cultural heritage is not
only monuments and collections of objects but also all the living traditions transmitted
by our ancestors: oral expressions, including language, performing arts, social practices,
rituals and parties, knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe.
traditional craftsmanship. This intangible cultural heritage is fundamental in maintaining

© 2019, FedoaPress


cultural diversity in the face of globalization and its understanding helps intercultural
dialogue and encourages mutual respect for different ways of living.”
Fig. 2 Mapping of the courtyards and gardens of the Murattian district of Bari: public buildings in red, privately
owned buildings in white
− Please, refer to the consultation of the text BDA - Bari Disegno Architetture by Valentina
Castagnolo and Anna Christiana Maiorano, within the URBAN SURVEY series published
by Aesi Editore.
− In this regard, see the guide 'Secrets of San Francisco - A guide to San Francisco's
privately-owned public open spaces' by SPUR: a series of interesting buildings in the city
have been made accessible as if they were public spaces, while maintaining their own
private nature; the spaces are accessible at certain times of the day, or with specific
modalities.
REFERENCES
Carlone, G. (1990). Urbanistica preunitaria: la fondazione del Borgo Murattiano. In Storia della città:
Bari moderna 1790-1990. (pp.13-32). Segrate: Arnoldo Mondadori.
Berto, R., Barbiero, G., Barbiero, P., & Senes, G. (2018). An individual’s connection to nature can affect
perceived restorativeness of natural environments. Some observations about biophilia. Behavioral
Sciences, 8, 34. doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/bs8030034

© 2019, FedoaPress

Castagnolo, V., Franchini, M., & Maiorano, A.C., (2014). Bari Disegno Architetture (BDA_Borgo
Murattiano). Archivio visivo (e visionario) della città a 200 anni dalla sua fondazione. In Città
mediterranee in trasformazione. Identità e immagine del paesaggio urbano tra Sette e Novecento.
Napoli: Edizioni Scientifiche Italiane
Castagnolo, V., & Maiorano, A.C., (2018). BDA: Bari Disegno Architetture. Martina Franca: Aesi Editore.
Laugier, M.A., (1775). Essai sur l'Architecture. T. Londra: Osborne and Shipton.
Petrignani, M., (1981). Bari, il borgo murattiano: esproprio, forma e problema della città. Bari: Dedalo
libri.
Purini, F., (2007). Una lezione sul disegno. Roma: Gangemi Editore
Riegl, A., (2017). Grammatica storica delle arti figurative. Macerata: Quolibet.
Rossi, G., Cara, D., & Franchino M.I., (2009). Progetto di atlante iconografico: caso studio isolato 57,
Bari: Arti Grafiche Favia.
WEB SITES
http://www.unesco.it/it/ItaliaNellUnesco/Detail/189www.dolomitiunesco.info/
AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Antonia Valeria Dilauro, Graduate in Architecture at the Polytechnic of Bari in January 2018,
professionally qualified in January 2019, currently engaged in historical-manual research, investigating
the theoretical aspects concerning the relationship between form and structure in architectural
composition, drawing on the disciplines of design and survey, urban planning, but also of interiors and
design. Several contacts with the academic world, with which the collaborations are continuous; among
the latter, the participation as tutor to the II Seminario Internacional de Levantamiento del patrimonio
Arquitectonico in Cartaghena de la Indias and Monteria (Colombia). Some publications and
participation in conferences are in progress. Recently winner of the second prize of the Gli Androni più
Belli di Bari competition.
Remo Pavone, Architect, graduated at the Polytechnic of Bari with an experimental thesis in anti-
seismic design, interested in territorial and urban planning investigations, with particular regard to
disused Apulian architectures or those in a state of abandonment. In this context, the participation in
the "Italo Balkan Urban Design Workshop 2018" organized by the Polytechnic of Bari. Recent
participation as tutor in the II Seminario Internacional de Levantamiento del patrimonio Arquitectonico
held in Colombia, organized by the UPB and the Universidad San Buenaventura. Winner of the second
prize of the competition of ideas Gli Androni più Belli di Bari and participant in call, including recently
Rileggere Samonà of the University of Roma Tre, and at several conferences.
Francesco Severino, graduated in Architecture at the Polytechnic of Bari on 06/27/2018 with the
thesis "Shape, Structure, Place", which shows the urban study of the city of Fuzhou for the subsequent
construction of two large squares and a river park of over 12kmq. I participated in the Summer School
in Structural Morphology at Fuzhou University in China in 2018, and at the II Seminario Internacional
de Levantamiento del patrimonio Arquitectonico as a tutor at UBC and UPB in Colombia in 2019, where
I made academic relationships with professors of several Italian and Colombian universities.

© 2019, FedoaPress

PLANNING OF HISTORIC CENTERS
IN SARDINIA REGION
CONSERVATION VERSUS VALORIZATION OF
ARCHITECTURAL AND CULTURAL HERITAGE
FEDERICA ISOLA, FEDERICA LEONE

CHETI PIRA

e-mail: federica.isola@unica.it
federicaleone@unica.it, federicaleone@unica.it

Isola, F., Leone, F., & Pira, C. (2019). Planning of historic centers in Sardinia Region: Conservation versus
revitalization of architectural and cultural heritage. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature and
6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
Planning of historic centers has acquired a great importance within national, regional and
local regulatory framework. The concept of historic center has been characterized by different
interpretations and changes due to, on the one hand, the conservation conception, according
to which city center is an identity asset, and on the other hand, to the strategic vision where
city center is a source of cultural and economic development at the local level. The normative
framework concerning city center planning has been characterized by several phases that
have influenced and oriented its development. The Eu ropean Convention on the Landscape
and its implementation within the Italian legislation through the Law enacted by Decree no.
42/2004 “Code of cultural and landscape assets” includes historic center planning within the
landscape planning. In relation to the case study of the Sardinian Region, after the approval
of the Regional Landscape Plan (RLP) the implementation plans of the historic centers (IPHCs)
have to comply with the RLP’s Planning implementation code. Moreover, within this process,
landscape component and the co-planning approach between regional administration and local
municipalities represent two key elements that should address and orient the development of
city centers. From this theoretical perspective, this study analyzes the elaboration processes of
twenty IPHCs in compliance with the RLP in order to identify the key elements of this process.
In particular, the study aims at defining a descript ive and normative framework, based on the
key elements identified in the comparative analysis.
KEYWORDS
Historic centers; Conservation and Valorization; Local Plans; Regional Landscape Plan
F. Isola, F. Leone, C. Pira
1 INTRODUCTION
Since the beginning of the XX century, the issue of preservation and rehabilitation of
architectural heritage has acquired increasingly importance within the European context,
representing a reaction to the “chaos” of the post-industrial era. Although from the 1960s the
protection of architectural heritage has been a hotly debated issue, only in 1975 it was
formalized in the European Charter of the Architectural Heritage, a document adopted by the
Council of Europe (Gabellini, 2011).
In Italy, several laws were enacted in order to preserve the architectural and cultural heritage.
The first law on the landscape protection was enacted in 1922 by Benedetto Croce in order
to defend and safeguard the most significant natural and artistic Italian beauties. On the other
hand, this law focused on historical and cultural heritage and on monumental buildings at the
expense of the environmental context in which they were allocated. The Law no. 1089/39
“Protection of historical and artistic heritage”, duly noted as “Bottai Law” and the Law no.
1497/39 “Protection of natural beauties” focused on the protection of cultural and historical
heritage and they introduced some innovative aspects within the Italian normative framework.
On the other hand, once again, the concept of protection was conceived as a “passive
protection” that safeguarded the single building without analyzing the environmental context
in which it was allocated.
The Law no. 1150/1942, duly noted as the “urban development Law” represented the first
planning tool that focused on the entire municipal territory through a land use classification.
In the first post-World War II decades, the population growth and the rapid development of
urban areas required the use of new planning tools, reinterpreting the spatial plans defined
by the Bottai Law. Moreover, during the post-World War II reconstruction the relationship
between the “New” and the “Old” acquired a significant importance within the national debate.
However, although in 1960 a declaration on the protection and rehabilitation of historic
centers, duly noted as “Gubbio Charter”, was approved, the concept of historic center was
defined by the Law no. 765/1967, hereinafter “Ponte Law”. In 1968, the Interministerial
Decree no. 1444/68 classified the historic center as “A” zone type, including those urban areas
characterized by historic, and artistic values. Therefore, the concept of historic center
assumed a new identity, representing both a solution to housing needs and an alternative to
building speculation (Cassatella, 2015). In fact, historic center was conceived as an economic
asset and its rehabilitation aimed at contrasting the economic crisis by transforming cities
(Capalbo, 2006). During ‘80s and 90’s, the focus of the national debate moved from the
residential needs to the necessity of areas for the tertiary sector activities, changing the
analysis scale from the city center to the municipal territory. Cities have been characterized

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Planning of historic centers in Sardinia Region

by the implementation of big urban projects and by programming agreements that have
involved current problems that affect urban areas, such as pollution, housing degradation,
uncontrolled urban sprawl with a consequent distortion of urban landscapes.
The Law no. 431/1985, duly noted as “Galasso Law”, established protection restrictions on all
the national territory characterized by particular landscape values, excluding “A” type zones.
In 2004, the Law enacted by Decree no. 42/2004, “Code of cultural and landscape assets”
identified the historic center as a landscape good. Nowadays, the historic center is conceived
as a part of the city that need to be planned through an integrated approach. Indeed, the
protection policies and strategies that have characterized the planning of historic centers from
post-World War II period have entailed a progressive phenomenon of depopulation with a
consequent abandonment of these areas. Therefore, the role of historic centers between
revitalization and protection measures represents a key issue within the national planning
debate and the normative framework (Valente & Gasbarra, 2004).
In this context, implementation planning may play an important role to face challenges that
affect historic centers.
This study aims at analyzing the different phases of the co-planning process between
Sardinian regional administration and local municipalities for the elaboration of
Implementation plans of historic centers (IPHCs) in relation to two different perspectives: the
Sardinian regional administration, the authority in charge for the approval of the IPHCs and
the local municipalities, the authority in charge for their elaboration. In particular, the analyses
aim at identifying the critical elements in the planning of historic centers, in relation to the
regional administration’s perspective, and the problems in the elaboration of the IPHCs from
the local municipalities’ perspective.
The study is articulated into four sections. The second section describes the methodological
approach used and the normative aspects in planning of historic centers in Sardinia. The third
section reports the results of the analyses of the two perspectives. The concluding section
discusses implications, limits and suggestions for further research.
2 PLANNING OF HISTORIC CENTERS IN SARDINIA

In Sardinia, the Regional Landscape Plan (RLP) was approved in 2006 and includes the
innovative aspects introduced by the Code of cultural and landscape assets that translate
principles and strategies of the European Convention on the Landscape into the Italian
legislation.
Innovative issues concern the concept of historic center conceived as a landscape good and
the involvement of the different authorities (regional administration and local municipalities)

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in charge for its planning within a co-planning process that represents the implementation of
the subsidiarity principle (Cangelli, 2012).
According to the RLP, planning of historic centers should aim at defining a new spatial
organization of the city and at strengthening social cohesion (Regione Sardegna, 2006).
Although the principal historic and cultural resources are identified and mapped by the RLP,
their accurate identification and the definition of protection measures are the results of the
co-planning process (Regione Sardegna, 2006). The planning implementation code (PIC) of
the RLP defines “Areas characterized by historic settlements” (article 51), provides rules
(article 52) and defines strategies (article 53) for the elaboration of IPHCs in compliance with
the RLP. In particular, “Areas characterized by historic settlements” are defined as centers of
antique and primary development and their identification is the result of an accurate analysis
of the historical cartography. Centers of antique and primary development are those core
parts of the urban settlements that have been development since 1950 and they are not
conceived a single asset but as a landscape asset composed by several identity elements. The
area of the centers of antique and primary development is identified through a co-planning
process between the regional administration and the local municipality. Local municipalities
that do not have an IPHC elaborated in compliance with the RLP may authorize only
interventions concerning ordinary and extraordinary maintenance, and internal restoration
without increasing volumes and surfaces or changing the external building profile. Moreover,
the Sardinian regional administration elaborated several documents and guidelines, such as
“Lab.Net” Project and the Handbook on restoration of working-class architecture.
This study aims at analyzing the co-planning process to elaborate and to approve IPHCs
through two analyses that reflect two different perspectives. The first perspective concerns
the authority in charge for the approval of the IPHCs, that is the Sardinian regional
administration, and the second concerns the authority in charge for the elaboration of the
IPHCs, that is the local municipalities. The analysis of the two perspectives aims at identifying
the critical issues that the elaboration and the approval of an IPHCs entails.
The first analysis focuses on official documents1 that officials of the Sardinian regional
administration elaborated to approve the IPHCs. These documents may include provisions
that must be addressed by local municipality in order to make the IPCH consistent with
national and regional strategies, policies and laws. Our study analyzes documents concerning
twenty local municipalities (Fig. 1), located in the Sardinian regional territory.

1
All documents are available online:
http://www.sardegnaterritorio.it/j/v/1293?s=191779&v=2&c=9559&t=1

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The second analysis focuses on the elaboration process of the IPCH of San Basilio, a small
town located in the Southern-East part of Sardinia.
Fig. 1 Case studies
3 THE ELABORATION PROCESS OF IPHC IN RELATION TO THE

REGIONAL ADMINISTRATION THE LOCAL MUNICIPALITIES
PERSPECTIVES PLANNING OF HISTORIC CENTERS IN SARDINIA
In Sardinia, planning of historic centers must be consistent with objectives and rules defined
by the RLP. Therefore, the elaboration processes of the IPCHs is analyzed and described, in
critical terms, in relation to the normative context of the RLP. As regards the first perspective,
the analysis of the Decisions of the regional government of Sardinia (DRG) in relation to the
approval of the IPHCs highlights the repetition of some key issues that seem to direct plans
towards the final approval. In particular, key issues concern provisions in relation to building
interventions, public spaces and technological systems.

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In relation to urban systems that maintain its historical characteristics, only interventions that
do not alter the external envelope of the building are allowed (Municipalities of Abbasanta,
Monserrato, Fonni, Monastir, Meana Sardo, Lanusei and Mogoro). Interventions of restoration
must concern all buildings within the parcel including little structures used as storage room or
stall (Municipalities of Abbasanta, Lanusei, Meana Sardo and Monastir) in order to safeguard
their integrity. Moreover, interventions of restoration, concerning public spaces, such as green
areas, streets and squares, must be based on a specific study, aimed at harmonizing and
enhancing historical characteristics of the city center (Municipalities of Lanusei and Monastir).
Empty lots must be designed in relation to their landscape values (Municipality of Lanusei).
In particular, if the lot is empty due to demolition of the existing buildings, this empty lot may
be used as public space. New buildings within empty lots must be consistent with
characteristics of city center in terms of spatial distribution of single buildings and traditional
building types (Municipality of Monserrato). New constructions within lot where historical
buildings are present must be consistent with the specific typological schedule defined in the
IPHC in order to safeguard the historical stratification (Municipality of Mogoro). In case of
newly built buildings that do not have traditional typological characteristics, interventions must
concern primarily the elimination of inconsistent elements in relation to the historical context
(Municipality of Seleghe).
The installation of technological systems for the production of renewable energy is forbidden
in those buildings that maintain their historical and typological characteristics. On the other
hand, their installation is allowed in those buildings that are not visible from the streets and
from panoramic views. In relation to other cases, the installation must be preventively
evaluated through photo simulations (Municipalities of Villamassargia and Portoscuso).
In relation of the second perspective, the methodological approach used for the elaboration
of the IPHC of San Basilio is based on the analysis of official documents, such as the RLP, in
order to understand the structure and contents that an IPHC should have, and on the
considerations derived from informal meetings with officials of the Sardinian regional
administration.
The key element in the elaboration of the IPHC is the definition of a model to analyze each
“minimum unit of intervention”, defined as the minimum lot where interventions should be
based on a unified design logic in structural, architectural and urban planning terms.
Moreover, although the IPHC governs and plans the territory included within the city center,
the relationship between the city center and the rest of the municipal territory represents a
critical aspect. In fact, a unified design vision for these transition areas is missing in both the
IPHC and the municipal masterplan.

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On the other hand, in the specific case of the municipality of San Basilio, a little town in the
Southern-East Sardinia, this inconsistency between the city center and the rest of the urban
settlement is not so evident as in other cases.
In addition, the elaboration and the approval process of an IPHC shows some problems due
to the coexistence between different needs and expectations.
In fact, on the one hand, the elaboration of an IPHC is strongly influenced by the orientations
of the regional administration in terms of methodological approach because the regional
administration is the authority in charge for their approval. On the other hand, IPHCs may
satisfy expectations and needs of local communities.
In conclusion, this complicated negotiation process often do not take into account some
aspects that are not mandatory but that need a unified design vision.

Within the Sardinian context, the elaboration of an IPHC represents a process, strongly
influenced by the top. In fact, the methodological approach and decisions are largely guided
by guidelines provided by the regional administration and by the strong conservation character
of the RLP.
However, in Sardinian municipalities as well as in the majority of municipalities in Southern
Italy, citizens express a strongly negative judgment on the landscape of the town where they
live, sometimes due to inconsistency of policies concerning restoration and rehabilitation of
city centers. In fact, according to the BES 2015 Report (ISTAT, 2015), the 2011 Census
displays an almost complete preservation of the residential areas in the historic centers in
some Italian regions. Sometimes, decisions of regional administrations focus on the integral
preservation of the historic centers without taking into account that construction techniques,
lifestyles and housing needs have changed. As a consequence, a revitalization of city centers
may be achieved though a mediation between normative issues and needs of people that will
invest in those areas. The elaboration process of IPHCs should be based on the protection of
historic buildings without inhibiting the social and economic development of the area. In other
words, regulations should be more flexible in order to promote the future development of city
centers without compromising their conservation.
The analysis of the two perspectives highlights three important aspects in the elaboration
process of the IPHCs. The first aspect concerns the necessity to use a methodological
approach to identify the key elements that a plan should have.
The second aspect concerns the protection and the enhancement of the historic value of a
building in terms of conservation and, at the same time, by adapting the existing buildings to
new housing standards. In fact, although the existing socio-economic dynamics entail land-

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taking processes, the re-use of the existing buildings within the city centers may represent an
opportunity. City center is not a static element of the urban settlement; it should be conceived
as a dynamic part of the whole city where promoting those activities that, in coherence with
conservation measures, may revitalize this part of the city in economic and social terms. The
third aspect concerns two issues: the co-planning process with the regional administration
and the citizens participation from the starting phases of the planning process. In particular,
in relation to the elaboration process of the IPHC of San Basilio, the dialogue with local
community represented an important contribution to the definition of regulations.
In conclusion, the analysis of the two perspectives emphases the significant identity value
that the city center assumes for local communities and regional administration. The greater
is the identity value, the higher is his landscape value (Barocchi, 2006).
On the other hand, a high landscape value entails problem concerning policies of landscape
protection that, in this context, may be in contrast with policies of urban, socio-economic and
cultural development. The phenomenon of depopulation represents the key of the balance of
the conflict between conservation and revitalization of city centers. As suggested by Severini
(2015), the city center should be characterized by residential uses rather than abandoned
areas. In fact, residential uses usually entail the demand for private services and public
services should be maintained and developed within city centers. Therefore, both urban
restoration policies and financial interventions are necessary.
The methodological approach proposed in this study is strongly influenced by the RLP in terms
of strategies and policies, thus it shows some limits due to their possible exportation in other
regional contexts characterized by different normative frameworks. However, the
methodology, conceived as the analysis of the perspectives of different actors involved within
the planning process, is easily exportable in other national and international contexts. In fact,
one of the advantages of this methodological approach is to define a normative and
descriptive model that summarizes contents and themes that an IPHC should have.
Future directions of the research may concern how and to what extent the implementation of
the analyzed IPHC influences the local development of city centers.
NOTES
Federica Isola, Federica Leone and Cheti Pira have made substantial contributions to the
study’s conception and design, background and introduction of section 1. Cheti Pira has taken
care of section 2. Federica Isola has taken care of section 3. Federica Leone has taken care
of section 4.

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REFERENCES
Barocchi, R. (2006). Il valore identitario. http://www.ilpaesaggio.eu/identi.htm
Cangelli, F. (2012). Piani Strategici e Piani Urbanistici. Metodi di Governo del Territorio a Confronto;
Giappichelli Publisher: Turin, Italy. ISBN: 9788834829349.
Capalbo, A. (2006). Gli Strumenti di Pianificazione Urbanistica. Dal Programma di Fabbricazione al

Piano Strutturale; Halley: Matelica, Italy. ISBN: 8875891729.
Cassatella, C. (2015). I centri storici nella cultura urbanistica. Evoluzione, problemi e prospettive.
https://docplayer.it/3211203-I-centri-storici-nella-cultura-urbanistica-evoluzione-problemi-e-
prospettive.html
Gabellini, P. (2011). Dal recupero dei centri storici alla riqualificazione urbana. Ecoscienza, 4, 34-35.
https://www.arpae.it/cms3/documenti/_cerca_doc/ecoscienza/ecoscienza2011_4/gabellini_es4_11.p
df
ISTAT (Istituto nazionale di statistica) (2015). Rapporto BES 2015: il benessere equo e sostenibile in
Italia. https://www.istat.it/it/files//2015/12/Rapporto_BES_2015.pdf
Severini, G. (2015). Centri storici: occorre una legge speciale o politiche speciali?
http://www.aedon.mulino.it/archivio/2015/2/severini.htm.
Regione Sardegna (2006). Piano paesaggistico regionale – Legge regionale 25 novembre 2004 n. 8 –
Primo Ambito omogeneo – Area costiera – Relazione generale. http://www.sardegnaterritorio.it/
documenti/6_83_20060929095149.zip
Valente, M. & Gasbarra, S. (2004). Alcune considerazioni intorno al concetto di riuso del centro storico.
http://www.cefas.org/pb/flz/riuso%20del%20centro%20storico.pdf
AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Federica Isola, Building engineer, is Research Doctor in Environmental Sciences and Engineering
(Italy, 2012). She is currently a research fellow at the Department of Civil and Environmental
Cheti Pira, Environmental engineer, is Research Doctor in Land Engineering (Italy, 2012). She is
currently a research fellow at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Architecture

© 2019, FedoaPress

APPROACH TOWARDS THE
“SELF-SUSTAINABILITY”
OF ANCIENT VILLAGES
FRANCESCA PIRLONE, ILENIA SPADARO
Department of Civil, Chemical and Environmental

Engineering, University of Genoa, Italy
e-mail: francesca.pirlone@unige.it
ilenia.spadaro@unige.it
URL: www.unige.it

Pirlone, F. & Spadaro, I. (2019). Approach Towards the “Self-Sustainability” of Ancient Villages. In C. Gargiulo
& C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature and ecosystem services (pp. 776-786). Naples: FedOAPress. ISBN: 978-
88-6887-054-6, doi: 10.6093/978-88-6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
The paper proposes a methodological approach aimed at enhancing the internal areas through
the self-sustainability of the ancient villages. In this regard, the paper considers aspects
fundamental for a conservation and valorisation of architectural and cultural heritage and for a
sustainable Recovery / Rebirth of the villages.
The new approach starts from the DCBA methodology of the University of Delft - born for
planning “ex-novo” districts in the Netherlands - and the CBA method, developed later by the
DICCA of the University of Genoa, dedicated to already consolidated fabrics. In addition, a
deepening of the “indicator tool” at European level has been developed. To take inspiration in
the proposition of interventions, an analysis to know, mainly at Italian level, the abandonment
causes and virtuous cases of villages rebirth has been carried out. In detail, an approach, called
FRS “Forgotten, Reborn and Self-sustainable villages” is defined. This approach is develops
in different phases and proposes actions for a sustainable rebirth of the village under study.
In the first step the environmental and social sustainability, and in the second the economic
sustainability of the village are analysed. This analysis is preliminary to the proposition of good
practices to revive the village and make it self-sustainable. Val Borbera, and more precisely the
Rivarossa village, in Piedmont Region, is the case study of the first application.
KEYWORDS
Ancient villages; Rebirth; Self-Sustainability
Approach towards the "self-sustainability" of ancient villages

1 INTRODUCTION
The research presented in the paper analyses the theme of abandoned villages. These villages
represent that minor heritage yet to be discovered, capable of offering environmental and
cultural resources that can enrich both the tourist and the local communities. They represent
the image of sustainable rural tourism that concerns the minor places, mountain or rural
areas, where places and nature authentic and unspoiled landscapes are possible to be
rediscovered. In this regard, the paper considers aspects fundamental for a conservation and
valorisation of architectural and cultural heritage and for a sustainable Recovery / Rebirth of
the villages.
In Italy, numerous internal areas, starting from the post-war period, underwent a gradual
process of marginalization that led to the depopulation of the villages. These problems have
been partially tackled in the "National Strategy for inland areas", which, in the framework of
"Europe 2020", represent, for the Italian regions, a financial and methodological opportunity
for the programming of community funds available.
The goal of this paper is precisely to find actions for the valorisation of abandoned villages
that, in recent years, are increasing and becoming object of recognition by national
institutions. On the merits, the Ministry of the Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism
has proclaimed 2017 "Year of the Villages of Italy", with the aim of enhancing the artistic,
cultural, natural and human heritage of these places that represent a decisive component of
the country's tourist offer. Furthermore, in 2017 the Law n.158 "Salva borghi" and other
initiatives, such as "Borghi Arancioni" (Touring Club) and the "Borgo Autentico Certificato"
(Association of Italy Authentic Villages), have had as main objective the rebirth of abandoned
villages.
The developed research highlights a new concept: the forgotten village. "This is a depopulated
village, but not completely abandoned, with high potential for rebirth" (Pirlone & Spadaro,
2018). In the following paragraphs, an approach and a first application is presented, aimed
at proposing actions to re-valorize the forgotten villages.
Starting from the literature, the methodology is developed through the concepts of
sustainability (environmental, economic and social) and responsible tourism. The approach is
structured in different phases. Initially the "status quo" of the village considered is analyzed
and subsequently, through the collected background, a series of good practices to revive the
village and make it self-sustainable are proposed.
Case study Rivarossa in Val Borbera, Province of Alessandria.

© 2019, FedoaPress

F. Pirlone, I. Spadaro
2. NEW APPROACH FOR THE "SELF-SUSTAINABILITY" OF ANCIENT

VILLAGES.
The research starts from the analysis in the literature of the studies related the planning of
sustainability-conscious interventions. The DCBA methodology, developed by the University
of Delft to create "ex-novo" eco-sustainable neighborhoods in the Netherlands, is analyzed.
This approach, also called the four-variant method, proposes, according to the themes
(Energy, building Materials, Water, Food and Waste) and sub-themes (such as heating, solar
energy and materials for windows), different constructive solutions in ascending order of
environmental friendliness. “One important feature of the design method DCBA is flexibility.
The requirements for each variant are benchmarks, which are defined relative to current
regulations. D stands for the normal situation and A for the highest attainable point. Having
established these two reference points, logical points B and C can be set somewhere between
the two” (Konishi, 2005).
Through this method, the examine and link together the urban planning themes is possible;
it can be used to determine the level of "environmental ambition" of a intervention even before
its design, or as a monitoring during the design and construction phase.
Starting from the DCBA method, the DICCA team of the University of Genoa, in 2005,
developed the CBA approach, dedicated to fabrics already consolidated, unlike the DCBA,
aimed at new-built neighborhoods.
The CBA method has three reference thresholds:
− C, the current level (referring to the current state of the investigated areas);
− B, the regulatory level (when existing, obtained by foreseeing the targets of applicable
laws);
− A, the optimal sustainable goal to be achieved.
The considered issues are analyzed through the quantification of indicators, initially identified.
To define a priorities scale of the indicators, the approach uses internally the Delphy method.
It is an intuitive methodology, particularly used in the field of business, which through different
phases of expression and evaluation of the opinions of a group of experts, or social actors,
want to get the most complete and shared opinion. Through the compilation of a questionnaire
by a sample of experts, the weights of the indicators, their impacts and their possible solutions
are possible to determine.
The weights associated with each indicator can help determine intervention priorities to
achieve greater sustainability and then move from the "minimum" C to the B or A levels,
defining the actions to be implemented. This approach can be applied to the different scales
of reference, from the territorial to the local, to identify the actions to achieve the desired

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levels of sustainability, verifying the effects through continuous monitoring in the medium-
long term.
The paper proposes the new FRS "Forgotten, Reborn and Self- sustainable village" approach,
which integrates the two previously described methods to create a specific one for the self-
sustainability and rebirth of the ancient forgotten villages. The FRS method has three
reference levels:
− F, the status quo of the village (which is to be defined as "Forgotten" or "abandoned");
− R, the rebirth (that is the tools and the actions to achieve this goal);
− S, the optimal target to make the village under study "Self-sustainable".
The most important aspects investigated by the new approach are the knowledge of the level
of sustainability: environmental, social and economic of the village and the possible actions
for one of its rebirth. The approach is divided into two steps: the first examines the two -
environmental and social- dimensions of sustainability and the second the economic one.
Figure 1 shows the structuring of the proposed new FRS approach.
Fig. 1 Structuring of the new FRS "Forgotten, Reborn and Self-sustainable village” approach
The goal of the first step is to analyze the status quo of the village and to understand if the
case in question is abandoned or forgotten, that is with good chances of rebirth.
To identify the priority topics, the now known SWOT analysis can be used. Among the possible
issues that are important for a self-sustainable rebirth of the villages can be cited for example:
energy, waste, tourism and environment, closely related to each other.
In this phase the village must be evaluated in level F to understand the territorial
characteristics and the dynamics that interact within the system itself. "For this we need the

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use of the indicator tool that allows us to know the present and future photography of the
territory through the reduction of uncertainties" (Malcevscki, 1987).
In scientific bibliography, there are many definitions of indicators, the best known and
frequently used are:
− “A parameter, or a value derived from parameters, which points to, provides information
about, or describes the state of a phenomenon, environment, area, with a significance
extending beyond that directly associated with a parameter value” (OECD, 1993);
− “indicators of sustainable development need to be developed to provide solid bases for
decision-making at all levels and to contribute to a self-regulating sustainability of
integrated environment and development systems" (UNCED, 1992).
The proposed approach refers to the DPSIR framework used by the European Environmental
Agency: Driving forces (eg industry and transport) cause - Pressures on the environment (eg
pollutant emissions) which degrade the – State of environment, which then generates -
Impacts on human health and on ecosystems, causing the society - to Respond with various
political measures (eg Taxes).
Then, the FRS scheme is created, referring to the current state of the village where, for each
topic defined as significant, the indicators are reported. Once the F-level has been quantified,
actions to move from a lower level of sustainability to a higher level (F towards R or S) are
important to identify. Figure 2 shows the new FRS method, complete with a column related
to the indicators and one with the sustainable actions proposed, linked to each topic taken
into consideration.
LEVEL
TOPIC INDICATORS F R S SUSTAINABLE ACTIONS
− production of electricity through renewable

− production of electricity sources
ENERGY
− electricity production plants
… … …
− good practices for energy saving (LED bulbs,
from renewable sources eco-sustainable household appliances, ..) and
− … energy efficiency
− ....
− production of waste − urban waste collection
− separate waste collection − establishment of a door-to-door collection
WASTE − recycling … … … service
− composting − composting as a good practice
− ... − ...
− extra-hotel accommodation activities;
− accommodation facilities − greenway;
TOURISM
− areas of naturalistic interest
… … …
− creation and promotion of brands;
− cultural historical heritage − establishment of km0 markets;
− ... − educational activities for schools
− ....
LEGEND
− Presence: X
− Absence: 0
Fig. 2 The new FRS method for the sustainable rebirth of villages complete with indicators and sustainable
actions

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The second step concerns the economic sustainability evaluation of the revalorisation and
rebirth project of the village.
Among the basic instruments of economic evaluation, the proposed approach considers the
Cost-Benefit Analysis. Indeed, this Analysis is an essential tool for estimating the economic
benefits of projects. “In principle, all impacts should be assessed: financial, economic, social,
environmental, etc. The objective of CBA is to identify and monetize (i.e. attach a monetary
value to) all possible impacts to determine the project costs and benefits; then the results are
aggregated (net benefits) and conclusions are drawn on whether the project is desirable and
worth implementing” (EC, 2006). To relate the different indicators, all the necessary data
must be transformed into numerical / monetary terms so that all the dimensions are
homogeneous and comparable. The CBA can be considered a method of analysis and
processing of indicators / indices that determine the number of disadvantages (costs) and
benefits (both private and social), referring to the project or program to be implemented.
3. FIRST APPLICATION TO THE RIVAROSSA VILLAGE IN VAL BORBERA

(AL)
Val Borbera is in the south-eastern area of the province of Alessandria - entirely within the
Ligurian Apennines - and it is the meeting point of four regions: Piedmont, Liguria, Emilia
Romagna and Lombardy. Even today the cultural and commercial ties with Liguria are strongly
perceived by population.
In the Middle Ages the Valley saw the formation of the imperial fiefdoms. These administrative
forms, endowed with the most complete autonomy, guaranteed considerable power to the
feudal lords. Together with the impetuous orography they have contributed to the economic
and cultural isolation of the Alta Val Borbera (Fig. 3).
Fig. 3 View of the Val Borbera from the fraction of Costa Merlassino and the Strette di Pertuso

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The main ways of penetrating inwards are the backbone of Antola and those of the valley
bottom that lead, through further routes, directly to Genoa. These routes of communication
have played an important role in the past as “salt routes” and therefore as ways of trade flows
between the sea and the plain. The construction of the Strada dei Giovi has interrupting these
flows, and it has destined the largest number of villages in the valley to the progressive
abandonment.
Rivarossa, case study of this paper, is the highest fraction of the Borghetto di Borbera
municipality, in the Province of Alessandria, in Piedmont. The village is in an exceptional
panoramic position from which the view sweeps over the entire surrounding territory. The
houses, now ruined and immersed in nature, still give an image of what was to be the country
before its abandonment, which took place in 1956, when the last family moved (Fig. 4).
Fig. 4 Rivarossa: Cadastral map and view of the Village from Costone la Ripa
Turning to the application of the FRS methodology to the Rivarossa case study, as illustrated
in paragraph 1, the first action is to evaluate whether the village is forgotten or abandoned.
Through surveys, analysis of the main town planning instruments and documentation related
to the village, interviews and, thanks to the subsequent SWOT analysis, the strengths, the
weaknesses (within the village) and the opportunities and threats (considering the large scale)
of Rivarossa are analyzed (Fig. 5).
From the SWOT analysis emerge the main topics for a self-sustainable rebirth of Rivarossa:
energy, waste and tourism.
Turning to the application of the FRS methodology to the Rivarossa case study, as illustrated
in paragraph 1, the first action is to evaluate whether the village is forgotten or abandoned.
Through surveys, analysis of the main town planning instruments and documentation related
to the village, interviews and, thanks to the subsequent SWOT analysis, the strengths, the
weaknesses (within the village) and the opportunities and threats (considering the large scale)
of Rivarossa are analyzed (Fig. 5).

© 2019, FedoaPress


STRENGTHS WEAKNESS
− rich environmental heritage, with protected areas − tendency to depopulation
of community importance − absence of essential services and network and
− integrity of the natural landscape mobility infrastructures
− presence of local rural traditions and artifacts − lack of job opportunities
− strong local identity, … − lack of attractiveness for private investments, …
SWOT
OPPORTUNITY THREATS
− tourist potential to be developed − poor planning and integrated programming
− presence of historical-cultural-naturalistic heritage − increase in the isolation and depopulation process
− European / National / Regional funds − loss of local cultural identity
− … − loss of tourist attractiveness, …
Fig. 5 SWOT analysis of Rivarossa (AL) village.
From the SWOT analysis emerge the main topics for a self-sustainable rebirth of Rivarossa:
energy, waste and tourism.
With the first step of the FRS method the environmental and social sustainability of Rivarossa
is analyzed. The analysis of the initial sustainability level of the village is carried out by
introducing and evaluating the DPSIR indicators, divided by topic (Fig. 6). According to the
new approach, Rivarossa can be considered Forgotten and therefore with a good chance of
rebirth.
LEVEL
TOPIC INDICATORS F R S
− Population 0 / /
− Sewerage network 0 / /
− Electricity network 0 / /
STATUS QUO
− Natural gas network 0 / /
− Accommodation facilities 0 / /
− Meal 0 / /
− Transportation system 0 / /
/ / X
− Tourist itineraries
ENERGY
− Renewable sources X / /
− Energy consumption X / /
− Urban waste X / /
WASTE − Separate collection X / /
− Compost X / /
− Accommodation facilities X / /
TOURISM
− Tourist pressure X / /
− Naturalistic areas / / X
− Tourist attractions X / /
LEGEND
− Presence: X
− Absence: 0
Fig. 6 Application of the FRS method to Rivarossa village: analysis of current status

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The chosen indicators are positioned within the scheme according to the following criterion
that considers the DPSIR framework:
− In the status quo, indicators that in the DPSIR model represent the Determinants (D)
are reported. It photograph the current state of Rivarossa as a "forgotten" village
(without electricity, sewers, residents, accommodation facilities, etc.);
− For the energy, waste and tourism topics, indicators that represent the Pressures (P)
and the Responses (R) in the DPSIR model are reported. The former coincides with the
pressures on the environment carried out by the village activity being reborn, the latter
with the response actions that contribute to reducing the impact of pressures through a
sustainable development model.
In the continuation of the application the Pressure indicators are introduced and subsequently
the Response ones linked to the sustainable actions proposed for the village self-sustainability.
In the next phase, to move from a Reborn to a Self-sustainable state, according to the FRS
model, for each selected topic the actions for the self-sustainability of Rivarossa, and therefore
the Response indicators, for each Pressure indicator, are necessary to define.
Figure 7 shows the FRS scheme for Rivarossa. The scheme is complete with topics, indicators,
and this time, sustainable actions aimed at the rebirth of the village in each level, F, R and S.
LEVEL
TOPIC INDICATORS F R S SUSTAINABLE ACTIONS
− plants to produce / / X − installation in each house and commercial activities

electricity and heat from of:
renewable sources x photovoltaic solar panels to produce electricity
ENERGY − energy consumption / / X self-sustainable;
x solar panels to produce self-sustainable hot
water and power plant heating.
− urban waste production / X / − door-to-door collection of urban waste
− separate collection / X / − correct differentiation of waste in: paper, glass,
− urban waste collection / X / plastic and undifferentiated
WASTE − compost production
/ / X − distribution within the village of containers for
separate collection
− disposal of compost inside the educational garden
according to an eco-sustainable natural cycle
− accommodation facilities / X / − creation of a widespread hotel as a model of
− tourist pressure / X / sustainable hospitality
− areas of naturalistic / / X − ordinary maintenance and cleaning of the local paths
TOURISM interest − organization of naturalistic visits in the surrounding
− tourist attractions such / X /
faunistic and hunting areas
as events, eco-museum, − establishment of an eco-museum and events related
etc. to rural and local culture
− Presence: X
LEGEND
− Absence: 0
Fig. 7 Application of the FRS method to Rivarossa village: sustainable actions.
Based on the carried out analyzes, interesting touristic opportunities are planned for the area,
even if there are some obstacles to overcome. The projects for the rebirth of the territory

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must be based on the valorisation of the architecture and the rural landscape through careful
interventions to guarantee their reuse and allow the conservation of the historical past
specificities.
Once "reborn", the village of Rivarossa, can grow by relying on the local tourist-commercial
network and exploit the potential offered by the recent establishment of the Alta Val Borbera
Nature Park (based in Carrega Ligure) and the proximity to the Antola Nature Park. This
strategic position, between the two parks, offers important possibilities for enhancing the
village. The activity chosen for the rebirth of the village are: a widespread hotel, an eco-
museum and an educational garden. The widespread hotel -realized through the recovered
of two rural buildings- can collaborate synergistically with the eco-museum and the
educational garden, both dedicated to the discovery of the local farming culture, to the
customs and traditions of the ancient inhabitants.
The second step of the new FRS methodology allows the evaluation of the economic
sustainability of the Rivarossa village redevelopment project. From the economic point of view,
the project would be unsustainable. Going however to consider the positive externalities:
environmental protection, renewable sources use, village rebirth, paths maintenance,
territory, traditions and arts of the past rediscovery and use of possible funding (for example
Law No. 158/2017, Rural Development Plan of the Piedmont Region) this relationship is
positive.
From this first application, the rebirth project for Rivarossa is therefore sustainable according
to the three environmental, social and economic declinations (Quaglini et al., 2018).
In conclusion, the FRS method represents a new tool compared to previous researches
developed by the authors on the theme of ancient villages. An innovative tool, both by
conceptual setup and by related assessment techniques. This tool can be a valid Decision
Support System in conservation and valorisation projects of architectural and cultural heritage
capable of "measuring" (in comparative, not absolute terms) the current and expected level
of sustainability. In relation to the application presented in the paper, this methodology would
be interesting to apply to the different villages present in the vast area. In this way a network
of self-sufficient villages could be created which, thanks to the sharing of their potentialities,
could have greater guarantees and growth prospects.
REFERENCES
Cervelli E., Pindozzi S., Cialdea D. (2018). Land development support in marginal areas. An opportunity
of environmental quality implementation, in INPUT 2018, Leone A., Gargiulo C. (Eds.), ISBN: 978-88-
6887-048-5.

© 2019, FedoaPress

EC (2006). Guidance on the Methodology for carrying out Cost-Benefit Analysis.
LEGGE 6 ottobre 2017, n. 158 “Misure per il sostegno e la valorizzazione dei piccoli comuni, nonché
disposizioni per la riqualificazione e il recupero dei centri storici dei medesimi comuni”.
Ministero per la coesione (2013), “Strategia nazionale per le Aree interne: definizione, obiettivi,
strumenti e governance”, Roma
Ugolini P. (2010). Approccio alla sostenibilità nella governance del territorio, Franco Angeli.
Pirlone F, Spadaro I. (2018). Nuove prospettive per i borghi dimenticati: creazione di reti e Piani di
Rinascita, Inu Edizioni 278 s.i., ISSN 0392-5005.
Pirlone F. (2016). I borghi antichi abbandonati. Patrimonio da riscoprire e mettere in sicurezza, Franco
Angeli, Milano.
Regione Piemonte (2015) Programma di Sviluppo Rurale 2014-2020 approvato con Decisione della CE
C(2015)745
Silvio Piella (2012). Rivarossa: un borgo ritrovato. Club Alpino Italiano Sezione Novi Ligure.
Y.Konishi, C. Boelman, J. Duijvestein (2005). Ecological architecture in the Netherlands a case study
on the “DCBA-design method" applied in Amersfoort Nieuwland, World Sustainable Building
Conference, Tokyo.
WEBSITE
https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/#c0=10&c12-operator=or&b_start=0
AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Francesca Pirlone, associate professor in town planning at Polytechnic School - University of Genoa,
PhD, engineer. She is a teacher in three university courses of three Degree Courses. She has developed
different lines of research, from requalification, natural risks, sustainability, waste, tourism,
infrastructures and mobility, activities carried out in EU and national programs. Author of numerous
publications and speaker at International and National Conferences.
Ilenia Spadaro, engineer, PhD and research fellow in town planning; she carries out scientific
activities at Polytechnic School, University of Genoa, where she is adjunct professor in courses on
Territorial Planning. Her researches are focused on ensuring safety of a territory by natural risks,
requalification of historical-cultural heritage, environmental sustainability themes: waste, tourism,
mobility and transport, energy. Author of several publications and speaker at International and
National conferences.
ANNEX
Francesca Pirlone: the author has done the paragraph 2.
Ilenia Spadaro: the author has done paragraphs 1 and 3.

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FOSTERING ARCHITECTURE
EFFICIENCY THROUGH URBAN
QUALITY
A PROJECT FOR VIA MILANO SITE IN BRESCIA
MICHELA TIBONI, FRANCESCO BOTTICINI
Department of Civil Engineering, Architecture

Land, Environment and Mathematic
University of Study of Brescia, Italy
e-mail: michela.tiboni@unibs.it
f.botticini002@unibs.it

Tiboni, M. & Botticini, F. (2019). Fostering Architecture Efficiency Through Urban Quality. A Project for Via
Milano site in Brescia. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature and ecosystem services (pp. 787-
ABSTRACT
The topic of the enhancement of historical centers is taking importance in contemporary
planning due of different reasons. The main ones ar e the will to empower the efficiency of older
houses under the energetic point of view, but also, as it is shown by the recent tragic seismic
facts, to increase the capability of ancient buildings to reach higher performances creating a
safer place for people. The protection of historical areas of cities involved not only monuments
and constrained architectures, it concerns also civil houses and open spaces because there
is the will to promote historical sites ensuring the achievement of high standards of life and
performances. The goal is to make historical sites resilient, to ensure the architectural heritage
to respond to external stresses such as the one linked to climate change, the increase of
touristic flows or seismic events. Enhancing historical parts of cities ensure to maintain the
features that characterize most urban landscapes. This allows to create better places for citizens
and to promote new touristic sectors. The paper considers the case study of the city of Brescia,
a middle-sized city, in the north of Italy, which has been interested by an urban regeneration
process involving especially a suburban neighborhood. A process that has begun in 2016 in
Brescia and it is still in development, with firsts consequences on the physical and social matrix
of the area.
KEYWORDS
GIS; Urban Regeneration Process; Historical Fabrics
M. Tiboni, F. Botticini
1 INTRODUCTION
In 2016 Brescia Municipality adopted a new land use plan (PGT), with the aim of reducing
free soil consumption and fostering rehabilitation of inner areas (Tiboni, 2015). The goal was
to promote sustainable development of the land highlighting the importance of urban
regeneration processes. To do this, it was necessary to define which were the aspects that
most characterized the city, starting from the elements that could generate tourism or develop
new economic sectors (Tiboni & Botticini, 2018).
These operations are also fostered by the United Nation with the Agenda 2030 for the
Sustainable Development, which asks cities to become safer, more inclusive, sustainable and
resilient (ONU, 2015). To reach these targets it is necessary to develop projects that must
enhance open spaces (Yaro, 2009) and generate a public value that can stimulate
stakeholders to start new partnership with public bodies for the refurbishment of buildings
and the strengthening of existing infrastructures. Particularly, the goal 11.4 of the Agenda
highlights the importance of cultural and natural heritage in the urban growth. This is due to
the increase in real estate investments in urban areas and the development of infrastructures
that, as Bandarin said, have altered the physical landscape of many historical cities and the
impact of environmental factors on urban heritage, for example traffic, pollution, industrial
wastes and acid rains, has increased significantly in recent decades (Bandarin, 2015).
1.1 GIS & HERITAGE

To foster the sustainable development of land it is mandatory to deeply analyse features of
assets involved. So, the PGT started to introduce a classification of the urban fabrics
considering the future destinations and the urban original role that the areas had in the past.
Another important aspect that it is necessary to take in consideration is that the enhancement
of open spaces is at the base of the strategy introduced in Brescia by the new PGT. Indeed,
importance is given to the existing relation between monuments and squares and how it can
be strengthened. All these analyses were first tested for the case study of the urban core of
Brescia, in which the development of the site based on the enhancement of the ancient
squares network linked to users’ behavior was promoted. The analysis done for the
elaboration of the PGT were developed with a GIS software, which allows to create databases
in which designers can find information about assets features. This data is useful to define
which is the most compatible way to operate on architectural heritage (Tiboni & Botticini,
2018).

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Fostering architecture efficiency through urban quality

Another important aspect given by GIS software is the capability to upload data in online
platforms called webGIS. These platforms are very important to spread data and let people
to know which and where are the main aspects of the site. Thanks to the structure of the
webGIS they can be used as webmaps for tourists and city users too (Tiboni & Botticini, 2018).
1.2 GIS & HERITAGE

The local urban plan characterizes urban fabrics considering when they were built. In relation
to this data, a subsequent classification of buildings was done, considering if they are
compatible with the stylistic language of the fabric. This kind of information is important
because it allows to define which are the admissible interventions to do on assets.
One of the various historical fabrics of Brescia is the area surrounding Via Milano (Fig. 1). In
the last years the Municipality decided to invest on this site, considering it strategical for the
development of the city; plenty of projects have been designed to enhance the open spaces
with the aim to increase the value of the land and stimulate stakeholders to invest in the
urban regeneration.
Fig.1 Milano Street in Brescia: the area of interest and its relationship with the city center

© 2019, FedoaPress

This strategy of redevelopment of a peripheral area also had the support of the national
government, which is financing part of the works in progress, thanks to two different calls for
financing, in which it was asked to competitors to produce projects for the regeneration of
deteriorated urban areas, considering not only the physical structure but also the social matrix.
The projects that won the call aim to produce urban quality and achieve the goals indicated
by the United Nations through a design of open spaces deeply linked to the analysis of people
that live in the area. This is an important aspect because the process of urban regeneration,
called “Beyond the Street”, is based on participation and fosters social inclusion and security
through the creation of areas that are nice under the architectural aspect (Fig. 2).
Fig.2 A new theatre and other interventions on open spaces

(Author: Brescia Municipalità)

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2 THE “VIA MILANO RECOVERY PLAN”

The project “Beyond the Street” gives attention to open spaces and facilities for people, with
several targets such as to produce urban quality, creating better conditions of life for people
and stimulating private stakeholders to invest on site development. But this project is not the
only strategy implemented for this area. A recovery plan has been implemented, and its main
goal is to foster the private owners to refurbish their own buildings to adequate them to the
new standard achieved by the sit. In this way it is possible to capture and capitalize the public
value generated by regeneration interventions on common areas.
Already in 2010 Municipality adopted for the area a previous recovery plan, which however
did not produce the expected results. The comparison between the analysis of conservation
state of buildings done in 2010 with the contemporary conservation state shows that the
situation is worsen (Fig. 3)
Fig.3 The conservation state of buildings in 2010 (up) and in 2018 (down); the red-3D buildings are the ones in a
worst state of conservation, the yellow buildings are the partially deteriorated and the green ones represent buildings
in a good state of conservation. It is possible to see that the red buildings are increased.
(Authors: Francesco Botticini, Emanuela Vizzardi)

© 2019, FedoaPress

As already mentioned, in 2016, with the adoption of the new local urban plan, the Municipality
decided to start a general variation for Via Milano recovery plan. Particularly, the PGT identifies
this site as important for the development of a of sustainable mobility system that will allow
to come into the urban core leaving from peripherical areas (Fig. 4-5). This system must be
strengthened with a network of green infrastructures too with the aim to create ecosystem
services that can increase life quality in the site and the urban quality of the area according
to principles introduced by value-led development (Auzinis & Viestrus, 2017).
Fig.4 The new green network introduced by the PGT. Fig.5 The new mobility system introduced by the PGT.
(Author: Brescia Municipality) (Author: Brescia Municipality)
The recovery plan for Via Milano area is subdivided into three phases; the first one is the
definition of the objectives of the plan, the second is the definition of the role of the
stakeholders and the third one is the elaboration of cartographical support and the
development of the project.
The goals are to achieve high quality of life through the partnership between public bodies
and stakeholders, fostering social inclusion, creating new economic opportunities and
refurbish the assets in an ecological way in order to ensure ecosystem services and high
architectural quality of buildings.
The second phase regards how the partnership can be carried out. The plan is focused on
private buildings and it can’t force owners to operate. So, it is important to understand which
their needs are and how stakeholders can be stimulated to invest. The first action is the
discount that owners can have if they want to work on their properties. The other strategies
are based on fostering participation and negotiate possible solutions directly with involved
people.

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The third phase is the elaboration and it is subdivided into two steps: the first one is the
creation of the database in which there are all the features that are necessary to understand
the assets. Starting from these features it is possible to develop the second phase that is the
project. As it is asked by national and regional laws, an urban regeneration process needs to
analyse both physical and social structure of the area, so, the system of knowledge links these
two different aspects.
2.1 THE CREATION OF THE SYSTEM OF KNOWLEDGE TO DEFINE THE MOST

COMPATIBLE STRATEGY OF INTERVENTION
The third phase of the project was developed with GIS software that was useful to create a
database that joined features from the site, from buildings and from residents too. The goal
was to understand which the peculiarities of the area are to develop a sustainable strategy of
intervention.
Namely, it is possible to define different topics that the analysis considers, such as, urban
framework, services and infrastructures, urban evolution and buildings value, conservation
state and residents’ investigation.
The use of GIS software allowed to map data coming from different sources: first, a series of
surveys were done. Than an historical investigation started in which ancient cadastral maps
were studied, such as Napoleonic, Teresian and the one of the Italian Kingdom (Fig. 6), old
pictures of the site were used too (Fig. 7).
Fig.6 Ancient cadastral maps of the site. Fig.7 Historical pictures of Via Milano factories.
These steps allowed to define some preliminary features that were mapped to obtain
cartographical documents in which the evolution of the site is related to buildings
characteristics.
The aim of this phase was to define which are the valuable buildings and the ones that are
not compatible with the architectural language of the historical site of Via Milano. Particularly,

© 2019, FedoaPress

it was possible to define, for every period of urban growth, which architectural typologies
were built, and which features they must have. Thanks to the surveys it was possible to define
the state of conservation of these components. This is a useful data because it let to define
on which buildings it is prior to operate.
Another analysis is the one regarding the constrained buildings that is important to define
which are the sensitive blocks along the street and, mostly, if there are buildings that could
interfere with the sensitive ones. For this reason, an analysis was done in which, for every
block, the incompatible volumes were checked.
With the goal to define the historical feature of the asset the use of the GIS software to relate
ages and typologies was important. The same architectural typology builds in different
moments can have different features and different typologies build in the same period
presents different aspects too thanks to technique evolutions. The GIS software allowed to
join these two aspects and obtain a third record that schematizes architectural features that
buildings have.
In accordance to surveys, these features were developed in sheets in which every aspect is
explained in detail.
After the analysis of valuable buildings and relevant characteristics it was feasible to start
defining the guideline for intervention.
The first step in this direction is the creation of a frame of all projects that have been changing
the structure of the site in the last years, such as Beyond the Street. The guideline considers
the increased value of both, area and buildings, thanks to the operations done by public bodies
on open spaces, infrastructures and facilities.
With the creation of new attractive poles along the street, private buildings acquire new
importance and, in relation to this aspect, it is possible, to define which the operation that
private are can do on their properties (Fig. 8).
This last aspect considers all the previous mapped data. Starting from the architectural value
of buildings, the architectural features they have and the importance they acquire it is possible
to define compatible and sustainable operations that present different degrees of freedom:
the most sensitive buildings are the one on which there is the low level of freedom and the
interventions are limited to restauration and conservation. On the other side, on buildings that
are not compatible with the historical language of the urban fabric it is given the possibility to
private owners to demolish them and replace with other one presenting a high architectural
quality.

© 2019, FedoaPress


Fig.8 3D representation of admissible interventions on private buildings.

The purple buildings are the ones with a high architectural value, while the green ones are modern building that
are not coherent with the language of the urban fabric. To the purple buildings are linked conservative
operations while with the green ones is given the possibility to demolish and replace.
2.2 GIS & DIFFERENT SCALES MODELS

As it is asked by the laws, during the elaboration of a recovery plan it is necessary to stress
attention on people that live in the site with the aim to highlight its social structure. Namely,
in the field of socio-demographic analysis it was possible to join the social matrix of Via Milano
to the structural one. The result is a series of maps relating urbs and civitas (Fig. 9).
Thanks to the GIS software it was feasible to create maps in which the distribution of people
along the site is shown in connection to other data, such as the conservation state of houses
or the “age” of the fabric in which they live. The other aspect is that GIS software allows to
characterize information about population so, it is possible to weight them and obtain
distributions related to different aspects such as nationality, gender or people different ages.
The process aimed to start from the site general characteristics at urban level up to the
architectural ones.
The overlay of this data is important inside the frame of the recovery plan because it let to
understand if there are my relationships between different scales variables. Particularly, the
data about the evolution is at urban scale, the one about the conservation is at architectural
scale and the one about residents is at a lower level.

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Fig.9 Comparison between the distribution of foreign (up) and Italian people (down).
The blue spots represent the concentration of people on the analysed area; high intensity of blue means high
concentration of people. In this maps people are related to the urban evolution of the area and to the
conservation state of buildings.

© 2019, FedoaPress


3 FIRST CONSIDERATIONS AND FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS

The article analyses the urban regeneration process that has begun in 2016 in Brescia and it
is still in development. Now the first interventions have started and so, it is possible to see a
little part of the firsts consequences they are having on the physical and social matrix of the
examined area.
The goals of urban regeneration process are to achieve high quality of life through the
partnership between public bodies and stakeholders, fostering social inclusion, creating new
economic opportunities and refurbish the assets in an ecological way in order to ensure
ecosystem services and high architectural quality of buildings.
The most important aspect is the relationship between public and private intervention to foster
urban quality that can generate value and how this value can be captured to enhance the
asset of the site.
This is an interesting point because it is linked to plenty of international researches that aims
to define new strategies for the development of processes and plans of urban regeneration,
with the partnership of public bodies and private stakeholders.
The other important topic of research in which this work is inserted is the one concerning how
to use GIS, webGIS and 3D GIS software to enhance historical assets. This process is an
example of how new technologies can be used to foster urban and architectural quality
through the elaboration of holistic analysis that try to correlate how the assets are done and
how they are used.
Implementation of GIS software in the heritage analysis is taking importance thanks to the
possibility of creating databases that are the starting point in the assessment of the admissible
strategies. Thanks to these databases it is feasible to develop statistical analysis trying to
define possible correlations between the mapped features with the aim to find which are the
trigger causes that can damage the heritage and the assets, such as, for example, a possible
wrong use of the heritage.
Particularly, the implementation of data with the ones coming from a 3D exam can help in
defining the features mapped. The use of 3D GIS allows to do more analysis that are not
feasible in the 2D plan, such as the one regarding the presence of incompatible volumes inside
blocks.
The last topic that this work talk about is the importance given in the contemporary urban
planning to the protection and the enhancement of the historical areas of cities. Urban cores
have started to have importance in the last years because it is recognized that they are at the
base of the sustainable development of the land. In an optic of resilience, it is necessary to
define a strategy for the growth of cities not under a quantitative point of view but under a

© 2019, FedoaPress

qualitative one, so it is necessary to protect the elements that can generate value and a higher
life quality in urban areas.
This vision allows to introduce topics inside the recovery plan such as the ones about the
seismic vulnerability and the energetic efficiency that have the aim to protect the heritage
and pose the base to its maintenance through the ages. This is because it is necessary to
maintain the features that are at the base of the development of the land making it sustainable
in accordance to the goals given by the Agenda 2030.
All these topics can be developed in future analysis; starting from the definition of a strategy
to capture public value, through the implementation of 3D GIS in the definition of the data,
coming to the studies of the vulnerability and of the energetic behavior.
Especially these last topics can be analysed with the goal of setting a process that investigate
how to use 3D GIS to develop studies on buildings behavior that can help in defining strengths
and weaknesses that plans must focus on.
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© 2019, FedoaPress


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048-5, Federico II Open Access University Press, Napoli.
Tiboni, M., Botticini, F. (2018), Gli effetti delle previsioni urbanistiche sulla rigenerazione urbana
diffusa. Il caso di Brescia, atti del convegno AISRE, Bolzano, 17-19/09/2018, AISRE, Archivio abstracts
e papers.
Tiboni, M., Botticini, F. (2018), La rigenerazione verde di Brescia, atti del convegno SIU, Firenze, 6-
8/06/2018, in corso di pubblicazione.
Tiboni, M., Botticini, F., Vizzardi, E., Scala, B. (2019), Elements towards the protection and promotion
of urban spaces in the historical city: the study of the historic center of Brescia, in Pezzagno, M., Tira,
M. (Eds.), Town and Infrastructure Planning for Safety and Urban Quality, Taylor and Francis Group,
London
Tiboni, M., Ribolla, G., Rossetti, S., Treccani, L. (2019)., Beyond the Street: an urban regeneration
project for the Porta Milano district in Brescia in Pezzagno, M., Tira, M. (Eds.), Town and Infrastructure
Planning for Safety and Urban Quality, Taylor and Francis Group, London.
Ventura, P. & Tiboni, M. (2016), Sustainable Development Policies for Minor Deprived Urban
Communities and Natural and Cultural Heritage Conservation, in Rotondo, F., Selicato, F., Marin, V. &
López Galdeano, J. Cultural Territorial Systems. Landscape and Cultural Heritage as a Key to
Sustainable and Local Development in Eastern Europe, pp. 29-49, Springer International Publishing,
ISBN 978-3-319-20752-0, doi 10.1007/978-3-319-20753-7
Yaro, R. (2009), A plan for all reasons, Regional Plan Association. Retrivied from:
http://www.rpa.org/spotlight/plan-for-all-reasons/2009/03/02.
AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Michela Tiboni, Since 2005 Associate Professor of Town planning at the University of Brescia (Italy),
graduated in Civil Engineering, she obtained a PhD in Town planning at the Polytechnic of Milan (2003).
Author of books, papers and other publications, her main fields of research are Land-use dynamics
and environmental hazards, Evaluation of plan previews for a safe and sustainable town, Urban policies
and techniques towards a safer town. She took part in many projects about Mobility safety as a
management objective of urban transformation and Developing Urban Management and Safety,
particularly working on the application of Geographic Information System (GIS), with attention to the
monitoring of the effects of planning and traffic safety measures. Since 2013 she is Councillor for
urban planning in the Municipality of Brescia
Francesco Botticini, Graduated in 2017 in Building Engineering and Architecture at University of

Study of Brescia with a thesis about the enhancement and the protection of cultural heritage of Brescia
urban core. From 2015 he has collaborated with the Urban Planning Sector of Brescia Municipality. He
is PhD student since November 2017 and his researches concern new ways for urban regeneration of
cities with strong historical vocation, namely he studies how to use GIS to create functional databases
to enhance the heritage and to assess the sustainability of urban regeneration processes.

© 2019, FedoaPress

THE ROLE OF COMMUNITY
ENTERPRISES IN SPATIAL
PLANNING FOR LOW DENSITY
TERRITORIES
CRISTIAN CANNAOS, GIUSEPPE ONNI

e-mail: cannaos@uniss.it, gonni@uniss.it

Cannaos, C. & Onni, G. (2019). The Role of Community Enterprises in Spatial Planning for Low Density
Territories. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature and ecosystem services (pp. 800-809). Naples:
ABSTRACT
The article investigates the problem of aging and depopulation to which low-density areas are
subjected. The problem is dealt with by illustrating the generality of the issues affecting the
whole of Europe, to then deepen the case of Sardinia. In the second part a strategy is proposed
which, through the implementation of some health services, intervenes on urban regeneration.
The idea is to restart from the elderly population, designing services that are adequate for
low density, which can trigger virtuous processes capable of producing an improvement in the
quality of life of the entire resident population. The article illustrates how local communities
should be placed at the center of the process by proposing Community Enterprises (CEs) as
socio-territorial figures for managing services. The research aims to make small communities
more resilient, as an example the Municipality of Sennariolo is cited, guaranteeing access to
some services, currently the prerogative only of those who live in or near the city, recovering
the sense of community.
KEYWORDS
Community enterprise; Urban regeneration; Local community needs
The role of community enterprises in spatial planning for low density territories

1 DEPOPULATION AND THE LOW DENSITY QUESTION

According to the United Nations 2017 report (UN, 2017), Europe is the only continent of the
world that is losing population and this trend will continue throughout this century. Moreover
the process of depopulation, in the last years is interesting a large part of European cities. A
line of research on "Shrinking Cities" is started, investigating the consequences of a strong
and prolonged loss of population (Kabisch & Haase, 2011; Oswalt, 2005).
The depopulation become problematic especially in the urban space, where the built
environment has a very large inertia and the useful life and resilience of the buildings go
beyond that of their inhabitants. Moreover, in these shrinking cities, the building activity
slowed but never stopped (European Environmental Agency, 2009), producing an
uncontrolled growth of suburbs and sprawl and a constant abandonment of large parts of the
existing districts.
Nevertheless shrinking cities represent just a part of the problem.
Europe has been interested for two centuries by a massive concentration of population in the
major cities. It has been mainly the result of the emigration of millions of people from the
countryside. This phenomenon affected most of the rural areas, often characterized by a
constellation of small towns and villages, with vast and difficult territories. These places,
starting from a situation of low density of population, had seen further decreased the number
of their inhabitants, first due to the massive emigration, and in the last fifty years for the
continuous decrease of births.
These changes have influenced the number of inhabitants and their composition. Starting
from a population characterized by the presence of children and young people, currently these
places are inhabited mainly by elderly people. It means, in the long run, an inability of these
settlements to renew and sustain themselves.
But low density of people does not means low density of buildings. Even in the totality of
shrinking towns, the construction of new buildings never stopped. It means that currently
most of the resident population lives in the new suburbs, while the historical parts of the
center are quite empties and are still losing inhabitants.
Moreover, the management of basic services such as water supply, purification plants, waste
collection, post offices, banks, kindergartens, schools, become complex and expensive in this
scenario, leading to the disappearance of many of them.
The loss of basic services represents another incentive to emigration, further feeding the
vicious circle of abandonment.
This continuous depopulation is "producing" a plenitude of uncultivated, abandoned spaces,
empty houses, disused industrial areas, closed stations, ruins and demolished sites.

© 2019, FedoaPress

C. Cannaos, G. Onni
It is then necessary to found new strategies to provide services, capable to sustain, revitalize
and give a resilience to support the daily effort necessary to inhabit these places.
2 DEPOPULATION AND SERVICE CRISIS IN SARDINIA

A large part of the municipalities of the inner land1 of Sardinia represent an example of
territory heavily affected by this type of crisis.
Sardinia on 2011 accounted 1,639,362 inhabitants. It is composed of 377 municipalities of
which only 29 exceed 10,000 inhabitants. Among these, only Olbia and Quartu S. Elena exceed
50,000 inhabitants and only Cagliari and Sassari exceed 100,000.
The Sardinian urban texture is formed by a network of small municipalities, which preside a
very low-density areas (42 inhabitants / kmq, ISTAT, 2011). In 2011 the totality of the 296
inner municipalities accounted 660,000 inhabitants and just 8 of them registered a population
of over 10,000 inhabitants.
From the sixties these settlements are recording, and will record, a real demographic collapse
(Cannaos, 2013; Cannaos & Onni, 2017).
According to the ISTAT 2066 median forecasts2, Sardinia will lose others 510,000 inhabitants
over the next fifty years. Currently it is losing over 5,000 inhabitants per year, practically all
distributed among the inner municipalities. There is the real risk that many settlements will
be completely abandoned in the next future.
Moreover, depopulation is closely linked to aging. According to 20183 ISTAT data, 381,849
Sardinians (a share of 23.2%) are over 65 years old. Only in the last seventeen years this
quota has increased by 7.1 percentage points.
The provision of public and private services is increasingly based on number of users and on
economies of scale, so their costs are totally unsustainable in the territories with low density
of population. This has led to a slow, gradual and progressive erosion of local services and
the inhabitants have to journey toward the main centers even for the most trivial and everyday
things.
If young people can deal with these movements, they often become very difficult for the
elderly population. The greater current life expectancy translates into a greater need for daily

1
Internal areas are defined as those municipalities without coastal territory, with the exception of those
belonging to the Cagliari metropolitan area.
2
http://demo.istat.it/previsioni2017/index.php?lingua=ita (visited on March 27, 2019).
3
Data available on the site http://demo.istat.it/pop2016/index.html

© 2019, FedoaPress


healthcare services, and if they are not easily accessible and available it can also become a
reason for emigrating.
In general if can be acceptable a reduction of services provided by the private sector, the
reduction of public services becomes, in some way, a diminution of the citizenship of who
lives in small towns. Their rights seem to be weakened by the situation of low density of
population that they live. At the same time it is impossible for the collectivity to pay for
scattered services with few users.
If it is important and fundamental to maintain a human presence in all these places (and it is
so), then there is the need to find new strategies to provide services.
A paradigm shift is needed, which can allow low-density locations to have some basic services
provided locally, without an exceptional increase in their cost.
A strategy can be to provide locally some services, passing from the logical of the inhabitant-
user to the one of the inhabitant-producer.
A potential tool to allow this shift can be represented by the Community Enterprises (CEs).
3 COMMUNITY ENTERPRISES AND THEIR ROLE IN LOW DENSITY

TERRITORIES
A reaction to the lack of services is often represented by the emergence of social cooperation
that seek to give collective answers to the inhabitants' needs. A particular form of this
cooperation is represented by CEs.
CEs are a widely used mechanism in addressing problems associated with socio-economic
decline in rural areas all over the Europe (Bailey, 2012; Vestrum et al., 2017). These
enterprises are extremely interesting due their ability to involve local populations, create social
wealth and focus on the “economic, societal, health, and environmental aspects of human
welfare” (Zahra et al., 2008).
In every nation and place CEs are built in different ways and organization, and in Italy there
is not a national law that clearly define and recognize CEs. Nevertheless, many Regions4 have
approved (in different ways and forms) specific laws or rules to allow their legal recognition.
The world of cooperativism is increasingly involved by this phenomenon, has developed some
competences, and is promoting and supporting these type of initiatives. It is the reason why
we adopted the definition of IRECOOP (2016):
“We are facing a community enterprise when: in the presence of a territory in a vulnerable
state and of a specific need, capable of generating an entrepreneurial opportunity, expressed

4
Puglia,Liguria, Emilia Romagna, Basilicata, Abruzzo, Calabria, Lombardia, Toscana e Sardegna.

© 2019, FedoaPress

C. Cannaos, G. Onni
by a real community (not a virtual community); an economic activity is developed aimed at

pursuing community development and maximizing the collective well-being (not only of the
members) and not at maximizing profit.”
Then CEs are characterized by the production of advantages in favor of the local community.
The community enterprises may include work activities, user social or mixed activities. The
activities they carry out may be directed to commercial management; social assistance and
public utility services, environmental protection; agricultural, forestry and breeding activities;
recovery of trades and productions linked to tradition; tourism services and management;
renewable energy production; communication services.
Among the existing experiences, it is possible to identify recurring traits, as the fact that all
cooperatives arise in vulnerable rural and peripheral contexts (Johnstone & Lionais, 2004),
generally not characterized by concentration of public or private investments capable of
enhancing their economic and social potential.
The identifying characteristics show that they act as strategic actors for local development,
responding to the specific needs of the community and enhancing unused or under-utilized
resources (Haugh, 2007).
Very often the CEs are promoted by highly motivated groups of young people able to involve
the rest of the population, which generally feel themselves excluded or discriminated in the
ordinary labour market (Sacconi & Ottone, 2015).
The community is not only the context in which the CEs operate, but it plays a key role in the
building of a need and in the initiation and development of a CE, which acts in search of the
common good (Daskalaki et al., 2015; Peredo & Chrisman, 2006). Thus every CE pursue its
objectives through the production of goods and services in order to have stable impacts on
fundamental aspects of the social and economic life of places. Obviously, nothing prevents
the fact that the territory and, consequently, the concerned population can be expanded, also
varying the articulations of the activities
The social capital of a territory therefore becomes an indispensable element for setting up
both organizational and management models that are able to manage themselves.
The members can be both user and/or working members. User members are those who use
and benefit from the services provided by the cooperative; the working members, on the
other hand, are those that are directly involved in the activities and services provided by the
CE and whose professional and working skills are functional and coherent with the objectives
of the CE.
The support of local institutions is necessary and fundamental because they can provide, in a
more or less direct way, administrative facilities and know-how (Barca, Casavola & Lucatelli,
2014).

© 2019, FedoaPress


Economically, CEs often act by diversifying the sectors of intervention, focusing attention on
economies of scope rather than on growth of scale, finding economic resources also from
outside the community of reference (eg supply of services, tourism activities, etc.) (Battistoni
& Zandonai, 2017).
However, the typology of community enterprise and the type of activities carried out are not
particularly important, but rather the purpose of improving the general conditions and giving
value to the community of reference, also promoting cooperative job opportunities especially
for young people. The benefits produced are not exclusive to the members of the cooperative
but a fundamental characteristic is the ability to develop externalities and offer services that
benefit the entire community (IRECOOP, 2016).
There are no substantial differences, both in organizational terms and in terms of governance,
between community enterprises and traditional cooperatives, since the small size of the
communities that generate them guarantees a strong representation in the cooperative's
social base (IRECOOP, 2016).
Even the critical points present recurrent elements.
Surely the most important obstacle to overcome for a CE is the moment of their foundation
and start-up. It requires a great effort of the founding members, that have to set aside their
personal interests by thinking first of the community's welfare. All of this in a moment where
they are personally engaged, both for the time and work to be dedicated to the CE, and for
the financial commitment that it requires.
Another problem is the generational shift, because often the promoter group finds it difficult
to identify new members or managers for the EC.
Last, but not the least, the access to credit is a strong problem. Even when it is granted, its
conditions are often penalizing, affecting the overall economic capacity and, consequently,
the possibility of implementing investments of the CEs.
Nevertheless, the CEs are an important and very effective tool when they are successfully
implemented within the community.
This is why a small community of Sardinia is trying to set up one of them, to overcome the
difficulties it is experiencing.
4 THE START-UP OF A COMMUNITY ENTERPRISE IN SENNARIOLO

It has already been pointed out that one of the consequences of depopulation is the overall
aging of the population, which implies a continuous reduction of services to the person that,
in a recursive way, affects the concrete possibility of living in a place, especially in the small
municipalities.

© 2019, FedoaPress

C. Cannaos, G. Onni
The Municipality of Sennariolo, a town of about 180 inhabitants in the province of Oristano in
Sardinia, is working to set up a CE, in an attempt to counter this process by guaranteeing the
elderly population the presence of a basic medical support while they remaining at their own
home.
The idea to start from the needs of elderly people represent a specific urgency (one third of
the population is over 65 years old and the demand of daily medical assistance is increasing),
but, at the same time it can constitute a starting point to revitalize all the town. The project
is thought like a process that starting from the medical assistance, step by step, could be
expanded to other sectors its activity, serving all the population and creating new jobs, giving
in this way a substantial contribute to the improvement of the general social well-being.
At the same time, this activity also aims to intervene on the homes of the elderly population,
adapting them to their needs, or to restructure public and semi-public spaces to adapt them
to support functions.
This means adapting, when necessary, the internal spaces and installations of the buildings
to make them welcoming according to the type of pathology, starting from those inhabited
by the elderly, and involving immediately the houses that are easy to recover or adapt. The
basic idea is to identify clusters of houses to also give an input to the recovery of the historic
center, working for neighborhood spaces.
At the moment, the establishment of the CE is in the start-up phase but it seems that there
are good premises for its success. In fact, the municipality have a good social capital. Despite
the little number of inhabitants there are three cultural and religious associations, and the
level of quality in solidarity relations is very high.
It is particularly important to point out that the actual Mayor of Sennariolo, Gianbattista Ledda,
has been committed to ensure that Sardinia Region approved a law on CEs, and he is working
inside himself community to promote this initiative5. Moreover, in the last few years the
municipality promoted different projects to arrive to the constitution of a CE.
The local health services have enjoyed the additional presence of a nurse, defined as "a
community nurse", increasing the level of assistance service, not only for the elderly but for
the whole population. At the same time has been started a conversion of some buildings that
have to become a reference center for all the questions regarding sanitary and assistance
services. They actually host the doctor, the pharmacist, the nurse and will host a center for
the medical first aid.
For two years the Municipality has started a collaboration with the Department of Architecture,
Design and Urban Planning of the University of Sassari which has produced a feasibility study

5
Legge Regionale 02/08/2018, n. 35. Azioni generali a sostegno delle cooperative di comunità.

© 2019, FedoaPress


for the activation of the CE. In addition, a residential workshop6 held in November 2018 has
carried out surveys and interviews from which to extract ideas and models for the definition
of a project that could support the activities of the cooperative.
About 40 interviews were conducted, spread over a total of 91 family units. The interviews
were always aimed at the elderly and, where present, at least one other cohabiting relative,
to better understand the real needs of the population. Some privileged actors were
interviewed (pastor, social worker, general practitioner, members of the municipal council,
some representatives of the associations), to get feedback on what emerged from the general
survey and to identify people who might have interest, skills and abilities to start the
cooperative.
The path has begun and the activities of the cooperative will start during 2019, with the
declared objective of making it multifunctional, investing in addition to social activities also on
agriculture and tourism.
Thanks to the work carried out in recent years, the Municipality of Sennariolo is starting to
access funding for the launch of the CEs, especially those coming from Territorial
Programming7.
This shift from users to producers of services seems to be a necessary paradigmatic change
to guarantee a good access to services and the improvement of quality of life in depopulated
and in crisis contests. The CEs cannot be the instruments of salvation for any context in crisis,
in many cases they have failed, but certainly they represent an option, a good attempt to be
implemented on the path of local research to counter depopulation and the marginalization
of some territories.
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regeneration policy in the UK, Progress in Planning, 77 (2012), 1–35. doi:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.progress.2011.11.001
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governo dei community asset ferroviari, Territorio, 83, 121-127. doi: 10.3280/TR2017-083017

6
Scientific coordinator: Professor Paola Pittaluga, conduced by the authors of the article.
7
Development tool included in the 2014-2019 Regional Development Program of the Sardinia Region.

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C. Cannaos, G. Onni
Cannaos, C. (2013). L’insediamento e la rete di città in Sardegna. In AA.VV., Sardegna. La nuova e

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AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Cristian Cannaos, graduated in Civil Engineering, Thesis in territorial planning. Doctorate at the
Faculty of Architecture of Alghero, Thesis "The territorial policies for tourism". For the Faculty of
Architecture he coordinated from 2005 to 2014 the Tourism Observatory in Alghero and in the Province
of Sassari. It has always conducted research on the tourist field and on the relationship between
territory and inhabitants. It also operates in the field of environmental assessment, especially on EIA
and SEA..
Giuseppe Onni, engineer, he is a PhD in Space Environmental Planning. Since 2004 he has carried
out research and teaching activities at the Department of Architecture, Design and Urban Planning of
the University of Sassari, based in Alghero, where he was a lecturer in Urban Management and a
research fellow. His research has often turned to the effects that tourism policies have on plans, urban
spaces and the resulting transformations, especially in low-density areas.

© 2019, FedoaPress

MEASURING MULTIMODAL
ACCESSIBILITY TO URBAN
SERVICES FOR THE ELDERLY
AN APPLICATION AT PRIMARY HEALTH SERVICES
IN THE CITY OF NAPLES
GERARDO CARPENTIERIa, CARMEN GUIDAa

HOUSHMAND MASOUMIb
a
e-mail: gerardo.carpentieri@unina.it
carmen.guida@unina.it
b
Center for Technology and Society of
Technische Universität Berlin, Germany
e-mail: masoumi@ztg.tu-berlin.de

Carpentieri, G., Guida, C. & H. Masoumi (2019). Measuring Multimodal Accessibility at Urban Services for
Elderly. An application at primary health services in the city of Naples. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.),
10.6093/978-88-6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
In Europe, the share of people aged 65 years and over is expected to increase exponentially,
and for the first time in human history, in 2050, the number of older people will be greater than
the number of children under 15 years old. At the same time, aging is associated to an increased
vulnerability and dependence on medical care services. An ageing population poses various
challenges to a society and improvements in the medical and transportation systems are needed
to maintain and to improve the quality of life of the elderly population. From the perspective of
social equity, everyone should have the opportunity to access such services equally, but because
of economic and geographical issues, it is a challenge to achieve such level of equity. The aim of
this study is to fill the gap between scientific and real practices through an accessibility measure
able to evaluate urban accessibility to primary healthcare services and to support decision-
makers to better allocate resources, in local welfare policies restructuring. The accessibility
measure was designed considering both the land-use and the transportation components,
taking into account the local healthcare supply system and a multimodal transportation network.
The methodology was applied for the city of Naples, considering Local Health Agency (ASL)
healthcare services to elderly population. The supply consists of 17 buildings used by nearly
200,000 of old people. The outputs show that entire neighbourhoods’ elderly population suffer
from a very poor accessibility to primary health services, especially in the city suburbs, and that
the methodology could be effective in urban palling strategies to achieve a high quality of life
for elderly people.
KEYWORDS
Accessibility; Elderly; GIS
Measuring multimodal accessibility to urban services for the elderly
1 INTRODUCTION
Demographic ageing is an increasing phenomenon in urban areas and its economic and social
consequences are comparable to the industrial revolution (ARUP, 2015). In Europe, the share
of people aged 65 years and over is expected to increase from 19.4% in 2017 to 30% of the
total population in 2060 and for the first time in human history, in 2050, the number of older
people will be greater than the number of children under 15 years old (Eurostat, 2018).
Moreover, in the European context, the demographic shift would be dramatic for Germany,
Portugal, Spain and Italy, where the most aged major cities are located. The Italian Institute
of Statistics (ISTAT) forecasts a significant reduction of the total population, from over 60
million people in 2018 to 46 million in 2065, and at the same time a noteworthy increase in
the over-65 population (from 22.7% in 2019 to 30.5% in 2065). This means that Italy would
be an even older nation.
Considering their significant increase in number and their health condition, the elderly
represent an essential group of interest: due to improvements in nutrition, sanitation and
medical care older people are healthier than previous generation but, at the same time, aging
is also associated to an increased vulnerability and dependence on medical care services.
From the perspective of social equity, everyone should have the opportunity to access such
services equally, but because of economic and geographical issues, it is a challenge to achieve
such level of equity (Kim et al., 2018). Local authorities should prioritise the implementation
of policies to promote higher life-quality standards for this increasing portion of population
and the accessibility approach can be useful to achieve this aim. It takes into account both
the land-use system, consisting of the amount, quality and spatial distribution of supply and
demand of activities, and the transport system, considering individual needs, abilities and
opportunities (Geurs & van Wee, 2004; Papa et al., 2017). Since studies showed that mobility
and accessibility trends of the elderly are a critical trial to transport systems (Aceves-González
et al., 2015; Buehler & Nobis, 2010; Currie & Delbosc, 2010; Voss et al., 2016) the provision
of a sustainable transport system, designed for the elderly's mobility needs, is both urgent
and necessary (O’Neill, 2016). On the other hand, the activity system needs to be shaped and
organized in order to gain a uniform level of access within the same city. It is crucial to provide
decision support tools to local administrator to evaluate and assess the accessibility level to
medical care services in urban areas (Papa et al., 2018b).
The aim of this paper is to measure the number of elderly people that suffer from a poor
accessibility to public primary health care services according to the active accessibility
paradigm. The procedure was applied for the public primary health services in the city of

© 2019, FedoaPress
G. Carpentieri, C. Guida, H. Masoumi
Naples, Italy, and it can be taken for other similar cities in case of urban size and socio-
demographics.
The project is targeted to develop strategies and decision-making tools for improving the
location of services for the elderly and their accessibility using public transport. The structure
of the paper is organised into four different parts. Following this introduction, in section 2, a
GIS-based methodology is proposed in order to compute the urban accessibility in urban
areas; in section 3, we discuss the application to the city of Naples; in section 4, we analyse
the results and discuss further research developments.
2 BACKGROUND
Due to the increasing political and scientific interest on the topic, several methods and
approaches were produced for determining healthcare accessibility and, based on the
application context, these measures vary a lot in terms of theoretical basis, operationalisation,
interpretability and communicability (Geurs & Van Wee, 2004). The simplest way to assess
healthcare accessibility is to use contour measures (or opportunity measures), defining
catchment areas by drawing one or more travel time contours around a node and measuring
the number of opportunities within each contour. This measure is easy to compute and
understand but suffers of a poor theoretical basis, since different distances within the same
area have no weight to evaluate accessibility. Moreover, in a metropolis where many
alternatives exist the distance to the nearest primary care service does not match people
demand. In order to define catchment areas by measuring travel impediment on a continuous
scale, gravity measures were introduced: even though they are more accurate representations
of travel resistance than contour measures, they tend to be less legible and neglect the
variation across individuals living in the same area (Scheurer & Curtis, 2007). Utility-based
accessibility measures are the link between infrastructure provision and perceived individual
and societal benefits, assuming that people select the healthcare alternative with the highest
utility. Although the strong theoretical basis (McFadden, 1975), it could be difficult to compute
and interpret these measures.
In order to contribute to these debates, this paper proposes a GIS-based procedure to
evaluate public primary health care accessibility, considering a multimodal transport network
(walking streets, bus lines, metro lines and urban rail lines) and through the lent of social
equity. The aim is to quantify elderly people that suffer from a poor accessibility to public
primary health care services according to the active accessibility paradigm. The procedure
was applied for the public primary health services in the city of Naples, Italy.

© 2019, FedoaPress
3 METHODOLOGY
In this study, we develop a GIS-based procedure to evaluate the level of accessibility to elderly
urban services considering the demographic characteristics of potential users, the multimodal
transport service (characteristics of walking street, frequency of service and localization of
urban transport stops) and characteristics of health services.
The proposed GIS-based procedure is organised in the following three steps: data collection,
GIS spatial analysis and representation of results. Methodologically, our approach integrates
the use of open data (spatial and alphanumerical) and organizational capability, analysis and
representation of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software. According to GIS Model
Builder tool of ArcGIS Pro 2.2 software, we defined a geoprocessing workflow to execute
operations that organize and analyze the alphanumeric and spatial data (Fig. 1).
Fig. 1 The phases of GIS-based procedure to evaluate the multimodal accessibility of elderly at urban services
In the procedure first step, it is necessary to create a geodatabase using a GIS software,
containing different types of data (spatial and alphanumeric). To improve the data output
accuracy of the GIS-based procedure, we introduced a regular spatial grid to divide the area
of analysis into small spatial units. The use of grid frames is very important for experimental
and observational science, as well as providing the most common framework for spatially
explicit models. The hexagonal cell, which is the minimum spatial unit in which the study area
is divided, has mainly hexagonal and square shapes, which side may have dimensions
previously selected by the user based on the area to be analysed (Papa et al., 2018a). In
literature, the use of a hexagonal cell rather than a square one is best advised for dealing
with areas that have problems related to the connectivity of different space units and the
identification of shorter paths for calculating travel distances (Kibambe Lubamba et al., 2013).
For this GIS-based procedure, we used as a spatial unit a regular hexagonal cell with a side
length of 50m that provides greater aesthetic attraction but above all a greater accuracy in
the calculation and visualization of numerical data. According to the previous studies, to
assignee the census tracks socio-economic data to hexagonal cells, it used a proportional
function that considered the buildings footprint located in each cell (Papa et al., 2018b;
Carpentieri & Favo, 2017).

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In the second step, geoprocessing, joint data and network analysis operations elaborate the
data to evaluate the travel time and accessibility level to health services for the elderly people.
In order to evaluate travel times from each hexagonal cell to the main local health buildings,
we created a multimodal transport network. We considered the network as the combination
of both walkable streets and local public transport lines (bus and metro) to better simulate
elderly mobility habits. The ArcGIS Pro 2.2 Network Analysis tool was used to compute the
OD travel matrix. We run four different analysis during morning peak-hour (9:00), for an
average adult, for a 65-69-aged person, for a 70-74-aged person and for an over-75-aged
person, considering four different walking speeds for each age category (Papa et al., 2018b).
In the third step, maps and tables were produced to quantify, numerically and spatially, the
results of the GIS-based procedure and support the planning process of decision-policy
makers. The results of this procedure can be easily used also by elderly, in order to choose a
more comfortable dwelling neighbourhood.
Tab. 1 provides the list of alphanumeric and spatial data (vector and raster) requests for the
application of the GIS-based procedure.
DATA CATEGORY OF DATA TYPE OF GEOMETRY SOURCE
Population Alphanumeric - Statistics Institute

Transport schedules Alphanumeric - Transport companies
Primary health services Vector / Alphanumeric Point Local Health Agency
Walking street network Vector Polyline Open Street Map

Transport network Vector Polyline Transport companies
Census tracts Vector Polygon Statistics Institute
Buildings Vector Polygon Geoportal
Digital Terrain Model Raster - Geoportal
Tab. 1 Data selected for the implementation the GIS-based procedure
The accessibility level was measured for each hexagonal cell, using the following formulas:
∑𝑛𝑘=1 𝑆𝑘|𝑑
𝐴𝑐𝑐𝑗|𝑑,𝑖 = (1)
𝑃𝑗 ∗ 𝑡𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑙 𝑗,𝑖
𝑚
𝐴𝑐𝑐𝑗|𝑑 = ∑ 𝐴𝑐𝑐𝑗|𝑑,𝑖 (2)

𝑖=1
Equation 1 is used to compute the accessibility of each cell j to the nearest health service i,
within the same district d. It is the ratio between the sum of primary health services
(surgeries) offered in i, Sk, and the dwelling population in each cell j multiplied with the total
travel time, in minutes, to reach the primary health building i from the barycentre of each

© 2019, FedoaPress
hexagonal cell j. Equation 2 represents the second step of the accessibility measurement: for
every hexagonal cell, we summed the accessibility of each health building within the same
administrative health district. According to the literature (Bauer & Groneberg, 2016; Kim et
al., 2018), we identified five different accessibility classes for this case study considering the
minimum number of primary health services useful to elderly (S k) and travel time thresholds
(15, 30, 45 and 60 minutes).
According to the literature review (Bauer & Groneberg, 2016; Kim et al., 2018), we identified
five different accessibility classes for this case study considering a minimum number of
primary health services useful to elderly (eleven services) and travel time thresholds (15, 30,
45 and 60 minutes). These levels of accessibility have also been applied in this study.
LEVEL OF ACCESSIBILITY TRAVEL TIME AJ

- [min] -
VERY GOOD <15 >0.73

GOOD 15-30 0.73 – 0.37
LOW 30-45 0.37 – 0.24
POOR 45-60 0.24 – 0.18
VERY POOR >60 < 0.18
Tab. 2 Accessibility thresholds
The proposed GIS-based procedure is applied to the city of Naples to evaluate the urban
accessibility at public primary health services for the elderly people. We selected this case
study because it represents one of the most interesting examples of a complex southern
European city with high population density, non-uniform urban structure and the absence of
a specific plan to satisfy the elderly people’s needs.
The city of Naples has 970,185 inhabitants (ISTAT, 2017) within 117.27 km² and is the fifth
Italian city in terms of population density. In the last decade, the city was affected by a
gradual increase in the elderly population: from 2008 to 2018, the elderly population of the
city increased of 20,052 inhabitants (ISTAT, 2018). The Naples Local Health Agency (ASL) is
responsible for the primary healthcare supply in the city boundary and it has a very complex
structure due to the numerous demand (nearly one million units) and the socio-economic and
health heterogeneity within the competence area. The Naples ASL has eighteen hospital
institutions spread all over the city but, in order to better program and allocate resources, to
monitor and manage medical care and treatments, health districts would have a significant
and strategic role.

© 2019, FedoaPress
Fig. 2 The distribution of over 65-years-old population
The Italian law (D.Lgs. 229/1999 Art. 3) regulates health districts functions and identify them
as territorial joints of ASL, the closest health supply for citizens. A programmatic document of
health services supply at local level organizes the Districts activities and the ones belonging
to upper health public levels and equivalent private services. Hence, Health Districts have a
strategic role in the present welfare system whose aim is to integrate this form of assistance
to more institutionalized solutions, such as physicians and voluntary organizations.
Fig. 3 The location of primary health buildings for each district
They represent a significant tool in order to limit social exclusion in urban areas.

© 2019, FedoaPress
For the first application of this methodology, we selected local health primary services supplied
by Naples ASL.
Fig. 4 The multimodal transport network
Fig. 5 The travel time to primary health centers
In particular, the municipality of Naples is divided in ten health districts, whose administrative
boundaries overlap one or more neighbourhoods’ borders, as reported in Tab. 2. Their
structures are spread in the whole city territory and they offer the following primary services

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to elderly people: Cardiology, Geriatrics, Dermatology, Urology, Neurology, Pulmonology,

Orthopaedics, Dentistry, Otolaryngology, Ophthalmology and Diabetology. They are managed
by Campania Region and Naples ASL. A preliminary reading of the data reported in the Tab.
2 would suggest some interesting issues related to the spatial distribution of elderly and health
services within the city of Naples. For instance, District 29 is the richest in health resources
(building and surgeries) and its elderly inhabitants in between 65-69 years-old are the most
numerous.
Moreover, District 27 (Arenella and Vomero) has the highest total and over-75-elderly (the
oldest old) population, but just one health building. This initial analysis is not sufficient to
investigate on social equity and it was used just as an input for the following evaluations.
According to the literature review (Bauer & Groneberg, 2016; Kim et al., 2018), we identified
five different accessibility classes for this case study considering a minimum number of
primary health services useful to elderly (eleven services) and travel time thresholds (15, 30,
45 and 60 minutes). In Tab. 4, 5 and 6 below, the number of elderly (65-69, 70-74 and over
75) in Naples Districts have been reported.
LEVEL OF ACCESSIBILITY TRAVEL TIME AJ

- [min] -
VERY GOOD <15 >0.73
GOOD 15-30 0.73 – 0.37
LOW 30-45 0.37 – 0.24
POOR 45-60 0.24 – 0.18
VERY POOR >60 < 0.18
Tab. 3 Accessibility thresholds
(a) (b)

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(c) (d)
Fig. 6 Level of accessibility for an average person (a) and for the three elderly classes (b, c and d)
4 FINDINGS
For what concerns the first age range (65-69), Districts 26 (Pianura and Soccavo) and 28
(Chiaiano, Piscinola, Marianella and Scampia) need an in-depth evaluation. In District 26 about
2,000 elderly people suffer from a very poor accessibility to primary health services and this
percentage increases to nearly 60% if we also consider a low, poor and a very poor level of
accessibility; this means that more than half of this District dwellers access to primary health
services in more than 30 minutes.
Accessibility level for District 28 is even worst since just the 8% of elderly access to primary
health services within 15 minutes, while over 70% have a low, poor and very poor level of
accessibility.
Indeed, 98.9% of District 29 (Colli Aminei, San Carlo all'Arena and Stella) dwellers access to
primary health services within 15 minutes. This highlights the deep social and spatial inequity
even for bordering neighbourhoods.

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DISTRICT VERY GOOD GOOD LOW POOR VERY POOR
24 3,441 759 902 268 0

25 3,559 2,130 874 49 0
26 1,149 1,178 685 526 2,235
27 1,578 3,300 2,134 1,174 118
28 338 962 1,446 556 997
29 5,948 61 0 0 0
30 2,994 787 176 1 0
31 3,830 1,792 0 0 0
32 1,065 3,716 730 0 0
33 1,745 1,761 969 611 293
TOTAL 25,645 16,446 7,916 3,184 3,643
Tab. 4 65-69 aged population per district per level of accessibility
For the second age range (70-74), in District 26 and 28 more elderly people suffer from a
very low accessibility level: respectively, 39.5% and 28.4% 70-74-aged people access to
primary health services in more than 60 minutes. For District 27 (Arenella and Vomero), about
2.500 (more than 40%) people have a low level of accessibility, due to an access travel-time
above 30 minutes. District 33 (Vicaria, San Lorenzo, Poggioreale) is not the worst in this
context but it could be further investigated since nearly 40% of its 70-74-aged dwellers suffer
from a low level of accessibility.
24 2,286 723 692 438 23

25 2,365 1,580 882 52 0
26 641 754 622 221 1,425
27 1,205 2,571 1,667 1,024 107
28 176 574 1,049 390 778
29 4,363 143 0 0 0
30 2,009 764 69 22 0
31 2,439 1,461 42 0 0
32 758 1,924 1,100 7 0
33 986 1,273 604 436 357
TOTAL 17,228 11,767 6,726 2,589 2,690
Tab. 5 70-74 aged population per district per level of accessibility
Previous considerations are confirmed even for this last age range (over 75): districts 26 and
28 still have the highest rate of dwellers with the poorest accessibility level (respectively 37%

© 2019, FedoaPress
and 32%). Due to the slowest walking speed considered for this elderly age rage (0.6 m/s),
in every District the number of people with a low, poor and very poor levels of accessibility
clearly increase.
24 4,061 2,135 1,418 975 556

25 4,309 3,471 2,251 397 24
26 845 1,320 1,613 493 2,460
27 2,298 5,613 4,095 2,527 848
28 141 817 1,486 1,283 1,745
29 7,678 1,414 0 0 0
30 2,298 2,875 54 157 0
31 4,485 2,565 1,134 0 0
32 1,301 2,890 3,064 43 1
33 1,512 2,726 1,235 890 1,424
TOTAL 28,928 25,827 16,349 6,765 7,058
Tab. 6 Over 75 aged population per district per level of accessibility
5 CONCLUSION AND FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS

The growth of the elderly population in the last decades has generated a serious accessibility
exclusion phenomenon. Some aspects influence the accessibility for the elderly population.
The study of scientific literature on the relationship between service area extension, transport
service frequency and age of users revealed the importance of considering these aspects in
the evaluation of accessibility to urban services. This paper presented a quantitative method
to assess accessibility to primary health services, considering a multimodal transport network
and the local health system supply to elderly. In order to validate the methodology, it was
applied to the city of Naples. The outputs show that entire neighbourhoods’ elderly population
suffers from a very poor accessibility to primary health services, especially in the city suburbs
(Pianura, Soccavo, Chiaiano). In order to provide a higher accessibility level, more accurate
and holistic land use planning policies are needed, also considering elderly needs and
preferences. Based on the results, the methodology and the operational procedure proposed
can be used as a decision support tool, in order to design new infrastructures or to optimize
existing resources, in a G2B (Government to Business) point of view. In order to gain this
aim, it would be useful to consider the whole primary health supply system, also considering
its administrative rules and, since the main objective of our research is elderly population, a
distance-decay function could be introduced to better compute their mobility availability.

© 2019, FedoaPress
Such decision support systems are efficient tools for policy makers and urban planners,
however, their contribution to knowledge production concerning the interactions of urban
planning with several other social issues are usually neglected. The future work can be
clarifying the knowledge-based contributions of this tool to the European and Italian
knowledge of interactions of land use and urban mobility of the elderly.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This paper is a part of the research project ‘MOBILAGE’. Mobility and ageing: daily life and
welfare supportive networks at the neighbourhood level, that involves the University of
Naples, the University of Groningen and the Politecnico of Milan. This work has been
supported by Fondazione Cariplo (Grant n° 2017-0942). The authors acknowledge the
financial support from the Fondazione Cariplo.
Paragraph 1 and 3, Gerardo Carpentieri.; Paragraph 2 and 4 Carmen Guida; Paragraph 5
Houshmand Masoumi.
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WEB SITES
http://www.pcn.minambiente.it/
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AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Gerardo Carpentieri is an Engineer, Ph.D. in Civil Systems Engineering at Universit y of Naples

Federico II and Research Fellow of Land Use Planning a t the Department of Civil, Architectural and
Environmental Engineering at University of Naples Federico II.
Carmen Guida is a Ph.D Student in Civil Systems Engineering Hydraulic and Transportation Systems
Engineering at Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering at University of
Naples Federico II.
Houshmand Masoumi is senior researcher at Zentrum Technik und Gesel lschaft (ZTG) at the
Technische Universität Berlin. He holds PhD in urban planning and several years of work experience
in civil engineering in industry and management section. His research interests are urban travel
behaviour modelling, land use-transportation interactions, and active transportation.

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URBAN ACCESSIBILITY FOR
CONNECTIVE AND INCLUSIVE
LIVING ENVIRONMENTS
AN OPERATIONAL MODEL AT SUPPORT OF URBAN
PLANNING AND DESIGN PRACTICE
7$1-$&21*,8$/(66$1'523/$,6$17

e-mail:tanjacongiu@uniss.it
elisaocchini91@gmail.com, plaisant@uniss.it
URL: https://www.architettura.aho.uniss.it

Congiu, T., Occhini, E. & Plaisant, A. (2019). Urban Accessibility for Connective and Inclusive Living Environments.
An Operational Model at Support of Urban Planning and Design Practice. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.),
10.6093/978-88-6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
The paper explores the theme of urban accessibility in order to figure out the spatial, functional,
social and environmental conditions of urban contexts to implement for extending the “accessibility
capital” of inhabitants. We propose an operational method that considers accessibility as a
guiding principle for planning able to orient transformative choices and plan/project action,
through the different phases from goal formulation and check of actions consistency, to the
assessment of interventions performance. The improvement of liveability in urban contexts
requires the design of accessible environments, abl e to make people benefit from a wide range
of urban opportunities and take part in public life, aiming at extending the “right to the city”
and the capabilities of people to exercise this right. Taking into account the complexity of the
accessibility concept and its multidimensional, multidisciplinary and multi-scalar character, the
proposed methodological framework is composed of a project coordinates system and a process
of implement-action. The first is a set of key and o perational requirements and performance
indicators, while the second serves as a guide for implementation through the definition of a
strategy and the monitoring of implemented actions. To verify the method applicability, it was
experimented in the urban regeneration project of Sant’Avendrace district, in Cagliari (Italy) –
part of a national program for the renewal of urban periferies– which recognizes the accessibility
for all as a fundamental prerequisite for achieving satisfaying urban and liveability conditions.
KEYWORDS
Accessibility; Connectivity; Multi-scale approach; Cross-dimensional approach; Urban
regeneration processes
Urban accessibility for connective and inclusive living environments

1 EVOLUTION OF THE URBAN ACCESSIBILITY PARADIGM

The topic of urban accessibility has been object of multiple studies within disciplines that are
different from one another, proving to be a complex paradigm. On top of being
multidisciplinary, the topic is also multidimensional and multiscalar. Within the scientific
debate, the focus on such a concept is underlied by the growing sensibility for subjects like
equal access to urban resources, social inclusion, and socio-spatial segregation. This brought
the paradigm’s viewpoint to extend from the sole discipline of transport to disciplines with a
more anthropological dimension, such as urban and human geography and sociology.
This change finds its roots in the innovation of transport and urban planning perspective. Such
a perspective drew into a crisis the mobility paradigm – sector-based and car-oriented – in
favour of the urban accessibility paradigm –an integrated and comprehensive approach –
oriented towards multimodality, compact land use mix, based on proximity and variety of
fuctions (Handy, 2002; Litman, 2011; Litman, 2013; Litman, 2017). Litman’s definition of
accessibility “the ability to reach desired goods, services, activities and destinations
(collectively called opportunities)” (Litman, 2011) shows an enrichment of the paradigm.
Planning for accessibility means to make numerous urban opportunities effectively available
for people: not only services to fulfill primary needs, but also activities to address complex
needs, associated with identity, relation and participation, all essential features for the social
life of individuals (Castrignanò, Colleoni & Pronello, 2012).
The aspect that, however, promoted a radical change in the approach to urban accessibility
planning has been the addition of the individual dimension. Shifting the focus from the strictly
material and physical dimension of built environment to people’s action, the new perspective
leads the individual to the centre. That is, the possibility to access to and participate in the
city, in a broad sense, is not an exclusive attribute of space, but it is ascribed to people and
their abilities, resources, and needs (Kauffman, Bergman, & Joye, 2004; Dijst, 2001). A
person-based vision, as Dijst holds, in which the person become the real beneficiary of the
city. It is not about maximizing the vehicular capacity and improving mobility as a self-standing
object, but rather maximizing urban capabilities of the inhabitants (Talu, 2014) and their
accessibility capital.
In this light accessibility becomes a synonym of socio-spatial inclusion and urban equity and
displays its potential to extend the “right to the city” (Lefebvre, 1970) to all inhabitants. By
strengthening the option value, the freedom of choice for the individuals can grow, depending
on options of transport, services, social happenings, etc. Accordingly, accessibility reveals to
be a relational feature, confirming both its multidimensional perspective and complexity. In
fact, it attempts to relate material aspects with immaterial ones, physical aspects with

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T. Congiu, E. Occhini, A. Plaisant

subjective ones, as well as qualitative to quantitative aspects. It is therefore necessary to

understand the relations and the dynamics that occur among the many parts of the urban
system. “Accessibility invokes all the elements involved in the relation: the features of the
moving subject, the way this happens, and the specifications of the territory’s good or service
that is being reached” (Castrignanò, Colleoni & Pronello, 2012).
The aim of this work is, therefore, to focus on what the conditions to work on in the urban
context are – may they be physical, spatial, organizational, temporal, social, and
environmental – and what planners and designers are to do in order to increase the
accessibility capital of inhabitants, hence providing them with the optimal access conditions
to the city, according to their needs and situations.
The multidimensional nature of accessibility can be considered the overlap of three spheres
or dimensions: urban space, people and land use, with the action space of urban planning
operating on their interdependences. Urban space represents the physical space of the city,
in which opportunities are distributed; people refers to those who use the city and daily
interact with the urban space, to satisfy their needs; land use (through policies, measures,
but also networks of individuals who operate within the city) affects the functioning and the
structure of the urban space, as well as the behaviour of individuals.
2 A NEW METHODOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK FOR URBAN ACCESSIBILITY

PLANNING
On the basis of the theoretical and cultural consideration, this work aims at structuring a
method to operationalize the concept of accessibility. This is crucial for moving from theory
into practice and, thus, transfer the theoretical and conceptual preconditions into concrete
operational procedures (actions and interventions of varied nature on physical space and
policies). The proposed framework is meant to offer a methodological tool that support
designers, planners, and policy makers responsible for the territory management. The
framework is composed of two parts: a system of criteria/conditions to be provided for,
namely project coordinates, and a section of implement-action, beneficial to a translation of
the model of coordinates into planning choices strictly tailored to the specificities of the
context of the intervention.
2.1 PROJECT COORDINATES MODEL

According to the three constitutive spheres of accessibility, the methodological and operational
model is articulated through a framework of project coordinates structured on four levels,
three for directions and the fourth for evaluation (Fig. 1).

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Fig. 1 Articulation of the first three levels of the project coordinates model
More precisely the model consists of:

− 4 key requirements, indispensable conditions for a context to be defined accessible and
to favour accessibility to people;
− 16 operational requirements indispensable conditions to work on to see key
requirements materialized;

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− 51 project attentions, a list of possible directions for action strategies, referring to each
requirement;
− 60 indicators (divided into 162 sub-indicators) and related maps, to measure, assess and
spatialize the degree of correspondence of an urban context to a given requirement
(both ex-ante and ex-post).
In this work, due to the complex articulation of the model, we describe in detail the four key
requirements: reachability, usability, safety and liveability-sociability; then the criteria for
selecting the indicators will be discussed.
Reachability
To access goods, places, services, primarily it is necessary to be able to reach them.
Reachability can be defined as the ease in reaching urban opportunities at different scales. It
concerns the possibility of travelling through different modes (ensured by physical connections
and integrated transport service networks) as well as the possibility of accessing urban
facilities remotely, without need to travel (influenced by their functional organization).
Usability
Given the opportunities offered by the city (destinations, public spaces, services, social
happenings) as the main trip purpose, it is essential to guarantee adequate conditions for
usability in order to give people the chance to effectively take part in these opportunities.
Actually, the fact that a destination can be reached does not imply that it is usable in the best
conditions and by all inhabitants. So the availability, variety and quality of opportunities are
important conditions to meet the needs of different categories of inhabitants.
Urban spaces attractiveness and comfort provided for example by the presence of active and
permeable ground floors (Gehl, 2017) or the possibility to seat, rest and repair from sun or
rain also enhance usability “giving people a reason to come to a place”1. Finally, the spatial
and temporal flexibility of urban services (Zedda, 2009) make them easier to use.
Safety
Safety is essential because it affects any type of activity in the city (trips, open spaces
frequentation, etc.) and, consequently, it can compromise the accessibility to certain contexts.
Safety conditions to be provided concern three levels: personal security, partly due to social
control, the so-called "eyes on the street" (Jacobs, 1969), traffic safety and a third, partly
qualitative, associated to certainty and autonomy in using the city for all categories of
inhdividuals. This last invokes concepts as "imageability" (Lynch, 1964), associated to the
presence of recognizable places and environments, with a distinctive character, and as "urban

1
https://www.pps.org/article/grplacefeat

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way finding” (Pilozzi, 2013), referring to information and communication systems that help
people find their way around the city.
Liveability-Sociability
The fourth key requirement encompasses the set of conditions that support full participation
in urban life in terms of socio-spatial interaction and re-appropriation of living environments
as spaces of public life. These conditions are aimed at strengthening the potential of mutual
support, which is fundamental in increasing the “accessibility capital” of individuals. They
includes: the primary need of access to housing, as well as the construction of social mix and
cohesion, for example through neighborhood practices that include collaborative forms of
management and maintenance of collective spaces and services, or the design of spaces
conducive to social interaction.
2.2 PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

The proposed model of project coordinates also identifies performance indicators related to
the accessibility requirements. The selected indicators come from different fields of research,
according to a multidisciplinary vision: sustainability (Ecological urbanism, Indicators for
Sustainable Cities 2015), urban smartness (CITYkeys project 2015-2017), transport and land
use integration (TOD Standards 2017; ITDP, 2018), urban spaces quality and practices of use
(Gehl, 2017)2. The indicators, both quantitative and qualitative, can be of output, outcome
and impact and meet the S.M.A.R.T. targets (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and
time-bound). Moreover, they make it possible to spatialize the results, thus identifying the
situations of unequal distribution in access with an immediate communicability.
2.3 THE STAGE OF IMPLEMENT-ACTION

The second part of the proposed methodological framework is conceived as a guide to
translate the accessibility coordinates model into context-oriented project actions. It is
precisely the context that operationalise the instrument: the latter lists a series of project
requirements to take into account, but it is the accessibility conditions of an urban system,
with its specificities, that inform the interventions.
The phase of implement-action consists of several steps. According to the project coordinates
model:
− first the accessibility of the study context is analysed with respect to the key
requirements, highlighting for each dimension weaknesses and strengths;

2
Seebibliographicreferences.

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− second, starting from the context peculiarities, general and specific objectives are
defined in the form of design attentions and operational goals;
− third, for each objective a set of actions to be implemented is defined and organised into
class of actions;
− last step, a set of indicators and associated maps is identified for both analysing the
initial conditions and monitoring the results achieved over time by the actions
implemented.
Moreover, in order to allow the planning strategy to yearn for effective, coherent and
integrated results, fully contextualized, the above mentioned four steps process needs to be
complemented by population involvement and a consistency check with ongoing programmes.
Population involvement is fundamental, being accessibility the joint outcome of inhabitants’
capabilities compared to the characteristics of their living environment. Likewise, the agenda
of programmes and policies at local and national level are important to consider as they reveal
priorities and future directions as well as financing opportunities for planned interventions.
To summarise, the proposed planning model can be concurrently an analytical and a project
tool at support of planners and decision makers to understand and improve the accessibility
of their cities: on one hand it addresses the identification of components and factors on which
to intervene depending on the problems and opportunities of the context, on the other, it
ensures the planning process completeness and consistency being respected during all stages.
In the next section we report the implementation of the proposed model in the neighborhood
of Sant’Avendrace in Cagliari (Italy).
3 EXPERIMENTATION OF THE METHOD IN SANT’AVENDRACE DISTRICT

(CAGLIARI, ITALY)
The urban renewal project of Sant’Avendrace neighbourhood in Cagliari offered the
opportunity to experiment our accessibility model. It’s about an ongoing process, financed by
the "Bando Periferie 2016" a national program promoted by the Italian Office of the Prime
Minister, aimed at reducing the physical and social marginality of the neighborhood by
reconstructing its accessibility with multiscalar integrated actions on physical connections,
usability of urban space and services, safety and social dimensions.
3.1 IMPLEMENT-ACTION AND ASSESSMENT

Sant'Avendrace is a district of about 7.000 inhabitants, located at the periphery of Cagliari,
characterised by socioeconomic distress, lack of public spaces and presence of several
abandoned sites and neglected areas. Furthermore, a series of heavily busy transport

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infrastructures with different functionalities cross the district, providing both access and
physical fragmentation. At the same time, the geographical position, the presence of
metropolitan and regional level functions together with two important features of the
landscape system (a Lagoon, and an archeological park on a hill) make for an interesting
project area with significant potential. To give an interpretation of the context in terms of
accessibility, we identified the weaknesses and strengths faced by the project, according to
the four key accessibility requirements.
The district current condition suggested to focus the attention on physical and functional
accessibility. With the reconfiguration of public spaces, the introduction of new land uses,
services and policies, the project aims to promote a different organization and management
of urban services and stimulate new relationships at multiple scales. More precisely, the
project consists of three main actions: a new social housing development located in a former
slaughterhouse; a new sporting and educational park in a neglected area; a redesign of the
street network including (Fig. 2).
The main project actions for a radical change of the context in terms of accessibility, are
argued by highlighting the urban accessibility requirements fulfilled, the specific goals and the
related project attentions observed.
For example, in order to stimulate the construction of social capital, sense of community and
social inclusion, the project offers new housing opportunities for diverse groups of population
combining dwellings with a variety of services and spaces that support social interaction,
assistance and collaborative forms of use and management of collective spaces.
The new sports-educational park converts a large marginal and partially abandoned area of
the district into a multi-scale, multi-functional and flexible space, through the provision of
services for sport, leisure and learning, public green areas and the reconfiguration of internal
paths and external connections with special attention for transport integration.
Thanks to these characteristics, the park assumes a multidimensional value (metropolitan,
urban and local) thus increasing the accessibility of citizens to urban opportunities.
The new space becomes reachable through the provision of integrated transport alternatives,
which ensure the continuity of connections from within the district to the metropolitan scale.
Finally, the intervention on the connection system and travel spaces redefines physical and
perceptual relationships by enhancing continuity, and directness of paths, safety and
pleasantness, prioritizing non-motorised mobility, and reducing obstructing conditions such as
physical obstacles, large roads, traffic volumes, parked cars.
Accordingly the main route of Sant'Avendrace was redesigned as a linear public space,
incorporating public functions and services, interstitial and lateral spaces (currently unused
and not directly perceivable) enhanced by the visual contact with the hill and the lagoon.

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Fig. 2 Regeneration of Sant’Avendrace neighborhood in Cagliari (Italy) - Masterplan
3.2 ASSESSMENT OF INTERVENTIONS

An assessment of the accessibility conditions of the district, oriented by project goals and
actions was carried out to estimate the potential of these actions in improving current
accessibility.

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Three indicators regarding the redesign of the connection system are described:
− “multimodality” - number of monomodal roads and multimodal roads, measures the
increase in travel alternatives available;
− “safe crossings” - road intersections with safe crossings in all directions”, measures
pedestrian and cyclists’ continuity and safety at road intersections. In Sant’Avendrace
the initial poor crossing capacity due to infrastructural fragmentation, particularly in the
north and west, is improved significantly;
− “public space provision” (Fig. 3) reveals the almost total absence of recreational, green
and aggregating spaces and draws project attention to the construction of opportunities
of collective use and social interaction.
Fig. 1 Example of indicator mapping
4 CONCLUSIONS
The application to the case study of Sant'Avendrace, served to validate the proposed
methodological framework and, at the same time, provided a representative example, in

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operational and practical terms, on how to enhance the accessibility capital of inhabitants of
a specific context. More precisely, the case study revealed the key role of a multidimensional
system of connections as indispensable and structuring element, in any project oriented to
improve accessibility. In fact it contributes:
− to establish a system of relationships between constitutive elements of the context, both
material/spatial and immaterial/social, necessary for integration and inclusion;
− to integrate and give coherence to class of strategic actions, frequently sectorial and
separated, as in the case of “Bando periferie 2016”, which instead need to be considered
and processed as interdependent in order to achieve effectiveness and multiply positive
impacts;
− to ensure consistency during the planning process allowing to work gradually, step-by-
step, and maintaining a coherent strategic line over time.
Further advancement of the research will consist in:
− a deeper exploration and re formulation of indicators. the selection of measures has to
take into account their achievability strongly influenced by available time and resources
(information and operators).
− Validation of the proposed method for urban accessibility planning and evaluation in
diverse real contexts and project programs in order to test the robustness, transferability
and replicability of the model.
We believe the adoption of a multidimentional integrated approach can effectively innovate
planning and decision making methods and tools contribute to enhance the capability of
citizens to use the city anf its opportunities.
REFERENCES
Castrignanò, M., Colleoni, M. e Pronello, C. (2012), Muoversi in città. Accessibilità e mobilità nella
metropoli contemporanea. FrancoAngeli, Milano.
Dijst, M. (2004), ICTs and accessibility: an action space perspective on the impact of new information
and communication technologies. in Beuthe, M., Himanen, V., Reggiani, A., Zamparini L.,Transport
developments and innovations in an evolving world. Springer Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg, 27-46.
Handy, S. L. (2002). Accessibility vs mobility. Enhancing strategies for addressing automobile

dependence in the U. S. Insitute for Transportation Studies, UC. Davies, USA.
Jacobs, J. (1969). Vita e morte delle grandi città. Saggio sulle metropoli americane. Einaudi, Torino.

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Kaufmann, V., Bergman, M.M. e Joye, D. (2004). Motility: Mobility as Capital. International Journal of
Urban and Regional Research, 28(4):745-756.
Lefebvre, H. (1970). Il diritto alla città. Marsilio Editori, Padova.
Litman, T. (2011). Measuring transportation: traffic, mobility and accessibility. Institute of

Transportation Engineers Journal, 73(10):28-32.
Litman, T. (2013). The new transportation planning paradigm. Institute of Transportation Engineers
Journal, 83:20-28.
Litman, T. (2017). Evaluating accessibility for transportation planning. Measuring people’s ability to
reach desired goods and activities. Victoria Transport Policy Institute, Victoria
Lynch, K. (1964). L’immagine della città. Marsilio Editori, Padova.
Pilozzi, F. (2013). Relazioni segnaletiche. Spazi, funzioni e rappresentazioni nei sistemi di wayfinding
urbano. Franco Angeli, Milano.
Talu, V. (2014). Qualità della vita urbana e approccio alle capacità. Perché e come promuovere le
“capacità urbane” degli abitanti più svantaggiati. Franco Angeli, Milano.
Zedda, R. (2009). Tempi della città. Metodi per l’analisi urbana. Principi e pratiche dell’urbanistica
temporale. Franco Angeli, Milano.
WEB SITES
https://www.pps.org/article/grplacefeat
http://unisslaurea.uniss.it/1170/1/TESI%20SPECIALISTICA_OCCHINI%20ELISA.pdf
Indicators’ references:
http://nws.eurocities.eu/MediaShell/media/D1.4CITYkeys_D14_Smart_City_KPIs_Final_20160201.pdf
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/integration/research/newsalert/pdf/indicators_for_sustainable_citie
s_IR12_en.pdf
https://www.itdp.org/publication/walkability-tool/
https://www.itdp.org/pedestrians-first-walkability-tool/
https://www.itdp.org/tod-standard/
http://www.bcnecologia.net/sites/default/files/publicaciones/docs/certificacion-urbanismo-
ecologico.pdf
http://habitatge.barcelona/sites/default/files/documents/3_districtes_fi.pdf

© 2019, FedoaPress


http://ajuntament.barcelona.cat/superilles/sites/default/files/DOCUMENT%20SANT%20ANTONI.com
pressed%20%284%29.pdf
AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Tanja Congiu, temporary Assistant Professor of Transports at the Department of Architecture, Design
and Urban Planning - University of Sassari. Civil engineer and Phd in land use and transport planning,
her research activity focuses on mobility and transport issues with a particular concern for the
interactions between built environment configuration, sustainable transport policies and trends in
walkability intended as central quality in the design of urban realm. Consultant for local authorities in
transport planning at different spatial levels based on sustainable mobility solutions. Latest
assignments: Mobility Plan for the Municipality of Alghero (ongoing); Responsible of accessibility issues
in the urban regeneration program of S.Avendrace district– Cagliari.
Elisa Occhini, european Master degree in Planning and Policies for the City, Environment and
Landscape held in 2017 with a dissertation urban accessibility (final evaluation 110/110 cum laude).
She currently collaborates with the Department of Architecture, Design and Urban Planning of the
University of Sassari in both research and teaching activities. During her studies she undertook a 3
months Erasmus Traineeship with Proap Studio (Lisbon) and a 6 months Scolarship in Barcelona. Then,
she completed her career with a postgraduate internship in the Urban Planning Office of the
Municipality of Cagliari where she took part to the development of three detailed plans in the
neighbouhood of S.Avendrace-Cagliari namely: redesign of the street network; new sports and
educational park of S.Paolo; conversion of a former slaughterhouse into a new social housing
development. Participation in international summer schools, seminars and conferences. Latest
participation: Urban Transition 2018 Conference, Sitges, November 2018.
Alessandro Plaisant, associate professor of the Department of Architecture, Design and Urban
Planning, the University of Sassari, where I teach Urban Planning and Analysis of urban systems. I
held a Ph.D. at the University of Cagliari, after spending eight month as a fellow at the School of
Anthropology, Geography and Environmental Studies, the University of Melbourne, focusing my
pluralism-oriented tools. I combine my research activities with higher education, international and
institutional cooperation activities, as director of the II level International Master’s Program “Advanced
Methods and Tools for Sustainable Planning”, developed in academic cooperation with Harbin Institute
of Technology and as scientific coordinator of the activities planned for the funded national call
suburbs”, specifically in Sant’Avendrace district, the Municipality of Cagliari (Sardinia, Italy). Among
my recent publications: Urban regeneration of peripheral areas: the critical role of the connective space
in an italian city. (Aa.Vv) Urban Design Journal, 2018; Risk Prevention and Management. A Multi-actor
and Knowledge-Based Approach in Low Density Territories (Aa.Vv.), Computational Science and its
Applications (ICCSA 2017), in Gervasi, O., Murgante, B. et. al. (Eds.), Springer (ISBN 978-3-319-
62397-9), Switzerland.

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IMPROVING ACCESSIBILITY TO
URBAN SERVICES FOR OVER 65:
A GIS-SUPPORTED METHOD
*CARMELA GARGIULO, FLORIANA ZUCARO

FEDERICA GAGLIONE

e-mail: gargiulo@unina.it
floriana.zucaro@unina.it
federica.gaglione@unina.it
URL: www.tema_lab.unina.it

Gargiulo, C., Zucaro F. & Gaglione, F. (2019). Improving accessibility to urban services for over 65: a GIS-
supported method. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature and ecosystem services (pp. 839-850).
ABSTRACT
By referring to the eight domains of age-friendly cities (WHO, 2007), urban accessibility can
be considered as one of the elements cutting across most of them. The relationship between
the organization of the urban system (supply) and the mobility of the population over 65 (as
for every city user) has prompted scientific debate on how to improve the accessibility of the
over 65 to the services of their interest through the pedestrian network and the public transport
network. This study is a first research segment of t he broader MOBILAGE project, which aims
at defining a decision support tool for public admin istrations to improve elders’ accessibility to
urban services, thus contributing to enhance their quality of life. Most studies of the literature
are interested only in measuring the catchment area of health services, in order to investigate
the degree of accessibility to this service, by identifying both the most disadvantaged portions
of the urban area and those characterized by a balance between supply and demand. The
objective of this first step of research is wider and is oriented to define the catchment area of
all services for over 65 on the basis of the existing street network, the orography of the territory
and the pedestrian speeds of the three age groups of the old population (65-69; 70-74; >75).
KEYWORDS
Elderly; Catchment areas; Urban accessibility; GIS
* The other author is: Luigi Faga.
C. Gargiulo, F. Zucaro, F. Gaglione et al.
1 INTRODUCTION
Advanced ageing has becoming a global phenomenon of this century, mainly due to declining
fertility and improved health and longevity. In fact, in both industrialized countries and
developing countries (albeit at different paces) the values of the old age index grow faster
than the growth rate of the total population.
In OECD countries, the number of people aged 65 and over rose from 7.7% in 1950 to 17.8%
in 2010 and it is foreseen it will reach 25% in 2050 (OECD, 2015). During the 2000s, the
population share of those 65 years and above rose to 15.1%, while the rate of the total
population growth was only 9.7%. Conversely, the decade between 1990 and 2000 saw a
more rapid increase in the growth rate of the total population than that of the older one
(respectively, 12% and 13.2%).
This unprecedented demographic shift raises some interesting (and still open) questions that
involve many disciplinary fields, such as: the social sciences, concerned with the evaluation
of the “social productivity” (Laslett & Cuberli, 1992) of the over 65; the economic sciences,
focused on how to guarantee adequate retirement benefits without generating an unbearable
pay-load for the younger age groups; the medical sciences, aimed at preventing some
illnesses related to old age; the urban studies, investigating how to make an age-friendly city.
In particular, a “city fit for elderly” holds services, and network infrastructure that optimize
involvement, communication and interaction opportunities, in order to guarantee the
independence of elders over 65, namely, their active aging in place.
By referring to the eight domains of age-friendly cities (WHO, 2007), urban accessibility can
be considered as one of the elements cutting across most of them. In fact, the concept of
urban accessibility generally includes the physical characteristics (mobility and open spaces
networks), the functional characteristics (services and activities) and the socio-economic
characteristics (lifestyles and habits) of an urban system (Papa et al., 2017; Papa, 2018). In
the holistic-systemic perspective of the governance of urban transformations, the set of all
these components affects the quality of life of individuals and the opportunities for their civic
participation and social inclusion. Indeed, urban accessibility is increasingly recognized as the
“litmus test” to quantitatively assess the social inclusion and social equity of the whole urban
area or part of it, in order to ensure that all citizens benefit from equal distribution of
resources, welfare and services (Van Wee & Geurs, 2011; Jones & Lucas, 2012; Lucas, 2012;
Zali et al., 2016). In this regard, many studies have investigated the levels of social equity (as
well as the levels of social exclusion) of some of the most vulnerable segments of population
(for instance children and elderly) that are characterized by specific needs of mobility.
Focusing on elderly and according to Scheiner (2006), Campbell (2015), Wang and Shepley

© 2019, FedoaPress
Improving accessibility to urban services for over 65: a GIS-supported method
(2018) “the local activity space of over 65”, that is the “geographic area of elderly daily living
involvement”, declines with age. This implies rethinking and redesigning the built environment
by improving connectivity, walkability and proximity of daily life facilities.
In this sense, it is useful to measure the catchment areas of the services of interest of the
elderly, in order to investigate the degree of accessibility to each service, by identifying both
the most disadvantaged portions of the urban area and those characterized by a balance
between supply and demand of the service. In this way, it is possible to support the local
public decision-maker in the development of actions aimed at guaranteeing a fair urban
accessibility, with a priority focus on the most lacking areas in terms of services and transport
networks.
In literature the definition of the elders’ catchment areas of the public road transport service
and of the health services (especially the hospital care) are the two most consolidated lines
of research with respect to this issue, as LPT can have a key role in minimizing social exclusion
(Farrington & Farrington, 2005; Langford et al., 2012a; Tseng & Wu, 2018) and people over
65 strongly depend on medical facilities (Kanuganti et al., 2016; Kaur Khakh et al., 2019).
Despite the abovementioned studies, few have taken into consideration further kinds of
services.
Aimed towards bridging this lack in urban accessibility studies, this work focuses on measuring
a sort of new catchment areas of the main services of interest based on the effective street
network, the walking speeds of the three segments of the elderly population (65-69, 70-74,
>75) and the orography of the city. This is a first research segment of the broader MOBILAGE
project, which aims at defining a decision support tool for public administrations to improve
elders’ accessibility to services, thus contributing to enhance their quality of life.
The paper is articulated as follows: the second section proposes a review of the scientific
literature on the elderly accessibility issue; the third section presents a methodology to define
a new kind of catchment areas of the main urban services of interest for elderly; the last
section describes some first results obtained.
2 STATE OF THE ART

Demographic change raises interesting research questions in the field of urban studies,
particularly on the organization of settlement systems. The localization and spatial distribution
of services, the local public transport supply and the mobility networks affect the elders’
choices of movement. The duality relation between the organization of the urban system
(supply) and the mobility of the population over 65 (as for every city user) has prompted
scientific debate on how to improve both the elders’ accessibility to the transport and
pedestrian network (Luk & Olszewski, 2003) and to the services of interest (Guagliardo 2004).

© 2019, FedoaPress
In particular, other lines of research have examined the issue of accessibility to urban sites
and services by measuring the catchment areas of the main services of interest for the elderly.
An extensive scientific literature deals with the identification of the level of accessibility to
reach a specific urban service, particularly focusing on the services related to health care
(Chen, 2017; Luo, 2014), while other research focused on the public road transport service
(Langford et al. 2012b; Lin et al., 2014).
In more detail, some of the studies developed (Ngui & Apparicio, 2011; Lou & Whippo 2012;
Wan et al., 2012; Mao & Nekorchuk, 2013) have defined the catchment areas for a specific
health service (i.e. the hospital care) through the measurement of some characteristics, such
as the distance to be covered and the travel time to reach a certain activity (supply). Within
each catchment area, the density of the elderly resident population (demand) potentially
served is calculated by comparing it to the distance or time needed to reach the service. This
calculation is aimed at identifying the portion of urban areas where the demand-supply
balance is satisfied and how to adapt, instead, the less-served areas, in order to guarantee
the same level of accessibility and, consequently, of social equity. Another research segment
has adopted the same methodology for measuring accessibility to public transport (Andersen
& Landex, 2008; Wells & Thill, 2012; Lin et al 2014) or other services of interest, such as
green areas (Dai, 2011) or public services (Wang, 2007) without orienting such studies to
only one of the age groups of the elderly population over 65.
Instead, studies that relate the demand of the elderly to the supply of various types of urban
services (such as health, economic-financial, cultural and recreational services) are in a small
number, also because of the urban context features.
The objective of this research work is to define a new kind of catchment areas of the main
services of interest according to the street network, the orography of the territory and the
pedestrian speeds of the three age groups of the elderly population (65-69; 70-74; > 75), in
order to classify urban areas according to their level of accessibility to places and services and
evaluate the supply-demand balance or potential gaps.
3 METHODOLOGY
As regards the objective of the work aimed at improving accessibility to urban services of
interest for the elderly, this section describes the steps of the first segment of research that
allowed to identify the new catchment areas for each service category, that we considered of
interest for over-65-aged people, classified in three different age-range: 65-69; 70-74; >75.
In the first step, different walking speeds for each age group were defined. To this end the
study of the scientific literature has allowed to consider as useful, for the purposes of this

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work, the research carried out by Weber (2016) which determined these values according to
the main socio-economic characteristics of the elderly population.
Following, walking speed values are reported:
− for what concerns the first age range (65-69), the average walking speed is 0.81 m/s;
− for the second age range (70-74), the average walking speed is 0.69 m/s;
− for the third age range (over 75), the average walking speed is 0.60 m/s.
From these average walking speeds, in the second step of the methodology process, influence
rays for each service category were identified; they represent the maximum pedestrian
distances that a general user is willing to walk, to get to a certain service (Tab. 1). These
influence rays were identified by referring to a previous work developed by the authors
(Gargiulo et al., 2018), concerning the study of territory planning tools, such as the Service
Plans (in particular Lodi and Bari) and Urban Sustainable Mobility Plans.
In order to define the influence area of the services used by the three segments of the elderly
population, phase 3 was articulated as follows:
− calculating the average pedestrian time (for any type of user) for each influence ray
(distance to walk) of the services considered;
− redefining the different influence rays of each category of service (maximum distance
that can be walked), according to the different pedestrian speeds of each age group
and assuming the average walking time, identified before, to be constant;
− identifying the new influence area of each service, that is, the theoretical area where
the users of that service live.
However, this procedure has the limitation of considering the territory as isotropic. In fact,
the influence areas thus obtained, do not represent the real areas where the users of a given
service actually live, as they do not take into account the morphology of the territory and the
presence of the real walkable streets.
For this reason, the slopes have been defined, as they can contribute to reduce the distance
that the elderly can walk. Regarding the identification of the walkable streets, a procedure
was developed in GIS environment, through the Network Analysis tool and a Digital Elevation
Model, in order to define the streets that the elderly can use to access services.
Furthermore, in GIS environment, both the slope and the average pedestrian speed were
associated to the street graph in order to define the set of the real walkable paths to reach
each urban service.

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ID VARIABLE MEASURE
FUNCTIONAL SUBSYSTEM (services of local interest)
1 Pharmacies Influence ray

(R.i.)= 500m
2 Asl R.i.= 500 m
3 Poly-diagnostic center R.i.= 560 m
4 Cinema R.i.= 516 m
5 Municipal library R.i.= 600 m
6 Churche R.i.= 480 m
7 Bank R.i.= 500 m
8 Post Office R.i.= 500 m
9 Municipal office R.i.= 500 m
10 Union R.i.= 500 m
11 Supermarket R.i.= 500 m
12 Green area R.i.= 100 m
13 Sports Center R.i.= 1000 m
FUNCTIONAL SUBSYSTEM (services of general interest)
14 Hospital R.i.= 1100 m
15 Private Clinic R.i.= 1100 m
16 Urban park R.i.= 1000 m
17 Museum R.i.= 1100 m
18 Cemetery R.i.= 1100 m
19 Stadium R.i.= 1100 m
Tab.1 Traditional influence rays of the main urban services

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ID POPULATION SERVICES TIME (MIN) RAY INFLUENCE (M)
FUNCTIONAL SUBSYSTEM (services of local interest)

1 65-69 Pharmacy 6 292
70-74 248
>75 216
2 65-69 Asl 6 292
70-74 248
>75 216
3 65-69 Poly-diagnostic 7 340
70-74 center 290
>75 252
4 65-69 Cinema 6 292
70-74 248
>75 216
5 65-69 Library 7 340
70-74 290
>75 252
6 65-69 Church 6 292
70-74 248
>75 216
7 65-69 Bank 6 292
70-74 248
>75 216
8 65-69 Post office 6 292
70-74 248
>75 216
9 65-69 Municipal office 6 292
70-74 248
>75 216
10 65-69 Union 6 292
70-74 248
>75 216
11 65-69 Supermarket 6 292
70-74 248
>75 216
12 65-69 Green area 2 97
70-74 83
>75 72
13 65-69 Sport Center 12 583
70-74 497
>75 432
FUNCTIONAL SUBSYSTEM (services of general interest)
14 65-69 Hospital 13 632
70-74 538
>75 468
15 65-69 Private Clinic 13 632
70-74 538
>75 468
16 65-69 Urban park 12 583
70-74 497
>75 432
17 65-69 Museum 13 632
70-74 538
>75 468

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18 65-69 Cemetery 13 632

70-74 538
>75 468
19 65-69 Stadium 13 632
70-74 538
>75 468
Tab. 2 New influence rays of services of interest for the three old populations segments
The catchment areas so computed, according to the localization and the distribution of each
category of service of interest of over 65, allowed to define the supply map.
The supply map, compared with the demand map that classifies census tracts on the basis of
over-65 population density, allows to identify urban areas characterized by a supply-demand
equilibrium, as well as those where it is necessary to intervene to fill the supply-demand gap
for elderly.
This research step provides some first results useful to develop a support tool for the decision
maker. In fact, for instance, the identification of the urban portions characterized by a high
lack of accessibility to services, defines the areas where it is a priority to intervene and allows
to provide first indications useful to improve accessibility, such as the localization of new urban
services for the over 65 or the identification or improvement of pedestrian paths to reach
them.
4 CONCLUSIONS
This work describes a procedure for measuring a different kind of catchment areas of spaces
and services of interest for people over 65, taking pedestrian speeds and urban orography
into consideration.
The distribution of the demand-supply ratio of a service within an urban area allows
determining the rate of the population served and identifying those urban areas where action
is needed to reduce (or potentially cancel) the disadvantages caused by a scarce level of
accessibility, as well as identifying the areas where the supply of many services overlap. In
particular, the study of lack of accessibility for the elderly has almost exclusively concerned
mobility and health care services. However, as repeatedly underlined both at scientific and
institutional levels, quality of life also depends on the possibility of reaching all the services
held in a given urban area. For example, the importance of ensuring access to the different
urban services has been emphasized within the most recent reports of the WHO with the aim
to promote cities that are willing to adapt to different age and social groups.
If the components of an age-friendly city are well defined in theory, in the governance tools
of urban transformation the definition and implementation of strategies and actions for the
most vulnerable social groups is not so easy. Considering the city as a whole and adopting an
integrated view of user behaviors, of the services available and their accessibility, could help

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“tackle physical and social disparities and meet the needs of all groups in the community”
(Plouffe et al., 2018). This holistic approach has characterized the development of the
proposed methodology which, through the localization of the demand for services by the over-
65s, the distribution of catchment areas, that have been ri-defined on the basis of the new
criteria of the research work, and the comparison between them, allows public decision-
makers to identify the urban partitions lacking of urban services.
In a subsequent phase of the research work, the location and distribution of the supply will
be combined with the physical characteristics of the urban system that influence the choice
of a route (for instance presence of sidewalks), to define the network of pedestrian paths
suitable for senior citizens to reach the main services of interest. In fact, one of the goals of
MOBILAGE project is to provide the public decision-makers with strategies and actions aimed
at increasing the quality of life of the elderly by improving urban accessibility.
In this regard, the MOBILAGE research project appears to be in line with current EU policies
in allowing elders to actively age in their environment by optimizing some physical and
environmental characteristics, such as crosswalks, to make them easily accessible to older
people but also to the whole community, which may benefit from such interventions too. Many
joint initiatives, in fact, reflect a growing emphasis on participatory approaches to promoting
community revitalization from the elders’ point of view, thereby fostering active involvement
and preventing social exclusion of seniors (Komise, 2009; EC, 2010; Walker & Maltby 2012).
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work has been supported by Fondazione Cariplo (Grant n° 2017-0942). The authors
acknowledge the financial support from the Fondazione Cariplo.
Paragraph 1 L.F.; Paragraph 2 F.G.; Paragraph 3 F.Z.; Paragraph 4 C.G.;
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AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Carmela Gargiulo is full professor of Urban Planning Techniques at the University of Naples Federico
II. Since 1987 she has been involved in studies on the management of urban and territorial
transformations. Since 2004, she has been Member of the Researcher Doctorate in Hydraulic,
Transport and Territorial Systems Engineering of the University of Naples “Federico II”. She has been
Member of the Committee of the Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Department of the
University of Naples “Federico II”. Her research interests focus on the processes of urban
requalification, on relationships between urban transformations and mobility, on the estate exploitation
produced by urban transformations, and on the complex connections between land use, energy
consumption and climate change. On these subjects she has co-ordinated research teams within
National Project such as Progetto Finalizzato Edilizia - Sottoprogetto “Processi e procedure” (Targeted
Project on Building – Subproject “Processes and procedures), from 1992 to 1994; Progetto Strategico
Aree Metropolitane e Ambiente, (Strategic Project Metropolitan Areas and Environment) from 1994 to
1995; PRIN project on the “Impacts of mobility policies on urban transformability, environment and
property market” from 2011 to 2013; Project Smart Energy Master for the energy management of
territory financed by PON 04A2_00120 R&C Axis II, from 2012 to 2015; Project "Mobilage" 2018-2021,
financed by Cariplo Foundation. She has been editor of the Scientific Journal TeMA – Land Use, Mobility
and Environment since 2007. She is author of more than 130 publications.
Floriana Zucaro is an engineer, Ph.D. in Hydraulic, Transport and Territorial Systems Engineering at
the Department of Civil, Building and Environmental Engineering – University of Naples Federico II.
She received a M.Sc. in Environmental and Territorial Engineering at the University of Naples Federico
II with a specialization in management of urban and territorial transformations. In 2014 she won a
scholarship within the Project Smart Energy Master for the energy management of territory financed
by PON 04A2_00120 R&C Axis II. Her research interests are in the field of land use planning and
energy saving integration in urban policies, sustainable land use and sustainable mobility.
Federica Gaglione is an engineer, Ph.D. in Civil Systems Engineering at University of Naples Federico
II. Her research topic concerns the urban accessibility. The aim is to develop a decision support tool
that, on an urban scale, allows to choose the most effective actions to improve urban accessibility for
vulnerable users, by contributing to improve their quality of life.
Luigi Faga holds a master's degree in architectural engineering with a thesis on the topic of land use-
transport integration within station areas.

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CYCLE NETWORKS IN NATURA
2000 SITES:
THE ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT OF THE
REGIONAL CYCLING PLAN OF SARDINIA, ITALY
ITALO MELONI
ELISABETTA ANNA DI CESARE
CRISTIAN SABA
Centre for research on transport and mobility

issues (CIREM). University of Cagliari, Italy
e-mail: imeloni@unica.it
elisabetta.dicesare@yahoo.it
cristiansaba@gmail.com
URL: www.unica.it

Meloni, I., Di Cesare, E.A. & Saba, C. (2019). Cycle networks in Natura 2000 sites: the environmental assessment
of the Regional Cycling Plan of Sardinia, Italy. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature and ecosystem
ABSTRACT
Cycling is assuming a constantly increasing importance in the European society, as it provides
recognised economic, environmental and health-relat ed benefits. In the last three years, the
Autonomous Region of Sardinia (Italy) identified the need to realise new cycling facilities, as part
of regional strategic infrastructure, in order to promote sustainable development. Consistently,
it recently approved the Regional Cycling Plan of Sardinia (RCPS), which establishes a regional
network of cycle paths, with the aim to promote cycling mobility and a new type of sustainable
tourism related to region’s environmental and cultural peculiarities. The RCPS has been subjected
to Strategic Environmental Assessment, as required by the European Directive 2001/42/EC, in
order to integrate environmental considerations in decision making during the plan elaboration
process. Moreover, a specific ‘appropriate assessmen t’ has been carried out, as required by the
European Directive 92/43/EEC, due to the fact that the Plan affects Natura 2000 sites. This work
presents the methodology defined to conduct the appr opriate assessment of the RCPS, aiming
to guarantee that the provisions of the Plan allow the preservation of the integrity of habitats
and species of Community interest, while ensuring sustainability of human activities.
KEYWORDS
Cycling plan; Natura 2000; Environmental assessment
I. Meloni, E.A. Di Cesare, C. Saba
1 INTRODUCTION
Nowadays, the wide range of cycling benefits related to environmental sustainability,
economic development and human health are largely recognised (Neun et al., 2016). Thus, a
great number of governments and municipalities are promoting cycling mobility at different
scales. Following this trend, in 2015, the Autonomous Region of Sardinia (RAS) officially
recognised cycling mobility as a key factor for regional development and identified cycling
facilities among the regional priorities and the strategic infrastructure. Consequently, it
allocated specific significant financial funds for their realisation. Within this framework, the
Regional Cycling Plan of Sardinia (RCPS), drafted under the scientific coordination of the
Centre for research on transport and mobility issues (CIREM - University of Cagliari) and
officially adopted by the RAS (?) in December 2018, aims to make Sardinia accessible by bike,
through the design and realisation of a regional network of cycle paths, in order both to foster
cycling mobility and to encourage the development of new types of sustainable tourism related
to the characteristics of the territory.
In fact, the creation of a regional network of cycle paths encourages the development of cycle
tourism, which can be defined as “recreational visits, either overnight or day visits away from
home, which involve leisure cycling as a fundamental and significant part of the visit”
(Sustrans, 1999; p. 1), and increases the knowledge and interest in the regional cultural and
natural heritage, including Natura 2000 sites.
The RCPS has been subjected to Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA), which represents
a systematic and proactive process to strengthen the role of environmental issues in the
decision-making process related to plans, programmes and policies (Sadler, 2011). SEA was
introduced by the European Directive 2001/42/EC and then transposed into the national
legislation frameworks of the Member States. Literature highlights that important conditions
for SEA to be effective are both its interaction and interdependence with the planning process
at all its elaboration stages (Fundingsland Tetlow & Hanusch, 2012), and the participation of
all the key actors (Fisher et al., 2006) in order to encourage inclusive decision-making
processes, in accordance with democracy and transparency principles (Zoppi, 2012).
At the same time, since the RCPS is a sectorial plan likely to have a significant effect on
regional Natura 2000 sites, an ‘appropriate assessment’ was compulsory, as indicated in article
6, paragraph (3) of the Directive 92/43/EEC (Habitats Directive), in order to evaluate whether
the plan implementation could affect the integrity of sites of Community importance.
According to Söderman (2008), the aim of the appropriate assessment process is to
hierarchically promote: avoidance, mitigation and compensation of negative impacts on the
environment. First, the avoidance of negative impacts must be reached by examining

© 2019, FedoaPress

City networks in Natura 2000 sities: the environmental assessment of the regional cycling plan of Sardinia, Italy

alternative ways of achieving the plan objectives. Whether adverse effects still occur,
appropriate mitigation measures have to be identified. Lastly, where no alternative solutions
exist and where adverse impacts remain, compensatory measures have to be provided
(Söderman, ibidem). Therivel (2009) defines the appropriate assessment as a decision-making
precautionary tool, because plans (or projects) that could have adverse impacts on site
integrity, may not be adopted unless a series of strict requirements. The only exception for
proceeding despite negative effects, concern the occurrence of imperative reasons due to
overriding public interest.
In the light of the above premises, this work presents the methodology defined to conduct
the appropriate assessment of the Regional Cycling Plan of Sardinia. The paper is organized
as follows: the next two sections give a short overview on the most important objectives and
features of the Plan and a description of the main characteristics of the Regional Natura 2000
network. The subsequent section illustrates the methodology used to carry out the
environmental appropriate assessment of the Plan, while the last two sections summarise the
results of the analysis and provide some concluding remarks and suggestions for further
research.
2 THE REGIONAL CYCLING PLAN OF SARDINIA

The Regional Cycling Plan of Sardinia defines a set of coordinated actions, which combine
hard and soft measures, in order to encourage cycling mobility.
On the one hand, hard measures consist in a wide range of cycling infrastructure types (e.g.
segregated cycle paths, cycle lanes, shared roads), depending on road safety conditions
related to traffic levels, and off-road available infrastructures. Cycling infrastructure is
provided with a specific and recognisable signage, and integrated with adequate provisions
of cycle services along the network (e.g. cycle parking, bike repair stands, information points,
rest areas). Furthermore, a great emphasis is given to the promotion of intermodality, through
the identification of a large number of intermodal hubs located along the network, with the
aim to ensure connections with other means of transport. Intermodal exchange nodes are
categorised as: (i) gates, corresponding to the most important transport accesses to the island
(i.e. ports and airports), and (ii) regional hubs, corresponding to relevant train and bus
stations. The network infrastructure is planned to provide both long-distance routes (100-200
km) aiming to satisfy the demand for multiple-day cycling holiday, and shorter daily sections
(40-60 km). The design of cycling itineraries considers several aspects, such as the connection
with the largest possible number of urban centres, cultural and archaeological attractions,
parks and green areas, the reuse of existing abandoned infrastructure and buildings.

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On the other hand, soft measures are related to the social dimension and include the
involvement of local communities through communication, information and education. In fact,
although cycling facilities are an essential component to achieve the Plan objectives, they do
not in themselves necessarily lead to an increase in cycling (Lumsdon et al., 2001). In
particular, the close collaboration with local cyclist organisations and the large number of
public information and participation events with public authorities and local community,
provided added value to the plan, contributing to its dissemination.
One of the main goals of the RCPS is to make Sardinia more appealing to cycle tourists through
the diversification of the tourism product, with the consequent extension over the year of the
tourism season, and the redirection of tourist flows, currently mainly concentrated along the
coast, towards the regional countryside. As a result, a more general purpose consists in the
development of small local business and in the reconnection between coastline and inland
territories, also promoted by the Regional Landscape Plan.
The regional network of cycling paths consists of 52 itineraries for a total amount of 2.649
km, including 6 “bicycle+train” itineraries on existing railways. Moreover, the network
connects more than 250 urban centres, 49 rail stations, 400 bus stops and over 700 points of
interest, including historical and archaeological monuments, national and regional parks and
Natura 2000 sites.
3 THE REGIONAL NATURA 2000 NETWORK

Natura 2000 is a coordinated network of core areas across the European Union’s (EU) Member
States, established under the provisions of the Habitats Directive, with the aim to protect
biodiversity and ensure long-term survival of Europe's valuable and threatened species and
habitats. Natura 2000 network includes both Sites of Community Importance (SCIs) and
Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), as identified by the Habitats Directive, and Special
Protection Areas (SPAs), identified under the provisions of Directive 2009/147/EC (Birds
Directive). In particular, SCIs are specific circumscribed areas that significantly contribute to
the maintenance or restoration of a natural habitat or of a species at a favourable conservation
status, while SPAs are instituted to preserve, maintain and re-establish biotopes connected to
threatened bird species. According the two EU Directives, Member States are required to both
designate and manage SPAs and SCIs.
The Sardinian regional Natura 2000 network consists of 125 protected areas, for a total area
of 662,769 hectares, which corresponds to about 27% of the whole regional surface. The
network includes 32 Special Protection Areas, 87 Sites of Community Importance, 56 of which
have been already designated as Special Areas of Conservation, and 6 sites in which the
SCIs/SCIs completely coincide with SPAs (Tab. 1).

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TYPOLOGY NUMBER AREA (ha)
Special Protection Areas (SPA) 32 179.775,108

Sites of Community Importance (SCI) or 87 364.689,299
Special Areas of Conservation (SAC)
SCI/SAC and SPA 6 118.304,938
Total 125 662.769,35
Tab. 1 Typology and number of Natura 2000 sites in Sardinia
The regional Natura 2000 network holds 61 habitats, including 14 priority habitat types,
grouped according to 9 macro-groups: (i) costal and halophytic habitats, (ii) coastal sand
dunes and continental dunes, (iii) freshwater habitats, (iv) temperate heath and scrub, (v)
sclerophyllous scrub, (vi) natural and semi-natural grassland formations, (vii) raised bogs and
mires and fens, (viii) rocky habitats and caves and (ix) forests, which represents the most
extended habitat typology since it covers almost the 40% of the Regional Natura 2000 surface.
4 METHOD
The first step of the methodology consists in the identification of potential negative effects on
the site’s conservation needs, resulting from the implementation of the Plan. On the one hand,
a direct potential negative effect is related to the development of new dedicated cycling
infrastructures, which can possible cause soil consumption, damage of valuable plant
formations, alteration and fragmentation of habitats of Community interest. On the other
hand, it is possible to identify indirect effects related to the increase in anthropic pressure
within the sites, and, as a consequence, disturbance of the animal species for which the
protected areas have been designated.
Thereafter, the interceptions between the Natura 2000 sites and the regional cycling network
are identified in a Geographic Information System (GIS) environment. For each intercepted
site, a more detailed analysis is conducted, in order to clarify (i) the main characteristics of
the specific site, (ii) the interventions provided under the Plan in its territory and (iii) an
evaluation to assess whether the Plan does or does not affect the integrity of the site.

The results of spatial analysis highlight that the regional network of cycle paths intercept 58
Natura 2000 sites (Fig. 1a). In 11 sites the cycle ways are located along their perimeter,
whereas in 47 sites they intersect the area of the site.

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For each of these 47 sites, a specific data sheet reporting the results of a more in-depth
analysis is compiled, with the aim to present the site-specific characteristics and to evaluate
the possible impacts of the Plan according to the interventions planned in its territory.
The analysis conducted for each site first shows a map, indicating the site boundaries and its
typology, the location of habitats of Community interest and the location of the cycle routes
designed under the provisions of the Plan, with specific reference to the planned road
pavement. Fig. 1(b) shows an example of the maps produced during this phase, representing
the “Stagno di Cagliari” site (Site code: ITB044003) and the “Stagno di Cagliari, Saline di
Macchiareddu, Laguna di Santa Gilla” site (Site code: ITB040023).
(a) (b)
Fig. 1 Map of the intersections between the regional cycle routes and the Sardinian Natura 2000 sites (left, a)
Map of the intersections between the regional cycle routes and two Natura 2000 sites (right, b)
Qualitative information on a given site, reported in the first part of the data sheet, is gathered
from the Natura 2000 standard data forms (e.g. general site description, list of species of
Community interest), whereas information on the typology, spatial distribution and extension
of habitats of Community interest are identified with spatial analysis in a GIS environment
using data provided from the Autonomous Region of Sardinia.

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Specific qualitative and quantitative information about the interventions outlined by the Plan,
useful to evaluate their implications for each site, is reported in the second part of the data
sheet (e.g. length of the cycle routes, the actual paving material and the planned one), while
location is reported in the map.
The results of both spatial and descriptive analysis point up that most of the cycle routes are
located in correspondence with existing paths or roads and do not generate alteration or
fragmentation of habitats of Community interest. Moreover, the development of cycle routes
encourages a sustainable use of the site natural heritage, in accordance with the conservation
and management measures established in the Management Plan of the specific sites.
6 CONCLUSIONS
In this study we investigate if the provisions of the Regional Cycling Plan of Sardinia are
compatible with the conservation of habitats and species of Community interest included in
Sardinian Natura 2000 sites, as required by the Habitats Directive.
The analyses conducted both for each Natura 2000 site and for the regional network as a
whole, highlight that the RCPS is not likely to have negative effects on sites integrity.
Moreover, the design and implementation of a network of cycling routes may contribute to
the development of a sustainable fruition of the areas, strengthening the synergies between
the need of environmental protection and the promotion of the natural heritage. Lastly, it is
worth to highlight that, as the RCPS is a regional plan, it does not provide precise location of
the interventions, but it rather identifies a series of corridors, crucial for the subsequent
definition of individual travel itineraries. During this last phase, more detailed appropriate
assessment may be required with reference to the interception of Natura 2000 sites, as well
as a precise quantitative analysis of direct or indirect environmental possible impacts on
habitat and species, in order to eventually design alternative solutions and compensatory
measures when necessary.
Lastly, the methodology developed in this study can also be applied to other regional contexts
in the European Union, where the appropriate assessment of cycling plans is required for the
presence of Natura 2000 sites.
REFERENCES
Fischer, T. B., & Gazzola, P. (2006). SEA effectiveness criteria—equally valid in all countries? The case
of Italy. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 26(4), 396-409. doi: 10.1016/j.eiar.2005.11.006

© 2019, FedoaPress

Fundingsland Tetlow, M., & Hanusch, M. (2012). Strategic environmental assessment: The state of
the art. Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal, 30(1), 15–24. doi:10.1080/14615517.2012.666400
Lumsdon, L., & Tolley, R. (2001). The National Cycle Strategy in the UK: to what extent have local
authorities adopted its model strategy approach?. Journal of Transport Geography, 9(4), 293-301. doi:
10.1016/S0966-6923(01)00022-9
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policy. European Cyclists’ Federation: Brussels, Belgium. Available at: https://ecf.com/si-
tes/ecf.com/files/FINAL%20THE%20EU%20CYCLING%20ECONOMY_low%20res.pdf (Accessed 2
February 2019)
Sadler, B. (2011). Taking stock of SEA. In B. Sadler et al. (Eds) Handbook of strategic environmental
assessment, 1-18. ISBN:978-1-84407-365-8.
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Finnish practice. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 29(2), 79-86. doi: 10.1016/j.eiar.-
2008.04.001
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https://www.sustrans.org.uk/sites/default/files/170609_activetraveltoolbox_ec_whatworkswellv6.pdf
(accessed 2 February 2019).
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Review, 29(4), 261-272. doi: 10.1016/j.eiar.2009.01.001
Zoppi, C. (2012). Valutazione come sostegno all’efficacia del piano. In C. Zoppi (Eds.) Valutazione e
pianificazione delle trasformazioni territoriali nei processi di governance ed e-governance, 13-33.
Franco Angeli Editore. ISBN: 9788856845969
AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Italo Meloni, Full Professor of the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering and Architecture
at the University of Cagliari, where he teaches Transportation Planning. He is currently also director
of CIREM and CRiMM, the University centre for research on transport and mobility issues and on the
integration between economic development, land use and transport supply and demand. His current
research interests lie chiefly in promoting changes in travel behaviour for achieving more sustainable
mobility, in activity based and discrete choice modelling for travel demand forecasting, in the micro-
meso-and macrosimulation of transportation networks. He is a member of the IATBR International
Association on Travel Behaviour Research and of WCTR World Conference on Transport Research.

© 2019, FedoaPress

IMPROVING REGIONAL
ACCESSIBILITY THROUGH
PLANNING A COMPREHENSIVE
CYCLE NETWORK:
THE CASE OF SARDINIA (ITALY)
*ITALO MELONI, CRISTIAN SABA

BEATRICE SCAPPINI
Interuniversity Centre for Economic and Mobility

Research (CIREM), University of Cagliari
e-mail: imeloni@unica.it, cristiansaba@unica.it
beatricescappini@unica.it, verzucca@unica.it
URL: http://www.unica.it

Meloni, I., Saba, C., Scappini, B. & Zucca, V. (2019). Improving regional accessibility through planning a
comprehensive cycle network: the case of Sardinia (Italy). In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature
6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
Investments in cycle tourism can generate generalis ed benefits, especially in those marginal
areas untouched by mass tourism. Cycling infrastructures can promote development, passing
from the mere design of the transport infrastructure to what can be defined as a “territorial
project”. The aim of the present paper is to show how the planning of an integrated cycling
mobility system can create opportunities for growth and development in areas along the routes,
by describing the regional cycling mobility plan of Sardinia. The plan is based on a systemic
approach that involved identifying a complex of both physical and social infrastructuring. The
physical infrastructure included the network of routes, facilities for cyclists, intermodal hubs,
specialised signs and cycle parks. Social infrastructure consisted of putting in place measures
for the governance of the system’s implementation and operation. The methodology adopted
here allowed us to outline a regional cycle network that will reach 231 municipal territories and
over 700 places of interest scattered throughout the island and covering an overall length of
2,000 km. Minor routes of local significance can be linked up with the primary routes to expand
the network. The plan analysed the features of the system and its potential socio-economic
impact on the island. This model will be able to extend the tourist season by developing year
round activities and distributing tourist flows isla nd-wide. It can also produce a positive impact
both directly, through direct tourist expenditure, and indirectly by boosting the local economy
through the creation of facilities for cyclists.
KEYWORDS
Cycling mobility; Regional accessibility; Bicycle network planning
* The other author is: Veronica Zucca.
I. Meloni, C. Saba, B. Scappini et al.
1 INTRODUCTION
Over the last few years sustainable mobility planning has seen a growing interest in cycling
mobility, as witnessed by the Declaration adopted by Transport Ministers of the EU member
states during the 2015 Luxembourg Summit, that acknowledged cycling as a means of climate
friendly transport. The environmental, economic, social and health benefits of cycling are
universally recognised. The European Cyclists’ Federation (2016) quantified the benefits
associated with cycling for Europe at 513 billion euros per year. This translates into around
15.4 billion euros in terms of reduced costs associated with pollution and with the effects of
climate change, as well as more than 63 billion euros of economic benefits. The European
bicycle industry produces some 12.7 million of the 19.6 million bicycles sold, employing over
45,000 workers in 2016 (CONEBI, 2017). The positive effects on health include improved
physical fitness and cardiovascular health and reduction of obesity, as reported by Oja et al.
(2011). One branch of economic activity experiencing substantial growth and associated with
cycling, is cycle tourism. Cycle tourism is defined as “recreational visits, either overnight or
day visits away from home, which involve leisure cycling as a fundamental and significant part
of the visit” (Sustrans, 1999). In many European countries cycle tourism forms an important
part of active tourism, often along highly appealing single routes, or along cycle network
infrastructure. Investments in cycling mobility and in cycle tourism can generate generalised
benefits, especially in those marginal areas untouched by mass tourism (Piket et al., 2013).
For example, as recommended by the VENTO project, a cycle route from Venice to Turin along
the river Po, a leading role can be played by both cycling and cycle tourism infrastructures in
promoting development, passing from the mere design of the transport infrastructure to what
can be defined as a “territorial project” (Pileri & Giudici, 2017). Moreover, the recent law
n.2/2018 on cycling mobility makes it compulsory for all Italian regions to draw up and
approve a regional cycling mobility plan (Art.5), in line with the regional transport and logistics
plan and the national cycling mobility plan. The regional plan envisages the creation of rural
cycle routes, for discovering and enjoyment of the cultural and natural heritage, of
interchange points where cyclists can change to other means of transport as well as parking
and service areas. The plan had to be approved within one year of the approval of the cycling
mobility master plan. The aim of the present paper is to show how the planning of an
integrated cycling mobility system can create opportunities for growth and development in
those areas along the routes, by describing the regional cycling mobility plan developed for
the RAS (Autonomous Region of Sardinia - Italy). The plan was commissioned by the Sardinian
regional government (RAS) to ARST S.p.A., the Sardinian Regional Transport Agency, with
the scientific coordination of the Interuniversity Centre for Economic and Mobility Research

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Improving regional accessibility through planning a comprehensive cycle network: the case of Sardinia

(CIREM) at Cagliari University between 2016 and 2018. This paper aims to contribute to
transportation research, in particular in relation to accessibility, which is often not guaranteed
in economically and socially marginalised areas, that are, as such, weak demand areas. In
fact, one of the main, of the plan’s several, objectives was to improve physical and social
accessibility in these contexts. Indeed, on the one hand, the physical infrastructure envisaged
by the plan ensures access to marginal areas, in terms of economy and tourism, through
forms of active mobility. On the other hand, enhancing accessibility to these areas improves
the populations’ chances of access to resources and opportunities that marginality hitherto
precluded their communities from obtaining. From this perspective, the creation of a cycling
infrastructure, together with the implementation of social measures, encourages both an
increase in the choice to cycle in Sardinia’s interior by islanders themselves, and generates
new tourism flows from elsewhere, associated with the cycle tourism market. The plan
demonstrates how a cycling mobility system can become an important asset for tourism and
regional development, being an element of aggregation of the various components of a
fragmented and polarised territory. The paper is organised as follows. The next section briefly
describes existing cycling infrastructures in Europe and Italy, similar to that envisaged in the
present plan. Section 3 describes the Sardinian setting, showing how the regional cycling
mobility plan fits into this context. Section 4 explains the methodology adopted, while the last
two sections summarise the results obtained and provide some concluding observations.
2 CYCLE TOURISM AND CYCLE INFRASTRUCTURE (LITERATURE

REVIEW)
Although only limited data on cycle tourism have been published in recent years, the link
between the availability of adequate cycle infrastructure and the growth of cycling is widely
addressed in the literature. The two variables are positively correlated, and though some even
significant differences emerge in the studies conducted (Pucher et al., 2010), it can be said
that the creation of infrastructure is a necessary but not sufficient condition by itself to
significantly increase bicycle use. This is particularly true where infrastructure does not form
part of a broader system of interventions (Lumsdon & Tolley, 2001). Though this aspect has
to be incorporated into a more complex framework comprising measures of a diverse nature,
infrastructure is nevertheless central to implementing cycling mobility and stimulating local
economies through cycle tourism. Numerous examples of route networks for cycle tourists
exist in other, especially northern, European countries. An interesting case is Switzerland,
where between 1986, when the first cycle tourism route was experimented, and 1998, the
national cycling network “Veloland Schweiz” was created. With an overall length of more than

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3,000 km, the network has been integrated with hiking and mountain bike trails as well as
skating and canoeing, making it one of the largest national integrated active mobility
networks. Managed by the Switzerland Mobility Foundation, it owes its success to a number
of factors, including full accessibility to the region, achieved through a variety of travel options
and integration with trains, buses and ferries (della Bicicletta, 2002). At the cross-border level,
not to be forgotten is the EuroVelo European network, whose design, which commenced in
the 1990s, was the collaborative effort between the European Cyclists Federation and the
European Commission. The network is composed of supranational cycle corridors that retrace
and link up each country’s routes. Italy still lags behind the above European countries, though
infrastructure planning for cycling mobility has been gathering pace since 2016, with funding
of 374 million euros (91 M for the 3-year period 2016-2018 and 283 M for 2019-2024) and
following the adoption of Directive No.375/2017, aimed to plan and put in place a national
cycle tourism system. To date, the only Italian regions who have approved the regional cycling
mobility plan, other than Sardinia, are the Lombardy and Veneto regions (2014). In these
plans the primary objective is to identify a system of routes at the regional, national and
European level, integrated with public transport and recognisable by standard signing. This
system is defined by linking existing cycle routes that both the Lombardy and Veneto regions
already have at the European (EuroVelo) and national level (Bicitalia). This facilitates the
identification of the regional network (see for example the Lombardy provincial plans and the
hiking trails network for the Veneto region). Besides the strictly infrastructure related aspects,
the plan also envisages a campaign for promoting cycling mobility. The entire process is
coordinated on a regional basis. One innovative example of cycling mobility project in Italy is
VENTO, a cycle tourism corridor that seeks to rediscover the region through soft mobility
(cycling), providing an opportunity to visit places, experiencing the pleasure of slow travel.
(Pileri & Giudici, 2017).
3 THE SARDINIAN SETTING

Compared to the large majority of the European and Italian cycling mobility examples
examined here, Sardinia presents distinctive geographic, cultural and infrastructural
characteristics. One intrinsic feature of the Sardinian region is insularity, which puts it at a
disadvantage compared with the Italian mainland; the island suffers from limited accessibility,
isolation and a limited range of small businesses, that all contribute to its continuous
depopulation (EUROISLANDS, 2013). This phenomenon affects the island as a whole, with
250 of the 377 municipalities experiencing population decline, 31 of which are in danger of
disappearing altogether in the near future (Cocco et al., 2016). Added to the migration flows
away from the island, is the shift of the population from villages to the towns and from the

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interior towards the coast. The outcome is a major regional imbalance, that continues to be
fuelled by the dominant role played by coastal tourism in Sardinia. What is more, the nature
of the island’s landforms, more than 80% of which are hills or mountains, has historically
discouraged cycling, except in smallish areas with flat terrain. On the other hand, one potential
advantage for developing cycling mobility in Sardinia is its mild climate nearly all year round,
a factor that strongly influences bicycle use for leisure purposes (Deenihan et al., 2013).
However, it is above all because of the almost total lack of cycling infrastructure that no
cycling culture has been created in Sardinia and cycling still remains a marginal mode of
transport and largely only for recreation. Over the past few years, local authorities have been
showing increasing interest in cycling mobility. In fact, cycle paths in Sardinia increased from
20.4 to 81.9 km between 2011 and 2016 (Centro Studi Continental based on ISTAT data).
However, a large part of the actions implemented has focused merely on the infrastructure
component, which is still largely discontinuous, disconnected, and concentrated mainly in
urban areas.
4 METHODOLOGY
The regional cycling mobility plan for Sardinia is based on a systemic approach that involved
identifying a complex of combined and integrated interventions, actions and measures for
both physical (hard) and social (soft) infrastructuring. The physical infrastructure included the
network of routes, facilities for cyclists, intermodal hubs, specialised signs and cycle parks.
Social infrastructure consisted of putting in place measures for the governance of the system’s
implementation and operation. This involved identifying the operational coordination
structure, creation of a logo, design of a web portal and an app for mobile devices. The cycle
routes were planned so as to ensure a comprehensive island-wide network. The network was
designed around a hierarchy of routes; primary medium-to-long distance routes that link the
main towns, interchange hubs and the major tourist attractions; secondary routes that
connect with the main routes and with the places of local interest; local routes that form the
continuation of the main and secondary routes in urban areas; intermodal bike+train routes
that complete the network in areas where cycling is particularly challenging. The methodology
adopted in planning the cycling infrastructure consisted of a GIS-based multi-stage process
that made it possible to identify corridors at the regional level within which to develop the
design of the cycle routes. The first preliminary step consisted in an overview of the existing
cycling infrastructure, namely the infrastructure already in place though not dedicated cycle
routes, but with characteristics that could be adapted to include in the network, so as to
minimise costs and impacts as far as possible. In this phase a large number of minor roads
were identified, consisting of rural roads and roads running alongside waterways. In addition,

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300 km of disused railway tracks were considered, particularly suitable for conversion into
cycle paths because of the gentle slopes and reusable foundations. In the next phase, the
network nodes were defined. First the gateways to the island, coinciding with the main
transportation infrastructure for national and international connections (ports and airports),
were identified, so as to ensure accessibility from outside the island. Then the regional
transport nodes were defined (railway stations and local public transport stops, ports with
inland transport connections) in order to guarantee internal accessibility. With a view to
increasing accessibility, the number of network nodes was further increased to include
additional routes so as maximise the number of urban centres reached. Special attention was
devoted to making the network appealing, including in the network historical, archaeological
and cultural attractions and links to areas of particular environmental interest such as national
and regional parks and protected areas in the Nature 2000 network. One last important
aspect, given Sardinia’s landform characteristics, concerns the analysis of slope, so as to be
able to compare alternative solutions for the same route. This analysis was performed in GIS
environment, using the digital elevation model (DEM) with 10 m grid spacing provided by the
Autonomous Region of Sardinia. In order to ensure adequate assistance to cyclists, the plan
envisaged installing facilities at points along the infrastructure. Following the same planning
logic adopted for identifying the network routes, for the cycling facilities we considered the
adaptive reuse of existing buildings with no particular function. These include for example old
railway buildings along disused railway tracks, vacant property owned by the state or by local
authorities. Where this is not possible, new structures will be built with low environmental
impact. The minimum services consist of bike stations, rest areas, infopoints, bike
maintenance facilities and bike-hotels. At bike stations users can park their bicycles and
change to other means of public transport. At the rest areas, located along the route, riders
can freshen up and purchase snacks and beverages. Depending on the services offered, the
rest areas can be multifunctional, equipped with vending machines and washing facilities, or
manned kiosks and with a covered area. Infopoints can be viewed as the “gateway” to a given
area and for this reason are located at each stage of the regional network and near the main
tourist attractions. Bike service stations offer every assistance to cyclists and are manned by
specialist staff. Riders can also do their own maintenance. Bike-hotels, located at the start/end
of each daily stage, provide many integrated and dedicated services for cyclists. The
intermodal nodes are situated at strategic points within the regional public transport network.
These nodes facilitate accessibility and flexibility of the routes created, providing
interconnection and interchange with public transport services and will be equipped with
facilities for cyclists. Specialised signs, integrated with those prescribed by regulations, are
required to render the routes easily recognisable as well as to provide transport as well as

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tourist information. The cycle parks complete the link between the regional system and the
local active mobility networks. These parks provide physical access to the areas concerned
and achieve the objective of creating an extensive network for enjoyment of the regional
heritage. The cycling infrastructure has been designed in such a way that it can be integrated
with other active mobility systems such as hiking and walking trails, historical and cultural
trails, horse riding trails or tourist railways.

The methodology adopted here allowed us to outline a regional cycle network that, once
completed, will reach 231 municipal territories and over 700 places of interest scattered
throughout the island and covering an overall length of 2,000 km. Minor routes of local
significance, promoted by different authorities and associations, can be linked up with the
primary routes to expand the network. The inclusion of cycle parks in the network had
precisely this objective and these will serve as connection between the regional and local
networks, increasing coverage.Inter-regional accessibility is ensured through connection with
the island’s “gateway” transport nodes (three airports and the four main commercial ports)
and by incorporating the cycle network into the European (EuroVelo) and national (Bicitalia
and National System of Cycle Touring Routes) circuits. Intra-regional accessibility on the other
hand is guaranteed by the inter-modal aspect of the network that provides for links from the
main commercial ports with 49 railway stations and 432 local public non-urban transport
stops. In addition, the main urban areas connect with the rural regions through a main route
interspersed with local routes as well as with the bike+train routes.
6 CONCLUSIONS
The paper describes the Cycling Mobility Plan for Sardinia, analysing the features of the
planned system and its potential socio-economic impact. The plan lays the foundations for an
active mobility system able to promote an innovative and sustainable tourism model. This
model is by no means an alternative to, but rather it will be able integrate the existing one
over time, extending the tourist season by developing year round activities and distributing
tourist flows island-wide.
Implementation of the project can produce a positive impact both directly, through direct
tourist expenditure, and indirectly, by boosting the local economy through the creation of
facilities for cyclists: bike service shops, spare parts, hospitality.

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Fig. 1 The regional cycle network of Sardinia
Adopting the methodology described here, we were able to design a coordinated set of
interventions in both physical and social terms. As for the physical infrastructure, the planning
criteria were geared towards connecting the greatest number possible of urban centres, places
of historical, archaeological and cultural interest, areas of particular environmental interest,
the island’s gateways, and a sufficient number of intermodal nodes, so as to improve
accessibility to the innermost and marginal areas of the island of Sardinia. Whether increasing
physical accessibility will improve economic and social accessibility will depend on a number
of conditions. From this perspective, all the soft measures envisaged in the plan, often decisive

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success factors for cycle tourism infrastructure, need to be opportunely implemented. A key
role will be played by governance, both for the creation of the physical infrastructure and for
the subsequent management of the entire system. The plan designates a single management
body at the regional level which will be responsible for coordinating the various players
involved and will act as the linkage between the local and central levels.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors wish to express their thanks to the sponsor, the Public Works Department of the
Sardinian Regional Government, for general coordination, as well as the implementing body
ARST S.p.A. the Sardinian Regional Transport Agency, for their support in the research for
drawing up the Cycling Mobility Plan for Sardinia.
REFERENCES
Cocco, F., Fenu N., Lecis Cocco-Ortu M. (a cura di, 2016), Spop. Istantanea dello spopolamento in
Sardegna, LetteraVentidue, Siracusa, 11-23.
Confederation of the European Bicycle Industry - European Bicycle Industry and Market Profile 2017.
Deenihan, G., Caulfield, B., & O'Dwyer, D. (2013). Measuring the success of the Great Western
Greenway in Ireland. Tourism Management Perspectives, 7, 73-82.
della Bicicletta, F. I. A. (2002). Mobilità ciclistica nelle aree urbane, 39-42.
EUROISLANDS (2013). “The Development of the Islands - European Islands and Cohesion Policy”,
ESPON Programme 2013, Final Report.
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authorities adopted its model strategy approach?. Journal of Transport Geography, 9(4), 293-301.
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policy. European Cyclists’ Federation, Brussels, December 2016.
Oja, P., Titze, S., Bauman, A., De Geus, B., Krenn, P., Reger Nash, B., & Kohlberger, T. (2011). Health
benefits of cycling: a systematic review. Scandinavian journal of medicine & science in sports, 21(4),
496-509.
Piket, P., Eijgelaar, E., & Peeters, P. (2013). European cycle tourism: A tool for sustainable regional
rural development. APSTRACT: Applied Studies in Agribusiness and Commerce, 7(1033-2016-84240),
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e desiderabile di sviluppo.

© 2019, FedoaPress

Pucher, J., Dill, J., & Handy, S. (2010). Infrastructure, programs, and policies to increase bicycling: an
international review. Preventive medicine, 50, S106-S125.
Sustrans (1999). Cycle Tourism, TT21. Bristol: Sustrans. Available at:
https://www.sustrans.org.uk/sites/default/files/170609_activetraveltoolbox_ec_whatworkswellv6.pdf
(accessed 2 February 2019).
WEB SITES
http://www.radnetz-deutschland.de/en/radnetz-deutschland.html
https://www.switzerlandmobility.org/switzerlandmobility.html
https://www.sardiniapost.it
AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Italo Meloni, Full Professor at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering & Architecture,
University of Cagliari, where he teaches Transportation Planning. He is currently also director of CIREM
and CRiMM, University centres for transportation research and mobility issues that include integration
between economic development, land use and transport supply and demand. His current research
interests lie chiefly in promoting changes in travel behaviour for achieving more sustainable mobility,
in activity based and discrete choice modelling for travel demand forecasting, in the micro-meso-and
macrosimulation of transportation networks. He is a member of the IATBR International Association
on Travel Behaviour Research and of WCTR World Conference on Transport Research.
Cristian Saba, Master’s degree in Environmental Engineering (University of Cagliari), master’s degree
in Geomatics (University of Siena). He was awarded a post-graduate research grant at CIREM
(Interuniversity Centre for Economic and Mobility Research - University of Cagliari). He is a member
of the research team that developed the Regional Cycling Plan of Sardinia. His current research
interests are in sustainable mobility, spatial planning and geographical databases.
Beatrice Scappini, Master’s degree in Architecture, master’s degree in Design for Smart Cities
(University of Florence). She has been awarded a post-graduate research grant at CIREM
(Interuniversity Centre for Economic and Mobility Research - University of Cagliari). She is a member
of the research team that developed the Regional Cycling Plan of Sardinia. Her current research
interests are in sustainable mobility, landscape and urban planning.
Veronica Zucca, Master’s degree in Architecture (University of Cagliari). She has been awarded a
post-graduate research grant at CIREM (Interuniversity Centre for Economic and Mobility Research -
University of Cagliari). She is a member of the research team that developed the Regional Cycling Plan
of Sardinia. Her current research interests are in sustainable mobility, landscape and urban planning
and graphic design.

© 2019, FedoaPress

VEHICLE ROUTING PROBLEM AND
CAR-POOLING TO SOLVE HOME-
TO-WORK TRANSPORT PROBLEM
IN MOUNTAIN AREAS
ANTONIO PRATELLI, MASSIMILIANO PETRI
Logistic University Center of Livorno

University of Pisa, Italy
e-mail: antonio.pratelli@ing.unipi.it
m.petri@ing.unipi.it
URL: http://www.polologistica.unipi.it

Pratelli, A. & Petri, M. (2019). Vehicle Routing Problem and Car-Pooling to Solve Home-To-Work Transport
Problem in Mountain Areas. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature and ecosystem services (pp.
ABSTRACT
Mountain areas have always been marginal zones for which providing a conventional public
transport has been often difficult and burdensome. The present work was carried out within
the European project INTERREG ALPINE SPACE called ASTUS - Alpine Smart Transport and
Urbanism Strategies, a project focused on solving the mountain areas marginality problems
and describes the methodology applied to the Italian pilot area constituted by the territory of
“Unione Montana Comuni Biellese Orientale”, a union of 23 Municipalities in the northern area
of Piemonte Region (Italy). The methodology described in this paper is related to the short
term period, applicable immediately and having as its main objective the implementation of
a collaborative system between conventional public transport service, car-pooling service and
company mobility management. The methodology is made of four main steps: actual mobility
demand and supply analysis with research for economies, implementation of supply scenarios,
economic and environment plan for each scenarios and, finally, selection of the Reference one.
The results show that the proposed methodology is clearly transferrable to every marginal area
with the use of very few resources with a guided and goal-oriented way to improve car-pooling
solutions in our reality.
KEYWORDS
Mountain areas; Vehicle Routing; GIS applications; Limited accessibility; Car-pooling; ASTUS
project
A. Pratelli, M. Petri
1 INTRODUCTION
Mountain areas have always had difficulty in guaranteeing a satisfactory Public Transport
service for their residents, given their marginality, the necessary long distances and the
practical impossibility to reach the economic balance. There are a lot of studies about
mountain accessibility, regarding the estimation of accessibility indexes (Porceddu, 2006), the
definition of these territories (Lella, 2018), the spatio-temporal analysis of their urban
structure (Crescimanno et al., 2010, Fondazione Montagna Italiana, 2018) and the planning
of strategies to solve their accessibility problems (Uncem Piemonte, 2017, Crescimanno et al.,
2016).
In this context this paper presents a work done inside the European project INTERREG ALPINE
SPACE called ASTUS - Alpine Smart Transport and Urbanism Strategies, and it describes the
methodology applied to the Italian pilot area constituted by the territory of “Unione Montana
Cities of Eastern Biella” (involving the UNCEM Piemonte partner), a union of 23 Cities in the
Northern area of Piemonte.
In the next paragraph the pilot area is presented and, after, it is described in detail the applied
methodology with the final drafting of some conclusions that are not finals because the project
is still ongoing.
2 THE PILOT AREA
2.1 GENERAL FEATURES

The pilot area is the territory of 'Unione Montana Municipalities of Eastern Biella” that
comprises 23 Cities (Fig. 1) in the province of Biella; its geomorphological structure and the
distance from the Provincial Center (Biella) and the Regional Center (Turin), after the impact
of the textile industrial crisis, has led to a depopulation phenomenon. This is a tipical situation
and process already present in many north italian mountain areas.
The area covers a total surface of about 273.3 square kilometers with 29,198 inhabitants (at
January 2017) with a population density of about 107 inhabitants/kilometers. Inhabitants are
concentrated mainly in the Municipalities of Trivero, Valle Mosso, Lessona and Pray that
contain about the 48% of total Union population (Fig. 2).
The territory is hilly and mountainous with fragmented inhabited centers and Tourism supply
and demand have low development with a total of 8.809 tourists, 44 accomodation facilities
and 540 sleeping accomodations (2016 tourist supply data).

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Vehicle routing problem and car-pooling to solve home-to work transport problem in mountain areas

Fig. 1 The pilot area general territory
Fig. 2 Population distribution in the Union
2.2 ACTUAL TRANSPORT SUPPLY AND DEMAND

The Union area has a complex road network mainly concentrated in the south zone like also
the actual public transport lines (Fig. 3). The more recent transport flow data (2011) coming
from Census Survey show the absence of crossing flows with a mean of 1,5 trips/day for each

© 2019, FedoaPress

inhabitant and the prevalence of work trips (about 76,5%). Crossing flows are practically
absent. Tab. 1 shows the subdivision of trip types, by considering the flow types.
Flow type Daily Work trips Daily Study trips Daily Total
Internal 5,596 2,782 8,378

Outgoing 5,705 1,292 6,997
Entering 3,611 501 4,112
Total 14,912 4,.575 19,497
Tab. 1 The actual transport flows
Analyzing the modal split and in particular the trips made by private car it is clear that only
Trivero City has a high value of internal trips (about the 47% with 2.700 trips) while the
ongoing flows come mainly (64%) from the Province of Biella and the incoming flows come
from the Province of Biella (50%), the province of Vercelli (27%) and Milan (15%).
Fig. 3 The local road network (on the left) and the public transport lines and stops (on the right)
The main cause of car trips is the home-to-work mobility as shown in the Tab. 2. So the
methodology described in the next part will focus on this problem.
Tab. 2 The actual modal split level

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3 THE METHODOLOGY
The methodology is made of four main steps: actual mobility demand analysis with research
for financial resources, implementation of supply scenarios, economic and environment plan
for each scenario and, finally, selection of the Reference one. In this paper we analyzed only
the first three points because the final Reference Scenario choice is still ongoing, mainly by
some workshops/cooperation activity with each local Company. The steps of the Short-Term
Scenario methodology are the following:
− analysis of current mobility trends and problems (possible economic availability from
little used public lines cutting);
− interviews with companies for home-work mobility;
− analysis of the resulting data with companies headquarters and workers' residences
location georeferencing;
− analysis for intra-company solutions (to be funded in collaboration with each company
Mobility Manager);
− analysis for inter-company solutions with car-pooling solutions among workers of
different companies; identification of solutions for new routes of public transport (using
Vehicle Routing Algorithm) to be financed with the resources referred to in point 1
above);
− identification of the car-pooling platform to be used.
3.1 ACTUAL MOBILITY DEMAND ANALYSIS

As many transport services need resources and also to know the actual use of public transport,
an introductory analysis of public transport supply and demand has been done.
The analysis in the winter period shows, starting from the operating cost of 1,67€/km, some
lines with low passengers (showed in red color in Tab. 3). These lines totally cover about 356
km/day for a total of 595€/day. So, in all winter period, cutting these lines will give a total
amount of 151.600€. The analysis in the summer period shows, starting from the same
operating cost, some lines with very low passengers (showed in red color in Tab. 4). The
summer service is much less used despite a good mileage production. In fact, in the face of
a decrease in the 38% offer compared to winter service, there is a drop in attendance of 75%.
The low passenger lines totally cover about 2,185 km/day for a total of 3,650 Euros/day. So,
in all winter period, cutting these lines will give a total amount of 175,200 Euros. So totally,
cutting the low passengers lines give to the Administration a total budget of 326,800 Euros to
be used for on-demand services. Moreover, we analyze the actual public transport network

© 2019, FedoaPress

(Fig. 3) and it is clear how many cities, mainly in the north of the pilot area, are not cover
from this service.
Line n° Line Name n° rides km passengers pass/ride pass/km
300 Biella Cossato Vallemosso Trivero 94 1,674 1,891 20.12 1.13
310 Zimone Borriana Biella Valdengo_Bioglio Vallemosso 53 1,244 739 13.94 0.59
332 Biella Vaglio 46 437 602 13.09 1.38
400 Cossato Gattinara 25 612 613 24.52 1.00
410 Cossato Buronzo 8 114 79 9.88 0.69
430 Cossato Mezzana Trivero 9 209 113 12.56 0.54
440 Andorno Veglio 6 78 27 4.50 0.35
501 Pray Santhia 2 122 14 7.00 0.11
548 Lessona Vigliano 8 91 55 6.88 0.60
551 Biella Varallo 2 116 141 70.50 1.22
552 Pray Vercelli 2 133 89 44.50 0.67
553 Mosso Trivero Pray Crevacuore 5 140 93 18.60 0.66
555 Trivero 7 83 159 22.71 1.92
556 Mezzana Vallemosso 3 77 76 25.33 0.99
557 Bioglio Pettinengo 4 51 39 9.75 0.76
558 Vallemosso Callabiana 4 65 8 2.00 0.12
Totale 278 5,246 4,738 17.04 0.90
Tab. 3 The actual public transport frequentation in the winter period
Line n° Line Name n° rides km passengers pass/ride pass/km

300 Biella Cossato Vallemosso Trivero 55 1,057 549 9.98 0.52
310 Zimone Borriana Biella Valdengo_Bioglio Vallemosso 44 1,149 227 5.16 0.20
332 Biella Vaglio 44 429 329 7.48 0.77
400 Cossato Gattinara 8 178 39 4.88 0.22
410 Cossato Buronzo 6 84 6 1.00 0.07
430 Cossato Mezzana Trivero 3 65 5 1.67 0.08
440 Andorno Veglio 6 67 6 1.00 0.09
501 Pray Santhia 2 122 10 5.00 0.08
548 Lessona Vigliano 8 91 14 1.75 0.15
Totale 176 3,242 1,185 6.73 0.37
Tab. 4 The actual public transport frequentation in the summer period
3.2 SUPPLY SCENARIOS IMPLEMENTATION

We have made a Home-to-Work survey to the workers in the twenty biggest companies
present in the study area or near it (Tab. 5). The survey covers almost 80% of total workers
with 1,769 people interviewed. The survey asked about actual transport mode used, work
hours and residence location and results showed that about 95% of respondents use private
car. The first analysis done with the collected data is the geolocation of each worker residence
and the planning of three possible action types:
− incentive the use of actual bus lines;
− coordinate with each company for Mobility Management internal solutions and co-
financing possibility;

© 2019, FedoaPress


− evaluate innovative intra-company solutions: VRP algorithm to improve bus solutions

and carpooling.
Interview Data Transport mode
Company Name
Interviewed Totals Percentage Car/Moto Bus Bike Walk
Lanificio Carlo Barbera S.r.l. 74 79 93.7% 79 0 0 0
Soluzioni Tessili Srl 12 13 92.3% 12 0 1 0
Gabella Macchine - Officina 39 41 95.1% 32 0 6 1
Kramer Italia Srl 50 50 100.0% 39 1 4 6
Botto Poala Spa 140 140 100.0% 137 3 0 1
Filati Drago S.p.a. - Fintes Filati Drago Srl 62 62 100.0% 62 0 0 0
Filatura Cb Spa 55 55 100.0% 54 0 0 1
San Marco Rubinetteria Srl 36 38 94.7% 34 0 0 2
Trabaldo Togna S.p.a. 0 116 0.0% 0 0 0 0
Cerruti S.a.s. Filatura Cardata 5 5 100.0% 5 0 0 0
Ferla Egidio - Lanificio (s.p.a.) 36 36 100.0% 36 0 0 0
Tonella Srl 14 68 20.6% 12 1 0 2
Manifattura di Ponzone 28 28 100.0% 27 0 0 1
Lanificio Zignone Sp 71 130 54.6% 68 0 0 3
FALPI srl 14 14 100.0% 13 0 0 1
ETA service 4 4 100.0% 4 0 0 0
LANIFICIO CAMPORE BROGLIA QUINTINO 51 64 79.7% 48 0 0 3
Successori Reda S.pa. 344 378 91.0% 335 3 0 6
Lanificio Zegna Ermenegildo & Figli 266 460 57.8% 242 2 0 23
Vitale Barberis Canonico S.p.a. 468 468 100.0% 444 2 0 20
1,769 2,249 78.7% 1,683 12 11 70
Totals
Percentage 94.8% 0.7% 0.6% 3.9%
Tab. 5 The interviewed Companies with some survey results
In the following part we describe the intra-company solution and the latest more complex
inter-company solution with the integration of Vehicle Routing Modelling for conventional
public transport solutions and bottom-up organized car-pooling. It is important to underline
that the methodology does not choose for self-organized car-pooling solutions but it indicates
the detailed worker to belong to each car-pooling group.
For each scenario simulated, it has been implemented a Low CO2 scenario to evaluate the
decrease in CO2 emissions. For the example showed, relative to work entry/exit at 22:00, Tab.
6 illustrates the basic parameters of the emission equation:
where:
CO2 = Total transport-related CO2 emissions within a defined system
Pers = Number of persons within a defined system
Trips/Pers = Number of trips per person within a certain time period

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mode share = Percentage of trips travelled with mode m

Pass-km/Tripm = Average distance travelled with mode m on a single trip
Veh-km/Pass-km = Number of vehicle-kilometers per passenger-kilometer
CO2/Veh-km = CO2 emission by transport mode m over one kilometer
The Intra-Company scenarios

Starting from the inaccessibility to workplace using the actual bus lines network (verified
starting from actual bus service schedule time), we have made a mobility analysis for each
company to find possible car-pooling worker clusters or the possibility to join many workers
in a little bus (with the possibility to use also bus adopted as school-bus). The analysis divides
workers of each company on the base of work-hour and it made a spatial clustering of them
indicating which ones can be joined in a car-pooling system or in little bus service. For
example, the analysis of the Botto Paola Company with 140 total workers (Fig. 4) shows a
result regarding 93 workers with:
− two car-pooling groups for work hour 22:00-06:00 (3 + 2 workers);
− one car-pooling group for work hour 08:00-14.00 (2 workers);
− two car-pooling groups for work hour 08:00-16.00 (2 + 4 workers);
− one car-pooling group for work hour 06:00-14.00 (5 workers);
− four bus solutions for work hour 06:00-14.00 (15 + 10 + 24 + 6 workers);
− one bus solution for work hour 22:00-06:00 (6 workers);
− one bus solution for work hour 08:00-18:00 (7 workers);
− one bus solution for work hour 08:00-14:00 (7 workers).
Fig. 4 Example of home-to-work analysis at intra-company level

(black number shows the number of joined workers)

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The decrease in car trips for the Company exemplified changes from 280 to 112 (-60,0%)
with a decrease of CO2 emissions of about 41.5% (from the Baseline scenario with 180.6 to
the simulated scenario of 105.5 tons of CO2/year) (Tab. 6).
Botto Paola spa
Baseline Scenario
Total Emissions 180,6 Tons of CO2 Total Emissions 105,5 Tons of CO2
Persons 140 Persons 140

Trips / Person (year) 500 Trips / Person 500
Passenger km / Vehicle km / Grams of CO2 / Passenger km / Vehicle km / Grams of CO2 /
Mode Share Trips / Person Trip Passenger km Vehicle km Mode Share Trips / Person Trip Passenger km Vehicle km
Foot 4% 19,5 1 1 0 Foot 4% 19,5 1 1 0
Bicycle 1% 3 3 1 0 Bicycle 1% 3 3 1 0
Car 95% 474 15 1 180 Car 47% 235 15 0,666666667 180
Public Transport 1% 3,5 15 0,2 1000 Public Transport 49% 242,5 15 0,090909091 1000
Other 0% 0 0 1 0 Other 0% 0 0 1 0
Total 100% 500 14,382 Total 100% 500 14,382
Tab. 6 Example of Scenario CO2 emission evaluation for an Intra-Company Scenario
These scenario types are mainly based on the availability of little buses (taken between the
City school buses or bought by the same company). This feasibility is in order of evaluation.
The Inter-Company scenarios - The Vehicle Routing Model

The vehicle routing problem (VRP) is a superset of the traveling salesman problem where one
set of stops is sequenced in an optimal fashion. In a VRP, a set of orders needs to be assigned
to a set of routes or vehicles such that the overall path cost is minimized. It also needs to
honor real-world constraints including vehicle capacities, delivery time windows, and driver
specialties. The VRP produces a solution that honors those constraints while minimizing an
objective function composed of operating costs and user preferences, such as the importance
of meeting time windows. The VRP solver starts by generating an origin-destination matrix of
shortest-path costs between all order and depot locations along the network. Using this cost
matrix, it constructs an initial solution by inserting the orders one at a time onto the most
appropriate route. The initial solution is then improved upon by resequencing the orders on
each route, as well as moving orders from one route to another, and exchanging orders
between routes. The heuristics used in this process are based on a Tabu Search metaheuristic.
The basic form of Tabu Search (TS) is founded on ideas proposed by Fred Glover (1986) and
it is based on procedures designed to cross boundaries of feasibility or local optimality, instead
of treating them as barriers Glover and Laguna, 1997).
In our case, we introduced constraints relative to:
− maximum travel time not bigger than twice the private car one;
− route starting at the two bus depots nodes;
− arrival at work 30-5 minutes before working time;
− existing one ways in the road network.

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For example, the inter-company analysis for worker with entry time at 22:00 involves 8
companies and 157 workers. The solution involves 81 workers and elaborate two routes: one
for 27 workers of about 82 kilometers length, and the other one for 54 workers of about 73
kilometers lenght. Moreover results show a decrease of trips bigger than 50% with only two
busses starting from the depots of the local public transport operator (Fig. 5) and, the
calculated low-CO2 scenario, revealed a decrease of CO2 emissions of about 46.7%, from
202,6 to 108 tons of CO2/year (Tab. 7).
Tab. 7 Example of Scenario CO2 emission evaluation for an Inter-Company Scenario
4 CONCLUSIONS
The methodology built and being tested in the reality of the “Unione Montana Comuni Biellese
Orientale” of Piemonte (Italy), constitutes a realistic operative proposal to optimize and solve
the marginality and poor accessibility problems of mountain areas. It starts from the
identification of the possible resources availability, starting from the structure of the current
public transport service, this being a necessary but not sufficient condition for the following
phases.
8 Companies involved
Botto Poala Spa
Ermenegildo Zegna
Filati Drago S.p.a
Filatura Cb Spa
LANIFICIO CAMPORE B. Q.
Lanificio Carlo Barbera S.r.l.
Successori Reda S.p.a.
Vitale Barberis Canon. Spa
Fig. 5 Example of home-to-work analysis at inter-company level

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Once a budget of available resources has been identified, it becomes possible to analyze the
local transport supply and demand level and, through complex vehicle routing technologies
combined with spatial clustering techniques, identify optimized solutions integrating different
transport service types, from conventional public transport to car-pooling or demand services.
What we found is the need for a bottom-up approach, going to find solutions with a very
strong detail but able to convince both the single worker involved and the Company Mobility
Manager (MAX, 2009). The first meetings in which the developed project scenarios were
presented showed each working reality has different sensibilities towards sustainable mobility,
but these scenarios constitute the starting point for the design of shared solutions. Next steps
are the validation of the measure described directly with the workers for the home-to-work
phase while, for the home-to-service mobility (mainly regarding old residents) and tourist
accessibility, the research group are designing an integrated approach where tourist transport
services will give the possibility to reach the economic balance also for an on-demand public
transport service available for citizen.
REFERENCES
Crescimanno A., Ferlaino F., Rota F. (2010), La montagna del Piemonte- Varietà e tipologie dei sistemi
territoriali locali, IRES-Piemonte, Torino
Crescimanno A., Dondona C.A., Lella L., Rota F., Gruppo di ricerca IRES-Piemonte; Ferlaino F. (resp.
scientifico) (2016), Documento di inquadramento socio-economico per il Piano Strategico della Città
Metropolitana di Torino; IRES-Piemonte, Torino
Fondazione Montagna Italia (2018). Rapporto Montagne Italia 2017
Glover, F. and Laguna, M. (1997). Tabu Search, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston
Glover, F. (1986). Future Paths for Integer Programming and Links to Artificial Intelligence. In
Computers and Operations Research, Vol. 13, pp. 533-549.
Lella L. (2018). Piedmont Mountains: border territory or arc of conjunction between urban centers and
inner areas? Mountain areas as opportunities for inter-municipal governance and the enhancement of
local, central and peripheral identities, XXXIX Italian National Conference on Regional Sciences,
Bolzano, Italy
Max Lupo (2009) Guidelines for the integration of Mobility Management with Land Use Planning, Report
WP D – Max Lupo n. 518368, http://www.epomm.eu/index.php?id=2748
Porceddu A. (2006). Accessibility, transport and G.I.S.: An Application for the Crossborder Area of
Trieste and Gorizia, Bollettino A.I.C . nr. 126-127-128/2006.

© 2019, FedoaPress

Uncem Piemonte (2017). Smart and Green Community- Coesione, crescita inclusive, sostenibilità per i
territori, Progetto editoriale e realizzazione a cura di Uncem Piemonte, Unione dei Comuni, delle
Comunità e degli Enti montani del Piemonte.
WEB SITES
ASTUS (2018) https://www.alpine-space.eu/projects/astus/en/home
AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Antonio Pratelli, Professor of Traffic and Transportation Engineering at University of Pisa. Scientific
director of LOGIT-Lab at the University Logistics Services Center of Livorno of the University of Pisa.
Author of over a hundred-twenty of scientific articles dealing with urban network planning, roundabout
design, logistics and freight transport. Visiting fellow at University of Kentucky (USA) and University of
Zagreb (HR). Member in some scientific committees of relevant international journals and conferences.
WIT Eminent Scientist Medal, year 2011, awarded by Wessex Institute of Technology, Southampton
(UK) for "his outstanding contributions in the field of transport studies and planning".
Massimiliano Petri is currently research fellow at the University Logistics Services Center of Livorno
of the University of Pisa and works within the LOGIT-Lab, he is a lecturer in the course of Logistics of
Distribution and Transport at the University of Pisa. At a professional level, he is a member of the
TAGES company s.c. and current consultant of the Technical Structure of the Ministry of Infrastructures
and Transport, recently participated at the EU Regiostars Award 2018 Final with the SaveMyBike
project. He worked in numerous projects related to freight logistics (pharmaceutical, port, nursery,
urban, related to security, etc ..), urban mobility (ITS integration, real-time management, etc.) and
integration between mobility and land use (LUTI models).

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WAVE, WALK AND BIKE TOURISM
THE CASE OF SULCIS (SARDINIA - ITALY)
GINEVRA BALLETTOa
ALESSANDRA MILESIa, LUIGI MUNDULAa
a
e-mail: balletto@unica.it
ginevraballetto@gmail.com
alessandra.milesi@gmail.com
luigimundula@unica.it
b
Department of Economics, Business
Mathematics and Statistics
University of Trieste, Italy
e-mail: giuseppe.borruso@deams.units.it

Balletto, G., Milesi, A., Mundula, L. & Borruso, G. (2019). Wave, walk and Bike tourism. The case of Sulcis
(Sardinia, Italy). In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature and ecosystem services (pp. 881-892).
ABSTRACT
Slow tourism is a different way of traveling that is spreading more and more in Italy and in the
world, which means traveling in a less consumeristic way, discovering beauties, cultures and
local traditions, also through outdoor sports. It belongs to the categories of sustainable tourism
and is opposed to fast mass tourism identified mainly with cruises and short breaks in the big
cities. It is a way of traveling that enhances and promotes the development of responsible and
sustainable territory. Slow tourism includes soft mobility systems such as walking, cycling and
horse riding. It is a form of outdoor sports tourism, which also includes hiking and aquatic tourism,
more commonly called wave (windsurfing, sailing, canoeing, etc.). With this work the authors
intend to analyze the slow “wave, walk and bike” tourism of the Sulcis area (Sardinia, Italy) and
the role of the Santa Barbara Walk, through digital tracks (walk and bike) of the relative smart
community. The goal is also to geographically represent the slow tourism phenomenon with the
main sites of environmental, historical, cultural and mining interest that characterize the Sulcis
and the accommodation supply, in order to identify a strategy to strengthen sustainable tourism
starting from slow tourism.
KEYWORDS
Smart tourism; Sustainable tourism; Smart community; Slow tourism
* The other author is: Giuseppe Borruso.
G. Balletto, A. Milesi, L. Mundula et al.
1 INTRODUCTION
Tourism in Sardinia has always been characterized by seasonality and in particular the Sulcis
Iglesiente is the area in which tourism presented itself since the last twenty years following
the closure of mining activities that has been the free use of some areas (Modica et al., 2018).
Get out of seasonality is the objective to aim for in the development of tourism in Sardinia
(Destination Sardinia 2018-2021, Strategic Plan for Development and Tourism Marketing of
Sardinia).
In fact, tourism in Sardinia today is still characterized by seaside tourism especially in the
summer months. However, changes in the tourism phenomenon at national and international
level have allowed new forms such as slow tourism (wave, walk and bike), which in Sardinia
also manifests itself in the need to convert large mining areas such as the Sulcis into tourist
areas.
The remaining part of the document is organized as follow.
Paragraph 2 describes the main changes in tourism model both at local and global level and
introduces the importance of the role played by the local community with particular reference
to the tourist model of Sardinia and in particular of the Sulcis Iglesiente.
Paragraph 3 describes the case study of Santa Barbara and the characteristics of the territory
crossed.
Paragraph 4 concern the methodology used to analyses smart community bike and walk
tracks.
Paragraph 5 analyzes the slow network in Sulcis area obtained from the walks and bikes tracks
and the different kinds of accommodation offer.
In paragraph 6 concluding remarks highlight major results and future developments of the
research.
2 OVERVIEW OF THE MAIN CHANGES IN TOURISM BETWEEN LOCAL

AND GLOBAL
According to UNWTO (2018), international tourism continues to grow (up 6.7% compared to
2016 and around up 4% per year on average since 2010) and in Italy in particular 2017 ended
with 122 million foreign travelers, up 4.5% compared to 2016 (website of MIBACT -
Directorate-General for Tourism).
A growing industrialization of the tourist phenomenon, the globalization of flows and the
presence of large groups increasingly "multinational", has triggered new challenges to the
tourism market, both in terms of demand and supply. In fact, in recent years there has been

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Wave, walk and bike tourism - The case of Sulcis (Sardinia -Italy)

a constant increase in requests from travelers: new and exclusive destinations, personalized
services, increasingly direct sales channels. These are just some of the aspects that have
influenced the changes taking place and that can affect the new scenarios.
Tourism demand has changed greatly, becoming not only more global, but also more selective
and unstable. We have gone from a model in which the annual holiday was one and important
to considering tourism as a commodity. In particular, tourists are looking for new experiences,
emotions and tastes of the territory they visit (Campos et al., 2018). In addition, the role of
the organized tourist (tour operator) with the do-it-yourself (digital) role was rebalanced with
the consequent need for a more advanced and differentiated promo-marketing system (DMO)
(Hall and Veer, 2016). Finally, the international tourist has had a considerable push not only
from the growing and significant role of low-cost transport, but also from the new point-to-
point routes (from smaller airports) without stopovers.
The tourist offer, if before it was mainly views in a productive way and referred to a "solid"
product or packaged to be chosen and consumed, today, instead, it is the customer who
creates the product starting from his personal needs. Therefore, the product is no longer solid
but liquid and moldable. However, this highlights problems and opportunities arising from the
customer's accessibility to the product / motivation and its immediate and easy usability (new
social and web channels).
In the digital age, the tourist has become proactive, constantly looking for new solutions,
customized and increasingly responding to his expectations and needs, which require the
supply of tourist services of being able to respond more quickly.
Moreover, the archaeological, landscape, food and wine heritage’s richness of a territory is no
longer sufficient to transform it into a tourist product or even better into an attractive tourist
destination, if not included in an integrated system between all available resources.
In the recent tourist scenario, the immersive and experiential aspect of the tourist plays a
fundamental role, which is activated through the local community strongly related to the
context, history and innovation. Emotions, lifestyles, culture of a territory become
fundamental elements of a territory, to improve the destination appeal.
In this context, Sardinia, and in particular Sulcis Iglesiente, in line with national and
international trends, are characterized by the presence of new players, which expand and
integrate the offer of destinations: sea, culture, environment and nature, sport and taste.
However, there is still a strong dependence on the seaside factor linked to seasonal hotel
structures which are progressively orienting towards a service of excellence, partially
overcoming the negative effects typical of seasonality.

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3 THE SANTA BARBARA WALK: SLOW NETWORK OF THE SULCIS

IGLESIENTE
The Santa Barbara walk retraces the ancient mining routes of the Sulcis Iglesiente -
Guspinese, developing as a ring for a length of about 400 km. Since 2013 it has been included
in the regional register of historical-religious paths of Sardinia and in 2017 the Ministry of
Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism has included it in the first Atlas of the Paths of
Italy.
It is accessible on foot, by bicycle or by horse and its altitude spans from zero at the sea level
to an altitude of 900 meters. The route consists of 24 stages in the Sulcis area defined on the
basis of the following parameters: length in km, difficulty traveling and availability of
accommodation facilities.
The area of Sulcis Iglesiente has been for millennia interested from a complex mining activity,
such as to be considered the main extractive basin not only of the Island but of the whole
Mediterranean (Fig.1)
Fig. 1 Territorial Framework of St. Barbara’s path in the Sulcis area (Sardinia)
The landscape of the path is characterized by a complex geological heritage and industrial
archeology - mineral deposits, excavations and mine dumps and buildings - from an important
ancient archeological heritage - domus de janas, nuraghi, sacred wells, etc. - and significant
heritage natural (beaches, cliffs, lagoons, etc.).

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The remains of the previous mining activity make the Santa Barbara Walk one of a kind among
all the most known national and international paths.
In fact, the mining heritage of residential and production buildings, landfills, etc. constitutes
the environmental and landscape background of the path that connects inland and coastal
areas. Wave, walk and bike sports tourism is manifested in this landscape, through a (slow)
network of sporting activities: surfing, windsurfing and kayaking in the seaside resorts, with
trekking, climbing and mountain biking in the most inland areas.
4. METHODOLOGY
The authors analyzed the behavior of the smart community (users living digital tracks on social
networks in the Sulcis, also in relation to the recent establishment of the Santa Barbara walk.
The analysis developed was based on the territorial elements considered relevant, classifying
them according to their nature as points (or nodes) and lines (or arcs), or 'simplifying' natural
and anthropic elements according to their punctual, georeferenced nature, and connections
between these elements.
In the context of this work, the network analysis focused on the classification and
representation of nodes and arcs, proceeding with a first visual analysis of their spatial
distribution and trying to highlight the most dense areas with regard to the various how to
use the territory.
The representation of the slow network of the Sulcis area was obtained with the following
methodology: identification and analysis of the GPS tracks in walk and bike mode that were
voluntarily loaded by the users on the platform. It was not possible to identify wave traces,
because they are not generated by users. Instead of the wave traces, the maritime state
concessions of the Sulcis published on the institutional site of the Sardinia Region were
identified and analyzed.
In particular, the main digital platforms related to hiking, biking or other means related to
sporting activities have been evaluated, which allow the user to both download the GPS tracks
but also to load those tracks he/she realized or run.
Among the different platforms available for trekking and hiking Wikiloc was chosen, as it
provides free GPS maps to members who register for free at the site, which can download
tracks and upload and share new ones. Moreover, this platform allows a higher level of
interaction with the broad community of users and integration with the other (geographical)
services present in the Google ‘environment’. The search for traces was limited to the area of
Sulcis Iglesiente for a total of 460 useful tracks divided as follows: 230 walk tracks

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(downloaded between 20 and 29 January 2019) and 230 bike tracks (downloaded between
21 January and 3 February 2019)1.
The georeferenced tracks with relative database (including the following information: length,
name of the route, date of loading of the track by the user, number of downloads, number of
views, link to the card, category of user, sex and origin) were processed by means of an open
source GIS platform (QGIS 3.4).
Then, the authors proceeded to the evaluation of the main hospitality typologies present in
Sulcis Iglesiente: hotel, extra hotel (B&B, landlords, holiday homes), home sharing. The data
relating to the hotel and extra-hotel equipment were taken from Region of Sardinia open data
(http://opendata.sardegnaturismocloud.it/IT/turismo/offerta/ricettivita/, 2017), while data on
home sharing were taken from the Airbnb site (downloaded between 4 and 12 February
2019). From the elaboration of the tracks (wave, walk and bike) and of the tourist
accommodation (hotel, extra hotel and home sharing) the authors have elaborated the
following information layers in shapefile format, Tab.1.
INFORMATI COD DESCRIPTI SOURCE REFEREN

ON LAYER E ON CE DATE
Network NW St. https://www.camminominerariodisantabarbara.or\g/ 2019
01 Barbara's
path
NW walk tracks https://it.wikiloc.com/ 2019
02 in Sulcis
area
NW bike tracks https://it.wikiloc.com/ 2019
03 in Sulcis
area
Wave N01 maritime http://dati.mit.gov.it/catalog/dataset/concessioni- 2018
nodes state demaniali-marittime
concession
s
Environmen N02 historical, http://webgis2.regione.sardegna.it 2015
tal nodes cultural,
environme
ntal point
of interest
N03 abandoned http://webgis2.regione.sardegna.it 2015
mining
areas
Receptions N04 http://opendata.sardegnaturismocloud.it/IT/turismo/offe 2017
nodes rta/ricettivita/
N05 http://dati.regione.sardegna.it/dataset/registro- 2017
regionale-degli-identificativi-univoci-iun-delle-strutture-
ricettive-extra-alberghiere
N06 https://www.airbnb.it/ 2019
Tab.1 Slow network of Sulcis - information layer

1
Dott. G. Cosseddu collaborated in downloading data.

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5 SLOW NETWORK ANALYSIS

The interpretation of the information layers took place associating for each network (NW01,
NW02, NW03) the different wave (N01), environmental (N02, N03) and of receptivity (N04,
N05, N06) nodes. The authors then selected the main cartographic representations of the
information layer associations, Fig. 2.
Fig. 2 On the left NW1-NW2-N01-N02-N03, on the right NW1-NW3-N01-N02-N03
From the analysis of the pedestrian paths (Fig. 2 on the left) we can highlight some significant
aspects: in the northern part, where the points of interest and abandoned mining sites are
concentrated, the walk tracks are also more concentrated. These follow the path of Santa
Barbara on the coast and at the same time connect the coast to the interior (Piscinas -
Montevecchio). In the southern part, the pedestrian paths are less dense and concentrate
more on the coast, in correspondence with the maritime state concessions.
From the analysis of the bike tracks (Fig. 2 on the right) we can see a diffused and uniform
slow network in the Sulcis area. However, even in this case there is a greater concentration
in the north, with circular tracks that partly follow the path of Santa Barbara.
The slow network in the Sulcis, obtained from the walk and bike tracks, shows diversities,
both in distribution and in concentration, within the territory. In particular the walk tracks are

© 2019, FedoaPress

in correspondence of the greater concentration of points of interest (wave included) of the

mining landscape, unlike what happens for the cycle tracks, which seem to follow sporting
and competitive motivations, not always linked to the context landmarks.
However, both the walk and bike tracks highlight that the Santa Barbara Walk constitutes an
important infrastructure for slow tourism.
The accommodation offer in the Sulcis area has been also analyzed, divided by category
(hotel, extra-hotel, home sharing) to evaluate the correlations with slow tourism.
As shown in Fig. 3 the Sulcis presents all the forms of accommodation facilities (hotels, extra-
hotels and home sharing), but with different characteristics. The hotel and home sharing offer
is mainly concentrated in the summer period and in coastal area, demonstrating that tourism
in Sardinia is still highly seasonal and linked to seaside tourism.
Fig. 3 Distribution of accommodation facilities in the Sulcis area. Hotels (left), extra-hotel (center), home
sharing (right)
Otherwise, the extra-hotel type of accommodation offer is constant throughout the year,
resulting unrelated to seaside tourism. Moreover, the extra-hotel offer is more evenly
distributed throughout the territory and localized near the points of historical, cultural and
natural interest.
This confirms that the home sharing also in the Sulcis is strongly in competition with the hotel
offer. On the other hand, the extra-hotel offer, also located in the more internal territory of
the Sulcis area, represents an important response to slow tourism, both because it is highly
contextualized and because it is free from summer seasonality (Caffyn, 2018).

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In this research framework also based on voluntary data, which certainly still deserves
developments and insights, the territory of Sulcis proves to be a territory suitable for slow
tourism. Furthermore, the slow network shown is consistent with the abandoned mining
context from which it draws appeal and motivation together with the marine context.
6 CONCLUSIONS
The representation of the slow network (on foot and by bicycle) of the Sulcis is attributable
to the tourism of the paths, which presents similarities with the new forms of national and
international tourism. It is a tourism deeply linked to the context, from the landscape to local
knowledge and traditions.
The natural and historical emergencies, above all the anthropic emergencies deriving from
the mining remains, constitute the landscape background of the Sulcis, on which the slow
network is rooted.
In particular, slow tourism intercepts a tourist demand more oriented towards non-hotel
accommodation, which in the case of Sulcis requires strengthening interventions.
Furthermore, the organization and image of the non-hotel structure is the basis for the
promotion of the slow network.
The analysis of the slow network of the Sulcis with the walk and bike tracks has highlighted
different uses connected with the multitude of landscape features. In this framework of
potentiality, the Sulcis area requires a further step (Destination of Sardinia 2018-2021,
Strategic Development and Marketing Tourism Plan of Sardinia) aimed at making the quality
of services recognizable, i.e. through a single brand.
In the same vein, the Santa Barbara path have to evolve towards a more structured and
integrated typologies of management (i.e quality certification for all the infrastructures and
facilities of the network) in order to promote the transition from seasonal tourism towards
more sustainable and resilient forms in time and space. With this target in mind the next steps
of this research work, according with the agreement protocol between DICAAR Department
of Cagliari University and Foundation of the Santa Barbara Walk (signed in December 2018),
intends to develop further analysis to define governance actions and to favor the
diversification and integration between new and traditional forms of tourism.
NOTE
This paper is the result of the joint work of the authors. In particular: paragraph 2, have been
jointly written by the authors L. Mundula and G. Balletto; A. Milesi has written paragraph 3,

© 2019, FedoaPress

4, and 5 have been jointly written by the authors G. Balletto, A.Milesi and G. Borruso;
paragraph 1 and conclusion have been jointly written by all authors.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This study is supported by RE-MINE - Restoration and rehabilitation of abandoned mining
sites, funded by the Foundation of Sardinia (Grant CUP F72F16003160002) and TSULKI -
Tourism and Sustainability in the Sulcis (Sardinia- Italy) SULCIS-821319, funded by Region of
Sardinia, Fundamental or basic research projects for implementation of interventions in the
field of research for the ‘Sulcis Plan’.
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http://www.turismo.beniculturali.it/cammini/
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AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Ginevra Balletto (Rome, 1971) is Associate Professor of urban and territorial planning, DICAAR,
University of Cagliari. Her actual research interests are related to urban planning and environmental

© 2019, FedoaPress

sustainability. Her participate in the research "TSulki:methodological approach for the identification of
networks and connection nodes to support sustainable tourism in the Sulcis"
Alessandra Milesi (Cagliari, 1972) is scholarship holder at Department of Civil, Environmental

Engineering and Architecture University of Cagliari, for the project "TSulki: methodological approach
for the identification of networks and connection nodes to support sustainable tourism in the Sulcis"
Luigi Mundula (Cagliari, 1972), is Adjunt Professor of Economic and Political Geography at University
of Cagliari and Research Fellow at the Tor Vergata Economic Foundation. His research interests are
Giuseppe Borruso (Trieste, 1972) is Associate Professor of Economic Political Geography at the
DEAMS - Department of Economics, Business, Mathematics and Statistics "Bruno De Finetti. His actual
research interests are related to economic geography, with particular reference to urban geography,
transport and population.

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SMART COMMUNITY AND
LANDSCAPE IN PROGRESS
THE CASE OF THE SANTA BARBARA WALK
(SULCIS, SARDINIA)
*GINEVRA BALLETTOa
ALESSANDRA MILESIa, STEFANO NAITZAc
a
and Architecture, University of Cagliari, Italy
e-mail: balletto@unica.it, alessandra.milesi@
gmail.com, luigimundula@unica.it
b
Department of Economics, Business,
Mathematics and Statistics
University of Trieste, Italy
e-mail: giuseppe.borruso@deams.units.it
c
Department of Chemical and Geological
Sciences, University of Cagliari, Italy
e-mail: snaitza@unica.it

Balletto, G., Milesi, A., Naitza, S., Mundula, L. & Borruso, G. (2019). Smart community and landscape in progress.
The case of the Santa Barbara walk (Sulcis, Sardinia). In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature
6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
Tourism of the paths is a phenomenon that undergone considerable development in recent
years. Initially linked to religious paths (i.e. the way of Santiago in Spain or the Via Francigena
in Italy), today also includes cultural, landscape, naturalistic and spiritual paths. In Italy 2016
was the ‘Year of the Paths’ with the aim of building and / or consolidating a “slow network in the
sensitive landscape”, while 2019 was dedicated to slow tourism. The slow itineraries constitute
a network that flows smoothly into the territories, some of which not yet mature as tourist
destinations. Opportunities offer by the new technologies create smart communities that make
these destinations and travelers the undisputed protagonists, in contributing to the formation
of Big Data (open and close). The objective of this study is to analyze the Santa Barbara Walk
in the Sulcis area, considering its particular changing and dangerous nature, by analyzing the
open (walk and bike) GPS tracks left by the Smart Community. The interest shown by the smart
community through the digital traces sharing, also referring to the danger of a landscape in
continuous change, proves to be of strategic importance for the use of the slow network in the
Sulcis. In this sense, the role of the smart community is fundamental for the implementation of
the information layer relating to risks and for the management of risks in sensitive and evolving
contexts.
KEYWORDS
Smart Tourism; Slow network; Smart community
* The other author is: Luigi Mundula.
G. Balletto, A. Milesi, S. Naitza et al.
1 INTRODUCTION
In Italy there is a dense network of paths that is approximately around seven thousand
kilometers, from which the numerous routes not yet exploited are excluded. In order to
promote slow mobility and to enhance this dense network of paths, MiBACT - The Italian
Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities - has established the Atlas of paths1, an interactive
map that gathers 44 itineraries to date, meeting the guidelines set by the ministerial directive.
These paths can be traveled with sustainable soft mobility systems, each of which is
characterized by a tourist offer connected to the geographical, environmental and historical
cultural context. The network of paths of the General Directorate of Tourism is part of the
national slow network, linked to the recent development of slow tourism.
The slow network activated through (known and less known) paths presents multiple
motivations (religious, cultural, sport and leisure, etc.) and travel methods (walk, bike, house
ride and more).
In other words, the slow network is a highly flexible network, strongly linked to places,
productivity and efficiency with respect for the person and the environment. Moreover, the
'slow movement', at the base of the network, aims to redefine the concepts of time.
Slow tourism is the application of this philosophy to leisure and relaxation times and
consequently cannot be a mass tourist offer and is linked to the territory through landscape
and material knowledge (monuments, museums, villages), intangible (traditions, religion,
taste) and new social media experience (instagram, facebook, ecc).
Slow tourism also establishes relations with the local community through bottom-up initiatives
and is enriched thanks to the support of new technologies and through social networks,
becoming real smart communities. In this sense the territory of the Sulcis represents a unique
example for the peculiarity of its mining landscapes, from material knowledge to the
immaterial.
The smart community (walk and bike) shares, through dedicated apps, GPS tracks and
images, becoming the pioneer community for its main Walk, that of Santa Barbara, and for
the inland areas of the Sulcis.
The remaining part of the document is organized as follow.
Paragraph 2 describes the case study of Santa Barbara walk and the context of South-Western
Sardinia, where most of the route is located.

1
http://www.turismo.beniculturali.it/home-cammini-ditalia/

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Smart Community and landscape in progress- The case of the Santa Barbara walk (Sulcis, Sardinia)

Paragraph 3 proposes the research methodology based on the concept of the network and on
the examination of its fundamental elements.
In paragraph 4 concluding remarks highlight major results and future developments of the
research.
2 THE SANTA BARBARA WALK: SLOW NETWORK OF THE SULCIS

IGLESIENTE
The Santa Barbara Walk, established in 2016 above the ancient mine roads of the Sulcis,
presents a ring shape of about 400 km total length divided into 24 arches of 16 km each.
In 2017 the walk was inserting by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism
in the first ‘Atlas of the Paths of Italy’. The walk crosses a territory characterized by a complex
mining basin which constitutes the Geomineral Historical Environmental Park of Sardinia.
This territory was the most important district for national and international mining due to its
large production of lead and zinc.
The crisis in the mining sector and the subsequent closure of the mines in the 1990s left a
rich heritage of industrial archeology and infrastructure, as well as a unique landscape.
Fig. 1 Territorial framework

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The context of South-Western Sardinia, where most of the route is located, is geologically set
on Cambrian-early Ordovician rocks, dating back to about 550 million years ago. Starting from
the bottom, the geological succession shows the terrigenous sediments (mostly sandstones)
of the Nebida Formation, followed upwards by the thick carbonate successions (dolomites and
limestones) of the Gonnesa Formation, up to the fine-grained slates of the Cabitza Formation,
which in the whole region are unconformably covered by the conglomerates and other coarse-
grained siliciclastic sediments of the middle-late Ordovician Monte Argentu Formation
(“Puddinga” Auct.: Servizio Geologico d’Italia, 2015).
These rocks shaped the landscapes of the Iglesiente and Sulcis, where the sea and the
mountains merge, and where, for millennia, men have fought against the adversities of nature
to extract a large underground wealth of ore deposits, profoundly modifying the morphological
aspect of the territory.
The landscapes of South West Sardinia are in fact deeply marked by the consequences of
mining activities, with the presence of large open-air and underground excavations, mine
adits, tunnels and numerous mine wastes. These latter are constituted by accumulations of
different types of waste rocks and tailings from mines and processing/metallurgical plants. All
these elements highlight the vastity of mining operations carried out in the main mining places
of the district, such as the great mines of Monteponi, San Giovanni and Masua, and their
related processing plants and handling systems, as the historical Laveria Lamarmora and Porto
Flavia plants.
The Santa Barbara Walk then crosses a landscape rich in natural and anthropogenic elements
(landfills, mine muds and abandoned buildings), but at the same time mutable, because its
vulnerability. This condition of changing landscape (or landscape in progress) it’s so linked to
a potential GeoTourism that “provides economic, cultural, relational and social benefits for
both visitors and host communities”. (Gordon, 2018).
3 METHODOLOGY AND SLOW NETWORK ANALYSIS

The authors analyzed the behavior of the smart community (walk and bike) in the Sulcis, also
in relation to the recent definition of the Santa Barbara Walk.
The analysis developed was based on the concept of the network and on the examination of
its fundamental elements. In fact, taking up the basis of the network analysis, the territorial
elements considered relevant were considered, classifying them in points (or nodes) and lines
(or arcs), zones (or areas) according to their punctual, georeferenced nature and the
connections between these elements.
The analysis of network structures has, in fact, the advantage of understanding the
organization of the territory in an "oriented" manner, independent from hypotheses of

© 2019, FedoaPress


homogeneity of space. In the case in question, the movements of people for the reasons
related to tourism in the area take place along paths, the linear elements of the network, and
the connectors between these act as privileged places such as origin, destination and flow
interchange.
As part of this work, the network analysis focused on the classification and representation of
nodes, arcs and zones; proceeding with a first analysis on the spatial distribution of these and
trying to highlight the more "dense" areas - in the present research following a ‘visual’
approach - as regards the various ways of using the territory.
Following a lack of official data concerning the number of people accessing the path in its
different segments and on preferences about ways of enjoying it, the authors decided to rely
on a ‘smart community’ of users, as in “Neogeography” approach (Turner, 2006), relying on
the user-generated contents by means of GPS - enable portable devices. In particular, the
authors have investigated the traces left freely on the web by walk and bike tourists who have
visited the Sulcis.
These data currently represent the only data available regarding the Santa Barbara Walk.
The digital application used for data collection was Wikiloc, which allows the user to record in
real time, save and share GPS tracks related to their itineraries (Battino S., Lampreu S., 2018).
In addition to the track it is possible to save and georeference the photographs as well as
comment, evaluate and report particularities along the route. The Wikiloc community is made
up of over 4 million users who share about 11 million tracks and 20 million photos.
The data download operation was performed manually, using the geographic search option
made available by the website, applying search filters. Following the identification of all the
tracks, we proceeded with the homogenization of the data, transforming the paths into shape
files and implementing the database with some fields obtained directly from the user data
registration (path length, name of path, upload date, number of views and number of
downloads).
In particular, starting from January 20, 2019 until January 29, 2019, the 230 walk tracks were
identified and downloaded from the Wikiloc website, and from January 21, 2019 to February 3,
2019 the 230 bike tracks were identified and downloaded from the Wikiloc website (Fig. 2)2.
At the same time we proceeded to construct the information layers attributable to the
elements characterizing the mining landscape of the Sulcis (in ESRI Shapefile format, tab.
01), using the following categories taken from the official site of the Sardinia Region:

2
Dott. G. Cosseddu collaborated in downloading data

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Fig 2 On the left St Barbara’s path and walking tracks, on the right St. Barbara’s path and cycling tracks
− Past mining areas: the mining sites of Sulcis-Iglesiente and Guspinese districts have
been for a long time the real economic and cultural driving force of their territories.
Indeed, many of the existing urban centers in these areas were created to support
mining. The activities initiated from the II millennium BC and carried out until the late
1990’s left positive and negative inheritances. While the mining industry has brought
economic prosperity and cultural growth, it has certainly left a hard legacy of
environmental degradation, geomorphological instability and widespread pollution.
− Points of interest (POI): the points of interest, related to historical and cultural sites, and
to sites of environmental and landscape interest (published within the Geoportal of the
RAS- Autonomous Region of Sardinia http://webgis2.regione.sardegna.it/), have been
overlaid on the map in order to analyze the relationships between the position of these
elements and the paths taken by users.
− Geomorphological and hydraulic hazards: data on geomorphological and hydraulic
hazard published in the RAS Geoportal were downloaded and overlaid. The data have
been shaped on the area of interest and thematized on the basis of hazard and risk
classes. This phase evidenced the incompleteness of the available data, as the territories
of Sulcis-Iglesiente and Guspinese have been only partially studied, regarding the
aspects of hydraulic and geomorphological risks. However, the presence of instability
phenomena, both natural and deriving from human activities, is marked and evident
throughout the territory. In the study area, these phenomena include physical and
mechanical instability of mine wastes and excavations and phenomena related to the

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sinking of the soil better known as Sinkholes, studied with increasing attention over the
last few years.
− Sinkholes: Data about these phenomena, linked to sudden land collapses, have not yet
been made public in vectorial format, therefore it was not possible to proceed with the
precise identification and location of related sites. As described by Mureddu A (2015),
the general setting of these phenomena refers both to large outcrops of Paleozoic
limestones in Sulcis Iglesiente, subject to natural sinking of the overlying alluvial detrital
covers, (e.g. Cixerri, Narcao-Nuxis and S. Anna Arresi plains), and to areas of past mining
affected by sinkhole-type landslides and collapses. These latter are generated by sudden
failure of roofs due to the decrease of geomechanical properties of rocks at the sides of
deep mining voids. A comparison with the Hydrogeological Planning Plan (PAI) of the
Sardinia Region highlighted that out of 247 measured subsidence phenomena 214 (85%)
occur in areas outside the PAI boundaries and may not be classified as landslide risk
sites. From a comparison with the Landslide Phenomena Inventory in Italy (I.F.F.I.
Project), it emerges that 175 sites among those surveyed (71%) by the technical table
have not been inventoried. In many areas of the territories of South-West Sardinia,
particularly those lacking adequate vegetation and soil cover, past mining activities
greatly enhanced the rock stability problems deriving from the natural presence of
steeply sloping slopes set on fractured rocks.
INFORMATIO CODE DESCRIPTION SOURCE REFERENCE

N LAYER DATE
Network NW 01 St. Barbara's path https://www.camminominerariodisantabarb 2019
ara.org/
NW 02 walk tracks https://it.wikiloc.com/ 2019
NW 03 bike tracks https://it.wikiloc.com/ 2019
Point of POI 01 historical and cultural http://webgis2.regione.sardegna.it 2015

interest point of interest
POI 02 points of landscape http://webgis2.regione.sardegna.it 2015
interest
Mining areas MA 01 Abandoned mining http://webgis2.regione.sardegna.it 2015
areas
MA 02 Historical http://webgis2.regione.sardegna.it 2015
environmental geo-
mineral park of
Sardinia
Risk areas RA 01 Hydraulic hazard http://www.sardegnageoportale.it 2018
RA 02 Geomorphological http://www.sardegnageoportale.it 2018

hazard
Tab.1 Information layer slow network of Sulcis.
The three networks (NW 01, NW 02, NW 03) were then associated with the points of interest
(POI 01, POI 02), with the mining areas (MA 01, MA 02) and with the areas at risk (RA 01

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and RA 02). All these information layers have shown distribution and concentration in the
abandoned mining areas (MA 01 - Abandoned mining areas).
From the analysis of the walk tracks we can see how the mine areas (MA 01 and MA 02)
constitute the main areas crossed by users, (Fig. 3).
Fig. 3 On the left NW 01, NW 02 and MA 01, on the right NW 01, NW 03 and MA 01
As shown in Fig. 3 the walk tracks are developed in areas characterized by abandoned mining
landscapes and therefore in contexts in evolution (Varrica, D. et al, 2018), while the bike
tracks seem to be connected to sports motivation.
The mining landscape is constantly changing also due to the phenomena of hydrogeological
instability, however it is recognized by the smart community as a landscape of particular
interest and beauty (Balletto et al, 2016).
Moreover, in Sulcis not all the remains of a mine can be reclaimed, environmentally requalified
and rebuilt, because the low population rate does not allow to balance costs and benefits.
In this sense, the knowledge of the risks is therefore the necessary condition to guarantee
the protection and development of the Sulcis tourism development.
This is why the risk reports coming from the smart community (walk, bike and others) are
strategic and enrich the user tracks of important information.

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4 CONCLUSIONS
From the analysis of the spatial distribution of the elements of the slow network of the Sulcis,
it possible to observe how the walk community mainly crosses the abandoned mining sites,
highlighting a cultural motivation, while the bike community is distributed over the whole
territory of the Sulcis, according to a sporting motivation.
The evolution of the mining landscape of the Sulcis is correlated to the danger deriving from
the ordinary and extraordinary geological instability connected to the abandonment of the
mines.
In this sense, the smart community plays and can play an important role also in reporting
dangerous situations to allow an immediate knowledge of the most significant environmental
changes. For this particular evolutionary condition of the landscape, the authors in agreement
with the National Research and Innovation Roadmap on Smart Communities (2016), aim to
promote and consolidate the slow network in the Sulcis, even with the recent Santa Barbara
Walk, considering that the management of risks based on voluntary information is of particular
importance.
Following these guidelines and ideas, further step of the present work, in accordance with the
protocol between Dicaar Department of the Cagliari University, DMI Department of Trieste
and the Foundation of the Santa Barbara’s Walk (December 2018), will be the development
of an application that allows to signal the dangerousness of the places and at the same time
to update the information layers related to the hydrogeological risks, to better govern the
danger of the evolving landscape of the Sulcis and of the path of Santa Barbara in particular.
More in detail, the idea is to propose the creation of a sort of ‘digital hub’ able to collect the
information deriving from the different already existing social networks to share not only the
available information but even the request of information, among the smart community users
of the Santa Barbara Walk.
NOTE
This paper is the result of the joint work of the authors. In particular: paragraph 2, have been
jointly written by the authors G. Balletto; A. Milesi and L. Mundula; paragraph 3, have been
jointly written by the authors G. Balletto, A. Milesi, S. Naitza, G. Borruso; paragraph 1 and
conclusion have been jointly written by all authors.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This study is supported by RE-MINE - Restoration and rehabilitation of abandoned mining
sites, funded by the Foundation of Sardinia (Grant CUP F72F16003160002) and TSULKI -

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Tourism and Sustainability in the Sulcis (Sardinia- Italy) SULCIS-821319, funded by Region of
Sardinia, Fundamental or basic research projects for implementation of interventions in the
field of research for the ‘Sulcis Plan’.
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Balletto, G., Michele, P., Giuseppe, B., & Naitza, S. (2018, June). Sardinia Geopark and smart tourism
network. The project of the ‘pilgrim way’ of Santa Barbara. In TICCIH CHILE 2018 CONGRESS
Patrimonio Industrial: Entendiendo el Pasado, Haciendo el Futuro Sostenible. CHL.
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e riforme (pp. 945-953). Roma: AGeI. 2019.
Caredda P., Mariolu E., & Nisio S. (2009, December). I sinkholes in Sardegna meridionale. Alcuni
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internazionale: I sinkholes. Gli sprofondamenti catastrofici nell’ambiente naturale ed in quello
antropizzato. Roma 3-4 dicembre 2009. ISPRA
Costa S., Coles R., Boultwood A., (2015) Landscape Experience and the Speed of Walking, in
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D'It.XCIX, 385- 400

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Pinna G. (2017) Il cammino minerario di Santa Barbara. A piedi in Sardegna tra storia e natura, Terre
di Mezzo, Milano
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reconversion. RiMe. Rivista dell'Istituto di Storia dell'Europa Mediterranea, 83-100
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WEB SITES
http://www.turismo.beniculturali.it/cammini/ ; http://www.caminodesantiago.gal/it/
https://www.viefrancigene.org/it/; https://it.wikiloc.com/ , Rehabilitation plan of the Sulcis
Iglesiente, 2014 http://www.sardegnaambiente.it/documenti/21_393_20151020122343.pdf
https://www.camminominerariodisantabarbara.org/
AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Ginevra Balletto (Rome, 1971) is Associate Professor of urban and territorial planning, DICAAR,
University of Cagliari. Her actual research interests are related to urban planning and environmental
sustainability. Her participate in the research "TSulki:methodological approach for the identification of
networks and connection nodes to support sustainable tourism in the Sulcis"
Alessandra Milesi (Cagliari, 1972) is scholarship holder at Department of Civil, Environmental

Engineering and Architecture University of Cagliari, for the project "TSulki: methodological approach
for the identification of networks and connection nodes to support sustainable tourism in the Sulcis"
Stefano Naitza (Cagliari,1965) is Adjunt Professor of Economic Geology. His research interests are
related to economic geology, mineralogy of geological resources and environmental characterization
and assessment of pollution in abandoned mining sites.
Luigi Mundula (Cagliari, 1972) is Adjunt Professor of Economic and Political Geography at University
of Cagliari and Research Fellow at the Tor Vergata Economic Foundation. His research interests are
Giuseppe Borruso (Trieste, 1972) is Associate Professor of Economic Political Geography at the
DEAMS - Department of Economics, Business, Mathematics and Statistics "Bruno De Finetti. His actual
research interests are related to economic geography, with particular reference to urban geography,
transport and population.

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A BLOCKCHAIN APPROACH
FOR THE SUSTAINABILITY IN
TOURISM MANAGEMENT IN THE
SULCIS AREA
*GAVINA BARALLAa, ANDREA PINNAa

ROBERTO TONELLIb
a
Department of Electrical and Electronic
Engineering, University of Cagliari, Italy
e-mail: gavina.baralla@diee.unica.it
a.pinna@diee.unica.it
mannaro@diee.unica.it
b
Department of Mathematics and Computer
Science, University of Cagliari, Italy
e-mail: roberto.tonelli@dsf.unica.it
marchesi.michele@gmail.com

Baralla, G., Pinna, A., Tonelli, R., Marchesi, M. & Mannaro, K. (2019). A blockchain approach for the sustainability
in tourism management in the Sulcis area. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature and ecosystem
ABSTRACT
The Sardinia island is a well-known tourist destination for holidays, famous for its coasts and its
beautiful sea but also for its food. Tourism is one of the most expanding sectors of the regional
economy and the use of innovative technology becomes a key element to keep abreast of the
times. The complexity of the tourist system is exemplary: it affects several activities and people
and influences environmental protection. In this wor k, we propose a blockchain based platform
to guarantee the traceability and the provenance ce rtification of the local agri-food product, to
manage and promote the tourism activities in the Sulcis area and to allow tourists to provide
their feedback, designing a system that takes into account the sustainability as an objective
and a systemic non-functional requirement. Given the complexity of the system and the novelty
of the proposed solution, we adopt the Agile methodology, which stresses the attention in
customer satisfaction and incorporates sustainabili ty. The adopted approach and the efficiency
of the technology due to the security of non-corruptible data, to the use of the cryptography, to
the sharing of data between actors in the supply chain, make the proposed system sustainable,
competitive and promising for the tourism sector.
KEYWORDS
Blockchain; Sustainability; Provenance Certification ; Tourism
* The other authors are: Michele Marchesi, Katiuscia Mannaro.
A blockchain approach for the sustainability in tourism management in the Sulcis Area

1 INTRODUCTION
Located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sardinia is the second biggest island of Italy. It is
one of the most popular tourist destinations for holidays, famous for his 1800 km of coastline
and his beautiful beaches and sea. According to Sardegna Turismo1 , tourists from all around
the world claim that five of the most beautiful beaches in Italy are in Sardinia. Sardinia is well
known not only for its natural beauty but also for its history, culture and food. A tourist, for
instance, can find many excellent local agri-food products of the highest quality, most of them
come from craft productions.
Started at the end of 1950, tourism is now one of the most expanding sectors of the regional
economy. Its impact can be both positive and negative if it is not adequately planned and
developed. Therefore, the use of technology to manage tourism activities becomes a key
element for the tourism organization.
We propose a blockchain based system to support tourism services and activities and to
promote local agri-food products. Our case study is the Sulcis area, located in the Southwest
of Sardinia. Due to the blockchain structure, it is possible to guarantee the security of data
and the transparency of information. A record within a blockchain system can not be modified
retroactively and information is shared with all the involved stakeholders. In this way, we can
guarantee the traceability of products and ensure their provenance. The tourist is the
consumer of that products and by using our system he will check the authenticity of the food
product, identified by means a QR code. The system through a proper user interface will give
back the identity card of the purchased good, that includes some information, from the raw
materials used to details about production and distribution phases. Moreover, by using the
system, it will be possible to create a network among tourist operators in order to enrich the
offer and increase revenues. The tourist can evaluate the purchased product or the enjoyed
service through feedback by posting text messages, photos or videos. An external semantic
engine connected to the system will analyze all reviews. Tourist operators can improve their
services by means of consumers' suggestions.
The tourist system is complex, it involves several activities and people and it influences
environmental protection. For those reasons to design our system, we take into account
sustainability as an objective and a non-functional requirement. In addition, to develop our
system we will adopt the Agile methodology. The methodology puts attention on customer
satisfaction and incorporates sustainability.

1
https://www.sardegnaturismo.it/en/node/252311

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G. Baralla, A .Pinna, R. Tonelli et al.
The paper is structured as follows. Section 2 presents related works. In section 3 we describe
the approach and the methodology adopted. Section 4 and 5 describe the proposed platform
based on blockchain technology and his implementation. Finally, Section 6 contains the
conclusions.
2 RELATED WORKSP
Our work is placed in the research macro area regarding the sustainability of the tourism
supply chain. This research area is a relatively new discipline. Font et al. (Font, 2008)
introduced the analysis of the sustainable supply chain (SSC) applied in the management of
tourism. They first analyzed the status of SSC adoption in tourism operators, putting the
attention in environmental sustainability, and then individuated the priority area for
improvement in SSC management. These areas include accommodation, transport, ground
activities, food and local craft producers and supply. The subsequent studies have covered all
aspects related to the management of tourism sustainability. In (Szpilko, 2017)
Szpilko analyzed the literature in the tourism supply chain in order to map the research areas.
Economic sustainability in the tourism supply chain was the focus of Piboonrungroj and Disney
(Piboonrungroj, 2015). They analyzed the origin of economic costs using the method of the
transaction costs of each collaboration in the tourism supply chain. Collaborations represent
the interaction between the actors of the tourism system, that result very connected and
influenced each other. The definition and the design of metrics, software framework and
tools for the tourism supply chain has been the subject of growing interest. Jiang and Ke
(Jiang, 2019) putted the attention on the importance of the exchange of information between
actors of the tourism system, providing a mathematical tool to counteract the bullwhip effect,
a point of risk related to the unpredictable volatility of the demand in the top of the supply
chain, and to measure performances. Environmental sustainability is the main objective of
the framework proposed by Chu and Chung (Chu, 2014) for tourism management. They
integrated performance indicators provided by the balanced scorecards and network analysis
tools.
In literature, the adoption of the blockchain tourism is under investigation. Calvaresi et al.
(Calvaresi, 2019) realized a literature review aiming to identify the point of major interest and
to evaluate the point of matching between theoretical results and practical implementation
such as WindingTree and Lockchain. For instance, the goals of startups are to make the
travelling cheaper, but also increase improvements of tourism operators. There is a conflict
between customer advantages and tourism supplier advantages. In our work, we considered
all the actors’ objective from a holistic point of view, aiming to the sustainability of the system.
Önder and Treiblmaier (Önder, 2018) proposed three research proposition to approach the

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study. The first proposition regards the possibility to collect tourists’ reviews and in particular
to the possibility to define new trustworthy rating systems. The second proposition regards
the impact of the blockchain in the development of new types of customer to customer
services given by the adoption of cryptocurrencies. The last proposition regards the
distributed and decentralized nature of the blockchain and its possible role in the
disintermediation in the tourism industry.
3 OUR APPROACH
Sustainability is a systemic property of processes able to continue in certain conditions for an
indefinite time. In other words, this means that the process must be kept active using the
available resources. Often, when it comes to sustainability, we focus on economic resources.
Process sustainability is actually based on three fundamental pillars, namely Social,
Environmental, and Economic Sustainability. Social sustainability is the capability of a system
to fit in the society taking into account the involved people, and the socio-cultural context.
Environmental sustainability is the capability of a process to continue without consuming
natural resources to a greater extent than the natural environment is able to produce in a
period of time. Finally, we obtain Economic sustainability if the process uses the economical
resources that the process produces itself. The three pillars are interconnected and they
contribute to the total sustainability. This means that sustainability involves all the actors in
the process. Sustainability is definitively an objective and a non-functional requirement, we
have to obtain, regardless of the aim of the system.
In the scenario of the Sulcis tourist system, sustainability is a key element to ensure the
continuance of the process by respecting the environment, the social fabric, and economic
development. The complexity of the tourist system is exemplary. Take for instance the case
of the development of a new tourist destination. It's easy to understand that this will affect
several activities, in a waterfall of interactions. For example, will affect the people involved in
the management of the passenger service, in the production of local product and souvenirs,
in the catering service and in the production of local food, in the overnight accommodation
services, in the trekking equipment rental service, etc. Further, given the possibility of new
business opportunity, it can lead to the opening of new commercial activity and to the request
of loans. In addition, it affects the environmental protection, the protection of the site, and to
the empowering of all assistance services.
The management of such a complex process is not easy and is possible thanks to the
development of specific software. In this work, we propose a software system to manage a
sustainable tourist system. To control the sustainability of the process it is necessary to
consider its feedback, or in other words, to know its state. The state of the process is

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composed of the value of a set of specific performance indicators. The design of indicators,
the data elaboration, the definition of the actors of the system, and the data acquisition are
the elements of the software design. The software system gives to the process the property
of visibility, that is the possibility to provide its state to the process manager.
We approach the problem starting from the principles of the sustainable software engineering
summarized in the Karlskrona manifesto (Becker, 2015) and in the work of Oyedeji et al.
(Oyedeji, 2015) from the Agile methodology which principles are described by Beck et al.
(Beck, 2001), and from the innovative blockchain technology.
Our system will be placed in an under development context, both in a technological and
administrative perspective. For this reason, we conceived our proposal to be adopted
gradually and to be upgradable by adding, removing or modifying features, according to the
feedback produced by the tourism system manager and by the other actors. In this way, the
system will be able to help the management of the current state of the tourism system in
Sulcis and will be ready to face change and novelty of future generation tourism services.
3.1 SUSTAINABLE DESIGN

The software engineering for sustainable design involves the analysis of the process on the
base of on a division into five dimensions of sustainability that are individual, social, economic,
technical and environmental.
The five dimensions are described by Becker et al. (Becker, 2015) as following.
The individual dimension covers individual freedom and agency (the ability to act in an
environment), human dignity, and fulfilment. It includes individuals’ ability to thrive, to
exercise their rights, and develop freely.
The social dimension covers relationships between individuals and groups. For example, it
covers the structures of mutual trust and communication in a social system and the balance
between conflicting interests.
The economic dimension covers financial aspects and business value. It includes capital
growth and liquidity, investment questions, and financial operations.
The technical dimension covers the ability to maintain and evolve artificial systems (such as
software) over time. It refers to maintenance and evolution, resilience, and the ease of system
transitions.
The environmental dimension covers the use and stewardship of natural resources. It includes
questions ranging from immediate waste production and energy consumption to the balance
of local ecosystems and climate change concerns.

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The five dimensions represent the objective of the effects that the software system will
produce in the process. In particular, we analyzed the actors of the tourism system in the
Sulcis area, according to the division in five dimensions.
In particular, we identified the following representation.
The Individual dimension includes:
− the effects to the tourist, starting from his satisfaction to the creation of the desire to
return and the influence to other tourists.
− the effects to the tourism system manager in terms of changes in the quality of his life
and in the perspective of a stable workplace.
− the effects to the service provider in terms of personal satisfaction and in terms of their
influence on other people for the starting of new tourism services.
− the effects to the producer of local products in terms of satisfaction and quality of life.
All these effects regard actors taken as single individual and concern his possibility to act on
the system.
The social dimension includes effects on the social fabric of the Sulcis, and concerns the
improvement of social cohesion between different categories, the improvement of
communication channels, and the promotion of the development of better social conditions.
The economic dimension includes effects on the revenues of local tourist operators, effects
on the local economy and effects on the local financial activities. Economic and social effects
are results of the tourism process that can be managed thanks to the feedback provided by
our software system. The blockchain technology allows the acquiring of certificated data of
productions and sells, and the collection and the sharing of tourist’s feedback.
The technical dimension concerns the effects of the proposed software system and its
evolution.
As will be described below, we decided to use the agile methodology to allow an incremental
design and faster development iterations, continuous communication with the tourism system
domain experts, and a change ready software, by exploiting the possibility to customize its
smart contracts. The environmental dimension includes effects on the environment of the
Sulcis area. Our system can help to manage the use of renewable resources and to organize
the tourist's transport in order to reduce the production of pollution and minimize the impact
on the environment.
3.2 AGILE METHODOLOGY

Given the complexity of the system and the novelty of the proposed solution, we have chosen
to develop the system by adopting the Agile methodology. As described in the Agile principles,

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that methodology puts the attention in the customer satisfaction as the result of the
continuous exchange of information between the development team and the customer, that
can lead to changing requirements in any stage of the development.
The Agile methodology incorporates sustainability and makes it one of its principles:
− Agile processes promote sustainable development. The sponsors, developers, and users
should be able to maintain a constant pace indefinitely2.
We have chosen the SCRUM methodology, that is one of the Agile methodologies. The
development of the tourism management system could face several points of uncertainty. For
this reason, we chose is the SCRUM methodology, that allows a development process
characterized by being flexible, adaptive and iterative. The SCRUM methodology can
emphasize the importance of the communication between the different typologies of users,
the product owner and the development team. The chosen blockchain technology is a natural
communication channel. All recorded data are shared between actors and always available
from the product owner. We identify the role of the Product Owner in the system admin,
that is who will manage the tourism system.
In our proposal, we take into account the presence of a set of stakeholders of the tourism
process, that, as will be described in the following section, are represented as an actor in the
system. In addition, the feedback provided by the tourists, the local producer data, and the
tourism services data is collected by the blockchain network and processed by smart contracts
and can be used to improve both the tourism services and the system functionalities. The
Product Owner, that is the manager of the tourism system, will periodically analyze and
process collected data.
The results of the analysis should represent the feedback that the Product owner gives to the
developer team. Continuous communication allows giving importance to the users’ experience
that has a very important role in all the stages of the development process, in order to check
the correctness and the efficiency of the system in every development iteration.
3.3 BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY

The blockchain is well known as the technology that supports Bitcoin cryptocurrency and used
for financial transactions. In recent years, due to the success of the Ethereum Blockchain and
other platforms that allow implementing smart contracts, blockchain applications have spread
to a variety of industries. The blockchain is a distributed and decentralized public ledger, which
contains all cryptocurrency transactions. As the name suggests, it is composed of blocks, a

2
http://agilemanifesto.org/iso/en/principles.html

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growing list of records, chained in chronological order and managed by a peer to peer
network. Therefore, a record within the blockchain can not be modified retroactively because
of its structure.
To validate a new block, each node of the network has a private copy of the ledger and needs
to adhere to a protocol. A blockchain can be considered as a global online database in which
information is recorded in a verifiable and persistent way without future manipulation. In
addition to transactions, within the blockchain we can record digital data such as documents,
or manage information such as identities, food traceability, agreements between parties, etc..
Indeed, by using smart contracts, we can automate processes and make them legally binding.
A smart contract is a special typology of account recorded in a block. It can receive and
transmit messages from and to other accounts, it contains programming language and it is
self execute under some conditions.
By using the blockchain technology, it will be possible to guarantee:
− the security of the information by means the use of cryptography;
− the transparency of information because all actors can access it and audit transactions;
− the trust among parties without the use of an intermediary because the blockchain is
decentralized and it is accessed and copied by any node on the network;
− the immutability of information given the structure of the ledger.
4 THE BLOCKCHAIN BASED SYSTEM

We first describe the objective of the system and subsequently the set of actors which interact
with the system. Then we define the general architecture and finally, we describe the
functionality in terms of use cases.
4.1 OBJECTIVE OF THE SYSTEM

We propose a tourism management system to help the sustainable development of tourism
in the Sulcis area. To obtain this result we take into account the several aspects of the tourism
system, and we identify all the actors involved. In particular, the business logic will be
managed by the system with a triple objective:
− create a network among all actors involved in the Sulcis tourism economy. Operators
can aggregate their services to promote the local area, encourage tourism and enrich
the tourist offer, by offering combined tourist tours, routes with a limited number of
participants or last-minute ticket. The customer will receive promotions both through the
platform and traditional advertising channels.

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− have feedback from the final consumer. A customer can purchase two different types of
product: agri-food product or tourist trail. In both cases, he receives login credentials to
the system and he can leave feedback in terms of text message, photo or video. The
User Generated Content will be analyzed by an external semantic engine connected to
the system with the purpose to improve services and to increase the tourist demand.
− ensure the provenance certification of agri-food local product to guarantee the
traceability. All local products registered within the system will be labelled by a QR code.
By using a smartphone, the customer will be able to retrieve the product history from
raw materials it was originated from, to the production and preservation of the product
during the distribution.
4.2 ACTORS OF THE SYSTEM

We identified the following actors in the system.
− System Admin is a figure recognized by all the participants in the supply chain. It is the
entity authorized to register the products and to include the various actors within the
system. Each actor involved in the process must be authorized and certified to access
within the system. In fact, every stakeholder, be it a tourism service provider, a producer
or a distributor, must confirm its role by providing all the necessary documentation
concerning the work license or any other authorization. Depending on the assigned role,
each actor will be enabled to perform a limited set of operations, by recording only
certain types of data.
− The tourism service provider is enabled to record data about tourist product such as
sightseeing tours, last minute offers or multiple services coupons from different
aggregated operators.
− Producer records data about agri-food local product, such as raw materials, processing
and production. He can add a new production batch with related information and
documents.
− Distributor adds information about the preservation of the product during the distribution
phase: i.e. temperature, location. Moreover, he can record data about ownership
change.
− Customer adds a review on
− the product purchased, he can also insert photos or videos. In the case of agri-food
product, he can verify the integrity by reading all the product history.

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4.3 ARCHITECTURE
The architecture of the system is composed of three main layers, as represented in Fig.1.
− Consortium Layer consists of all the stakeholders involved in the tourism activities who
sign and share an agreement regarding the tourist products. The purpose of the
Consortium is to increase the tourist offer by certifying their product and guaranteeing
their reliability.
− Rest API Layer provides the integration with the blockchain platform. It allows to signed
users of the consortium, to view and interact with blockchain applications, such as
execute actions on a smart contract or view contract instances. By using the REST API
Layer, a User Interface will access to information recorded within blockchain, to display
it to the end user.
− Blockchain Layer is the core of the system. It contains all business logic, implemented
by using smart contracts. It contains data related to product recorded in a verifiable and
permanent way. Users will access information through a properly implemented User
Interface.
Fig. 1 Architecture of the system
The system manages two different types of data: one deriving from consumers that release
feedback. These data are managed by the semantic engine, which analyzes them and returns
the result to the BC system. The other one deriving from the other actors of the system.
Whenever a data is recorded in the blockchain, a specific smart contract is called. A smart
contract is written in computer code, it allows the automation of processes because it is self-
executed under some conditions. More specifically, we will implement a different smart
contract for every macro process within the system.

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4.4 SYSTEM FUNCTIONALITIES: A USE CASE EXAMPLE

We present below a possible use case of the system. All the actors involved in the supply
chain communicate with the system by using a User Interface. Depending on their role, each
actor has different permission and displays different windows. Fig.2 represents the system
functionalities and the involved actors.
− A System Admin, as a representative of the Tourism Consortium, entity regulating the
tourist service, manages the accessing to the system.
− A stakeholder (or a Producer or a Distributor) requires credential to the Blockchain
system providing all documents to certify his role.
− The System Admin issues the credentials to the actor. He records the actor within the
system assigning a specific role.
− The Tourism service provider inserts within the system a coupon containing his product
service (he adds a description, price, location area, expiration date and other useful
information).
− The Tourism service provider inserts within the system a coupon (or last-minute deal)
containing different product services from several operators (he adds descriptions, price,
location areas, list of operators involved, expiration date and other useful information).
− The Producer inserts within the system a new production batch - related to an agri-food
local product - (he adds a description, date, list of raw materials, certifications, expiration
date and other useful information).
− The Distributor inserts within the system data related to the production batch: its new
ownership and its conservation during the distribution phase (he adds ID production
batch, temperature, location and other useful information).
− A consumer obtains information on the purchased product (agri-food product) through
a QR code. He can read the product identity card that certifies the traceability and the
reliability of the good.
− A consumer can insert within the system feedback on the purchased product. Indeed,
he receives credentials to add a review in term of text, image or video.
− An external semantic engine, SE, connected to the system, analyzes the User Generated
Content coming from consumers. The SE returns the result of the analysis as a positive
or negative review. That information will be recorded within the blockchain system.
− Product reviews will be available to system actors to enhance products and services
offered.
− Consumers that granting authorization, will receive the offering and advertising on local
product.

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Fig. 2 The System functionality
5 IMPLEMENTATION
In this section, we briefly describe the main software element that composes the back-end of
the software system. The first component is the set of smart contracts (SC) that will implement
the business logic of the system. The second component is the semantic engine that is
connected to the system to acquire and analyze comments and other types of feedbacks
coming from the customer.
5.1 SMART CONTRACTS

We identify the following four smart contracts that will manage the business logic of the
system.
− SC-Access. It is the smart contract responsible for the registration of new actors and for
the login. It allows the System Admin to register actors and subsequently it allows actors
to login to the system. For the registration process, the SC receives in input the business

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name, the address, the role, the list of recordable products within the system (only for
Producer and Tourism service providers). If the registration succeeds, it releases the
actor’s credentials. In the login phase, the actor sends to the SC its credential. If the
credentials are correct, the SC enables access to the platform, with view and permissions
dependent on the actor role.
− SC-Traceability allows producers and suppliers to record data about agri-food local
products. It receives data from producers regarding each specific product, such as raw
materials, production techniques, location, the id of the production batch and other
useful information. Instead, the contract receives from distributors data about current
ownership, storage temperature, location and other useful information.
− SC-Coupon is devoted to Tourism service providers. It receives data about tourist
attraction such as sightseeing tours, last-minute deal or a multiple service ticket come
from different operators.
− SC-Feedback manages feedback released by consumers. It records and manages the
processed information coming from the semantic engine in terms of positive or negative
evaluation.
All smart contracts functionalities will be available to actors by means a proper user interface.
Moreover, the interface will communicate with the semantic engine responsible for feedback
coming from consumers.
5.1 SEMANTIC ENGINE

The Semantic engine is an external module linked to the blockchain system. It will be designed
by using semantic techniques in order to improve the tourist market in the Sulcis area. its
main objective is to analyze different types of data (text message, photo, video) coming from
several consumers. To define the relationship among concept, the tool will use appropriate
ontologies defined in the tourist domain. An ontology includes a representation, a definition
of categories, properties, relations between data, entities and concepts that verify one or
more domains. In addition, to manage the UGCs the system will use also a folksonomy,
namely the operation to categorize the data inserted by users by using keywords or tags, the
extraction of terms will be used to enrich an existing ontology (or a classification) or to develop
a new one. The only result of the analysis that will be recorded within the blockchain system
is expressed in terms of a positive or negative review. The integral result of the analysis will
be available to the stakeholders, through the user interface, in order to improve their services
or products, enhance their reputation and increase their revenue.

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6 CONCLUSIONS
This paper proposes a blockchain based platform to support the tourism system development
by means the promotion of the local agri-food product, the management of services and
tourist activities and the collection of tourist opinions. Our system has a triple objective:
ensure the provenance certification of agri-food local products to guarantee the traceability,
create a network among actors involved in the territory and have a feedback from the
consumer in order to enhance products and increase revenues. The system will be used in an
under development tourism context like that the Sulcis area, both from a technological and
administrative point of view.
The use of the blockchain technology will ensure the transparency and the immutability of the
information, will allow trust among parties and guarantee the security of data. Through smart
contracts, it will be possible to automate processes and implement new functionalities. The
actors will access to information by using a properly implemented User Interface with a
customized view, depending on the role. The system will be connected to an external semantic
engine whose job is to process feedback and analyze User Generated Content come from
consumers. We take into account the sustainability as an objective and a non-functional
requirement. Therefore, the use of the system will have benefits for all stakeholders involved,
for the territory and for the economy. To ensure the sustainability of the system and according
to the Agile methodology, we have conceived our proposal as gradual and updatable by
adding, removing or modifying the characteristics, through the analysis of the feedback
produced by consumers and the tourism system operator. To sum up, we believe that the
proposed system will be able to help the management of the current state of the tourism
system in the Sulcis area, and at the same time, it will be ready to face change and novelty
of the future generation tourism services.
NOTE
This work has been funded by the following grants from Regione Autonoma Sardegna (RAS):
"TSulki: Turismo e Sostenibilità nel Sulcis" - delibera cipe n. 31 del 20.02.2015 e deliberazione
n. 52/36 del 28.10.2015 “progetto strategico sulcis” – progetti di ricerca pubblico-privati.
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© 2019, FedoaPress

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WEB SITES
http://sustainabilitydesign.org
AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Gavina Baralla, received the Laurea degrees in Electronic Engineering from the University of Cagliari
in 2012 with a thesis entitled: ‘An approach for managing the knowledge on the web’.Currently, she
is a PhD student in Electronic and Computer Engineering at the same University. Her research interests
are focused on Knowledge Management referred to Semantic Web, use of taxonomies, ontologies and
linked data. Furthermore, she is concerning about blockchain technology and smart contracts.
Andrea Pinna, received the B.S. and M.S.degrees in electronic engineering from the University of
Cagliari in 2012 and the Ph.D. degreein Computer Engineering from the University ofCagliari in 2018.
Since 2018 has beena research fellow at the University of Cagliari.His research interests concern the
study ofblockchain technology and its applications. Histopics of interest include the study of smart
contracts, the engineering aspects in the developmentof decentralized applications, and the
enhancement of the software sustainability thanks the blockchain technology. He also dealt with the
study of datastored inside blockchain, of network features and users’ behaviours.

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Roberto Tonelli, is a researcher at the DMI of Cagliari University and received his Laurea degree in
Physics, magna cum laude. He holds two Ph.D., one in physics and one in software engineering. He is
professor of Information Systems and DBMS and of Informatics at University of Cagliari. His expertise
are in the modeling and analysis of complex systems, in statistics, in software engineering and
blockchain technology. He is the author of more than 100 papers in international journals, books and
conference proceedings. He is editor of various books proceedings and is the organizer of many
international workshops on software metrics, on agile methodologies and on blockchain software
engineering. He is Principal Investigator of various financed projects amounting at more than one
million euros.
Michele Marchesi, received the Laurea degrees in electronic engineering and in mathematics from
the University of Genoa in 1975 and 1980, respectively. He is professor of software engineering at the
University of Cagliari. His research interests include software modeling using complex system
approach, agile methodologies, open source development and applications, modeling and simulation
of financial markets and economic systems using heterogeneous interacting agents, blockchain
analysis and applications. He has published more than 250 papers in international journals, books and
conferences. He has been the leader of several research projects amounting various million Euros, and
is a consultant for various companies and public bodies. He is member of IEEE.
Katiuscia Mannaro, received the Laurea degree cum laude in Engineering from the University of
Cagliari in 2001. Since then, she has actively continued post graduate research, holding in 2002 a
Master's degree in Internet Banking from University Cattolica of Sacro Cuore of Milan and in 2003 she
won a scholarship for young researchers in FIRB project (MAPS -Agile Methodologies for Software
Production). In 2008 she received her Ph.D. in Electronic Engineering and Computer Science with a
thesis on “Adopting Agile Methodologies in Distributed Software Development.” Since June 2010 she
holds a Postdoctoral Fellowship position at the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering,
University of Cagliari. Her research interests include but are not limited to software modeling, agile
and lean methodologies, blockchain analysis and application, knowledge representation and
management, smart cities and Big Data. Her research is published in a large number of conference
proceedings, articles in books and international journals

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PEOPLE AND HERITAGE IN LOW
URBANISED SETTINGS
AN ONGOING STUDY OF ACCESSIBILITY TO THE
IGLESIENTE AREA (ITALY)
1$Ĉ$%(5(7,û7$1-$&21*,8
ALESSANDRO PLAISANT

e-mail: nberetic@uniss.it, tancon@uniss.it
plaisant@uniss.it

Beretić, N., Congiu, T. & Plaisant, A. (2019) People and heritage in low urbanized settings. In C. Gargiulo &
6887-054-6, doi: 10.6093/978-88-6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
The traditional preservative concept in heritage studies shifts the nature towards heritage
conservation. The shift concerns heritage values as a living idea and contemporary issue
shaped from the past. The new conception requires a new approachin both, planning and
management. The literature review of planning theory and practice highlightthe essential role of
civic participation, the inclusion of local capacities and practices in the decision-making process.
Social capital is considered essential for a more sustainable development of heritage places.
Participative territorial governance is affirmative to understanding the social capital as a unity of
social networks of trust among various levels of peoples’ associations that implement the activity
of common interest. Due to national and regional legislative and laws, this research frames
the social capital of the Iglesiente area. It deepens the condition of non-profit and voluntary
associations of the civic sector, which implement their activities in the social and cultural domain.
This paper has qualitative character and pragmatic orientation, aiming its findings to the project
currently in progress that the Region of Sardinia funds as basic research contributing to the
“Plan of Sulcis”. Theoretical findings of the paper are relevant to the definition and mapping of
the social capital as a cornerstone to base or integrate the sustainable development strategies
for the heritage territory. Specifically, insights o f the paper focus on mapping of the voluntary
associations of the civic sector inthe Iglesiente area.
KEYWORDS
Heritage; Social Capital; Civic Sector; Sardinia
People and Heritage in Low Urbanized Settings: An Ongoing Study of Accessibility to the Iglesiente Area (Italy)

1 INTRODUCTION
Heritage includes natural and man-made legacy and there are as “many definitions of the
heritage concept as there are heritage practitioners” (Harvey, 2001). An intensive period of
heritage as a global industry arises after the 1970s with the role of heritage in ‘restructuring
of the world economy’ and ‘museum culture’. Opposing the traditional concept from the 1970s,
the evolving heritage concept is changing. The contemporary idea recognizes heritage values
as a living idea, opening up the path to time-space continuity and conceptual dynamism
according to peoples’ contemporary concerns and experiences (Harvey, 2001; Tunbridge &
Ashworth, 1996;).The conservation process favours people, function, use and development
of heritage places. Through maximizing vitality, values and functions that benefit current and
future generations, the sustainable social system as signed an important role in heritage
resources. In the last two decades, heritage conservation orients towards people and identifies
public participation in the decision-making process and bottom-up approach critical for
sustainable development.
The results of this paper contribute to an ongoing project about accessibility to the territorial
knowledge in the heritage setting at the area of Iglesiente in Italy (the Region of Sardinia
funds the project as basic research contributing to the “Plan of Sulcis”). The wider framework
of the project recognizes social capital and social-cultural attributes of heritage places
important for sustainable development. The paper aims to determine the social capital of
Iglesiente, departing from the definition of local human resources. It concentrates on
voluntary associations of the civic sector that implement their activities in the social and
cultural domain as a cornerstone of sustainable development strategies of the heritage
territory.
The Iglesiente area belongs to the Geo-mining Park in Sardinia (UNESCO heritage) that aims
to conserve the universal value of a regionally unique production system resulted from
centuries of the mineral extraction. Regardless of administrative and legislative opportunities
at the regional, national and international level, the Geo-mining Park still lacks in
organisational capacities and development strategies. This condition reflects the disposal of
spatial dynamics, depopulation and socioeconomic crisis. For that reason, the paper
arguments social capital of civic sector as a vital component of local life in Iglesiente. It
centralises civic sector practices, the character of its activities, spatial distribution and
coexistence among the domains as sustainable development opportunities that benefit the
local community and heritage conservation.

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N. Beretić, T. Congiu, A. Plaisant et al.
2 PEOPLE AND HERITAGE CONSERVATION

Spatial configurations are a symbiosis of symbolic and material and, they are as much as
cultural constructions as economic. Cultural construction must not be a reaction or response
to economic processes, but a product of the intimate bonding. Heritage conservation supports
kind of development as a solution to act beyond mass culture thesis (industrial heritage and
heritage tourism concepts etc.). Ongoing dynamics on heritage conservation rests on stable
and pre-political features and constant re-creation within the heritage context. The
conservation approach in heritage studies relies on new tensions produced by people’s
activities and the identity of the population while interpreting the heritage ‘object’ (Taylor,
2008).The relationship of space and identity is a unity of place and people that “masks the
processes of production of difference in a world of culturally, socially, and economically
interconnected and interdependent spaces” (McCabe, 1993). This thesis centralizes active
making and construction of space through people’s activities (where space becomes a neutral
grid of cultural differences), historical memory and societal organization (Gupta & Ferguson,
1997).
Public participation is essential for heritage conservation, enabling heritage transfer to future
generations. The roles of public participation vary, but the paper highlights the shift from the
purely architectural and historic approach to heritage conservation towards society and
cultural conservation (Tweed & Sutherland, 2007). The ‘participative governance’ appears in
the 1990s, emphasizing the role of the civic sector (NGO, associations, etc.) and the need to
“joins with governments and industry lobbies in a common decisional pattern to achieve
agreements between the three parties.” (Ballet et al., 2007). Affirmative to this approach, the
concept ‘community of practice’ (Wenger, 1999) represents a group of people who interact
frequently over periods and who perform a shared practice and address tasks in a specific
domain. Correspondingly, ‘norms of trust’, ‘community of practice’ and experiences of heritage
places should lead the establishment of the development strategies and territorial planning.
2.1 SOCIAL CAPITAL

The social capital represents “social networks and the norms of trust and reciprocity that
flourish through these networks” (Sander & Lowney, 2006; 2).Assessment and
characterization of human resources help the development process, defining condition about
stakeholders, the social potentials, paucity and if the ties among stakeholders are strong or
weak. Furthermore, the mapping of social capital gives strengthening possibilities for local
communities. Pertinent to heritage conservation, participative government, and communities

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of practice, this paper illustrates the social capital of Iglesiente through the official voluntary
activities of the civic sector.
2.2 CIVIC SECTOR AND PARTICIPATION IN SARDINIA

Subjects that are composing the voluntary activities of the civic sector in the Region of Sardinia
are non-profit and voluntary associations (associations of cultural and social promotion), social
cooperatives and foundations (art. 36 par. 3 of Legislative Decree No. 118/2011). The General
Register of Voluntary Activities in the Region of Sardinia articulates seven sectors with
corresponding sections (Regional Law No. 39 of 13thSeptember 1993):
− Social Sector with Sections: Health, Social Assistance, Hygiene, and Sports;
− Cultural Sector with Sections: Education, Cultural Heritage, Permanent Education, and
Cultural Activity;
− Environmental Sector with Sections: Environmental Protection, Rehabilitation, and
Reduction of Risks, Protection of Flora and Fauna, and Protection of Pets;
− Sector Of Civil Rights with Sections: Protection of Consumer Rights and Protection of the
Rights of Public Service Users;
− The sector of International Cooperation (No Sections have been Established for this
Sector);
− Civil Protection Sector with Sections: Fire Protection, Special Operations, Sea, Search
Operations for Missing Persons and Radio communications and;
− The sector of Regional Coordination of Voluntary Organizations. The Registry is a subject
to a (bi) annual review aimed to verify both, the continuity of the requisites, and the
actual performance of the voluntary activities.
Public associations of the civic sector could include diversified forms of associations of public
administration and various forms of profit associations and agencies. However, the paper
highlights the priority of the official voluntary activities of the civic sector. A full picture of
such as social capital requires also are view of unregistered civic initiatives, yet this research
phase excluded those for economic reasons.
National and Regional norms and laws guarantee public participation and measure it for multi-
purpose use with the survey on social “aspects of daily life“. The survey expresses the
frequency of information of public about Italian politics, regional and geographical distribution.
It collects basic information on the regional level about all the phenomena while deepening
thematic investigations of the system, as, for example, family forms and evolution, cultural
fruition and the relationship with free time activities, health conditions and the use of health
services, safety and holidays. (National Institute of Statistics Italy - ISTAT, 2017).The survey

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method defines family as “de facto“ family and this definition limits statistical units to families
that have Italian residence, excluding the permanent members who live in cohabitation (for
example, unmarried couples, people who live in Italy for the religious motives, health care,
etc.).Having said that, participation measurements by using this method gives an insight into
the satisfaction of elementary dimensions of the daily life exclusive to the Italian residents.
3. THE AREA OF IGLESIENTE, CIVIC SECTOR AND VOLUNTARY

ASSOCIATIONS
Located at the south-west Sardinia, the historical sub-region of Sulcis-Iglesiente is a
characterized by intensive extraction activities and it is UNESCO heritage that celebrates
homogenous territory of Sulcis-Iglesiente-Guspinese. The geo-morphological configuration
divides a complex system of Sulcis-Iglesiente in two basins: metalliferous (northern) and
carboniferous (southern). Those two basins defer in landscape modifications due to the
distinct process of mineral extraction and periods of active mining. The area of Iglesiente
belongs to the metalliferous basin. The city of Iglesias has always been the administrative and
functional centre of the area, entirely depended on mining economy. The mines and the
buildings that served them rose to face the urban centre and grouped in isolated
neighbourhoods. Functional organisation of the city provided that industrial buildings are
clearly distinct from civil ones. Everything was structured according to the work and the
control of the workers, following the morphological characteristics of the territory. Iglesias,
intended as a city centre, with time acquires a leading role, serving as a reference point for
all the surrounding mining villages.
Nowadays, Iglesiente area belongs to the Geo-mining Park in Sardinia that aims to conserve
the universal value of a regionally unique production system resulted from centuries of the
mineral extraction. The UNESCO recognised its technical-scientific heritage, historical and
cultural landscape, as well as the environment related to human events that have interests in
the geology and mineral resources of Sardinia (Carta di Cagliari, 1998). The items can be
physically distant, but the essence of the heritage system is the spatial continuity of mining
activity (ISPRA, 2008). The most intensive anthropogenic modifications of the Sardinian
landscape appeared in the eighth century with the modern age of mining industry and large-
scale territorial specialisation in mining activities. Rapid changes after the Second World War
lead to the mine closure all around Europe (Wirth, ernič Mali and Fischer, 2012). Sardinia
shared a downward trend, and during the 1960s and 1970s, most of the mines were closed.
The mining industry has always been the only territorial economy and closure of mines
resulted in the post-mining phenomenon consisted in the disposal of spatial dynamics and

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socioeconomic crisis (Gambino, 2001; Wirth et al. 2012). The phenomenon funds in exclusion
of civic sector from the decision-making process and loss of identity (Beretić et al., 2018;
Perelli et al., 2011). The deep territorial crisis continues for the period on. The area of
Iglesiente has a low density and increasing depopulation trend.
It is possible to distinguish five Municipalities that make Iglesiente area: Iglesias,
Fluminimaggiore, Buggeru, Domusnovas and Gonnesa. Even though the administrative
organisation does not perfectly correspond to the ex-mining organisational units, mapping
process of social capital have to begin with administrative portions. The reason has an
operational nature. Regional and Provincial registers of voluntary associations are listed by
communities. Thereby, further research continues starting from the five communities of
Iglesiente area.
4. CONCLUSIVE REMARKS
This study contributes to further understanding of social capital as a strategy for sustainable
development of the Iglesiente area as a heritage site and territory where daily activities take
a place. The findings of this ongoing study are an integral part of the ongoing project that
Region of Sardinia funds as basic research to the “Plan of Sulcis”.
As the literature highlighted, the conception of heritage faces the transition from preservation
to conservation. The transition prioritizes the role of cultural conceptions and everyday
practices; social constructions of space that affect and reflect heritage places. Place and
heritage, both involve regionalization of experience and localization of identity and tradition.
People, function and use are matters of priority in the sustainable development of heritage
places. Likewise, the establishment of the development strategies and sustainable planning
of heritage places grounds in local and civic practices and shared experiences. Such as
participative governance necessitates assessment and characterization of human resources
and social capital. The social capital understood as an assembly of social networks of the civic
sector reveals both, social potentials and deficits.
The paper provides an insight into assessment and principles to map the social capital of
Iglesiente area that makes Geo-mining Park in Sardinia. The literature review of national and
regional legislation and laws stressed the significant features about civic sector activities and
the categorisation of domains, sectors and sections in which associations can implement the
practice. The discussion about the present method of surveying suggested additional research
about associations. Whilst relevant in the Iglesiente area (present data are measured for the
regional level, administrative borders and exclusive to Italian residents), further research
should include detailed research about the sectors and section in which the associations
implement their activities. Networks of implementation sections would result in relationship

© 2019, FedoaPress

patterns of voluntary activities and interests of community practices (spatial and/or thematic)
to form development strategies. The criterion for sampling the survey is another issue to
revise. Finally, complete knowledge about the social capital of Iglesiente area demands to
map unregistered civic initiatives as well.
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Beretić, N., Cecchini, A. and Đukanović, Z. (2018). Problem Issues of Public Participation in Heritage
Conservation: Geo-Mining Park In Sardinia. In Krstić-Furundžić, A., Vukmirović, M., Vaništa-Lazarević,
E. and Đukić, A. Places and Technologies 2018 The 5th International Academic Conference on Places
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In. Culture, Power, PlaceGupta, A. &Ferguson, J. (Eds.) 3rd Ed. US: Duke University Press.
Harvey, D. C. (2001). Heritage pasts and heritage presents: Temporality, meaning and the scope of
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ISPRA. (2008). Lineeguida per la tutela, gestione e valorizzazione di siti e parchi geo-minerari. Proposte
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McCabe, S. (1993). Place, Entity, Cultural-Historical Tourism, and The Politicos of Space: A Theoretical
Approach. (Unpublished master’s thesis). Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada.
Perelli, P., Pinna, P. and Sistu, G. (2011). Mining heritage, local development and territory identity.
The case of Sardinia. In Conlin, M. V. and Jolliffe, L. (Eds.) Mining Heritage and Tourism. A global
synthesis. Abingdon (UK), NY: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.
Sander, T. and Lowney, K. (2006). Social Capital Building Toolkit Version 1.2, Civic Engagement in
America, Saguaro Seminar, John F. Kennedy School of Government. Harvard University.
Tunbridge, J. E.& Ashworth, G. J. (1996). Dissonant heritage: The management of the past as a resource
in conflict. Annals of Tourism Research. 24(2), 496-498, doi: 10.1016/S0160-7383(97)80033-3
Taylor, K. (2008) Landscape and Memory: cultural landscapes, intangible values and some thoughts
on Asia. In: 16th ICOMOS General Assembly and International Symposium: ‘Finding the spirit of place
– between the tangible and the intangible’, 29 sept – 4 oct 2008, Quebec, Canada.
Tweed, C. & Sutherland, M. (2007). Built cultural heritage and sustainable urban development.
Landscape and Urban Planning 83(1), 62-69, doi: 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2007.05.008

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Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning and identity. Journal of Mathematics
Teacher Education, 6(2), 185-194, doi: 10.1023/A:1023947624004
Wirth, W. ernič-Mali, B. and Fischer, W. (2012). Introduction in Post-Mining Regions in Central

Europe. Problems, Potentials, Possibilities, Wirth, W. ernič-Mali, B. and Fischer, W. (Eds.). München:
OekomVerlag
WEBSITES
ICOMOS (1987/2015).https://www.icomos.org/charters/towns_e.pdf
Carta di Cagliari (1998/2014). http://web.tiscali.it/perparcogeominerario/carta_di_cagliari.htm
SardegnaStatistiche - Statistics of the Region of Sardinia: http://www.sardegnastatistiche.it/
ISTAT - National Institute of Statistics Italy, Multi-purpose survey about Aspects of daily life (2017):
http://schedefontidati.istat.it/index.php/Indagine_multiscopo_sulle_famiglie_Aspetti_della_vita_quoti
diana
National Legislation about Associations and Social Promotion: https://www.normattiva.it/uri-

res/N2Ls?urn:nir:stato:legge:2000-12-07;383
AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Naÿa Beretiü, has an annual Post Doc Researcher Grant at the Department of Architecture, Design
and Urbanism - DADU in Alghero, University of Sassari - UNISS, Italy. She has a PhD of Architecture
and Environment, MSc in Landscape Architecture and MSc in Urbanism and Regional Development
Planning. She assists laboratories about the design of urban spaces, town and territorial planning. She
is a fiduciary and project manager of Public art & Public space – PaPs program, having joined in 2012.
PaPs is an international, interdisciplinary, scientific, research and educational program of artistic design
of public space (an independent program of Faculty of Architecture, University of Belgrade, Serbia).
Tanja Congiu, Temporary Assistant Professor of Transports at the Department of Architecture,

Design and Urban Planning - University of Sassari. Civil engineer and Phd in land use and transport
planning, her research activity focuses on mobility and transport issues with a particular concern for
the interactions between built environment configuration, sustainable transport policies and trends in
walkability intended as central quality in the design of urban realm. Consultant for local authorities in
transport planning at different spatial levels based on sustainable mobility solutions. Latest
assignments: Mobility Plan for the Municipality of Alghero (ongoing); Responsible of accessibility issues
in the urban regeneration program of S.Avendrace district – Cagliari.
Alessandro Plaisant, is an assistant professor of Urban Planning at the Department of Architecture,

Design and Urban Planning, the University of Sassari and he held a PhD at Cagliari University. His
current research explores decision-making processes in public policymaking, strategic planning,
policies and tools pluralism-oriented, with the aim to re-think roles and modalities of public action in
urban governance and participation in policymaking at all scales. He combines his research activities,
carried out at the inter-university Laboratory of Analyses and Models for Planning (LAMP), with higher
education and international cooperation activities, as director of the II level International Master’s
Program “Advanced Methods and Tools for Sustainable Planning”, developed in academic cooperation
with Harbin Institute of Technology (China).

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PLACE BRANDING AS A TOOL
TO IMPROVE HERITAGE-LED
DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES FOR
A SUSTAINABLE TOURISM IN THE
SULCIS-IGLESIENTE REGION
ANNA MARIA COLAVITTI, ALESSIA USAI

e-mail: amcolavt@unica.it, a_usai@unica.it

Colavitti, A. M. & Usai, A. (2019). Place branding as a tool to improve heritage-led development strategies
for a sustainable tourism in the Sulcis-Iglesiente region. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature
6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
Place branding is becoming a highly political process used to form and force through policy
agendas. Similarly, in cultural districts, design stakeholder coalitions and policy networks are
shown to be relevant variables in the design process, especially in Italy. The paper focuses on
this aspect exploring the impacts that a substantial reorganization of the local institutional and
entrepreneurial network can produce on local place branding and the heritage-led strategies
already adopted, especially, in the case of geotourism, where partnership building is still
weak and linked to sender-controlled communication. The incidence of the administrative and
institutional reform on the local partnerships is assessed through a comparative analysis of the
place branding strategies set by the Local Tourism System (LTS), the Sardinia Geopark and
Sardinia Region for the Sulcis-Iglesiente region in light of the contemporary reform of the local
administrative and planning system and according to the framework elaborated by Colavitti and
Usai (2015) to operalise the partnership building strategy aspects in institutional place branding.
Finally, the paper outlines the most critical and challenging questions in order to develop a
competitive identity able to both influence and be i nfluenced by the local planning instruments
for cultural heritage.
KEYWORDS
Place Branding; Sustainable Tourism; Partnership Building Strategy
Place branding as a tool to improve heritage-led development strategies for a sustainable tourism in the…

1 CULTURAL DISTRICT DESIGN AND PLACE BRANDING TO SUPPORT

PARTNERSHIP BUILDING IN HERITAGE-LED DEVELOPMENT
STRATEGIES
The construction of a cultural heritage chain as a multi-level network made of districts, regions
and firms, is a complex path. It requires a stable form of government and a clear definition
of the roles assigned to the different nodes as to provide strategic unity and organizational
coordination to the network. This aspect is particularly relevant for contexts with a
predominance of small family-owned firms such as Italy. Here cultural districts have not
developed under the planning for the arts but thanks to the application of Becattini’s industrial
district idea to cultural heritage management, especially by Walter Santagata and Pier Luigi
Sacco. The research of the two authors on Italian regions, including Sardinia, has brought out
the peculiarities of the organizational models that govern the chain of cultural heritage, from
protection to valorisation, as well as the ability to generate "hybrid" districts linked to
technological innovation, agri-food and tourism. They bring together companies rooted in
different but complementary territories in terms of the supply chain or skills and provide them
a coordinated image and offer to compete on the market (Ferilli et al., 2017; Ponzini et al.,
2014; Sacco et al., 2013A, 2013B; Usai, 2016a, 2016b). The attempt is to produce narratives
that can anchor and, at the same time, push forward local identity introducing a new “ethic”
in territorial competition (Anholt, 2007). In this sense, place branding strategies built on the
concept of “competitive identity” by Anholt (2011, 2016) can be a useful mean to build a
coherent district image and a cooperative network taking it forward. “Competitive identity”
concept refers to a place as a representation, as “physical-place-making” or both. In
particular, Anholt (2011, 2016) highlights three key elements that Destination Management
Organisations (DMOs) have to considered defining the competitive identity of a place: Strategy
(i.e. a clear idea about who a place is and who it want to be tomorrow, according to an
internal and external perception); Substance: the effective implementation of the Strategy
through several activities (economic, legal, political, social, cultural and educational); Symbolic
Actions: some activities characterized by an intrinsic communicative power and repeated for
a long time in order to protect DMOs’ Strategy from anonymity.
The greatest challenge in Strategy development is reconciling needs and expectations of
different actors leading them toward goals which must be both inspiring and feasible (Anholt,
2011, 2016). At this purpose, Hankinson (2010) proposes a participation-based approach in
which the DMOs are renamed as Place Branding Organisation (PBOs). PBOs work following
the hexagon of competitive identity created by Anholt (2011, 2016) and guide local authorities

© 2019, FedoaPress

A.M. Colavitti, A. Usai
towards the best strategy to attract visitor and investors and involve local residents - while
traditionally, local authorities opt for standard solution, like mass advertising. Colavitti and
Usai (2015) define this activity of networking as partnership building strategy.
Partnership building is also a pillar of sustainable tourism. Fostering harmonious relationships
among local communities, the private sector, not-for-profit organizations, academic
institutions, and governments at all levels as well as developing management practices and
philosophies that protect natural, built, and cultural environments while reinforcing positive
and economic growth, are the main challenges in managing sustainable tourism (Edgell Sr,
2016). Soulard et al. (2018) suggest that the stakeholder support in destination strategic plans
increases as bonding and bridging social capital intensifies. Similarly, Lakner et al. (2018),
with reference to Hungary, indicate the inclusion of different interest groups and long-term
prognoses in local decision making as factors to minimise the environmental burden of
tourism. Vice versa, Mc Camley and Gilmore (2018) prove that weak coordination, in terms of
strategic marketing planning, has negative implications for heritage tourism in terms of
strategic orientation, resource allocation, products and services development and destination
promotion.
In the geotourism sector destinations have to conserve the very resources that make them
attractive to be successful in the long term; so any marketing and planning for the destination
also has to pursue responsibility and sustainability goals. Place branding creates destination
loyalty using techniques such as “heritage interpretation” to generate tourist income
responsibly and sustainably for local communities (Hart Robinson, 2015). Despite this, the
projected image of geosites is often a deliberately constructed form of communication or
grounded in authority-led projects (Chan & Zhang, 2018). The geoparks' image is often the
result of a “sender controlled communication” which concerns the primary communication
(the communicative effects of actions taken by institutions) and secondary communication
(the official communication issued by institutions). Colavitti and Usai (2015) illustrate these
dynamics through the case of the Sulcis-Iglesiente region in Sardinia (IT) where an extensive
recovery of industrial archeology sites took place after the crisis of the mines in the Seventies
and Eighties.
The historical region of Sulcis-Iglesiente is included, along with the Guspinese territory, in the
area n.8 of the Sardinia Geopark (see Fig. 1). The authors chose this territory for the following
reasons:
− it holds a considerable quote of the heritage belonging to the Geomining Historical and
Environmental Park of Sardinia (hereafter: Sardinia Geopark);
− it was the object of two communication campaigns between 2006 and 2009: the first
campaign was organized by the Local Tourism System (LTS), a body created by the

© 2019, FedoaPress


Carbonia-Iglesias Province and supported by the Sardinian Geopark and other private
organizations. The second campaign was directly promoted by the Sardinian Geopark
Consortium and monitored by the European Geoparks Network (EGN).
Fig.1 The Sulcis-Iglesiente historic region and the area no.8 of the Sardinian Geopark
(Source: Elaboration by the authors)
The valorization of local mining sites at cultural-tourism purposes has led to the formation of
various institutional networks on the local scale. Firstly, the networks of local institutions,
companies and associations belonging to the Sardinia Geopark which, since 2007, is part of
the European Geoparks Network (EGN) and, since November 2015, of the UNESCO Global
Geoparks Network (GGN). Secondly, the aggregation of institutions, companies and
cooperatives which have born thanks to regional policies for cultural tourism: from integrated
planning interventions (PIA CA 07 Sud-Ovest. Sistema Turistico, PIA CA 01 Ovest - North-
West - Repairing Interventions for the harbor infrastructure: Interventi di ripristino delle
infrastrutture portuali) to interventions supported by the Regional Law 4/2000 art. 38, up to
the Sulcis Inter-communal Strategic Plan (Sistema Integrato di Gestione Beni Culturali e
Ambientali Sulcis – Iglesiente). Finally, the Sulcis-Iglesiente LTS, an institution created in 2006
by the Carbonia-Iglesias Province, which includes the Geopark and other actors of the tourism
sector.

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The LTS and the Geo-mining Park have represented the main PBOs of the territory and have
contributed to the construction of the Sulcis-Iglesiente district image in the context of local
tourism strategies for the heritage (Colavitti & Usai, 2015).
The 2010 Provincial Urban Plan was essential to the creation and strengthening of these PBOs
because it established the “Provincial historical-cultural heritage networks” (Provincia di
Carbonia Iglesias, 2010). Furthermore, in December 2009, Sardinia Region published a call
for tenders for the funding of integrated landscape programs in implementation of the
planning guidelines for the RLP. The mechanism of participation adopted in the call for tenders
is interesting because it saw the competition between neighboring municipalities – belonging
to the same landscape unit and represented by a common leader. Among the twelve programs
funded in 2011 there is “Sulcis: landscapes of work”, a program presented by the Municipality
of Portoscuso in a network with the Municipalities of Carbonia, Gonnesa, San Giovanni
Suergiu, which provides for the conservation and redevelopment of the industrial archeology
of coal mining infrastructure for sustainable tourism1. In 2012, with the Plan for Sulcis, the
Sardinia Region proposed again the network logic adopted for integrated landscape programs
in various calls, pushing the municipalities, public bodies and companies of the Sulcis-
Iglesiente region to cluster2. In particular, local businesses operating in the cultural heritage
supply chain have joined together to create new economic operators with a network structure
- also to cope with the reduction in public spending and the decline in tourism recorded
between 2012 and 2013 (Colavitti & Usai, 2015; Curto et al., 2014). According to the
networking dynamics emerged in the Sulcis-Iglesiente case study, Colavitti and Usai (2015,
p.156) provides a new definition of partnership building strategy as "the set of links that a
PBO established or plan to establish with local and supra-local actors through formal
agreements or joint activities in order to ensure Substance and, therefore, Symbolic Actions
to the competitive identity they intend to build and implement for a specific place”.
2 METHODOLOGY
Literature on cultural heritage district design and place branding both recognize the
involvement of public actors as an important variable in defining the place branding strategies
for the future of a place, especially when the same public actors are or act as the main PBOs
in the region. Despite this, only a few studies address this issue from the opposite point of
view questioning: (1) the impacts that institutional changes can have on the heritage-led

1
http://www.regione.sardegna.it/documenti/1_19_20111221130928.pdf (02.02.2019)
2
http://www.regione.sardegna.it/documenti/1_73_20120918143145.pdf (02.02.2019)

© 2019, FedoaPress


strategies already undergoing and (2) the effective capacity of public actors in reducing the
negative outputs and reorienting such strategies.
Geotourism represents an ideal research field because it is a sector where public actors and
sender-controlled communication have a prevalent role. This is the case of Sulcis-Iglesiente
region where both the local PBOs are linked to the local governments, as illustrated by Colavitti
and Usai (2015). Furthermore, in 2014 the Delrio3 law changed the Italian institutional
architecture. In Sardinia it led to the establishment of the Cagliari Metropolitan Area and a
new division of the regional territory into four provinces: Nuoro, Oristano, Sassari and South
Sardinia4. The new Province of Southern Sardinia5 replaces the old province of Carbonia-
Iglesias, administrated by an external commissioner until new elections (scheduled for spring
2019) (see Fig. 2).
Fig.2 The Carbonia-Iglesias Province and the new South-Sardinia Province

(Source: Elaboration by the authors)
As a consequence, the LTS have been dismantled and the Sardinia Geopark has become the
only PBO in the area while the regional government has set a new strategy for tourism to
coordinate the local PBOs. These events, not covered by Colavitti & Usai (2015), make the

3
L.56/2014.
4
L.R.15/2013, L.R. 24/2014 art.19, L.R.7/2015, L:R:2/2016
5
https://www.provincia.sudsardegna.it (22.02.2019)

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Sulcis-Iglesiente area the ideal case study in order to explore how institutional actors can
influence/reorient the heritage-led strategies already undergoing. For this reason, the paper
recalls the methodological framework and the case study of Colavitti & Usai (2015) and, in
the same line of research, trying to illustrate what happens after to the local PBOs and their
heritage-led strategies.
The incidence of the administrative and institutional reform on institutional place branding
and on the Sardinian Geopark’s image is assessed through a comparative analysis of the place
branding strategies set by the local PBO (the Sardinia Geopark) and the Sardinia Region after
2014, also in light of the contemporary reform of the Regional Landscape Plan (RLP).
The comparison is carried out according to the framework elaborated by Colavitti and Usai
(2015) to operalise the partnership building strategy concept in institutional place branding
(see Tab. 1). In particular, we analyse the activities listed in the periodic Progress Reports
sent by the Sardinia Geopark to the EGN (secondary communication sources) on the base of
Tab. 1. After, we discuss the outcomes in light of the provisions of the Strategic Plan for
Tourism by Sardinia Region (a primary communication source) and the data on tourism from
2014 to 2018.
PROMOTION MARKETING PARTNERSHIP BUILDING
1. Customer-oriented website 1. Offer-based programs 1. Local partnerships through

2. Media communication 2. Discounts by type of user specific projects
3. Co-marketing initiatives 3. Special formulations based 2. Joint planning of
4. Diffusion of the park image on time or type of visit interventions and policies in
within the territory 4. Educational renewable energy, research
workshops/events and training
Tab. 1 Analytical framework adopted in the study.
(Source: Colavitti & Usai, 2015)
3 PARTNERSHIP BUILDING IN HERITAGE-LED DEVELOPMENT

STRATEGIES FOR A SUSTAINABLE TOURISM: THE CASE STUDY OF
THE SULCIS-IGLESIENTE REGION
In 2014 the Delrio Law and the subsequent commissioner management of the Province of
Carbonia-Iglesias, have determined the disappearance of the LTS, one of the two PBOs
responsible for the tourist promotion of the Sulcis-Iglesiente area. The 2011-20136 activity
plan was not followed up and the tourism sector planning was entrusted to the South Sardinia
Province Tourist Office7, still under construction.

6
Approved with the Delibera di Giunta Provinciale n. 182 in 01.08.2011.
7
http://www.provincia.carboniaiglesias.it/aree-intervento/sistema-turistico-locale-sulcis-iglesiente

© 2019, FedoaPress


Skills in the area of land planning and management have also been transferred to the Province
of Southern Sardinia, in particular: The Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) procedures
for urban planning instruments, the territorial projects related to the old Provincial Urban Plan
– still in force and interventions for tourism development of the territory. The modified
institutional structure has also affected the governance of the Sardinia Geopark but it
continued with the place branding activity, which can be seen through the reports sent every
six months to the EGN8 (Fig. 3).
Fig. 3 Place branding activities carried out by Sardinia Geopark in the period 2014-2018
(Source: Elaboration of the authors on EGN Progress Reports)
The re-validation procedures of 2013 and 2017 for the maintenance of the European Geopark
and UNESCO Geopark labels were successful passed by the Sardinia Geopark. Some remarks
have been made regarding the structure of the park, which is still divided into eight areas,
although in 2014 its legal competence was extended to the entire regional territory9. The

8
http://www.europeangeoparks.org/?page_id=1060 (22.02.2019)
9
Resolution no. 34/10 of 02.09.2014 of the Autonomous Government of Sardinia extending the
jurisdiction of the Sardinia Geopark to the whole island territory.

© 2019, FedoaPress

recommendations in this sense of the European Geopark Network concerned: the production
of an updated cartographic and promotional documentation that gives visibility to the Geopark
as a regional reality; the description of the links between geology, culture and ecology values
and the synergies between these components outside the eight areas of the Sardinia Geopark;
the synergy between the Sardinia Geopark and the stakeholders outside the eight park areas;
active participation in the international geoparks networks10. The approval of the Management
Plan for Mining Sites on 21 st April 2018 enabled the first president of the park to be appointed
on 17thApril 2018 after eight years of commissioner management11.
Consistent with the National Strategic Plan for Tourism 2017-2022 of the Italian Ministry of
Culture, in 2018 the Sardinia Region adopted the Regional Strategic Tourism Plan 2018-2021
(STP), the reference document at the regional level for the destination management and
marketing. Compared to the past, the plan's vision was built through a participatory process12
with thematic work tables in different Sardinian municipalities (April-July 2018), the online
platform www.sardegnapartecipa.it and on desk analysis carried out by technical and scientific
consultants.
The Strategic Axis 1 of STP related to governance envisages the creation of a single regional
Destination Management Organization, called “DMO Sardinia” on which the territorial DMOs
depend. The Axis Strategic 12 related to the place branding proposes the establishment of a
Sardinia Brand as Brand Master and Umbrella Brand within which to place the destination,
product and territorial brands that can be developed by local DMOs and exploited by tour
operators. Although the marketing and distribution of the tourism offer is held by private
operators, the STP emphasizes the importance of public support and attributes to DMO
Sardinia the task of guiding and supporting Destination Management Companies (DMCs) in
the marketing and distribution of tourism products created by the DMO Sardinia and the
territorial DMOs. The Strategic Axis 7 is dedicated to sustainability (strategic objective 7.1)
and inclusion (strategic goal 7.2) for tourism. This axis is linked to the RLP as it regards the
protection of the territory and the environment. Responsibility for its implementation is mainly
assigned to the region, municipalities, DMO Sardinia and territorial DMOs (see Tab. 2).

10
The 2013 revalidation letter is available at:
http://www.parcogeominerario.eu/attachments/article/677/Lettera%20Zouros.pdf (22.02.2019). For the
2017 revalidation decision, see: UNESCO (2018). SC/EES/EGR/17/11537. Paris: UNESCO Global
Geoparks Council, 2nd session. Available at:
https://issuu.com/comissaonacionaldaunesco/docs/letter_and_report_of_the_unesco_glo (22.02.2019).
11
Parco Geominerario Storico Ambientale della Sardegna, Amministrazione trasparente, organizzazione,
organi di indirizzo politico: http://www.parcogeominerario.eu/index.php/amministrazione-trasparente-
1/organizzazione/848-organi-di-indirizzo-politico-amministrativo?lang=it (22.02.2019)
12
L.R. 16/2017 as modified by L.R. n. 23/2018.

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STRATEGIC AXIS 7. RESPONSIBILITY LOANSS PRIORITY

SUSTAINABILITY AND ACTION
INCLUSION
7.1 Eco-friendly Sardinia
7.1.1 Promoting efficiency in the 例 Region, Municipalities 例 Region
use of natural resources
7.1.2 Sardinia Responsible 例 Municipality, private 例 Municipalities
destination companies
7.1.3 Sustainable management of 例 Region, Municipalities, ฀ 例
beaches private companies
7.1.4 Incorporate sustainability 例 DMO Sardinia 例 DMO Sardinia
into tourism development
7.1.5 Spread of sustainability as 例 DMO Sardinia, 例 DMO Sardinia
a differential factor in Sardinia DMO Territorial,
Region
7.2 Sardinia Inclusive
Tourism
7.2.1 Handbook on Accessible 例 DMO Sardinia 例 Associations for 例
Tourism people with
disabilities
7.2.2 “Tourism for everyone” 例 Region 例 Co-financing of 例
the responsible
parties
7.2.3 Valorization and 例 Region (Council and ฀ 例
identification of accessible Department of
tourism and accommodation Tourism), DMO
facilities Sardinia
7.2.4 Professional training on 例 DMO Sardinia, Region 例 Region (ROP-ESF) 例
accessible tourism (Regional Labour
Agency)
7.2.5 Promotion of Sardinia as an 例 DMO Sardinia 例 DMO Sardinia 例
accessible tourism destination
Tab. 2 The role of DMO Sardinia and the territorial DMOs in sustainable tourism measures
(Source: Elaboration of the authors on RAS, 2018)
On February 24th, 2019, regional elections were held. The new government has not yet
formulated its program for the next five-year term. It is therefore not yet possible to know
whether the STP will be maintained as a regional planning document on tourism, if it will be
implemented in whole or in part, if it will be implemented in the manner established by the
previous council or according to different formulas. Meanwhile, data on the tourism offer for
2012-2016 period reveal the recovery of positions lost by the Carbonia-Iglesias Province in
2012-2013, with a slight but steady growth in the number of beds and arrivals. Nevertheless,
there was also a reduction in the number of visitors and, therefore, of the average stay of
visitors, which went from 4.1 days in 2011 to 3.2 days in 2016 with a decline of 0.9 days (for
Sardinia the decline was of 0.4 days) (see Tab. 3).

© 2019, FedoaPress

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Bedplaces
Sassari 32,837 30,085 30,189 34,168 34,168 33,455
Nuoro 19,539 19,228 18,796 18,769 18,769 19,031
Cagliari 40,687 40,475 36,779 42,050 46,158 44,237
Oristano 12,661 12,975 12,576 12,618 12,500 12,355
Olbia-Tempio 78,255 78,887 61,318 77,045 78,447 78,385
Ogliastra 13,691 13,969 13,898 13,767 14,071 14,062
Medio Campidano 2,720 2,628 2,661 2,780 2,473 2,503
Carbonia-Iglesias 6,612 6,324 5,467 5,656 5,634 5,868
Sardinia 200,390 198,247 176,217 201.197, 206,586 204,028
Average visiting
(days)
Sassari 4.0 4.0 4.5 4.2 4.2 4.1
Nuoro 6.2 6.1 5,4 5.3 5.5 5.3
Cagliari 4.6 4.5 4.3 4.3 4.4 4,4
Oristano 3.2 3.3 3.1 3.1 3.1 3.1
Olbia-Tempio 6.1 6.1 6.0 5.7 5.6 5.5
Ogliastra 6.2 6.2 5.9 5.6 5.5 5.4
Medio Campidano 3.6 3.6 2.4 2.5 2.4 2.2
Carbonia-Iglesias 4.1 4.1 3.6 3.4 3.3 3.2
Sardinia 5.1 5.1 4.9 4.8 4.7 4.7
Tab.3 Touristic offer in Carbonia-Iglesias Province

(Source: Elaboration of the authors on Istat data)
4 RESULT DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

The LTS and the Geo-mining Park were responsible for improving the knowledge and
intelligibility of the local landscape through a place branding built on a diversified offer
(cultural, environmental and tourist-recreational) in order to satisfy local and foreign users
(Colavitti & Usai, 2015). Despite this, in the study some criticisms of the local cultural and
tourist system have emerged. First, the prominent role played by public institutions in local

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networks and in their establishment, in this case the Sardinia Geopark, the Local Tourism
System and, recently, the Sardinia Region with the STP. A feature that derives from a too
institutionalized and institutionalized vision of the cultural district that relates the emergence
of extra-regional entrepreneurial clusters solely to the internationalization policies adopted by
the public administrations (Ponzini, 2015; Usai, 2016b). Second, the local business networks
that, despite being sufficiently articulated and diversified and having a propulsive role in the
tourist enhancement of the sites, maintain a "one to one" approach in the destination
governance. Another critical element is the overlapping, in some cases redundancy of the
Destination Management Companies (DMCs) programming and also of the local PBOs until
2013. With the abolition of the Carbonia-Iglesias Province, in fact, the activity of the LTS was
interrupted and the Geopark remained the only PBO in the area, waiting for the South-Sardinia
Province Tourist Office to become operational. The activities carried out by the Geopark
between 2014 and 2018 focus on dissemination (publishing, video production, networking at
EGN and GGN events), education and training programs for schools, employees and tour
operators and partnership building. The promotion and marketing activities previously carried
out by the LTS, such as participation in events and trade fairs (e.g. the BIT in Milan), described
in Colavitti & Usai (2015), are almost completely missing. Meanwhile, the increase in arrivals
and the reduction in average stay, are indicative of a “hit and run” or weekend tourism,
opposite to the sustainability principles pursued by local policies.
The Regional Strategic Tourism Plan 2018-2021 (STP) recognizes these critical issues and
proposes as a response the construction of a unitary public governance (the Sardinia DMO)
to promote, guide and regulate the horizontal collaboration of local stakeholders (the
territorial DMOs) establishing priority interventions and their respective responsibilities.
However, the STP has not yet been able to put its Symbolic Actions into practice and even
less to rely on a stable local partnership, given the reform of the provincial administration. All
this does not seem well prefigured for the Sulcis-lglesiente region with respect to the definition
of a competitive identity, as described by Anholt (2007, 2016). In this sense, territorial and
urban planning offered an important contribution in the analysis and governance of territorial
dynamics, in the involvement of local communities through participatory methods. An element
that seems to have been seized and adopted by the regional administration in the construction
of the STP vision, unlike the past programming.
The case of Sulcis-Iglesiente regions suggests that a contamination of place branding with
participatory techniques of urban planning can improve the stakeholders’ involvement and,
vice versa, that the narratives developed in place branding can improve the communication
of local planning tools (aims, goals, provisions, etc.). Thus, mixing participatory techniques
from collaborative urban planning and communication techniques from place branding can be

© 2019, FedoaPress

the key for the public institutions in the geotourism sector to influence/reorient the heritage-
led strategies already undergoing. A fundamental aspect for the future Geopark Territorial
Coordination Plan, above all in the aspects concerning economic and productive activities that
pursue sustainable environmental and cultural tourism for local communities. As pointed out
by the EGN, in fact, the extension of the park's legal competence to the entire region must
pass through a greater synergy between the Sardinia Geopark and the stakeholders residing
outside the eight park areas and through a cartography that can describe these human ties,
in addition to the geological, cultural and ecological values of the park.
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(Italy). In Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development, 5(2), 151-175. doi:
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as a social catalyst in urban regeneration processes (and when it does not). European Planning Studies,
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.org/10.1075/ts.4.2.06rob

© 2019, FedoaPress


Hankinson, G. (2010). Place branding theory: a cross-domain literature review from a marketing
perspective. In G. Ashworth, & and M. Kavaratzis (Eds), Towards Effective Place Brand Management.
Branding European Cities and Regions,(pp.15-35). Cheltenham - UK: Edward Elgar
Lakner, Z., Kiss, A., Merlet, I., Oláh, J., Máté, D., Grabara, J., & Popp, J. (2018). Building Coalitions
for a Diversified and Sustainable Tourism: Two Case Studies from Hungary. Sustainability, 10(2018),
1090; doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/su10041090
McCamley, C., & Gilmore A. (2018). Strategic marketing planning for heritage tourism: a conceptual
model and empirical findings from two emerging heritage regions. Journal of Strategic Marketing,
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Ponzini, D. (2015). Cultural policy making by networking. In S. Hristova, M. DragićevićŠešić, M. DragiEv

and N. Duxbury (Eds.), Culture and Sustainability in European Cities: Imagining Europolis (pp.100-
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analysis and policy making? Twocases in NorthernItaly”. City, Culture and Society, 5(2014),75-85. doi:
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Territoriale di Coordinamento. Relazione Illustrativa (pp.46-48), Cagliari: Criteria s.r.l.
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Development Processes: System-Wide Cultural Districts I: Theory. Growth and Change, 44(4), 555–
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/j.tourman.2018.06.011
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and development, Bruxelles: PIE - Peter Lang. ISBN 9782807601925
AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Anna Maria Colavitti is Associate Professor in Urban Planning at the Department of Civil,
Environmental Engineering and Architecture (DICAAR) – University of Cagliari (IT) and PhD in Urban
Planning. She teaches Fundamentals of Urban Planning, Urban and Regional Planning. She is member
of the Scientific Board of the PhD Programme in Territorial planning and Urban Development. Her
research focuses on recent developments in cultural heritage, environmental and urban planning with

© 2019, FedoaPress

particular attention to local development approaches, integrated area-based programs and territorial
governance processes.
Alessia Usai is Civil Engineer and PhD in Technology for the Preservation of Architectural and
Environmental Heritage. She researches at the Department of Civil, Environmental Engineering and
Architecture (DICAAR) – University of Cagliari (IT). Her research focuses on the relationship between
cultural heritage and urban planning according to the creative city principles and the landscape
approach outlined by the European Landscape Convention to identify best practices for the
development of innovative cultural policies and new urban regeneration tools.

© 2019, FedoaPress

WALKABILITY AS A TOOL FOR
PLACE-BASED REGENERATION:
THE CASE STUDY OF IGLESIENTE
REGION IN SARDINIA (ITALY)
CHIARA GARAU, GIANLUCA MELIS

e-mail: cgarau@unica.it, gianlucamelis@uniss.it

Garau, C. & Melis, G. (2019). Walkability as a tool for place-based regeneration: the case study of Iglesiente
region in Sardinia (Italy). In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature and ecosystem services (pp. 943-
ABSTRACT
The paper aims at exploring an extension of the concept of walkability to the rural contexts,
focusing on the case study of the territory of Iglesiente, in Sardinia (Italy). The walkability
paradigm is an operational framework of increasing interest in the field of urban planning, due
to the intrinsic ability to read, in an innovative way, the accessibility approach and the mobility
in the city between urban facilities. Nevertheless, it remains an open and slightly explored topic
in rural and low-density contexts. The territory of the Iglesiente has a patrimony of nature and
history of great interest for the peculiar relationship between the environmental and anthropic
components related to the past mining activity: the city followed the production in the places
where the mineral resources were present. Settlements in the Iglesiente area today appear
poorly organized and fragmented both on the territorial and urban scale. In particular, each
of the villages, which has undergone the strong impulse to grow by mining production, today
shows an unresolved relationship with the places that were once dedicated to production, this
even if many mining sites after long years of oblivion have recently restored and opened to
the touristic fruition. The objective of this article is to focus the research on the inversion of
the relationship between mining towns and places of production, rethinking and adapting the
interpretative categories of walkability to rural c ontexts. The definition of paths inspired by the
criterion of walkability to re-establish a relationship between Iglesiente area settlements and
restored mining sites as urban facilities, appears to be a point of interest for a new interpretation
of urban quality.
KEYWORDS
Walkability; Mining Landscape; Mining sites; Iglesente; Sardinia
C. Garau, G. Melis
1 INTRODUCTION
In the regional and urban planning literature, walkability is a measure of how easy and safe
it is to walk in the urban environment (Forsyth, 2015; Rattan et al, 2012). Walkability is also
investigated through various variables such as urban density, land use mix, connectivity, and
urban morfology in general (Zaninović et al., 2019).
Shengxiao et al. (2019) underline that "city planning agencies often aim to improve walkability
through various design strategies, planning more services and recreational facilities [...], and
improving the sense of community [...] by preserving [...] the urban landscape" (Shengxiao
et al. 2019).
Thus, walkability is generally an urban concept, but, according to Giles-Corti et al. (2019) and
Hajna (2015), can be adopted also in rural contexts and small regional cities.
For these reasons, the authors intend to deepen and explore the concept of walkability in
Iglesente area, a particular context in Sardinia where, an historical and powerful mining
activity, left traces in the environment, in the social context, and in the morphology of rural
settlements. The peculiarities of this settlement system, in which the development was driven
by mining phenomenon, are in contrast with the pre-existing rural environment, strongly
related to the environmental opportunities (Angelillo, 2018).
In fact, the mining towns of the Iglesiente region, were born as a subordinate element to the
production and for this reason, at the time of the cessation of this activity, they found
themselves substantially without their raison d'être. In other words, the condition for which
the city pursued the development of the mine - and not vice versa - was happened, and the
exhaustion of mineral deposits (as well as the changing economic conditions) marked the
decline and, for some cases such as Montevecchio, the death of those cities born due to
mining activity.
This has led and still leads to the need for reconstruction of the relationship between mining
town and places of past production, reversing the hierarchy: the driving element must be the
settlement with its territorial force and its critical mass of inhabitants. Thus, the places of
production assume the semantic power of places full of history that inspire new forms of use
and interpretation of the landscape.
Generally, the Iglesiente mining structure with its facilities follows the industrial organizational
criteria. Its development is linked to a decontextualized culture, characterized by a condition
of isolation, because of communication difficulties and based on specific technical and
scientific principles. The construction of a mine, often distant and decentralized with respect
to the city, imposes itself, in most cases, on the pre-existing rural livelihood economies.

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Walkability as a tool for place-based regeneration: the case study of Iglesiente region in Sardinia (Italy)

In this regard, the starting point of this paper comes from the flow of workers who daily
moved from the places of residence to the places of production, linking the settlement and
mine in a unidirectional semantic relationship. Today, the trace of this flow can be re-read as
the privileged path through which the mining past becomes the identity way on which to
reconstruct, reversing, the relationship between the city and its territory.
The territorial analysis showed how the places of mining production, redeveloped and open
to fruition, have become important centers of tourism promotion of the territory linked both
to industrial archeology and to the intrinsic environmental and landscape value of the places.
These centers, which today play an important role in the construction of a new identity for
the whole territory, are however punctual and disconnected elements, lacking the direct
relationship with the settlements to which they were historically linked.
These connections, if rethought to serve the historical settlement, show the potential to re-
establish the relationship mine-mining village, reversing the semantic roles of the two
elements. To this end, it is necessary that these connections have the typical characteristics
of urban environments, to bring the restored mining sites at the role of urban places. The
determination of these characteristics is one of the central elements of the present operational
proposal that rethinks the variables used for walkability in urban environments according to
the most natural contexts. Based on these premises, the article intends to propose a system
of interpretative categories, based on GIS analysis and based on the paradigm of walkability
as a tool for the development and rebalancing of the territory.
In other terms, the aim of this paper is to extend the concept of walkability particularly to
low-density settlements, by adopting an operative framework that considers the
environmental and anthropic components to be strictly correlated. This link is strongly true
for the mining industries. In fact, as the industrial city born as a place of production in order
to minimize the distance between the manpower and the factory sites (Mistretta & Garau,
2013; Talia, 2007), in the same way the genesis of the mining sites is represented by a first
core of services to the complex and dangerous extraction activity, and then the same minining
sites are constituted by also the settlements of workers with their families.
The study context, strongly characterized in its main components, is described in the first part
in order to have the theoretical and conceptual bases for the subsequent development of the
proposed methodology. The results obtained will first be discussed in general in the paragraph
describing the results and subsequently interpreted in the conclusions.

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C. Garau, G. Melis
2 THE CASE STUDY OF IGLESIENTE IN THE REGION OF SARDINIA

(ITALY)
The Sulcis-Iglesiente region (Fig. 1), located in the south-west part of Sardinia (Italy) has
mining basins that in the past were among the most important in Western Europe. In fact,
the quantities of minerals produced reached world-wide levels, representing for almost two
centuries one of the most important economic activities on the island.
Fig. 1 The Sulcis-Iglesiente area
The cultivation activities of the metalliferous veins ceased completely about thirty years ago
(the formal closure of the last active mine dates back to 1991), and the disposal process left
on the territory both an extraordinary heritage of industrial archeology (consisting of
residential and industrial buildings, machinery, open-air excavations, tunnels, etc.) and a
social and settlement system, now lacking its main raison d'etre.
Therefore, the development of the Sardinian mining industry not only created wealth and
employment for over a century (starting from 1848 with the extension to Sardinia of the
mining law of June 30, 1840, already in force for all the other contexts of the Savoy kingdom);

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but permanently raised the level of education and the class consciousness (the Buggerru
motions of 1905 represent a significant case on the European scale).
However, it left as a inheritance the compromise of extensive portions of territory, in particular
in the Sulcis-Iglesiente area, creating a settlement and identity "emptiness" that has inevitably
led the areas under study to a today's phase of necessary strategic choice for the natural
decadence of the environment (due to environmental dynamics, toxic residues, system
fragility) and existing structures (Peghin, 2018).
In Sulcis-Iglesiente, as in the rest of the world, mining complexes settled where resources are
present and this often leads them to distant places separated from the urban contexts, in
places dominated by the natural component. This determines a condition of isolation, caused
not only by the difficulties of communication, but also by the differential relationship with
respect to the host context linked to the extraction processes in the environmental context.
This led to the definition of the concept of mining habitat (Sanna, 2014), as a whole connected
to the system of extractive infrastructures, and also to all the works and elements, including
natural ones, functional to the cultivation process.
Considering the complexity of the entire mining system in Sulcis-Iglesiente, the authors
analyse, as a case study, the historical region of the Iglesiente (constituted by the
municipalities of Bugerru, Domusnovas, Fluminimaggiore, Gonnesa, Iglesias, Musei and
Villamassargia). Fig. 2 shows how the territories of these municipalities were affected by the
mining activity (a total of 12.3% of their overall extension) and the extension of the density
of mining concessions (78%) not related to the coal extraction.
Fig. 2 The red border indicates the Iglesiente Region in Sardinia (Italy) with its envelope of mining area and its mining
concessions

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C. Garau, G. Melis
The area under study was therefore characterized by the mining of metalliferous minerals
which characterized its settlement history. The infrastructure linked to the extraction process
in the Iglesiente area had, in general:
− an industrial settlement (for example, constituted by castles of extraction, turner lathe
areas, offices, laboratories, laundry, silos, storage, social places, power production and
transformation plant, etc. etc.);
− landfills for tailings and muds;
− transport infrastructure for the mineral and its aggregates as well as for the water used
for processing and processing plants;
− a civil settlement (workers' homes, shop, management).
The settlement components connected to the extraction and mining processes and their
placement within wide reference territorial areas, have, over time, left an industrial and civil
heritage, not very populated, with a non-functional connective - infrastructural network, but
particularly significant for the relations with the environmental system. Dismissal,
redevelopment, recovery and reclamation are therefore terms that identify this territory, which
still today has profound environmental, social, economic and managerial effects (Peghin,
2006).
3 METHODOLOGY
The specific purpose of this contribution is to define a system of interpretative categories
capable of extending the concept of walkability from the urban to the rural context as an
operational tool to reconnect renewed mining sites, villages, and the environmental and
natural contexts.
In this regard and considering the area under study, the authors refer to the application of
the walkability concept to a micro urban level, working on the direct relationship between the
individual and the context also through the concepts of perception, efficiency, sense of
security, and pleasantness of the path. In particular, the literature indicates three main
categories of interpretation for the definition of walkability in an urban context: 1) the number
of destinations of urban interest/opportunities within walking distance; 2) their distance, and
3) the quality of pedestrian routes to these destinations (Blečić et al., 2015; Forsyth, 2015;
La Riccia et al., 2019).
These categories are thus rethought by the authors, considering the peculiarities of the
context under study: 1) the elements of cultural value in urban centers with a significant
number of inhabitants present in the rural context (the number of inhabitants is important
because is the critical mass on which to base the concept of the place-based city renewal to

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which authors are referring) and the valuable elements of the mining habitat; 2) their distance,
and 3) the quality of the path, taking into account both the comfort along it (slope) and the
environmental richness (natural elements of value).
All the elements were analyzed in a GIS environment, due to a specific territorial information
system organized on contents capable of relating both layers related to (1) the mining habitat
(mining concessions, mining works, envelopes of the areas subjected to processing, historical
mapping); (2) the natural heritage (rivers, coastline, protected areas, vegetation cover); (3)
the anthropic dimensions (census analysis on the population in the time horizons of the
censuses, mapping of the services present in the territory); and (4) accessibility with existing
fruition infrastructures, such as roads, tourism and/or religious paths, such as the Mining path
of Santa Barbara (Cammino Minerario di Santa Barbara).
4 RESULTS
The methodological criteria presented allowed the identification (1) of potential points of
interest for each of the smaller villages with a significant resident population and (2) of a
system of paths with the characteristics defined by the extension of the concept of walkability
from the urban environment to the rural one (Fig. 3 and 4).
Fig. 3 Walkable reconnection proposal in Fluminimaggiore area

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C. Garau, G. Melis
Fig. 4 Walkable reconnection proposal in Nebida - Masua area
The analyzed villages were the most isolated but most populous ones in the Iglesiente area
(Fluminimaggiore, Nebida and Buggerru). The main center of Iglesias was not considered in
the present analysis for the differences in scale, in fact the resident population exceeds the
others centers of an order of magnitude showing distinctly urban characters and a
regenerative potential that the smaller centers do not possess.
Thinking about destinations, each of the selected centers showed, in its compact urban fabric,
at least one valuable identity element linked to the mining context. The analysis around the
centers in question - considering the elements of the mining heritage now redeveloped and
open, able to be used as an element of the mining town to be reconnected with new meanings
to the urban context - was limited to a distance of 3 km, because the literature identified it
as the threshold beyond which the alternative of walking on foot loses interest compared to
the use of cars (Lefebvre-Ropars et al., 2017).
It was thus possible to identify for the three centers in question an origin within the urban
center and a destination of high interest at a distance of less than 3 km. This, together with
the analysis of the connections historically present between the town and the elements of the
mining heritage used by the workers and functional to the productive phenomenon, and to
the comparison with the current state of the places and with the results of the environmental

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analysis of the context, has produced the definition of a walkable itinerary of reconnection
between urban and places of mining production now in the inverted meaning that these show
of places of service to the city and no longer of only element for its existence.
This - together with (1) the state of the art of the place, (2) the analysis of the environmental
context and (3) the analysis of the historical connections between the town and the elements
of the mining heritage (used by the workers and functional to the productive phenomenon) -
produced the definition of a walkable path of reconnection between urban and places of
mining production, now in the inverted meaning of places of service to the city and no longer
of only element, important exclusively for its existence.
The last criterion - able to define the quality of the path in presence of valuable environmental
elements - was the analysis of the path's slope, calculated in a GIS environment. The analyses
conducted (Table 1) showed that the paths of reconnection between Fluminimaggiore and
Masua/Nebida with the respective elements of the mining heritage are the best in terms of
slope, seen as traveling comfort, while in the third town (Buggerru) the slope was excessive
for a structured path according to the paradigm of urban walkability.
MINING PATHS STARTING POINT ARRIVAL POINT LENGTH SLOPE
Buggerru Miner's Museum Entrance to the Henry 1 km 11 %

Gallery
Fluminimaggiore Church of St. Anthony of Padua su Zurfuru Mine 2,5 km 6-8 %
Nebida/Masua Exhibition of Mine Machines Porto Flavia 2,9 km 6-8 %
Tab. 1 Paths of reconnection of Buggerru, Fluminimaggiore and Masua/Nebida
5 CONCLUSION
The territory of the Iglesiente has a place-based system, inherited from the mining activity
and constituted by networks of connection between elements and places of the landscape,
which takes a particular semantic value in the context in question. The inversion of the
relationship between mining villages and places of mining production, explicit in the proposed
methodological approach, constituted the operational starting point and a possible
interpretation for a territory, such as that of the Iglesiente area, which is reconstructing its
identity on a new reading of the mining landscape.
The extension to the rural contexts of the system of interpretative categories, based on the
paradigm of urban walkability, allowed to explore operationally some minor centers of the
Iglesiente, enhancing the old mining paths, as detail elements of an existing macro-path (the
Mining path of Santa Barbara - Cammino Minerario di Santa Barbara).

© 2019, FedoaPress

C. Garau, G. Melis
This has been pursued through the definition of privileged paths that bring the mining town
closer to the places of production, reversing the consolidated relationship, of complete
semantic dependence between the mining city and its production area. The reasoning on the
planning and the descent of the scale remain open to make these connection lines as public
spaces of use of the city. The future research proposal will start from this point, with the
strategic planning of the identified paths seen as a new accessibility framework, so as to be
able to include another small tourist connection to the more consolidated Mining path of Santa
Barbara. In addition, the scale design descent will give authors the possibility of identifying
other paths of tourist fruition.
This paper is the result of the joint work of the authors. ‘Results’, and ‘Conclusions’ were
written jointly by the authors. Chiara Garau wrote the ‘Introduction’, and ‘Methodology’.
Gianluca Melis wrote the ‘The Case Study of Iglesiente in the Region of Sardinia (Italy)’. Chiara
Garau revised the whole paper and checked for its comprehensive consistency.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
to SmarT urbanism – GHOST (Project code: RBSI14FDPF; CUP Code: F22I15000070008),
reflect the views of the MIUR. This work was also supported by the the Regione Autonoma
Sardegna (RAS) through the project entitled "TSulki: Turismo e Sostenibilità nel Sulcis" -
Delibera Cipe n. 31 del 20.02.2015 e Deliberazione n. 52/36 del 28.10.2015 “Progetto
strategico Sulcis” – progetti di ricerca pubblico-privati.
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https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-10612-6_19
AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Chiara Garau is Assistant Professor of Urban and Regional Planning at the DICAAR (Department of
Civil and Environmental Engineering and Architecture) of the University of Cagliari, Italy. She was a
member of the scientific and organizing committee of the YA AESOP (Young Academics—Association
of European Schools of Planning, 2011–2013). She was a scientific and technical adviser for the Smart
Cities Observatory of Rome (2013–2014), and in June 2015, she received the Best Paper award at
ICCSA 2015 with a paper entitled Benchmarking Smart Urban Mobility: A Study on Italian Cities. In
2015, She won a national research competition (the SIR call proposal—Scientific independence of
young researchers, Domain SH—of the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research) with the
GHOST project ("Governing the smart city: a governance-centred approach to smart urbanism"). She

© 2019, FedoaPress

C. Garau, G. Melis
is author of over 70 scientific publications, including monographs, conference proceedings, and articles
in books and national and international journals.
Gianluca Melis, is an environmental engineer. He took his PhD in Architecture and Planning (2010),
and mainly deals with territorial information systems applied to spatial planning, impact assessment
and planning. In his work as an engineer he deals with the development of innovative models in the
GIS environment, especially aimed at the assessment of environmental and landscape impacts but, in
general, the spatial modeling of various anthropic and natural phenomena. His main fields of interest
concern the tools and techniques of wide area territorial planning implemented operationally in GIS,
he usually deals with Spatial Analysis, Territorial Analysis, Landscape, Parks and Protected Areas,
Environmental and territorial planning, Support Systems to decisions, geographic information systems.

© 2019, FedoaPress

THE USE OF RECYCLED
AGGREGATES IN THE
IMPLEMENTATION OF MUNICIPAL
MASTERPLANS AND COASTAL
LAND-USE PLANS
A STUDY CONCERNING SULCIS (SARDINIA, ITALY)
FEDERICA LEONE, ANANIA MEREU

e-mail: federicaleone@unica.it
ananiamereu@gmail.com

Leone, F. & Mereu, A. (2019). The use of recycled aggregates in the implementation of municipal masterplans
and coastal land-use plans: A study concerning Sulcis (Sardinia, Italy). In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.),
10.6093/978-88-6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
Nowadays, several plans such as municipal masterplans, coastal land use plans and management
plans of Natura 2000 sites focus on different aspects of the same territory. Some plans aim
at social and economic development of cities, others to nature preservation. An integrated
approach in the definition of these planning strateg ies could pursue social, economic and
environmental sustainability. This study aims at de fining a methodological approach to support
decision-making processes in developing short, medium, and long-term strategies in relation to
the issue of sustainable accessibility to coastal zones and to the inclusion of recycled aggregates
in local spatial planning. In this context, strategic environmental assessment represents an
important methodological framework to integrate objectives and strategic issues deriving from
spatial planning and environmental management within the planning processes. Inconsistencies
between plans’ objectives and actions are examined, trying to define impacts on the use of
recycled aggregates. Moreover, a method to quantitatively define demand for recycled aggregates
based on municipal masterplans data is presented. The proposed methods are implemented in
relation to three municipalities of the Sulcis area in the Sardinia Region.
KEYWORDS
Recycled Aggregates; Coastal Land-Use Plans; Natura 2000 Sites
F. Leone, A. Mereu
1 INTRODUCTION
According to the European Environmental Agency (2013) around 40 percent of the European
population lives within a 50-km buffer zone from the coast. In fact, coastal areas, conceived
as zones where human activities interact with coastal and marine ecosystems (Papatheochari
& Coccossis, 2019), have always represented a pole of attraction for humans in terms of
natural resources, recreational activities and tourism, fishing, industry and transportation
(Neumann et al., 2015). The high population concentration and, therefore, the exploitation of
its natural resources have entailed significant socio-economic and environmental changes to
dynamic and fragile coastal-marine zones (Barragán & de Andrés, 2015).
From this point of view, coastal zones can be conceptualized as a social-ecological system
(Ostrom, 2009), where social and ecological dimensions are mutual dependent, by interacting
on multiple temporal and spatial scales (de Andrés et al., 2018; Greg et al., 2013). On the
one hand, human activities impact on ecological dynamics and, on the other hand, natural
processes, such as those caused by climate change, affect the provision of ecosystem services
to society (Lazzari et al., 2019). Therefore, in this perspective, ecosystem services address
human wellbeing (de Andrés et al., 2018).
The interactions between environment and society require an integrated approach that
combines strategies deriving from spatial planning with principles deriving from environmental
management (Boulos, 2016; Pittman & Armitage, 2016).
Integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) is a process, aimed at combining social and
economic development with preservation of natural and cultural resources (Pérez-Cayeiro &
Chica-Ruiz, 2015). In fact, ICZM has emerged as a dynamic, multidisciplinary and interactive
approach to deal with problems that affect coastal zones, by considering both fragility of
coastal ecosystems and the variety of existing activities (Khelil et al., 2019).
Transport and accessibility represent two key issues in the management of coastal areas for
two main reasons. First of all, transport infrastructures influence decisions on the location of
goods, services and human settlements, addressing socio-economic development of an area.
Secondly, accessibility influences peripherality, connecting residents and visitors. Sustainable
accessibility plays an important role in the management of coastal areas because it aims at
combining transport objectives with environmental protection and, therefore, it requires an
integrated approach (European Commission, 1999). On the other hand, current studies and
efforts focus on the reduction of road traffic and congestion without assessing the influence
of accessibility and transport within local planning processes. European Union (EU) policies
are mainly focused on environmental pollution reduction and on materials reuse and recycle.

© 2019, FedoaPress

The use of recycled aggregates in the implementation of coastal land-use plans: a study concerning Sulcis…

The newsletter no. 5205/2005 of the Italian Ministry for environment, land and sea protection
defines recycled material as “material from post-consumer construction and demolition
wastes” and includes between recycled materials “recycled aggregates obtained through
treatment of post-consumer inorganic wastes deriving from infrastructures and buildings
demolition and maintenance works” (article 1).
Moreover, at European and national level, different policies encourage the increase in the
recycled materials use. For example, the Law enacted by Decree no. 2010/205 established
that by 2020 the use of construction and demolition (C&D) wastes must increase by 70 percent
in terms of weight. The Law enacted by the Decree no. 203/2003 defines rules that must be
implemented by the regional government to obtain an use of recycled materials at least equal
to 30 percent of the annual need for materials in relation to public administrations and for
companies with a prevalent public shareholding.
However, despite these measures, the use of recycled aggregates (RA) is still limited within
public works. The use of RA shows different benefits, such as preventing the overexploitation
of natural aggregates that entails an economic saving and an improvement of environmental
preservation, and reducing waste disposal and illegally neglected waste. RA is primarily used
for sub-bases roads and embankments (Agrela et al., 2012; Poon & Dixon, 2006), as fillings
of quarries and dumps, and as aggregates for concrete (Pani et al., 2016; Rao et al., 2007;
Silva et al., 2014). In coastal areas, RA could be also used for the realization of foundations
of new piers and for their extension, such as in the port of La Spezia, in the Northern West
Italy (Legambiente, 2017).
In this context, Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) represents an important
methodological framework to integrate objectives and strategic issues deriving from spatial
planning and environmental management within planning processes from its starting phase,
by continuously assessing planning policies and their impacts in relation to environmental
protection and sustainable development (Leone & Zoppi, 2016; Sheate et al., 2001). SEA
aims, contents and procedures are defined by the EU Directive 2001/42/EC, henceforth SEA
Directive, and by the Law enacted by Decree no. 2006/152 that implements the SEA Directive
into the Italian legislation. Moreover, in Sardinia, in 2010 the regional administration
elaborated the Guidelines Manual to define a methodological approach to develop SEA-based
procedures in relation to the elaboration of municipal masterplans (MMPs).
This study aims at defining a methodological approach to support decision-making processes
in developing short, medium, and long-term strategies in relation to the issue of sustainable
accessibility to coastal zones and to the inclusion of RA in the local spatial planning. In
particular, this study analyzes and compares objectives and actions deriving from those plans
that regulate coastal zones at the local level through the methodological framework of SEA in

© 2019, FedoaPress

F. Leone, A. Mereu
relation to three local municipalities, Carloforte, Portoscuso and Calasetta, located in the Sulcis
area, in Southern-West Sardinia, Italy. Moreover, an assessment of the demand of RA in
relation to the entire territory of each municipality is carried out. This analysis may represent
a knowledge basis to address the definition of strategies and policies concerning the use of
RA within the MMPs.
The study is structured as follows. The second section defines the methodological approach
and describes the case studies for its implementation. Results are presented in the third
section and discussed in the last section (fourth section), where, in addition, concluding
remarks and directions for future research are proposed.
2 METHODOLOGY AND CASE STUDIES

The study focuses on two issues that should be taken into account by coastal areas planning:
i. sustainable accessibility to coastal zones; and ii. use of RA. The methodological approach is
structured into two main phases, and for each one, specific methods are defined and
implemented in relation to three Sardinian municipalities, Calasetta, Carloforte and
Portoscuso.
The first phase concerns the definition of a logical framework (LF) that aims at assessing the
relations between the different planning tools in force within coastal areas in order to
understand their degree of integration. For this reason, for each municipality the following
documents were analyzed: MMPs, coastal land use plans (CLUPs) and management plans
(MPs) of the Natura 2000 sites that totally or partially overlap the territory of each
municipality. In particular, the methodological definition of the LF is built on previous works
by Leone and Zoppi (2015a; 2015b; 2016), where objectives deriving from different spatial
plans and/or environmental plans are analyzed and compared in terms of internal consistency
and in relation to a sustainable-oriented objective within a methodological framework of SEA-
based procedures.
In fact, the Guidelines Manual suggests that the environmental analysis should include the
study of eleven environmental components. For each environmental component, one or more
sustainable-oriented objectives are defined in relation to the analysis of strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities and risks (SWOT analysis). In this study, we consider
sustainability-oriented objectives concerning the environmental components “mobility and
transport”. Table 1 shows the schematic representation of the proposed LF.
In our study the LF defined by Leone and Zoppi (2015b; 2016) is further implemented by
including the analysis of CLUPs (fourth column of Tab. 1.) and by evaluating the potentially
unfavorable impacts of the use of RA on the MP’s objectives (eighth column of Tab. 1).

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Tab. 1 Schematic representation of the Logical Framework (LF)
The second phase concerns an assessment of the municipal demand for RA and it is based
on the expected future interventions and expansions defined within the MMPs for a ten-year
period (Balletto et al., 2013). However, despite some studies (Balletto, 2005) are built on
experimental coefficients taken from the Sardinian regional plan of extractive activities, the
methodological approach proposed in this study is based on different assumptions, presented
in Tab.2.
RA QUANTITIES FOR NEW CONSTRUCTIONS RA QUANTITIES FOR MAINTENANCE
For each zone type of the MMP, we assume that every building reaches the maximum potential height
allowed by the planning implementation code of MMP.
Concrete quantity for maintenance works is
assumed equal to about 50-100
Quantities of demolition wastes are considered
kilograms/square-meter (Morabito, n.d.) and the
equal to quantities of construction material, from a
surface characterized by maintenance works is
minimum value of 1 ton/square-meter to a
assumed equal to 12 percent of the existing
maximum of 2 tons/square-meter (Morabito, n.d.)
surface of buildings in zones A, B and C
(Altamura, 2012)
Concrete weight is assumed equal to 30 percent of construction and demolition (C&D) wastes’ weight
(ARPA Veneto, n.d.)
For the aggregates quantity we assume 1.2 meter cubed of aggregates for each meter cubed of
concrete
Tab. 2 Assumptions related to the assessment of recycled aggregates in relation
to new constructions and maintenance
Moreover, since the Decree of the Ministry of infrastructure and transport of 17th January
2018 approves the Technical Standards for Construction that define the maximum percentage

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F. Leone, A. Mereu
of RA (30 percent) for C30/37 concrete, whereas 80 percent is conceived as a medium value
of RA in order to produce less strong concretes, these two different percentages are
considered in the definition of quantitative demand of RA for new constructions and
maintenance. To realize road bases, 100 percent of RA may be used.
The two proposed methodological phases are both implemented in three case studies:
Calasetta, Carloforte and Portoscuso (Fig. 1), three medium-size municipalities in South-
western Sardinia. All municipalities are characterized by the presence of two Natura 2000
sites.
Moreover, in order to determine RA demand for new road bases, we consider the relative
transfers of land according to Municipal Masterplans’ provisions and regional planning policies.

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3 INTEGRATION BETWEEN SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES RELATED TO MMP,

CLUP AND MP
The Tab. 3, 4 and 5 show an extract of the LF in relation to Carloforte, Calasetta and
Protoscuso, respectively.
All the LF present a general consistency between the MMPs’, CLUPs’ and MPs’ objectives in
terms of sustainable-oriented goals. However, potential conflicts or potentially unfavorable
impacts of MMPs’ and/or CLUPs’ actions on MPs’ objectives occur in few cases. Moreover, all
LFs do not show potentially negative impacts on the use of RA in relation to the MP’s
objectives. As regards the municipality of Carloforte, in relation to the theme “environmental
protection” no CLUP’s objectives are defined, despite the presence of a corresponding MP’s
goal. It could be due to different aspects that the two plans investigate. In fact, MPs focus on
the environmental protection and preservation within the site, whereas CLUPs examine the
coastal areas in relation to its tourism and recreational uses. Significant inconsistencies
concern the relationship between the actions AMMP 1.1 and AMMP 1.2 and the MP’s goals
OMP 1 and OMP 3. The first is related to the theme “services”, whereas the second to
“accessibility”. In relation to the objective OMP 1, tourist services should be managed without
compromising environmental protection, whereas actions AMMP 1.1 and AMMP 1.2 aim at
identifying residential and tourist expansion areas also in those zones characterized by
significant environmental peculiarities. Similarly, although MP promotes a sustainable use of
the site and its resources (OMP 3), the MMP defines tourist expansion zones. These new
settlements may worsen the conservation status of environmental peculiarities of those areas.
Similar considerations concern the inconsistency between the objective OMP 3 and the action
AMMP 1.2. In fact, the identification of new urbanized areas may entail a further degradation
of habitats with a consequent loss of biodiversity. A third and a fourth inconsistencies concern
actions AMMP 1.1 and AMMP 1.2 and objective OMP 4, and action ACZ 4.1 and the objective
OMP 4. The definition of new residential and tourist zones, as well as the provision of the
minimum service level in support of tourism in the most popular sandy and rocky beaches,
reflect a particular choice of the local municipality that obviously is in contrast with habitats
and species protection. In relation to RA, actions AMMP 1.1 and AMMP 1.2 offer an opportunity
for their use. At the moment, aggregates derived from C&D wastes have various uses such
as land fillings, road bases material or as filler material for pavement bases (Wijayasundara
et al., 2015), service areas’ foundations, material for piers. A less common use is related to
aggregates for concrete. In the last decades, researchers have studied the potentialities of
RA as aggregates for concrete, by comparing their futures to natural aggregates
characteristics. New expansion areas, as those defined by the MMP of Carloforte, may

© 2019, FedoaPress

F. Leone, A. Mereu
represent an opportunity to use RA for concrete and for roads’ foundations. In the case study
concerning the municipality of Calasetta, Tab. 4 shows several inconsistencies. CLUP’s action
ACZ 5.1 may generate conflicts with the goal OMP 5, since a new organization of parking
areas in relation to coastal area uses may transform some zones in the SAC “Punta Giunchera”,
entailing a loss of biodiversity. Human-induced activities is not always in line with natural
preservation objectives. A further critical issue is related to the relation between MMP’s actions
AMMP 7.1 and AMMP 7.2 and MP’s objective OMP 7, because realizing cycle and pedestrian
paths to link city center and coastal areas may increase the number of tourists, and visitors
in general, not avoiding an excessive anthropic load and interfering with SAC’s preservation
needs. In this case, accessibility has a positive value from tourist point of view and a negative
impact from nature point of view. Moreover, CLUP’s actions ACZ 5.1 and ACZ 6.1 are
potentially in contrast with OMP 7. In fact, the installation of floating docks and a new
organization of parking areas that takes into account only the issue of accessibility may
increase human presences in beaches causing a consequent obvious degradation of natural
resources. New parking areas implicitly entail the use of cars. On the other hand, promoting
the use of non-petrochemical vehicles may encourage more eco-friendly coastal tourism
developments (Davenport, Davenport, 2006). Installation of floating docks (action ACZ 6.1)
may expose marine areas, characterized by the presence of Posidonia oceanica, to
degradation (Objective OMP 6) because this action may entail an increase in the number of
boats, causing a deterioration of water characteristics.
Considering LF of Calasetta, no negative impacts on the use of RA is defined. Action AMMP
7.2 may have a potentially positive impact on the use of C&D wastes for building foundations
of cycle paths. As regards the municipality of Portoscuso, Tab. 5 shows a general consistency
between MMP’s objectives, CLUP’s objectives and MPs’ objectives. Moreover, no inconsistency
between MMP’s actions and MP’s specific objectives is present, probably because conservation
measures defined by MPs are included within the MMP. For example, the MMP of Portoscuso
classified the area of the SAC “Punta S’Aliga” as “H2” zone type, defined by the Regional
Landscape Plan (PPR) as landscape assets where only protection and conservation
interventions are allowed. On the other hand, two inconsistencies between CLUP’s actions
and MP’s objectives occur. The first inconsistency concerns the installation of ten floating
docks for leisure fishing (action ACZ 4.1) and the objectives OMP4 and OMP5. Both specific
goals focus on the protection of habitats and species of community interests by reducing
impact factors (OMP4) and by promoting spontaneous recovery processes (OMP5).
The installation of ten floating docks may impact on habitats and species conservation by
increasing the potential number of visitors and boats. Moreover, concrete blocks are often
used to anchor floating docks to seabed that may be damaged by these blocks, as well as

© 2019, FedoaPress


marine habitats and species. The second inconsistency concerns the realization of new
pedestrian and cycle paths (action ACZ 4.2) and the objectives OMP4 and OMP5.
In fact, although pedestrian and cycle mobility entail numerous advantages, such as reduction
of CO2 emissions, the realization of new paths may cause a further fragmentation of habitats.
In relation to RA, similarly to Calasetta, the realization of new cycle path (action ACZ 4.2) may
entail the use of RA. On the other hand, in relation to action ACZ 4.1 the use of concrete
blocks may threaten habitats and species of community interests. In the LF, this potential
conflict is not emphasized because the impact factor is the concrete in general and not the
use of RA deriving from C&D wastes.
Tab. 3 Extract of the logical framework (LF) of the integration of the MMP, of the CLUP and of the MP
concerning the town of Carloforte

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F. Leone, A. Mereu
Tab. 4 Extract of the LF of the integration of the MMP, of the CLUP

and of the MP concerning the town of Calasetta

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Tab. 5 Extract of the LF of the integration of the MMP, of the CLUP

and of the MP concerning the town of Portoscuso
In relation to quantitative assessment of the municipal demand for RA, the study is built on
the expected future interventions and expansions defined within the MMPs for a ten-year
period (Balletto, 2005). The quantity of RA that could be used in the implementation of MMPs’
actions is defined for each zone. Since calculations are very long, in Table 6 we only report
the estimated quantities of RA in relation to each municipality.
MUNICIPALITY RA QUANTITY [m3] RA QUANTITY [m3] RA QUANTITY [m3]

FOR NEW FOR MAINTENANCE FOR STREETS
CONSTRUCTIONS
30% OF RA 80% OF 30% OF RA 80% OF RA 100% for foundations

RA
Calasetta 5,781.86 15,418.31 101.01 269.37 22,798.39
Carloforte 10,224.14 27,264.38 227.75 607.33 111,914.62
Portoscuso 1 12,502.077 33,338.87 324.12 864.31 44,659.21
Tab. 6 Estimated quantities of RA for new constructions, for maintenance and for streets’ foundations in
relation to the three municipalities
As shown in Tab. 2, two different percentages of RA quantities with respect to the total
amount of aggregates necessary for new constructions and maintenance are considered.
Data related to Calasetta are the most detailed. In fact, the availability of information related
to port infrastructures in the Port management plan (PMP) of the municipality allows to define
more accurate quantities of RA. Future enlargements of the port may imply a higher need of
RA than the PMP’s data. The RA quantities for new constructions in relation to both 30 percent
and 80 percent calculated for Carloforte and Portoscuso are around twice the quantities
calculated for Calasetta, probably because Carloforte and Portoscuso have a double number

1
Data we used to determine RA quantity are taken from MMP of Portoscuso, considering volumetries
deriving from aerial photogrammetry of 10-16/10/2009, with a 20% less.

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F. Leone, A. Mereu
of inhabitants with respect to Calasetta (ISTAT, 2019). This gap becomes wider in relation to
RA quantities for maintenance. In fact, the RA quantity of Portoscuso is around triple (30
percent of RA) and quadruple (80 percent of RA) of Calasetta’s quantities.
Moreover, although Carloforte and Portoscuso show similar values of RA quantities, the limited
data in relation to Portoscuso may determine a difference in this quantity. In fact, the MMP
of Portoscuso does not establish the volume in relation to future expansions of “G” type zones,
defined as collective service zones. “G” type zones include the port area; thus, calculations of
RA quantities may increase in relation to future enlargement of the port.
Data related to streets are not very trustworthy, since roads’ base is calculated considering a
percentage of 10 percent of municipal surface. Hence, this quantity of RA is the maximum
quantity that could be necessary for the total urbanization of the whole area.
4 CONCLUSIONS
The methodological approach proposed in this study aims to support decision-making
processes in defining policies and strategies in order to include the use of RA in the MMPs and
CLUPs. The study is articulated into two different analyses. The first one analyzes the degree
of integration between MMP’s, CLUP’s and MP’s objectives in terms of internal consistency
and if and to what extent the issue of RA is considered. The second analysis quantitatively
evaluates the demand for RA, in relation to each municipality.
As regards the first analysis, although CLUPs’ objectives are consistent with MMPs’ goals,
sometimes there is not a direct relation between the CLUPs’ objectives and actions. It seems
that CLUP’s goals are too general in relation to the specific context that its actions should
address. Moreover, SEA-based procedures represent a significant methodological framework
to integrate strategies and objectives deriving from different spatial plans in relation to coastal
areas. For example, Partidário et al. (2009) describe the process of elaboration of the
Portuguese Strategy for ICZM, where SEA-base procedure was voluntarily carried out to
support the decision-making process.
In relation to RA, it is not surprising that they are not mentioned in all plans, probably due to
strategies included in the RLP that promote the realization and installation of movable
constructions which entail the use of light materials, such as wood. For this reason, no
negative impacts on the use of RA are defined. On the other hand, the use of RA entails a
reduction in overexploitation of natural aggregates and an enhancement of environmental
protection. In fact, aggregates are commonly used for piers’ and roads’ foundations, for fillings
of quarries and dumps, and in general,for concrete. European policies focus on the material
reuse and recycle; therefore, RA quantitative assessment may be useful to understand the
real demand for RA in relation to the construction sector, taking into account the specific

© 2019, FedoaPress


strategies of MMPs. Although some previous works (Balletto, 2005) focus on the definition of
the demand for RA considering MMPs forecasts and coefficients taken from regional plan of
extractive activities and experimental coefficients, our research uses different assumptions.
In fact, quantities of RA are calculated through a several-steps procedure, starting from MMPs
strategies and using assumptions presented in Tab. 2.
The proposed methodology may represent a starting point for future directions for our
research. In fact, the analysis of only a case study could represent a limited scenario in order
to have a wider vision of the Sardinian regional context. On the other hand, the methodology
proposed in this study can be easily exported in other regional and national contexts due to
its flexibility that allows to adapt it for different normative frameworks and different plans
such as the implementation plans of historic center.
This methodology is based on the analysis of MMPs and CLUPs. However, around 74 percent
of Sardinian municipalities has an approved MMP, but only 6 percent has a MMP approved in
compliance with the RLP and only 4 percent has an approved CLUP2. Moreover, data related
to volumes, that could be helpful in the assessment of RAs’ quantities for concrete, are not
exhaustive for all sectors in which they can be used. In fact, considering MMPs, the most
difficult estimations are related to RA use for roads’ bases, fillings and so on. A more complete
analysis could include on the expected future interventions and expansions defined by the
MMPs, within public works’ programs and other related technical documents in order to define
a more accurate estimation.
NOTE
Federica Leone and Anania Mereu have made substantial contributions to the study’s
conception, background and design remarks of section 1, and to discussion and concluding
remarks of section 4. The methodological discussion proposed in section 2 is by Federica
Leone. The results presented in section 3 are by Anania Mereu.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The study was implemented within the Research Program “TSulki: Tourism and Sustainability
in the Sulcis sub-regional area”, funded by the Autonomous Region of Sardinia for the period
2018-2019, under the provisions of the Call for the presentation of “Projects related to
fundamental or basic research for the implementation of interventions in relation to the

2
Information on approved MMPs and CLUPs are elaborated in relation to data downloaded from the
Sardinian geoportal at the following link: http://www.sardegnageoportale.it/accessoaidati/downloaddati/

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F. Leone, A. Mereu
research context of the Sulcis Plan” of the year 2015, implemented at the Department of Civil
and Environmental Engineering and Architecture (DICAAR) of the University of Cagliari, Italy.
The study was implemented within the Research Program “MEISAR: Materiali per l’Edilizia e
le Infrastrutture Sostenibili: gli aggregati riciclati” (“MEISAR: Materials for building and
sustainable infrastructures: recycled aggregates”) funded by POR-FESR 2014/2020 - ASSE
PRIORITARIO I “RICERCA SCIENTIFICA, SVILUPPO TECNOLOGICO E INNOVAZIONE”,
implemented at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Architecture
(DICAAR) of the University of Cagliari, Italy.
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Waste Management and Landfill Symposium S. Margherita di Pula, Cagliari, Italy. Padova, Italy: Cisa
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agglomerations. Ocean & Coastal Management, 114, 11-20. Doi: 10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2015.06.004.
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achieve sustainable city-port connectivity. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 216, 974-985.
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de Andrés, M., Juan Manuel Barragán, J.M. & Sanabria, J.G. (2018). Ecosystem services and urban
development in coastal social-ecological systems: The Bay of Cádiz case study. Ocean & Coastal
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mechanical, physical and chemical properties of recycled aggregates for structural concrete. Sardinia
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Cagliari, Italy.Cisa Publisher. ISBN: 9788862650281.
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local decision making in the context of integrated coastal zone management. Ocean & Coastal
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strategy for integrated coastal zone management in Portugal. Journal of Coastal Research, SI 56
(Proceedingsof the 10th International Coastal Symposium), 1271-1275. Lisbon, Portugal.
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construction and demolition waste suitable for concrete production. Construction and Building
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Association at Melbourne, Australia.
AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Anania Mereu, Environmental engineer, is Research Doctor in Land Engineering (Italy, 2015). She is
currently a research fellow for MEISAR Project at the Department of Civil and Environmental

© 2019, FedoaPress

RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN
CONSERVATION MEASURES
RELATED TO NATURA 2000 SITES
AND COASTAL LAND USE PLANS
A STUDY CONCERNING SULCIS (SARDINIA, ITALY)
FEDERICA LEONE, CORRADO ZOPPI

e-mail: federicaleone@unica.it, zoppi@unica.it
URL: people.unica.it/corradozoppi

Leone, F. & Zoppi, C. (2019). Relationships between conservation measures related to Natura 2000 sites
and coastal land use plans: A study concerning Sulcis (Sardinia, Italy). In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.),
10.6093/978-88-6887-054.6
plans and land management strategies concerning coastal areas.

The methodology proposed in this study defines a theoretical and technical approach to ICZM-related
planning processes at the municipal (local) level, based on integration of strategies related to different
spatial scales. Municipalities adopt spatial plans which regulate land uses in the coastal areas (PLUCs),
whereas the regional and national public administrations define policies concerning environmental
conservation and protection. The methodological approach is implemented with reference to two coastal
towns located in South-West Sardinia, in the region of Sulcis. The outcomes highlight that PLUCs and the
environmental protection-oriented plans are consistent with each other as regards themes and objectives.
Three specific questions are crucial as regards the integration of social and economic development goals
and sustainability objectives, namely relationships between natural ecosystems and services located in
the coastal areas, ecosystem conservation and protection, and accessibility of the seashore.
KEYWORDS
Natura 2000 Sites; Coastal land use plans, Management plans of Natura 2000 Sites
F. Leone, C. Zoppi
1 INTRODUCTION
Since the 1970s, spatial planning policy of the European Union has been characterized by a
marked attention to integrated coastal zone management (Saffache & Angelelli, 2010), as per
Resolution no. (73)29 (26 October 1973) of the Council of Europe, which suggests
implementing a holistic approach to conservation and protection of coastal heritage.
At the moment, at the international level, integrated coastal zone management is
progressively increasing its relevance in theoretical and practical terms, since it is generally
assumed as a fundamental point of reference to define and implement spatial policies oriented
to sustainable development (Billé, 2008). The “Protocol on Integrated Coastal Zone
Management”1 (ICZM Protocol) was adopted by the European Union (EU) Council in 2008,
and ratified in 2010 (Decision no. 2010/631/EU). The Protocol defines coastal zone
management as a dynamic process which implements the sustainability paradigm into
management and use of the coastal areas (article no. 2), by taking account of the weakness
of landscapes and ecosystems, the heterogeneous mix of ongoing activities, which include
maritime activities, their interdependency, and the impacts generated as regards coastal and
marine contexts. Moreover, the context-specific nature of the ICZM approach should be
carefully considered (Soriani et al., 2015), since costal and marine planning issues are not
questions that can be addressed on anone-size-fits-all basis.
Nevertheless, integrated coastal zone management as regards the relationship between
theory and practice is still a critical issue (Burbridge & Humphrey, 2003; Soriani et al., 2015)
identify two kinds of problematic questions that may arise, which, on the one hand, are related
to policies and strategic approaches, and, on the other hand, are connected to the
implementation phases of spatial plans.
In this conceptual context, Strategic environmental assessment (SEA) may help decision-
making processes related to coastal zone management to be effective in addressing the issue
at stake (Rochette & Billé, 2010). The Directive of the EU concerning SEA (no. 2001/42/EC)
states (article 1) that “The objective of this Directive is to provide for a high level ofprotection
of the environment and to contribute to the integration of environmental considerations into
the preparation andadoption of plans and programmes with a view to promotingsustainable
development, by ensuring that, in accordance withthis Directive, an environmental
assessment is carried out ofcertain plans and programmes which are likely to have significant

1
Available online: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:22009A0204(01)&from=EN.

© 2019, FedoaPress

Relationships between conservation measures related to Natura 2000 sites and coastal land use plans

effects on the environment.” In other words, SEA processes enhance the quality of decision-
making by making consistent and integrated economic and social development objectives and
sustainability goals (Leone & Zoppi, 2015).
Furthermore, SEA is effective in supporting national administrations in implementing the ICZM
Protocol into strategies and plans related to coastal management (UNEP et al., 2011). Harvey
(2000) analyzes the use of SEA with reference to Australian coastal management. Procedures
based on SEA-related approaches are used on a voluntary basis in the definition and
implementation of the “Strategy for integrated coastal zone management” of Portugal in 2008,
as a decision-making tool (Partidário et al., 2009), even though a systematic technical
procedure which integrates the ICZM Protocol provisions and the SEA procedure is not
available at present.
The approach proposed in this study builds on SEA in order to define a methodology which
supports spatial planning processes in implementing the ICZM Protocol into local decision-
making procedures. The objectives identified in different plans, namely spatial plans which
regulate land uses in the coastal areas (PLUCs) and plans related to management of Natura
2000 Sites2 (PMN2s), are examined and compared as regards their mutual coherence. Their
strategies are made consistent with each other and negative effects of PLUCs on PMN2s are
highlighted and addressed. The methodological approach is applied to two case studies
concerning two coastal towns located in South-West Sardinia, in the region of Sulcis.
In the next section, the methodology is discussed, the documents and materials, upon which
the spatial analyses are based, are identified, and the two urban contexts, considered in the
two proposed case studies, are synthetically presented. The third section shows the results of
the implementation of the proposed methodological approach, while implications, limits and
suggestions for further research are discussed in the concluding section.
2 METHODOLOGY AND CASE STUDIES

The methodology implemented and discussed in this study focuses on building mutual
consistency between PMN2s and PLUCs. It is based on the integration of strategies of PMN2s
and PLUCs implemented through a logical structure (LS) which makes reference to the SEA
procedure. The LS builds on the conceptual category of sustainability, mutual endogeneity of
spatial planning and environmental assessment and the presence of planning alternatives,
which feature SEA-based procedures according to the Italian Law concerning SEA (Decree no.

2
Three types of protected areas feature Natura 2000 Sites: Sites of community importance (SCIs) and
Special areas of conservation (SACs), identified under the provisions of EU Directive 92/43/EEC (the
Habitats Directive), andSpecial protection areas (SPAs), identified according to EU Directive
2009/147/EC(the Birds Directive).

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F. Leone, C. Zoppi
152 of April 2006), which embeds the EU Directive on SEA into the Italian legislative
framework (Leone & Zoppi, 2015).
The LS was already used by Leone & Zoppi2 2015 and 2016, who proposed a comparison
between the provisions of the city masterplans and the PMN2s based on the reciprocal
consistency of their goals. Here, the relationships between PLUCs and PMN2s are assessed as
regards sustainability goals, through the identification of the PLUCs’ operations which may
generate negative effects on habitats and species protection-related goals identified in the
PMN2s. Tab. 1 shows the diagram of the LS. The five columns refer to: i. sustainability goals;
ii. thematic issues; iii. PLUC’s goals; iv. PMN2’s goals; and, v. PLUCs’ operations which may
generate negative effects on habitats and species protection-related goals identified in the
PMN2s.
SUSTAINABILITY GOALS THEMATIC PLUC’sGOALS PMN2’sGOALS NEGATIVE

ISSUES PLUC’S
OPERATIONS
Sustainability goal 1 Thematic issue 1 Goal 1 of PLUC Goal 1 of PMN2 Operation 1
Operation k
Goalj of PMN2 Operation 1
Operation k
Goalj of PLUC Goal 1 of PMN2 Operation 1
Operation k
Operation k
Thematic issue h Goal 1 of PLUC Goal 1 of PMN2 Operation 1
Operation k
Operation k
Goalj of PLUC Goal 1 of PMN2 Operation 1
Operation k
Operation k
Tab. 1 The framework of the Logical structure (LS)
The proposed methodological approach is applied to the towns of Carloforte & Calasetta, two
spatial contexts of South-West Sardinia located in the Sulcis region (Fig. 1). The small Island
of San Pietro (San Peter), where Carloforte is located, is connected to the mainland by
ferryboats which depart from the Port of Calasetta. These towns were selected since they
identify a consistent spatial system, whose coastal and marine areas require an integrated
management approach, even though each urban area is governed by an autonomous
municipal administration. Furthermore, a number of Natura 2000 Sitesare located in each
spatial context.

© 2019, FedoaPress


The planning documents used in the study are:
− the PLUC of Calasetta and the PMN2s of the following SACs: ITB042208 “tra Poggio La
Salina e Punta Maggiore,” ITB042210 “Punta Giunchera”and ITB042209 “A nord di Sa
Salina;”
− the PLUC of Carloforte and the PMN2 of the following Natura 2000 Sites: SAC ITB040027
“Isola di San Pietro”and SPAITB043035 “Coste e Entroterra tra Punta Cannoni e Punta
delle Oche – Isola di San Pietro.”
Fig. 1 The study area. (Source: elaboration by Federica Leone on an aerial photography drawn
from Geoportalof Sardinian regional administration)
(http://www.sardegnageoportale.it/index.php?xsl=2425&s=324505&v=2&c=14488&t=1&tb=14401)

© 2019, FedoaPress

F. Leone, C. Zoppi
3 FINDINGS
The implementation of the methodological approach into the two urban contexts of the Sulcis
region identifies and analyzes coastal and marine processes which combine planning
strategies differentiated in terms of scale, since the local municipal administrations, which
study and approve the PLUCs, and the regional and national administrations, which define
and implement PMN2s, are involved at once.
The LSs concerning the PLUCs and the PMN2s related to the towns of Carloforte and Calasetta
are reported in Tab. 2 and Tab. 3. Considering contents and objectives of PMN2s and PLUCs,
each of the two tables shows sustainability goals concerning conservation of biological
diversity, plants and animals. PLUCs and PMN2s are mutually consistent as regards goals and
thematic issues. The PLUCs focus on the following thematic issues: i. relations between coastal
and marine ecosystems and services provided on the beaches; ii. conservation and
enhancement of coastal and marine ecosystems; and, iii. accessibility to beaches and coastal
areas. For example, the objectives of the PLUC of Calasetta focus on the integration of services
provided on the beaches and coastal and marine ecosystems, identifying ecosystem
conservation as the core issue, whereas the goals of the PLUC of Carloforte focus on the same
integration issue, assuming accessibility as the main question. This is explained by the fact
that the SAC “Isola di San Pietro” overlays the municipal land of Carloforte and, as a
consequence, the approval process of proposed spatial transformations is based on the
Appropriate assessment procedure, established under the Habitats Directive3, which aims at
preventing negative effects of projected operations on habitats and species of SACs, SPAs
and SCIs.
It has to be put in evidence that, notwithstanding PLUCs and PMN2s are mutually consistent
as regards their sustainability goals, the PLUCs’ planned operations can generate negative
impacts on the PMN2s.
In the case of Calasetta, the coastal and marine areas are planned both as environmental
resources deserving protection-oriented measures and as factors of economic development
related to leisure and tourism. The PLUC focuses on the definition of a set of planning policies
to exploit tourist attractiveness (GoalC2) and on prevention or mitigation of erosional
processes concerning beaches (Objective C3).

3
Any plan or project not directly connected with or necessary to the management of the site but likely
to have a significant effect thereon, either individually or in combination with other plans or projects,
shall be subject to appropriate assessment of its implications for the site in view of the site's
conservation objectives […] [T]he competent national authorities shall agree to the plan or project
only after having ascertained that it will not adversely affect the integrity of the site concerned and,
if appropriate, after having obtained the opinion of the general public.” (Habitats Directive, art. 6,
paragraph 3).

© 2019, FedoaPress


The planned operations aim at developing tourism and at increasing the attractiveness of the
seashores (Operations AO2, AO3, AO4, AO5, AO6, AO7 and AO8). On the other hand, the
goals of the PMN2 focus on limiting tourist presence on the beaches (Objective AM3), on
prevention or mitigation of the negative effects generated by human activities, animals and
infrastructure on dunal habitats and species (GoalAM4), and in general, on habitats and
species (GoalAM1).
Two issues characterize the case of Carloforte (Tab. 3). On the one hand, preservation of
coastal waters (Goal BM1) and of Caretta caretta (Goal BM9), identified as a protected species
under the provisions of the Habitats Directive, conflict with the authorized traffic of small boat
charters (Operation BO1). Indeed, these boats are allowed to sail with no license or
certification concerning the technical knowledge of the boaters as regards coastal ecosystems,
habitats and plants, such as Posidonia oceanica seabed and other peculiar habitats, or
protected species, such as Caretta caretta. On the other hand, the boardwalks installation
which make it easier to access the beaches (Operation BO3), and the development of parking
sites close to habitats and species protected under the Habitats Directive (Operation BO4),
are likely to determine negative impacts with reference to preservation of dunes and of their
habitats (Goal BM3) and to protection of habitats such as thickets, phrygana and arborescent
matorral (Goal BM5).

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F. Leone, C. Zoppi
Tab. 2 Logical structure of the integration of the PLUC and of the PMN2 concerning the town of Calasetta
Tab. 3 Logical structure of the integration of the PLUC and of the PMN2concerning the town of Carloforte

© 2019, FedoaPress


4 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS 4

The outcomes of the proposed methodology based on the LS show that negative effects may
occur on the achievement of the goals of the PMN2s as a consequence of operations planned
by the PLUCs. The LSs defined to assess the coherence of the PLUCs and PMN2s concerning
the towns of Calasetta and Carloforte put in evidence that the operations planned in the PLUCs
may put at risk the effectiveness of the conservation measures identified in the PMN2s, related
to habitats and species, since PLUCs and PMN2s were studied and approved following
independent procedures, implemented by different public administrations, that is, the
municipal administrations in the case of the PLUCs, and the regional administration in the
case of the PMN2s. Furthermore, the two types of plan focus on different core issues, since
PMN2s deal with conservation measures regarding habitats and species of the Natura 2000
Sites, whereas PLUCs are related to sustainable coastal zone management aimed at catalyzing
social and economic local development based on tourist attractiveness.
From this standpoint, this study defines, and applies to the urban contexts of Calasetta &
Carloforte, a methodological approach whose scope is to integrate different plans, which take
place in the local public domain, that is the Sulcis region, into a unique planning instrument
which makes consistent nature protection-related and development-related objectives.
The study shows, by detailed comparative appraisals of two PLUCs and related PMN2s, that
the LS-based procedure entails an enormous potential in order to build consistency and, much
more important, to drive the issue of conservation and enhancement of habitats and species
outside the narrow boundaries of sectoral policies concerning the Sites of the Natura 2000
Network. The application of the LS makes the issue a comprehensive and fundamental
question related to the PLUCs. The implementation of the PMN2-related sustainability
objectives into the PLUCs through the LS approach is based on the environmental
characterization of the supporting ecosystem services (ESs) supplied by habitats and
species(Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2003). In the first place, ESs are identified in the
spatial context of the Sites of the Natura 2000 Network, and afterwards, during the application
of the LS approach, they become spatial and environmental characteristics of the whole
coastal and marine areas (Leone & Zoppi, 2016).
The proposed LS-based approach implements PMN2s into PLUCs and, that being so, not only
is suitable to assess and drive the definition and establishment of planning decisions (ex ante
phases of PMN2s/PLUCs), but also to support the planning policies to be carried out, since

4
This Section partially reproduces a discussion proposed in a previous study of the authors (Leone,
Zoppi, 2016, Section “5. Discussion and Conclusions”).

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F. Leone, C. Zoppi
the ES-related sustainability objectives entail a monitoring system based on benchmarks

concerning the environmental indicators related to the ESs.
Furthermore, it has to be stressed that the planning policies concerning supporting ESs may
generate conflicts related to tourism-related ESs, whose land uses may be prevented by
conservative measures entailed by the PMN2s. Therefore, LS-based procedures that imply ES-
based sustainability objectives should take account of supporting ESs not only in terms of
conservation and enhancement of habitats and species, but also as sources of conflict
between alternative land uses related to alternative types of ESs, that is supporting and
tourism-related. The conflicts are expressed by the trade-offs between protection and
preservation of coastal and marine species and habitats, that is, supporting ecological
systems, and the pressure for increasing the provision of services for tourists and local visitors
in the coastal areas, that is tourism-related ESs, which is the main focus of PLUCs (Lai &
Zoppi, 2017).
The results proposed in this essay are very robust in terms of exportability to other EU
contexts, since the LS-based procedure implemented into spatial plans (PLUCs) at the
municipal level is always based on the same normative framework, established by the SEA
Directive. Moreover, the reference of the PMN2s is always the Natura 2000 Standard Data
Form, approved by the European Commission with the Decision of 11 July 20115. As a
consequence, it can be applied as such in other EU countries, even though different
institutional frameworks and planning practices at the national and regional levels may
possibly imply more-or-less huge differences in terms of timing and duration and public
authorities responsible for the PLUCs and the PMN2s’ planning procedures, the quality of the
participatory processes and the qualitative and quantitative size of the participating public and
stakeholders.
NOTES
Federica Leone and Corrado Zoppi have made substantial contributions to the study’s
conception, background and design remarks of section 1, and to discussion and concluding
remarks of section 4. The methodological discussion proposed in section 2 is by Federica
Leone. The results presented in section 3 are by Corrado Zoppi.
The study was implemented within the Research Program “TSulki: Tourism and Sustainability
in the Sulcis sub-regional area”, funded by the Autonomous Region of Sardinia for the period
2018-2019, under the provisions of the Call for the presentation of “Projects related to

5
Available from the European Environment Agency’s at http://natura2000.eea.europa.eu/.

© 2019, FedoaPress


fundamental or basic research for the implementation of interventions in relation to the
research context of the Sulcis Plan” of the year 2015, implemented at the Department of Civil
and Environmental Engineering and Architecture (DICAAR) of the University of Cagliari, Italy.
This study is also presented at the AESOP Annual Congress 2019 (Venice, 9-13 July 2019),
with the title “Management plans of Natura 2000 Sites and coastal land use plans: A study
concerning an integrated approach to management of coastal zones in the Sulcis Area
(Sardinia, Italy),” and will be published in the Congress Proceedings
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AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Professor at the University of Cagliari (Sector IAAR/20 – Spatial planning). He is presently teaching at
the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Architecture of the University of Cagliari
in the Undergraduate and Graduate Programs in Environmental and Territorial Engineering and in
Sustainable Tourism Management and Monitoring (Regional and Urban Planning, Strategic Planning
and Environmental planning).

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A SMART PLANNING TOOL FOR
THE VALORISATION OF THE
CARBONIA’S BUILDING HERITAGE
VIA AN ENERGY RETROFITTING
BASED APPROACH
*STEFANO PILI, FRANCESCA POGGI

EUSEBIO LORIA
Sotacarbo SPA
e-mail: Stefano.pili@sotacarbo.it
URL: http://www.sotacarbo.it

Pili, S., Poggi, F., Loria, E. & Frau, C. (2019).A Smart Planning tool for the valorisation of the Carbonia’s
Building Heritage via an energy retrofitting based approach. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature
6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
This paper is part of an ongoing research promoted by the company Sotacarbo spa addressed to
the Carbonia’sland context. The research aims to develop a smart planning tool for supporting
the definition of strategies for renovation and valorisation of the Carbonia’s building stock,
based on energy retrofitting approaches. Energy efficiency can be the economic driving force
to promote technological improvements and renovations of the historical and modern buildings.
However, improve the existing heritage, especially in a context with high historical and landscape
value, is a complex multidisciplinary activity that could involve many different stakeholders
(decision makers of the PA, operators of the building sector, citizens, ...). Literature reports a lot
of methodological approaches that differs in objectives and purposes, tools used, the degree of
complexity and the amount of required resources. However, most of them emphasize the central
role of the knowledge representations and communications and suggest to develop tool based
on local characteristics and resources. After a brief methodological part, the Carbonia’s context
is presented, and a possible methodological approach for the development of the research has
been discussed.
KEYWORDS
Energy Efficiency; Urban Built Environment; Building Heritage; Smart planning
* The other authors are: Caterina Frau
S. Pili, F. Poggi, E. Loria, et al.
1 INTRODUCTION
The protection and the valorisation of the Urban Historic Landscape play a key role in
promoting tourism and in the sustainable development. The preservation of the cultural
heritage is no longer considered as an independent activity focused on the constraint of the
most valuable elements of the context, but it is integrated in urban policies with a holistic
view of protection - enhancement, which also has positive impacts on the city economic, social
and environmental aspects (Girard, 2013). The construction of a dynamic and shared cognitive
process able to identify and communicate the particular aspects of the landscape context is
one of the key elements of the protection process. The objective is to enhance the awareness
of local communities in order to promote virtuous bottom-up processes and to create the
shared knowledge that could be the base for regional marketing.
The enhancement of the quality and the reuse of the local building heritage is one of the key
elements of the valorisation strategies: it constitutes the urban scenario for single cultural
goods and, as a whole, it is a constitutive part of the historical urban landscape. However, it
is often affected by abandonment and gentrification phenomena caused by the age of the
buildings that makes them unsuitable for contemporary quality standards and uses. The
energy efficiency of the building heritage is one of the driving forces that could facilitate the
valorisation through technological - functional adaptation, and is also one of the main issues
in the transition towards more sustainable, resilient and inclusive settlement models.
However, despite the availability of very effective technological solutions, there are still strong
barriers for the energy retrofit within a city context, because the problem becomes more
complex and is burdened with a strong participatory dimension. The lack of knowledge is
identified as a key factor because it impacts on all the stakeholders of the valorisation process:
the building sector operators, the final users of the buildings, the investors and the Public
Administration (PA), Decision Makers (DM). The main aspect is that a building energy
retrofitting potential unlikely could be defined a priori because it is strictly dependent on the
availability of economic resources, but it is also affected by barriers related to the specific
characteristics of the property and its context and by technologies availability on the local
market.
The research aims, therefore, the development and experimentation of a SMART planning
approach for supporting a process of protection and enhancement of the building heritage
based on energy efficiency issues and on the explanation of its cultural and historical
significance. This kind of tools is generally based on open data, that are everyday more
abundant, and through the use of appropriate representation tools and methods (maps,

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A Smart Planning tool for the valorisation of the Carbonia's Building Heritage via an energy retrofitting based…

graphs, synthetic indicators, ...) could help to create the shared knowledge useful for
designing scenarios and strategies and makes more effective their implementation.
Tools and methodologies for energy efficiency enhancement in urban areas generally adopt
an Urban Energy Model (more or less complex) for the estimation of the building stock energy
need, and procedures for estimating the potential (theoretical, technical, exploitable,) of
various technologies improvement. The models and the tools differ greatly from each other
about: amount of baseline data required, results reliability and detail (temporal, spatial),
complexity and modelling approaches (top down, bottom up, hybrid) (Swan, 2009).
In general, complex methodologies scan assure better reliability of results, but could require
a lot of baseline data and costly interpretation activities of results. Less complex models adopt
several simplifying hypotheses, therefore they require less resources and usually have more
repeatable procedures, but the results are burdened by the uncertainty of initial assumptions
(Keirstead, 2012). One of the most used simplification is the "typological" approach, which
concern the study of a representative sample of the building heritage and the use of an
appropriate methods (analytical, statistical) to apply the results to all similar elements present
in the urban context.
2 METHODOLOGY APPROACH
The methodology is developed for the Municipality of Carbonia, ie taking into account the
local availability of resources and baseline data, but the outlined general framework can also
be exported to other contexts. The methodological approach can be subdivided into three
main activities strongly related to each other, but that follow a logical sequential articulation
(Fig. 1): analysis of the context, knowledge representation; communication methodology and
tool. The research is actually performing the first phase of context analysis and is studying
the building heritage through a typological approach.
The first phase is the preliminary activity that underlies the structure of the whole
methodology. It focuses to the clarification of the values of heritage and its relationship with
the context (landscape, environment, socio-economic context). In particular, the collection
and study of regulatory constraints related to construction activities is a key element in order
to define the degree of transformability of the building heritage and therefore the energy
retrofitting potential. After a context preliminary analysis, some energy audit of a sample of
buildings defined according to the local typologies, have to be implemented. In our case it is
necessary to develop specific procedures for the public heritage for services (schools, offices,
exhibition buildings, ...) and for residential building stock (public and private). The purpose is
to develop some survey activities in order to complete the available geographic data that are
consistent with local resources and with the objectives of the study.

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The typological characterization of the heritage allows the development of an abacus of the
building structures and of the most widespread plant technologies in the local context. The
abacus could embrace the physical-thermal specifications, but also documentations of the
most common degradation phenomena and of the available recovery and renovations
solutions. At the same time, the analysis activity focuses to define a summary sheet for each
building that collects the main information available and the results of the analysis (building
type, degree of transformability, degradation, energy retrofitting potential). This form will be
more detailed for public buildings, where the consumption data and documentations of
building characteristics are often available, while for the residential heritage, it will contain
more typological information.
The representation methodology is strongly linked to the capability of the tool to involve the
stakeholders in the process of heritage valorisation and renovation. The methodology will
adopt a geo-visualization approaches (Goodchild, 2010) based on a geographical knowledge
architecture and GIS infrastructure. Leaving the details of the representation at the research
further steps, four types of geographical contents can be preliminary identified: the local
context, the thematic layers of public and private buildings, the summary indicators.
The local context, collects the spatial layers (regulatory constraints, environmental asset,
socio-economic context, settlement asset) that could be relevant to outline strategies or to
calculate some summary indicators. It is an open set of information, that can be improved
according to new representation needs.
The layers of the buildings (both public and private) contain the related information that could
be the basis for stakeholders interaction. Are search goal is to define a repeatable procedure
that allows the passage from the knowledge "obtained by building type" to all the local
buildings stock. It can be a simple assignment of the type to each building, or can be
developed a proper Urban Energy Model. Amain topic in the disciplinary debate is the
developing a procedure to link the geographic information, typically managed by GIS tools, to
the three-dimensional one related to the single building that is proper to the BiM approaches
(Deng, 2016). In particular we have to define: the type of integration between the two
instruments (complementary, partially integrated, or totally integrated), the building elements
level of detail (LoD 1, 2, 3 ...) and, of course, the procedure of our specific study.
The experimentation of an effective set of indicators is a relevant research topic. There are
numerous sets of indicators developed for sustainability aspects or to preserve historical and
cultural values (Hiremath, 2013), and there is a notable diffusion of methodologies that use
multi-disciplinary aggregated indices aimed at favouring the comparison between different
contexts for the dissemination of good practices: as could be the environmental certification
protocols (GBC LEED, ITACA, CASBEE, BREEAM) or other projects (Kılkıs, 2015). However,

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many of these approaches may require resources that are not compatible with the purposes
of the case study, or simply not to be properly focused and meaningful for the local context.
Therefore, are search purpose is to choose whether to adopt a consolidated reference protocol
(national or international) that has the advantage of bringing the city in a wider scientific
debate but which may require significant resources, or develop a set of local indicators that
emphases to simplification and specificity (Mascarenhas, 2010).
The third phase focuses on the definition and implementation of a tool to represent and share
the knowledge based on a multi-users web infrastructure (WebGIS / GEOBlog portal), capable
of involving the different types of stakeholders of the urban valorization on process. It could
be configured with the user’s interface (GUI) to consult information but also provide feedback
and personal contribution. As a preliminary statement, it could have the following contents:
documentations and educational materials, case studies and virtuous practices, the abacus of
the recurring structures and typological elements, lists of local available technologies for
energy retrofitting, statistics and indices on the energy performance of the building stock,
statistics and data on the monitored energy consumption and projects implemented on public
buildings and local context. The focus of this phase is the classifications of the stakeholders
and the setting up of some appropriate GUI. It is also necessary to define a participatory
methodology suitable for the tool experimentation.
Fig. 1 Methodology Framework

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3 THE CARBONIA’S CONTEXT

A quick overview of the case study is here presented; more detailed results will be subject of
further more extensive publications when this research step will be finalised. Carbonia is a
fascist’s new town (1938) built as a support of the mining activities of the “Grande Miniera di
Serbariu” (Grand Mine of Serbariu). It is one of the main centres (about 28200 inh. ISTAT
2018) of South - Western Sardinia (Italy), which, after the conclusion of mining activities, is
been affected by a heavy economic depression and a constant decrease of the population
especially of the young age classes (about 0.5-1.0% yearly decrease) (Fig. 2).
Fig. 2 Some Graphs on population trend (data from http://demo.istat.it/archivio.html)
The context is characterized by high landscape and environmental quality that is combined
with the signs of past mining activity (Fig. 3). The whole area is considered as a landscape
good (area of the Mining Organization Settlement - Articles 5 and 9 of the NTA of the
PPR2006), most of the building stock falls in the Historical Centre and some past mining sites
(Quarries e the Grand SerbariuMine) are close the urban settlement.

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Fig. 3 Landscapecontext and historic picture of Carbonia
Almost all of the building stock is used (96%, ISTAT 2011) and about 86% of it is for
residential purposes. About 40% of the heritage can be considered historical because it was
built before 1950, or interested by local landscape values. More than 70% of the residential
building heritage is made of load-bearing masonry, and 50% of the residential units were built
before 1945 (ISTAT 2011) so it can be considered made in historic stone masonry (Fig. 4).
The historical structures can be summarized as follows: masonry bearing trachyte and
reinforced concrete and hollow tiles floor, mainly wood windows and roofing coppers (Sanna,
2009). There is a low incidence of housing ownership (about 70% in 2011 and 60% in 1991)
in comparison to the provincial and regional averages (more than 85%); moreover, about
20% of residential buildings are in poor conservation conditions (Fig. 4).

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Fig. 4 Some Graphs on Building stock characteristics (data from Census Survey ISTAT 2011)
The local authority has shown interest in the landscape quality with the redevelopment project
of the Grande Miniera di Serbariuthat won the European Council Landscape Award (2011).
Furthermore, the technical offices have started, since some years,a systematic collection of
documentation of the public buildings and are monitoring the electricity consumption (Fig. 5).
Fig. 5 Electricity consumption of the Carbonia’s PA buildings (source Carbonia’s DB)

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The school buildings account for about 40% of consumption, 20% respectively for Public
offices and culture buildings (museums, libraries, theatres,.), the residue is divided by the
other sectors. Combining these data with the building stock construction periods (Fig. 6),
Fig. 6 Typology definition via combining the Building use and years of construction
the most representative typologies of buildings of the public heritage are being identified.
Some energy audit of these building are being carried out in order to study the recurring
characteristics of the building - plant system and its profile of use (Fig. 7).
Fig. 7 Some building sample and typological aspects accounted on the Energy Audit process

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The Energy Audit aren’t presented here, we briefly recall some general results useful to
address the overall methodology. The municipal data base shows some lack and incoherence
of data: often the consumption time series are not adequately complete and separate for
energy services, and the other energy source are still missing (gpl, oil). This requires the study
of an Energy Audit procedure that fills the lack of data without burden too much the survey
phase. Some buildings don’t reach the indoor comfort conditions, this could produce mistakes
on the estimation of retrofit potential, so it is necessary to define a methodology that also
considersthe comfort indoor.
4 CONCLUSION AND FURTHER RESEARCH

The general approach and the methodology framework outlined for the development of the
research has been presented with a brief theoretical context. Currently the research activity
focus on the development and testing of an Energy Audit procedure suitable for the purpose,
developing some case studies for each typology of building identified in the urban context.
Furthermore, a methodology to synthesize the results of the energy audit on the structures
abacus is under development.
The city of Carboniacould be considered a proper context for the methodology
experimentation because it is characterized by a rather than homogeneous building heritage
about the material - constructive aspect and the local stakeholders seems to have an interest
in landscape quality management.
The results of this first phase will produce adjustments and clarifications to the framework
here presented. Before the actual implementation of the instrument, the following aspects
have to be defined:
− the Building Stock Energy Modellingprocedures, ieitconcerns the integrationbetween
typological information and geographic dimension;
− a low-cost, geographical based monitoring system (consumption and comfort) for PA
buildings;
− the adoption of a set of indicators and the procedures for their calculation and
representation;
− the types of local stakeholders to be involved according to the typology of buildings
classified;
− the participatory process to define and test the communication tool contents and the
feedback interfaces.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work has been performed within the “Research of Electric System” project, funded by
“Ministry of Economic Development. The authors are grateful to the Municipality of Carbonia
for the consumption data about public building stock”.
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della città; Skira
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Perspectives, 3(66),pp 7-22. http://dx.doi.org/10.14714/CP66.93
Hiremath, R. B. et alt. (2013). Indicator-based urban sustainability - A review. Energy for Sustainable
Development, vol.17, pp 555–563
Keirstead J. Et alt. (2012). A review of urban energy system models: Approaches, challenges and
opportunities. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, vol. 16, pp 3847– 3866.
Kılkıs, S. (2015). Composite index for benchmarking local energy systems of Mediterranean port cities.
Energy 92, pp 622–638. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2015.06.093
Mascarenhas, A., Coelho, P., Subtil, E., Ramos, T.B. (2010). The role of common local indicators in
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WEB SITES
http://www.premiopaesaggio.beniculturali.it/edizione2010-2011/
http://www.itaca.org/documenti/news/Protocollo%20ITACA%20Scala%20urbana_211216.pdf
http://www.gbcitalia.org/web/guest/quartieri

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http://www.ibec.or.jp/CASBEE/english/toolsE_urban.htm
https://www.breeam.com/discover/technical-standards/
AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Stefano Pili, graduated in Architectural Engineering and Environmental Engineering at the University
of Cagliari. In 2012 reached PhD on Landscape and Urban Planning, with a thesis about Urban planning
tools to improve the building heritage energy efficiency. After some post doc grants, now works as a
temporary researcher on energy efficiencyat the Sotacarbo SPA.
Francesca Poggi, graduated in Chemical Engineering at the University of Cagliari. Since 2014 she
works in Sotacarbo as a researcher aimed at low-carbon energy conversion technologies and carbon
dioxide separation technologies. She is involved with the Energy Efficiency team in activities based on
energy diagnosis and environmental monitoring process of historic and public buildings.
Eusebio Loria, graduated in Chemical Engineering at the University of Pisa. Since 2004 he works in
Sotacarboas a researcheraimedat low-carbon energy conversion technologies and carbon dioxide
separation technologies. He is involved with the energy efficiency team in activities based on diagnosis
and monitoring process of historic and public buildings.
Caterina Frau, Graduated in Chemical Engineering, joined the Sotacarbo’s team in 2005. She
experienced in different fields of cleantechnologies to power, especially in sulphurcaptureprocesses.
Since 2014 she is interested in energy efficiency technologies with regards to green policies. At the
moment she works as chiefresearcher on energy efficiencyat the Sotacarbo SPA.

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RESILIENT ECOLOGICAL NETWORKS
A COMPARATIVE APPROACH
*ANDREA DE MONTISa, AMEDEO GANCIUb

MAURIZIO MULASa
a
University of Sassari
e-mail: andreadm@uniss.it
dottamedeoganciu@gmail.com
URL: www.uniss.it
b
e-mail: amedeo.ganciu@iret.cnr.it

De Montis, A., Ganciu, A., Mulas, M., Cabras, M., Bardi, A., Peddio, V., Caschili, S., Massa, P. & Cocco, C. (2019).
Resilient ecological networks. A comparative approach. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature and
6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
The resilience is an overarching concept concerning the capacity of complex system to react
to severe crisis by self-organization, innovation and learning and to attain more robust settings
than in the original condition. While the theory on resilience has exploded in the last decades, its
operationalization is less practiced. A possible way out is the selection of appropriate variables
able to measure the behavior of a system, when it is subject to important stresses. Resilience has
been applied to the study of socio-ecological system, including ecological networks. Ecological
networks can reconnect fragmented landscapes through a web of patches intertwined by
environmental corridors. In this paper, we aim at assessing the resilience of two ecological
networks designed for the towns of Nuoro and Sassari, Italy. The ecological networks are built
on the ecological properties of two vegetal target species (i.e. Quercus Ilex and Olea Europaea)
and their seed dispersal through the corresponding frugivorous animal vector species. We have
studied the behavior of the ecological network under differenttypes of attacks to the patches:
at random or according to a deterministic choice. Our method allows to compare the dynamic
pattern of resilience (i.e. along the process of elimination of patches) and to observe typical
behaviour reported in other cases but also interesting peculiarities.
KEYWORDS
Ecological networks; resilience; random attack; deterministic attack
* The other authors are: Matteo Cabras, Antonietta Bardi, Valentina Peddio, Simone Caschili, Pierangelo Massa,
Chiara Cocco
A. De Montis, A. Ganciu, M. Mulas et al.
1 INTRODUCTION
Resilience can be defined as the ability of complex systems to resist to very critical
disturbances, keep the original characteristics, self-organize and adapt, and eventually evolve
by achieving further and stronger conditions (Balsas, 2014; Christopherson et al., 2010;
Handmer & Dovers, 1996; Shaw, 2012). The concept was introduced by Holling (1973), who
started from the evidence that living systems have multiple basins of attraction and focused
on the capacity of ecological ensembles to resist in the face of severe environmental changes
by attaining new and unexpected configurations. Along with the integration between ecology
and social science, resilience thinking, i.e. the attitude to embed resilience in political
discourse, has been referred not only to pure natural but also to broader intertwined socio-
ecological systems (SES) (Folke et al., 2010), where the inexplicable traits of society and
ecology are key to the description of identity and potential. SES are not just made by the sum
of social and ecological characteristics (Cumming, 2011); they “exhibit a range of unique
emergent properties and have their own varieties of complex behavior” (Westley et al., 2002).
Resilience represents the last key concept after other items that have attracted the interest
of scholars interested in sustainability issues: carrying capacity, i.e. the ability of
environmental systems to sustain a given charge produced by human settlements and
activities (Cohen, 1995), and, as counterpart, ecological footprint, i.e. the Earth space
necessary to produce goods and services capable to sustain human ensembles at a certain
rate of development (Rees, 1996). But the concept of resilience even in the initial definitions
had more to do with proactivity and road mapping paths towards future possibilities to adapt
to critical changes by exploiting the best elements even in front of very severe destabilizations.
Thus, resilience thinking has soon become a reference framework for studying complex
adaptive systems in inter- and transdisciplinary research (Folke, 2016) encompassing ecology,
sociology, psychology, economics, and engineering. The exportability of the approach is one
of the main drivers of the success of the concept, which is witnessed in the last two decades
by an avalanche of studies. While Folke (2016) reports 250 publications in 2000, the number
jumps to nearly 8,000 in February 2019 (Web of Science core collection). Annual citations
have transitioned from less than 100 in 1995 (Folke, 2016) to 26,000 circa in 2018. As for the
penetration in the grey literature, a recent Google web search with the keys resilience and
environment has yielded more than 96 million items. According to Collier et al. (2013), the
discourse about resilience attained first rural landscape analysis, planning and management
(Naveh, 2000; Palang et al., 2000), while only recently and sparsely it is starting to concern
urban domains. Collier et al. (2013) affirm that “urban green space policy is increasingly being
used as a tool to enhance urban resilience and sustainability”. A paramount example is offered

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Resilient ecological networks

by ecological networks (Ings et al., 2009; Opdam et al., 2006, Janssen et al., 2006) and, in
broader terms, green infrastructures (Benedict & Mcmahon, 2002; Meerow & Newell, 2017;
Matthews et al., 2015), which act as intertwined systems of habitat patches connected with
each other by material and immaterial corridors. These systems are employed to give or
restore continuity in fragmented landscapes, where large patches have become smaller and
more isolated than in the original condition. In addition, they serve the cause of maintaining
system identity through the relations among the nodes, thus, ultimately, contribute to
increasing the resilience of the overall ensemble (Cumming et al., 2005).
While research on resilience is mature, its operationalization -i.e. the transition from resilience
theory to practice- is much less explored. At the same time, few studies deal with the
promising issue of assessing the resilience of SESs. Given the complex nature of SESs, it is
very difficult to set up methods and tools able to measure directly the resilience. Those
complex systems can be just evaluated indirectly through surrogates, a term adopted instead
of the more common “indicators” to stress the choice of indirect measurement (Carpenter et
al., 2005). In this respect, the analysis and design of ecological networks can be approached
by invoking graph theory and the last advances of complex networks analysis (CNA). CNA
provides scientists, planners, and managers with an elegant and powerful set of tools able to
disentangle several real-life systems by classifying and characterizing their topological and
weighted properties, starting from basic variables (number of nodes and edges), centrality
measures, assortativity indexes, etc. (Albert & Barabási, 2002; Dorogovtsev et al., 2003). The
literature on the application of CNA and graph theory to the assessment of ecological networks
is very rich (Fall et al., 2007; Hagen et al., 2012; Urban et al., 2009), while relatively less
endowed is the study of the behavior of ecological networks in the face of critical and adverse
situations. In general terms, the resilience of a network depends on its topological structure
and is assessed by monitoring the behavior of some key variables, when the nodes are subject
to random and targeted (centrality based) fatal attacks. Crucitti et al. (2004) have
demonstrated that random networks show a similar resilience to both the kinds of attacks,
while scale free networks are resilient to random attacks but quite vulnerable to targeted
attacks. This confirms (and assesses) an intuition: complex networks need to be developed
by protecting their most central nodes. Similarly, Gao et al. (2015) choose “the integral size
of the giant component during the whole attacking process” as a measure of resilience. They
also stress three methods/policies for increasing the robustness of networks: increase the
share of central nodes, design dependency links connecting nodes with similar centrality, and
protect the central nodes. Also, Gutfraind (2012) develops on the need to act on the overall
connectivityto “prevent the failure of a single node from causing a far-reaching domino effect”.
According to the same author, connectivity is the property that triggers resilient behaviors by

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“dissipating nascent cascades”. Other authors focus on planning and management and
propose an adaptive management cycle (AMC) for implementing a resilient ecological network
(Isaac et al., 2018). They start from spatial network theory and apply it to multispecies
ecological networks. The key component of the AMC is the set of indicators, which are referred
to the need to achieve Better, Bigger, More, and joined (BBMJ) habitat patches. These
indicators will enter a monitoring system able to report on the status of the ecological network,
identify plausible conservation actions, and verify their effectiveness.
The aim of this paper is to assess the resilience of two ecological networks designed for the
towns of Nuoro and Sassari, Sardinia, Italy. We extend the comparative approach to the study
of centrality proposed by De Montis et al. (2019) with an application of the AMC recalled
above for ascertaining which ecological network is more resilient. The remainder of this essay
develops as follows. In the next section, the methodology is presented. In section 3, results
are reported and commented, while in section 4 concluding remarks and outlook ideas are
elaborated.
2 METHODOLOGY
We extend the approach adopted by De Montis et al. (2016), who assessed the resilience of
the ecological network (EN) designed for the town of Nuoro, Italy. This EN is built taking into
account the properties of the colonization of the two target species Olea Europaea and
Quercus Ilex through the dispersal of the seeds realized by the corresponding vector animal
species (mostly, birds). They evaluated the ability of that EN to maintain the original properties
(i.e. identity) under random and deterministic attacks, which mimic errors and targeted
failures. Targeted failures are conceived as deterministic attacks to the patches, which are
simulated to disappear according to their betweenness centrality (BC), i.e. the percentage
number of shortest paths passing through a node with respect to the total number of shortest
paths in the EN, and the planning perturbation index (PPI), which measures the risk that a
patch is jeopardized by local land uses. In Table 1, the types of attacks are reported.
TYPE OF ATTACK DESCRIPTION
Random Patch are deleted randomly

Deterministic 1 Patch are terminated, according to inverted order of BC
Deterministic 2 Patch are terminated, according to inverted order of PPI
Tab. 1Types of attacks simulated (after De Montis et al., 2016)
We reframe the method proposed by De Montis et al. (2016) along three main issues. The
first consists in the larger size of the EN, which in the beginning included 236 and now

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embraces 1,000 patches. The second regards the transition from a single focus to a
comparative framework, where in this case two -but prospectively many- ENs are assessed.
The third attainsthe inclusion of a larger number of variables (surrogates) for resilience
assessment. As for the latter issue, we have studied the resilience of the ENs picking four
variables, according to the AMC framework proposed by Isaac et al. (2018), with reference to
indicators able to describe (BBLJ) habitat patches. In Tab. 2, we report the variables studied
in our investigation. Note that in the last column, we substitute “more” with the reciprocal
“less”; thus, we insert the acronym BBLJ, as the identity is maintained, when the
corresponding variable is smaller.
VARIABLES CODE DESCRIPTION BBLJ

INDICATO
R TYPE
Quality Q Sum of the patch degree of vegetal development of the target Better
species
Area A Sum of the extension of the patch surface area Bigger
Component N Number of disconnected network giant components Less
s
Dispersal F(T) Sum of the weights (probability of seed dispersal among the Joined
patches)
Tab. 2 Variables adopted to assess the resilience of ENs
The quality indicator refers to the level of affirmation of the target species in each patch: the
higher this value, the more resilient becomes the EN. The area indicator mirrors the rationale
that more extended ENs are likely more resilient. The indicator N stands for the number of
disconnected giant components. Clearly, the smaller this number the more resilient the EN is.
The dispersal indicator consists of the sum of the weights, which are calculated according to
the probability that vectors disperse the seeds in a certain distance. The higher F(T), the
higher the relational capacity (thus, the resilience) of the EN. For easy of comparison, except
for N, all indicators have been normalized according to the min/max transformation.
3 RESULTS
In this paper, for space restrictions we assess the resilience of the ENs under study by
presenting the behaviour described through the last two indicators reported in Tab. 2: number
of disconnected giant components and sum of the weights related to the probability of seed
dispersal. In Fig. 1, 2, and 3, we plot these two variables, with respect to the number of
patches eliminated in the cases of random and deterministic attacks. As for the random attack
described in Fig. 1, the ENs display a very good resilience. They remain organized in one giant
component even when more than 90% of the patches is deleted. Nuoro’s EN breaks in two

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sub-networks slightly earlier than Sassari’s. The residual dispersal capacity decreases
gradually and according to an exponential trend and approaches zero, when roughly the 80%
of the patches is eliminated. F(T) is always larger for Nuoro’s EN: a clear sign of a higher
resilience of this EN with respect to the other. With reference to the deterministic attack 1
operated thorough the elimination first of the highest BC patches, Fig. 2 neatly indicates that
both the ENs are weaker than under random attack. Both the ENs start the subdivision into
many networks, when roughly 30% of the patches is terminated. Sassari’s EN breaks slightly
earlier that Nuoro’s EN. The residual dispersal capacity decreases at relevant and stepwise
paces and tends to zero after 35% of the patches is deleted. Nuoro’s EN almost always shows
a higher resilience with respect to Sassari’s EN. As for the deterministic 2 attack directed to
the patches first with highest risk of disappearance due to aggressive planned land uses, Fig.
3 demonstrates that both the ENs react exceptionally well. Almost until the total deletion of
the patches, the ENs maintain a structure consisting in a unique connected component. The
ENs are more resilient in this case than under random attack. For both the ENs, total residual
dispersal capacity decreases according to a linear behaviour; thus, the decay is slower than
the corresponding trend obtained in the case of random attack. Also in this case, Nuoro’s EN
maintains a higher total residual dispersal capacity (i.e., is more resilient) that Sassari’s EN.
Fig. 1 Comparative resilience analysis of the ENs under random attack: number of giant components (on
the bottom) and total residual dispersal capacity (on the top) are plotted vs the number of patches deleted.
Green and black lines describe the variation of the variables for the EN of Nuoro and Sassari

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Fig. 2 Comparative resilience analysis of the ENs under deterministic 1 attack: number of giant components
(on the bottom) and total residual dispersal capacity (on the top) are plotted vs the number of patches
deleted. Green and black lines describe the variation of the variables for the EN of Nuoro and Sassari
Fig. 3 Comparative resilience analysis of the ENs under deterministic 2 attack: number of giant components
(on the bottom) and total residual dispersal capacity (on the top) are plotted vs the number of patches
deleted. Green and black lines describe the variation of the variables for the EN of Nuoro and Sassari

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In this paper, we have demonstrated that resilience can be operationalised, starting from the
selection of appropriate variables as surrogates able to measure the capacity to react of ENs
under different kind of attacks. In addition, we have developed on the concept of comparative
evaluation of resilience, in the perspective to assess the behaviour of two ENs.Some major
results emerge. The first regards the confirmation that both the ENs are more resilient in the
face of random attacks to the patches than against targeted elimination of most central
patches. This corresponds to an intuitive concept: the best way to increase the resilience of
an EN is taking care of for emostly the high BC patches, which act as central hubs providing
useful nodes for shortcuts (easy ways to the dispersal of seeds). The second issue attains the
evidence that Nuoro’s EN is more resilient than Sassari’s EN. This is due to the better condition
of colonization and development of the vegetal species in Nuoro than in Sassari. A third
important result regards the very good reaction of the ENs to the deterministic 2 attack,
simulated according to the inverted level of interference between planned land uses and
patches. This clearly means that spatial planners of the towns of Nuoro and Sassari have
protected the landscape -even unconsciously- so that the designed ENs are more resilient
than in the case of random attack (mimicking the absence of planning). Two more issues
emerge, when we compare these results to those obtained by De Montis et al. (2016) for a
smaller (i.e. with 236 patches) EN in Nuoro. As the size increases from 236 to 1,000 patches,
the EN confirms its higher resilience, in front of random attacks, with respect to attacks directed
to high BC patches. By contrast, the larger EN displays a much greater resilience, in the face of
deterministic 2 attacks. This is a clear sign that size matters, when it comes to the selection of
landscape defragmentation and protection policies, in the perspective of healthier ENs.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This work is connected to the research project “Ecological networks and landscape planning:
case studies in Sardinia” approved after peer review evaluation by the University of Sassari
and funded by Fondazione di Sardegna.
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AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Andrea De Montis is a civil engineer, Ph.D. in Urban planning Sapienza, University of Rome and
Master of Science in Economic and Planning, Northeastern University, Boston USA, he is associate
professor in rural development at the Department of Agriculture, University of Sassari. He is principle
investigator of a research project on Ecological networks and landscape planning: case studies in
Sardinia funded by Fondazione di Sardegna.
Amedeo Ganciu, research doctor in Landscape and Environment at Sapienza, University of Rome,
currently works at the Research Institute on Terrestrial Ecosystems (Rome), National Research Council.
He focuses his research on the application of GIS science to environmental and landscape analysis.
Maurizio Mulas is Associate Professor of Arboriculture at the University of Sassari (Italy), and
selection, ecophysiology and use in the urban environment of woody plants of the Mediterranean
climate are among his main research fields.
Matteo Cabras holds a PhD in Sciences of Agricultural and Forestry Eco-systems and Food Production
at the University of Sassari. A part of his research interest focuses on ecological networks, as he held
a scholarship in the research project Ecological networks and landscape planning: case studies in
Antonietta Bardigot a master’s degree in Forestry and Environmental Systems at the University of
Sassari. Shehas held a scholarship for developing activities in the research project Ecological networks
and landscape planning: case studies in Sardinia funded by Fondazione di Sardegna.
Valentina Peddio earned a master’s degree in Forestry and Environmental Systems at the University
of Sassari. She has held a research scholarship for the analysis and design of the ecological network
of Nuoro funded by the Consorzio per glistudiuniversitari, Nuoro.
Simone Caschili is a Data Strategist at LaSalle Investment Management in Chicago (USA) where he
develops data driven solutions to inform LaSalle’s real estate investment decisions. Simone holds a
PhD in Land Engineering. His academic research interest has focused on a variety of spatial networks
spanning from commuting to international trade networks.
Pierangelo Massa is graduated in Construction Engineering (University of Cagliari, 2012) and holds
a PhD in Land Engineering (University of Cagliari, 2016). His research interests concern the study of
innovative spatial analysis methods for the use of Volunteered Geographic Information (VGI), and

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Social Media Geographic Information (SMGI), as support for analysis, design and decision-making in
urban and regional planning.
Chiara Cocco is currently a PhD candidate in Civil Engineering and Architecture at the University of
Cagliari and temporary visiting scholar at San Diego State University, California, USA. Her research
concerns the application of geospatial techniques in urban-regional planning and the development of
geodesign methods and process analytics.

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A. De Montis, A. Ganciu, V. Serra
1 INTRODUCTION
Landscape fragmentation (LF) is the process, according to which originally large patches (i.e.
fragments) of landscape become smaller and more isolated than in the initial condition (EEA,
2011). LF has a negative impact on landscape connectivity (LC), because it hinders animal
movement between a higher number of disconnected patches (Bissonette & Adair, 2008;
ervinka et al., 2015), increases the risk of diminution of biodiversity (Henle et al., 2004),
triggers the decline of populations of animal and vegetal species due to the loss of ecological
functionality (Harrison et al., 2012) and causes a smaller resilience of habitats due to a
reduced variety of ecosystems (Kettunen et al., 2007).
The literature on LF is rich and includes contributions focusing on theoretical and empirical
issues. As for the last aspects, a prominent stream of studies attains the design and application
of indicators able to measure LF (Battisti & Romano, 2007; Biondi et al., 2003; Bruschi et al.,
2015; De Montis et al., 2017 and 2018; Romano, 2002). These works are important, since
they represent a major step toward the operationalization of LF counteractions, i.e.
defragmentation interventions, which should be directed to reconnect landscape fragments
back into larger habitat pieces. In this respect, ecological networks and broader green
infrastructures are major actions (Lafortezza et al., 2013). In this paper, we aim at
constructing and applying a composite index of landscape fragmentation (CILF) to the
assessment of LF change of the twenty-four internal landscape units of the Regional
Landscape Plan of Sardinia from 2003 to 2008.
CILF is based on a combination of three major indicators of LF: thus, it considers the effects
of transport and mobility infrastructures, human settlements, and the geometry of the
patches. The argument is exposed as follows. In the next section, the methodology is
presented with a focus on the structure of CILF and its components. In section 3,CILF is
applied for a case study and results are reported and commented. In section 4, concluding
remarks and outlook ideas are elaborated.
2 METHODOLOGY
The assessment of LF is based on the use of a variety of indicators, which are often designed
with a focus on typical characteristics of the phenomena at hand. Our aim is to construct a
composite index that allows scientists to approach LF simultaneously under three aspects. To
do so, we consider three well-known indices of LF, namely the Infrastructural Fragmentation
Index (IFI), the Urban Fragmentation Index (UFI) and the effective mesh size index (meff).
IFI considers the process of division of the patches due to the development of transport and

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A complex index of landscape fragmentation: an application to Italian regional planning

mobility infrastructures, which impede the movement of animal species usually hindering their
crossing roads and railway traits (Battisti & Romano, 2007; Biondi et al., 2003; Bruschi et al.,
2015; De Montis et al., 2017 and 2018; Romano, 2002). IFIobeys to the following equation
§i n ·
¨ ¦ Li Oi ¸ N P
IFI * ©i1 ¹
A (1)
where (*) stands for the reference year, Li for the length in meters of the road or railway trait
with the exclusion of discontinuities (viaducts, bridges, tunnels), Oi for a (dimensionless)
occlusion coefficient, A for the extension in squared meters of the landscape unit (LU) area;
P for the perimeter in meters of the LU, and N for the number of patches. We consider patches
larger than 0.20 hectares to eliminate the distortion due to fictitious parts (Bruschi et al.,
2015; Lega, 2004). Oivaries, according to the difficulty that the fauna has in crossing the
transportation infrastructure (Bruschi et al., 2015): it is equal to 0.30 for municipal and local
roads, to 0.50 for national and provincial roads, and to 1.00 for national four (or more) lane
roads and railway. According to Romano and Zullo (2013); Battisti and Romano (2007), the
UFI obeys to the following equation
i n i n
¦S i ¦p i
UFI * i 1
i 1
A i n
2 S ¦ Si
i 1
(2)
where Si stands for the extension in squared meters of the i-th urban area, pi for the perimeter
in meters of the i-th urban area. The first term of equation 2 quantifies the incidence of
urbanized areas on the LU surface; the second term is the ratio between the perimeter of the
urban area and the circumference of the equivalent circle (Romano & Zullo, 2013). UFI* is
again calculated at the scale of LU and ranges between zero (for absence of urban areas) and
the value of the second term of equation 2 (Battisti et al., 2013). According to Jaeger
(2000),meff obeys to the following equation
(3)

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Where n stands for the number of patches, Atj for the total surface area of the LU, and Aij the
surface area of the patches.
We have designed the CILFas an unweighted average of the three LF indices, according to
the following simple formula
CILF= (IFI+ UFI+ meff)/3 (4)
In this preliminary definition, we consider that the three indices offer an equal contribution,
i.e. we hypothesise that LF is equally triggered by transport and mobility infrastructures, urban
settlements and pattern of the patches. Since we are interested in the description of LF
dynamics, we will focus on the percentage change of the variables considered in a certain
time period. Also, we will use the necessary transformations (i.e. normalizations) to smooth
the different size and unit of measure of each variable.
3 APPLICATION TO A CASE STUDY AND RESULTS

We have applied the LF assessment framework proposed above to the study of LF dynamics
in the twenty-four so called internal LUs prepared by the Autonomous Region of Sardinia.
These LUs are not officially in force, since so far no approval has been undertaken. This
approval is encouraged by professionals and academics, as in this way the overall framework
of the Regional Landscape Plan -including at the moment only twenty-seven coastal LUs-
would be completed. We have applied the CILF to the assessment of the variation of LF from
2003 to 2008. We use data freely available online (RAS, 2003, 2008). In order to apply the
IFI, we implemented a GIS and use data in shapefile format. Tunnels and bridges were
excluded from roads and railways traits. Then, we obtained and counted the number of
landscape fragments.As for the UFI, we use data in shapefile format relating to urbanized
areas, including urban and suburban industrial areas, rural buildings, and so on.Microsoft
Excel 2013 has supported the GIS analysis.
In Tab. 1, we report the results of our calculations.
The analysis of the absolute values reveals a variety of sizes and measure adopted to assess
LF according to the three indices. Further elaboration is needed to construct the CILF that is
elaborated as unweighted mean of the normalized variation of the three indices in the time
period from 2003 to 2008. In Tab. 2, we report these results.
CILF is obtained through a linear combination of the three simple indices consisting in the
growth rate of IFI, UFI and meff. This can be accepted, as the correlation analysis (with values
smaller than 0.30) confirms that the three variables are not correlated each other. Variation
values have been normalized, according to the usual min-max algorithm, since the normal

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test (verified if: the asymmetry’s absolute value is smaller than 2 and the median corresponds
to the mean) suggests that only one (UFI’s growth rate) out of three variables is distributed
according to the Gaussian probability function. For easy of understanding the geographical
distribution of the results, in Fig. 1 CILF is plotted for the internal LUs.
N Name of the LU IFI2003 IFI2008 UFI2003 UFI2008 meff 2003 meff 2008
28 Sulcis 2679.59 6432.79 0.19 0.32 463.31 452.89
29 Valle del Cixerri 6071.53 10229.96 0.23 0.46 390.88 384.89
30 Basso Campidano 8867.67 28327.83 1.33 1.66 68.36 37.04
31 Serpeddi' - Monte Genis 13.20 85.83 0.01 0.02 190.73 190.31
32 Gerrei 4405.99 5293.74 0.05 0.07 595.53 594.13
33 ParteollaTrexenta 7198.76 13585.12 0.47 0.71 324.35 315.21
34 Campidano 94095.88 93966.55 0.54 1.02 516.48 460.15
35 Monte Linas 12588.74 12588.74 0.18 0.27 175.45 174.93
36 Regionedellegiarebasaltiche 234267.94 234264.79 0.39 0.49 176.48 175.62
37 Flumendosa - Sarcidano - 30532.98 30532.98 0.23 0.29 661.68 660.59
Araxisi
38 Regionedeitacchicalcarei 4569.10 5193.44 0.06 0.06 517.75 517.39
39 Gennargentu e Mandrolisai 12213.46 14836.63 0.10 0.11 977.16 975.71
40 Media valle del Tirso 16512.00 17105.17 0.18 0.33 369.59 365.06
41 Altopiani di Macomer 23428.41 24485.28 0.17 0.27 638.45 635.82
42 Valli del Rio Isalle e Liscoi 48216.14 56231.62 0.39 0.49 826.88 821.92
43 Supramontiinterni 794.90 1145.40 0.05 0.05 340.86 340.42
44 La valle del Rio Mannu 1738.25 1846.10 0.03 0.05 351.79 351.25
45 Altopiani e Alta Valle del 8708.60 9170.81 0.06 0.10 1117.98 1114.47
Tirso
46 Marghine - Goceano 9693.29 9693.29 0.15 0.16 379.63 379.31
47 Meilogu 15511.60 15511.65 0.17 0.35 552.63 546.32
48 Logudoro 24911.33 25140.31 0.22 0.47 521.24 510.42
49 Piana del Rio Mannu di 22654.14 23217.59 0.38 0.51 820.47 815.95
Ozieri
50 Anglona 5761.68 5824.36 0.24 0.36 367.64 365.73
51 Massiccio del Limbara 11178.48 12211.20 0.42 0.47 875.31 872.30
Tab. 1 LF analysis, according to IFI, UFI and meff in 2003 and 2008

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N Name of the LU IFI (ng) UFI (ng) meff (ng) CILF

28 Sulcis 0.25 0.60 0.95 0.60
29 Valle del Cixerri 0.12 0.88 0.97 0.66
30 Basso Campidano 0.40 0.22 0.00 0.21
31 Serpeddi' - Monte Genis 1.00 0.88 1.00 0.96
32 Gerrei 0.04 0.35 1.00 0.46
33 ParteollaTrexenta 0.16 0.45 0.94 0.52
34 Campidano 0.00 0.78 0.76 0.52
35 Monte Linas 0.00 0.44 1.00 0.48
36 Regionedellegiarebasaltiche 0.00 0.23 0.99 0.41
37 Flumendosa - Sarcidano - Araxisi 0.00 0.23 1.00 0.41
38 Regionedeitacchicalcarei 0.03 0.00 1.00 0.34
39 Gennargentu e Mandrolisai 0.04 0.09 1.00 0.38
40 Media valle del Tirso 0.01 0.73 0.97 0.57
41 Altopiani di Macomer 0.01 0.52 0.99 0.51
42 Valli del Rio Isalle e Liscoi 0.03 0.23 0.99 0.41
43 Supramontiinterni 0.08 0.00 1.00 0.36
44 La valle del Rio Mannu 0.01 0.59 1.00 0.53
45 Altopiani e Alta Valle del Tirso 0.01 0.59 0.99 0.53
46 Marghine - Goceano 0.00 0.06 1.00 0.35
47 Meilogu 0.00 0.93 0.98 0.64
48 Logudoro 0.00 1.00 0.96 0.65
49 Piana del Rio Mannu di Ozieri 0.00 0.30 0.99 0.43
50 Anglona 0.00 0.44 0.99 0.48
51 Massiccio del Limbara 0.02 0.10 0.99 0.37
Tab. 2 Pattern of CILF and LF indices (normalised growth rate) for the twenty-four internal Lus

In this paper, we have demonstrated that it is possible to combine some LF indices into a
unique composite indicator, namely CILF, able to consider simultaneously LF processes
triggered by transport and mobility infrastructures, human settlements, geometrical pattern
of the patches. The LU with the higher value of CILF is Serpeddi' - Monte Genis, while Basso
Campidano has the lowest CILF value. The first LU has the highest values of IFI and meff
normalized growth rate. Spatial pattern of CILF indicates that northern internal LU have
experienced clearly a higher increase of LF, while in southern Sardinia many LU with the
lowest values of CILF cluster. A major analysis regards the variation of LF measures (typically,
the IFI) compared to the variation of the surface area of LUs. In Fig. 2, we plot the trend of
the ratio between CILF and LU surface area versus the LU surface area.

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Fig.1 Map representation of the analysis of CILF for the internal LUs of Sardinia

Fig.2 Interplay between CILF per unit of LU surface area and LU surface area

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It is possible to observe that CILF per unit of LU surface area fluctuates around the unit
(except for Serpeddì – Monte Genis), even though the LU surface area varies significantly.
This is a clear sign that CILF can be considered a stabile indicator of specific (i.e. per unit of
surface area) LF.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This work is funded by the research agreement “PaesaggiruralidellaSardegna –
riconoscimentodellecomponentistoriche, culturali ed insediative [Rural landscapes of Sardinia
– defining historical-cultural components and settlements]” signed between the Autonomous
Region of Sardinia and the Universities of Cagliari and Sassari (principal investigator Giuseppe
Pulina). The authors wish to thank Luigi Minerba for his insightful suggestions and comments.
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AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Andrea De Montis is a civil engineer, Ph.D. in Urban planning Sapienza, University of Rome and
Master of Science in Economic and Planning, Northeastern University, Boston USA, he is associate
professor in rural development at the Department of Agriculture, University of Sassari. He is principle
investigator of a research project on Ecological networks and landscape planning: case studies in
Amedeo Ganciu, research doctor in Landscape and Environment at Sapienza, University of Rome,
currently works at the Research Institute on Terrestrial Ecosystems (Rome), National Research Council.
He focuses his research on the application of GIS science to environmental and landscape analysis.
Vittorio Serra, master’s degree in forestry and environmental system, University of Sassari,
Phdstudent in Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Cagliari. His researchinterests focus on
historic rural buildings, rural areas and landscapes, and landscape planning, landscapefragmentation
and defragmentationmeasures.

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THE EFFECT OF BUILDINGS ON
LANDSCAPE FRAGMENTATION IN
NATURA 2000 SITES
A QUANTITATIVE AND COMPARATIVE
ASSESSMENT
ANTONIO LEDDAa, ANDREA DE MONTISa,b

VITTORIO SERRAb
a
University of Sassari, Sassari, Italy
e-mail: antonioledda@uniss.it
andreadm@uniss.it
b
e-mail: vittorio.serra1986@gmail.com

Ledda, A., De Montis, A. & Serra, V. (2019). The effect of buildings onlandscape fragmentation in Natura 2000
sites. A quantitative and comparative assessment. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature and
6887-054.6
ABSTRACT
Landscape fragmentation - i.e. the process where habitat patches tend to become smaller and
more isolated over time – is mainly due to human activities. Such a phenomenon has effects
on biodiversity, and influences ecosystem balance an d ecological networks. Thus, new rules
and planning approaches are called todefine proper protection and management measures.
Urbanized areas - including suburban and rural sprawl - and transport and mobility infrastructures
have effects on landscapes and habitats quality, and biodiversity too. Landscape fragmentation
can affect conservation areas defined according to H abitats and Birds Directives. In the light
of the foregoing considerations, this study focuses on landscape fragmentation in Natura 2000
sites. We measure landscape fragmentation in Special Protection Areas, Sites of Community
Importance and Special Areas of Conservation in six landscape units ofSardinia (Italy) by
applying the rural buildings fragmentation index (RBFI) and the effective mesh density (Seff).
Then, we propose a comparative analysis and report on the least and the most fragmented
Natura 2000 sites. Finally, we assess if there is correlation between RBFI and seff. In this study,
RBFI and seff provide conflicting outcomes and, acco rding to the Pearson correlation coefficient,
the metrics appear slight related each other.
KEYWORDS
Rural landscapes; Rural buildings; Landscape fragmentation; Fragmentation index; Comparative
approach
A. Ledda, A. De Monti, V. Serra
1 INTRODUCTION
Human actions can negatively affect landscape quality as consequences of deforestation, land
conversion for agricultural uses, and urbanization, with effects on habitats and biodiversity.
Negative effects include landscape fragmentation (LF) - i.e. the process where habitat patches
tend to become smaller and more isolated (EEA, 2011). LF mainly depends on anthropogenic
causes (Harrisson et al., 2012) and is particularly evident in urbanized areas, where network
of transport and mobility infrastructures (EEA, 2011) and urban development (Battisti &
Romano, 2007) are the main drivers. LF affects habitats, flora, and wild fauna (Astiaso Garcia
et al., 2013) in both the short and long term and at worst can lead to extinction processes.
Urbanized areas have effects on ecological networks (De Montis et al., 2016) in that it
contributes in increasing soil consumption and LF. Rural buildings can characterize peri-urban
and rural areas and, in the form of suburban and rural sprawl (Gonzalez-Abraham et al.,
2007), contribute in increasing LF. Metrics able to quantify LF caused by rural buildings are
scarcely discussed in scientific literature. Thus, in this work we focus on such a type of
phenomenon. We measure LF in Natura 2000 sites included in six landscape units (LUs) setby
the regional landscape plan (RAS, 2006) of Sardinia (Italy) and apply the so-called rural
buildings fragmentation index (RBFI, De Montis et al., 2017a). In addition, we measure the
effective mesh density (seff) and verify if RBFI and seff are related each other by using the
Pearson correlation coefficient (PCC). In the next section, we report on Natura 2000 sites and
LF in rural contexts. In the third section, we illustrate the method and data used. In the fourth
section, we show and discuss the findings. Finally, in the fifth section we report on the
concluding remarks.
2 LANDSCAPE FRAGMENTATIONIN NATURA 2000 SITES

The ‘Habitat Directive’ (Directive 92/43/EEC; EEC, 1992) aims at protecting European
biodiversity, preserving natural habitats of wild flora and fauna. The Directive establishes the
Natura 2000 network, which sets special conservation areas and includes special protection
areas according to the so-called ‘Birds Directive’ (Directive 2009/147/EC; EC, 2009). Natura
2000 sites embraces Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), Sites of Community Importance
(SCIs), and Special Protection Areas (SPAs). SPAs have been designated under the Birds
Directive, while SCIs and SACs under the Habitats Directive. Scientific literature is focusing on
Natura 2000 sites in Sardinia (Cannas & Zoppi, 2017; Floris & Ruggeri, 2017; Lai & Zoppi,
2017), where56 SACs have been designed, according to the Decree of the Ministry of the
Environment (MEPLS, 2017).Protected areas can be negatively affected by human

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The effect of buildings on landscape fragmentation in NATURA 2000 sites

infrastructures and urbanized areas, which contribute to LF significantly (Battisti & Romano,
2007; Astiaso Garcia et al., 2013). LF is also known as factor able to adversely affect
biodiversity (Harrisson et al., 2012).We consider suburban and rural sprawl as factors that
contribute in increasing LF. Sub urban sprawl shows higher housing density (housing
units/km2) than the rural sprawl (Radeloff et al., 2005). However, rural sprawl affects “much
larger areas than suburban sprawl” (Radeloff et al., 2005) as for forest fragmentation, in that
rural sprawl shows significant negative environmental effects per house, given that “it occurs
in less-altered areas” (Radeloff et al., 2005). According to Hansen et al. (2005), “many native
species have reduced survival and reproduction near homes” in low-density rural home
development (from 6 to 25 homes/km2).Theobald et al. (1997) define as ‘disturbance zone’
the surface of degraded habitat occupied by buildings and their surrounding area. Also
McKenzie (2011)point out that rural buildings have ecological effect son habitats, such as loss
of habitat and LF caused by rural sprawl (Gonzalez-Abraham et al., 2007; Radeloff et al.,
2005). Finally, Theobald et al. (1997), quoted by Gonzalez-Abraham et al. (2007), argue that
at“a given building density, habitat fragmentation is highest when buildings are dispersed”.
LFdue to buildings can be measured through metrics such as “proportion of undisturbed area,
decrease in largest patch area, decrease in median patch area, and change in total edge”
(Gonzalez-Abraham et al., 2007), while De Montis et al. (2017) proposed and applied the RBFI
for measuring such a type of LF in six LUs of Sardinia.Some authors studied LF in Natura 2000
sites. Hernando et al. (2017) focus on the importance of map resolution as a key element,
when the habitat conservation status needs to be assessed. The authors “assess how
fragmentation and connectivity vary depending on three different resolution forest cover
maps” (Hernando et al., 2017).
Piquer-Rodríguez et al. (2012) consider landscape fragmentation and connectivity in land use
models in order to assess - in the context of protected area networks - the influence of land
use changes on the connectivity. Tomaselli et al. (2012) apply a set of landscape metrics in
three coastal wetlands included in the Natura 2000 network “in order to investigate [the
performance of the metrics] in assessing fragmentation and spatial patterns of habitats”
(Tomaselli et al., 2012).
3 METHOD AND DATA

Sardinian rural landscapes are often characterized by isolated buildings or small clusters of
rural buildings such as in the historical regions of Gallura and Nurra, in Northern Sardinia
(Sanna, 2008). Thus, in this work we focused on LF caused by rural buildings and applied the
Rural Building Fragmentation Index (RBFI; De Montis et al., 2017a), an index obtained by
modifying the urban fragmentation index (UFI) (Romano & Zullo, 2013).

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The RBFI obeys to the following equation 1:
where N*stands for number of rural buildings built-up within the Natura 2000 site, A for
surface area of the Natura 2000 site, and Si* and pi* for area and perimeter of the surface
occupied by rural buildings.
The RBFI considers the so-called Urban Dispersion (URD), an index able to measure the
distribution of urban nucleus (Romano & Tamburini, 2006). The URDis conceived as a
superficial density of urban settlements and, thus, obeys to the following equation 2:
Where N stands for the number of urban nucleus centroids and A for the reference
area.Furthermore, we are interested in assessing the correlation between RBFI and other
well-known metrics able to measure LF. The effective mesh size (meff) is a well-tested index
(EEA, 2011; Jaeger, 2000) and it “is based on the probability that two randomly located points
(or animals) in an area are connected (or in the same patch) and are not separated by a
barrier” (Jaeger, 2015). However, in this study we consider the effective mesh density (seff)
because it is more suitable than meff for revealing trends and changes in trends (EEA, 2011;
Jaeger, 2000).
The seff provides us with the effective number of meshes per square kilometre (EEA, 2011).
According to the EEA (2011), it “is often more convenient to count the effective number of
meshes per 1000 km2 rather than per 1 km2”.
Thus, we express the values of seff in meshes (or landscape patches) per 1000 km2. When the
LF increases the seff increases as well (EEA, 2011; Jaeger, 2015). The seff obeys to the following
equation 3 (EEA, 2011):

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Where meff obeys to the following equation 4:
Where n stands for number of patches, Ai for surface area of n patches and At for extent of
the Natura 2000 site. We used land use map data freely available on-line through the website
of the Autonomous Region of Sardinia (RAS, 2016a, 2016b), ESRI ArcGIS 10 and Microsoft
Excel 2010. We applied the metrics in Natura 2000 sites falling within six LUsof similar extent
(Fig. 1).
Fig. 1 Geographyc context. A: in gray, the region of Sardinia. B: in gray, the six LUs: (1)Golfo dell’Asinara,
(2)Massiccio del Limbara, (3)Piana del RiuMannu di Ozieri, (4) Gennargentu and Mandrolisai, (5)Flumendosa
- Sarcidano – Araxisi, and (6)Regione delle Giare Basaltiche;
in red, the Natura 2000 sitesincludedwithin the sixLUs
The Natura 2000 sites cover significant surface area of Gennargentu and Mandrolisai (44.7%
of the LU) and Piana del RiuMannu di Ozieri (30.3%). Piana del RiuMannu di Ozieri shows the
highest absolute values of built-up area (more than 186 ha in 2003; more than 271 ha in
2008).

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LUs (A) SAC, SCI, (B) RATIO (C) RURAL RATIO (D) RURAL RATIO
AREA OR SPA AREA (B)/(A) BUILT-UP (C)/(B) BUILT-UP (D)/(B)
LU CODE NATURA AREA (ha) AREA (ha)
(ha) 2000
SITE
(ha)
2003 2008
(1) Golfo 80713 SAC 15589 19.3% 6.6 0.04% 16.9 0.10%
dell’Asinara ITB010002,
ITB010003,
ITB011155,
ITB010043,
ITB010082;
SPA
ITB010001,
ITB013012,
ITB013011
(2) 92400 SCI 16624 18.0% 25.0 0.15% 27.5 0.17%

Massiccio del ITB011109
Limbara
(3) Piana del 87048 SCI 26403 30.3% 186.2 0.71% 271.4 1.03%
RiuMannu di ITB011113,
Ozieri SPA
ITB013048
(4) 101022 SPA 45186 44.7% 10.0 0.02% 10.6 0.02%

Gennargentu ITB022217,
and SCI and
Mandrolisai SPA
ITB021103
(5) 82079 SCI 493 0.6% - - - -

Flumendosa ITB032240
- Sarcidano
– Araxisi
(6) Regione 92609 SCI 8001 8.6% - - 2.4 0.03%

delle Giare ITB041112,
Basaltiche SAC
ITB042237,
SPA
ITB043056
Tab. 1 Characterization of LUs and Natura 2000 sites
In the next section we measure RBFI and seff, and their variation according to the following
equations (5), (6), (7), and (8):
I I I
I I
I
I

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Natura 2000 sites in Piana del RiuMannu di Ozieri show the highest values of RBFI in both
2003 (about 12) and 2008 (about 36), while in Flumendosa – Sarcidano – Araxisi the rural
buildings do not contribute to LF. Regione delle Giare Basaltiche shows the lowest RBFI (0.001
in 2008). Piana del RiuMannu di Ozieri has the highest difference ( RBFI) of RBFI from 2003
to 2008 (24.3). Golfo dell’Asinara and Piana del RiuMannu di Ozieri have the highest increase
(dRBFI) of RBFI from 2003 to 2008 (1271.0% and 204.1%, respectively), while Gennargentu
and Mandrolisai has the lowest one (32.9%).
Natura 2000 sites in RBFI RBFI03- dRBFI03- seff seff03-08 dseff03-08

08 08(meshes per
1000 km2)
2003 2008 2003 2008
(1) Golfo dell’Asinara 0.004 0.054 0.050 1271.0% 26.210 26.450 <0.000 0.9%
(2) Massiccio del 0.125 0.176 0.051 41.2% 6.088 6.092 <0.000 0.0%
Limbara
(3) Piana del 11.908 36.208 24.300 204.1% 3.843 3.895 <0.000 1.3%
RiuMannu di Ozieri
(4) Gennargentu and 0.003 0.004 0.001 32.9% 3.532 3.532 <0.000 -0.0%
Mandrolisai
(5) Flumendosa - - - - - - - - -
Sarcidano – Araxisi
(6) Regione delle - 0.001 - - 19.056 19.059 <0.000 0.0%
Giare Basaltiche
Tab. 2 RBFI and seff and their variation from 2003 to 2008
Natura 2000 sites in Golfo dell’Asinara and Regione delle Giare Basaltiche show the highest
values of seff (about 26 and 19 meshes per 1000 km2, respectively), while Gennargentu and
Mandrolisai shows the lowest one (about 3.5). The variations of seff are not significant from
2003 to 2008. According to the RBFI, Natura 2000 sites in Piana del RiuMannu di Ozieri appear
as the most fragmented, while according to the seff the most fragmented Natura 2000 sites
are localized in Golfo dell’Asinara. The values of sef fconfirm the results of previous studies:
coastal areas often result more fragmented than the inland areas. We could explain such
conflicting results by considering that the RBFI provides raw information on LF. Finer

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assessment of that measure would require the integration of information connected to many
more aspects. Future research will investigate such an issue. Finally, we assess the
relationship concerning RBFI,dSeff, and the area occupied by Natura 2000 sites within the LUs
(Tab. 3). We find out that dRBFI and dSeff are weakly positively correlated(PCC= 0.46) and
the dRBFI is weakly negatively correlated to the areas covered by the Natura 2000 sites (PCC
= -0.48).This confirms the intuitive concept that the larger the area included in Natura 2000
sites, the lower the effect of buildings on LF. The institution of Natura 2000 sites constitutes
an important limitation of built-up areas.
PCC
dRBFI03-08 dSeff03-08 Ratio area Natura 2000
site/area LU
PCC dRBFI03-08 0.46 -0.48
dSeff03-08 0.46 0.08
Ratio area Natura 2000 -0.48 0.08
site/area LU
Tab. 3 Correlation analysis of the metrics
However, the number of analyzed areas need to be increased in future research to provide a
more credible comparison between RBFI and Seff. In other terms, the sample of areas
examined in this study is limited to be considered statistically representative of certain
phenomena.
5 CONCLUSION
Scientific literature has scarcely dealt with LF caused by rural buildings. Then, this manuscript
reports on the findings we obtained by using RBFI and seff, two metrics able to quantify LF
due to the built-up rural dimension. The RBFI is a relatively new index, which is rooted in the
UFI. The RBFI has specifically been proposed for measuring LF in rural areas where dispersed
rural buildings can characterize the geographical context. The RBFI has been used in few
scientific works and this study pointed out its pro and cons. We applied the metrics in Natura
2000 sites falling within six LUs in Sardinia (Italy) and assessed the LF from 2003 to 2008.
Natura 2000 sites in Piana del RiuMannu di Ozieri appear as the most fragmented according
to the RBFI, but according to the seff the most fragmented onesare in Golfo dell’Asinara.The
seff supports the results of previous studies where the coastal areas were more fragmented
than the inland areas. RBFI and seff show slight correlation according to the PCC.As concluding
remarks, we stress strengths and weaknesses of this study. The RBFI provides a quantitative
measure of LF and allows the assessment of the degradation of habitats in space and in time.
Furthermore, it provides politicians and planners with information about the need to preserve
or reconnect rural areas, aiming at preserving wild fauna and flora, and recovering ecological

© 2019, FedoaPress


corridors. As for the weakness, the data used in this study were incomplete and scarcely
accurate, with respect to the actual regional scenario. In other words, many rural buildings
are not recorded in the regional land use map and often the built-up area could be
overestimated, as it does not include just rural buildings but also their surrounding unbuilt
surface. Secondly, the RBFI does not consider the (clustered, random or dispersal) built-up
pattern, i.e. the reciprocal location and distance among rural buildings (centroids). Different
patterns may imply different effects on ecosystems and biodiversity. Rural buildings affect
their surrounding areas with different ‘disturbance zone’. In addition, more dispersed buildings
imply more roads (and more vehicular traffic), thus a higher LF. Furthermore, the RBFI should
cover areas of approximately the same extent to provide comparative findings, while in this
study we consider Natura 2000 sites of different extent. As alternative, we could relate the
RBFI to a grid with predefined cell size and obtainmore comparable findings.In this study, the
RBFI is assessed without a precise consideration of the barrier effect, measuring how specific
target species perceive the built-up dimension. The same road may be perceived as an
insuperable obstacle by certain species or as an easily crossable trait for other species. Finally,
a sensitivity analysis should be performed to assess how RBFI varies when its components
vary.We are aware of pro and cons of this study, but it should be considered as one of the
few attempts aimed at including the dispersion of rural buildings as key factor in LF processes.
The RBFI needs to be tested in other contexts for assessing its usefulness in measuring LF.
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AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Antonio Ledda, Ph.D. in Civil Engineering and Architecture,he is assistant professor at Department
of Agriculture, University of Sassari. His research interest focuses on rural buildings, rural areas and
landscapes,landscape planning, landscape fragmentation and defragmentation measures.
Andrea De Montis, Civil engineer, Ph.D. in Urban planning Sapienza, University of Rome and Master
of Science in Economic and Planning, Northeastern University, Boston USA, he is associate professor
in rural developmentat the Department of Agriculture, University of Sassari. His research interests
concern regional and landscape analysis and planning, strategic environmental assessment, and,
recently, the strategy for the adaptation to climate changes.
Vittorio Serra, Master’s degree in forestry and environmental system, University of Sassari,
Phdstudent in Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Cagliari. His research interests focus on

© 2019, FedoaPress

REGIONAL ECOLOGICAL
NETWORKS: THEORETICAL AND
PRACTICAL ISSUES
GIUSEPPE MODICA, SALVATORE PRATICÒ

LUIGI LAUDARI
CARMELO RICCARDO FICHERA
SALVATORE DI FAZIO

University of Reggio Calabria
e-mail: giuseppe.modica@unirc.it
salvatore.pratico@unirc.it
luigi.laudari@unirc.it
crfichera@unirc.it
salvatore.difazio@unirc.it
URL: www.agraria.unirc.it

Modica, G., Praticò, S., Laudari, L., Fichera, C. R. & Di Fazio, S. (2019). Regional ecological networks: theoretical
and practical issues. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature and ecosystem services (pp. 1028-
ABSTRACT
In the present paper, practical and theoretical evidences arising from the multi-temporal analysis
of ecological networks (ENs) are provided. A case study based on the implementation of EN
in Calabria (Italy) in three different years (1990, 2012 and 2018), is discussed. In the first
paragraph, we provided a synthesis on the concept of landscape connectivity based on the most
relevant scientific literature. Therefore, the secon d paragraph deals with the description of the
main methodological steps and on the adopted software packages to design and measure spatial
characteristics of ENs. The resulting ENs consist of nodes, patches (i.e., functional patches),
edges, linkages, and corridors (designed taking into account the landscape permeability to
the animal movement) and to measure the landscape fragmentation. Moreover, to highlight
ENs robustness, the spatial comparison of the three ENs was also performed on the basis of
landscape graph theory. To this end, a consistent set of indices (both binary and probabilistic)
has been calculated. Moreover, the landscape morphological spatial pattern analysis (MSPA)
was also applied.
KEYWORDS
Ecological networks; Landscape connectivity; landscape graphs model; multi-temporal
assessment
Regional ecological networks: theoretical and practical issues

1 INTRODUCTION
Landscape connectivity is a key element of landscape structure and can be defined as the
degree to which each components of landscape structure facilitates or impedes the
movements among existing patches (Taylor et al., 1993). A congruous number of studies has
been published about the Ecological Network (EN) issue (Bennet, 1998; Boitani, Falcucci et
al., 2007; Fahrig, 2013; J.-C. Foltête, 2019; Gippoliti & Battisti, 2017; Opdam et al., 2006;
Vimal et al., 2012). Modelling an EN is a key for analyzing functional connectivity and
biodiversity preservation (Taylor et al., 2006). Moreover, the diachronic analysis of ecological
connectivity allows to highlight the changes occurred in the landscape structure. Since
landscape connectivity reflects a basic form of interaction between species and their
environment, the modelling of ecological networks is currently an important issue for
researchers and practitioners on the field of landscape planning management (Gurrutxaga et
al., 2010), also linked with other important issues as the effects of climate changes on species
behavior and habitat fragmentation (Opdam & Wascher, 2004). Despite from field observation
is no easy to measure actual functional connectivity, it is possible estimate a potential
functional connectivity in many ways (Adriaensen et al., 2003; Boitani et al., 2015; Calabrese
& Fagan, 2006; Cook, 2002; Drielsma et al., 2007; McRae et al., 2008; Moilanen & Hanski,
2001; Tischendorf & Fahring, 1975; Urban & Keitt, 2001). Among these, landscape graphs
model is a spatially explicit model that is good for conservation planning issue (Galpern et al.,
2011). Graphs can be created using a set of nodes to indicate the habitat patches and a set
of links to indicate their potential connections. In this work, we present the results concerning
the implementation of three ecological networks, obtained by the same method on the whole
territory of the Calabria region (Italy), and referring to years 1990, 2012 and 2018. The
research focus is on the evolution of landscape connectivity developing a multi-temporal
assessment that accounts for landscape evolution trends. Our main objectives are the analysis
of ecological network’s robustness and the investigation of the role of landscape
fragmentation interpreted through changes in spatial articulation of physical constituents (i.e.,
the different land uses) and qualitative constituents (distribution of habitats and bio-
permeability quality classes).
2 METHODOLOGY
For the three times under investigation (1990, 2012 and 2018) the respective ENs have been
built using the Functional Connectivity (FunConn) model (Theobald et al., 2006; 2011)
according to Fichera et al (2010). FunConn is a toolbox working on ArcGIS® environment that

© 2019, FedoaPress

G. Modica, S. Pratico, L. Laudari et al.
allows to identify movement patterns and the landscape connectivity for each single faunal
specie under investigation. As synthetized in Fig. 1, the following base data have been used:
land cover (LC), i.e. the CORINE land cover at third level of detail; human disturbance (HD),
modelled starting from built-up and road and railroad networks data (information about
population density and road-railroad typology was taken into account); autecological
information of each of the 87 terrestrial species considered target species. To obtain each EN,
the following four steps have been implemented:
− defining the habitat-quality (HQ) map for each of the considered 87 terrestrial faunal
species;
− defining the overall HQ map;
− defining functional patches (FPs);
− connecting all functional patches taking into account landscape permeability to the
animal movement and the HD sources.
HQ ranges between 0 and 100 when referred to unsuitable to optimal habitats. For each
target species, HQ calculation requires the definition of the following parameters:
− resource quality, obtained indexing each LC class ranging from unsuitable to optimal
habitat, and based on habitat preferences of each target species;
− functional patch structure, that accounts for the so-called ‘edge effect’ by evaluating
proximity to patch edge to define suitable areas;
− distance from the HD sources, that quantifies the effects of LC disturbance on HQ.
The overall HQ maps is a multi-species habitat quality surface, obtained by means of a
weighted sum procedure that takes into account the different ecological importance of each
considered target species. In more details, the inclusion of a target specie in a Site of
Community Interest (SCI) of the so-called Natura 2000 European network, as well as in the
IUCN Red list of threatened species, determines a different weight for that species in obtaining
the overall HQ map. The delineation of functional patches was based, for each organism, on
the minimum foraging requirements and on the possibility of movement among different
patches (Girvetz & Greco 2007). This process is leaded by the overall HQ map and two main
organism-specific parameters guide this process: maximum foraging radius and minimum
patch size. The maximum foraging radius is a measure of how far target species move seeking
out forage while the minimum patch size represents the smallest biologically relevant patch
size for each of the target species selected. In defining the three ENs that are not species-
specific but multi-species (Fichera et al., 2015), the maximum foraging radius has been
imposed at 100 m (corresponding to the minimum foraging radius of the target species) while
the minimum patch size at 10 ha. Moreover, in the 2012 and 2018 ENs, the obtained FPs were

© 2019, FedoaPress


integrated with the SCIs boundaries that are designed in Italy since 1997. As a result, we
obtained a network of integrated patches (IPs). The last step is the generation of the
landscape network that represents the habitat patch connectivity. The resulting EN consists
of nodes, patches (i.e., functional patches), edges, linkages, and corridors (designed taking
into account the landscape BP to the animal movement). In order to investigate the occurred
changes in the spatial configuration of the three defined ENs, the landscape fragmentation
was analyzed by means of the free software Guidos v2.5(Vogt & Riitters, 2017). Moreover, to
highlight the EN’s robustness, the spatial comparison of the three ENs was performed by
means of the free software Conefor v2.6 (Saura & Torné, 2009). To this end, the number of
nodes and core areas as well as the overall index values (OIVs) and the Betweenness
Centrality (BC) were analyzed. For the three ENs the gradient of landscape fragmentation was
calculated on the following landscape indexes calculated as a function of spatial entropy
(Shannon, 1948; Vogt, 2016) and mapped as binary data:
− Bio-Permeability (BP) - Areas with BP>66 that represent the priority areas for the
construction of the ecological network’s (EN) corridors;
− Habitat Quality (HQ) - Areas with HQ>66 that represent territories most suitable to wild
fauna and under the lower effect of the human disturbance;
− Ecological Networks’ Patches (ENs’ P) - Core areas of the three ENs that represent the
structural elements of the reticular systems.
Subsequently, landscape fragmentation was analyzed by means of the morphological spatial
pattern analysis (MSPA) (Vogt et al., 2006; Soille et al., 2009) that allows to qualitatively
describe the fragmentation through the morphology of its different constituents: core, islet,
perforated, edge, loop, bridge and branch.
3 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Like all spatial graphs, landscape graphs are suitable for connectivity metrics computing (Laita
et al., 2011). All metrics applied to landscape graphs, at various scale, are called connectivity
metrics but they are not merely limited to explain topological relationships, providing helpful
information about the strength of a ENs that can be used to improve the planning and
monitoring activities (J. C. Foltête et al., 2014; Rayfield et al., 2011). In this paper, a consistent
set of indices (both binary and probabilistic) has been calculated to provide helpful information
allowing the three ENs comparing. All calculated indices has been provided and synthetically
described in Tab.1. Referring to the analysis of ENs robustness, evidence shows a general
decrease in the connectivity levels in 2012 and a reprise in 2018 highlighting a general
consistent rearrangement of the components towards a more disjointed structure. An

© 2019, FedoaPress

insularisation process can be inferred analysing the high increase (from 1 to 8 for the time
span 1990÷2012 and then again 1 in 2018) of the NC index.
Fig. 1 Logical schema of the proposed methodology aimed at the spatial analysis and
comparison of the three ecological networks (ENs)
Moreover, the increase of BC describes the tendency to construct clusters including a higher
number of patches that act as bridges and provide short cuts. The results of the analysis of
the landscape fragmentation process with MSPA approach are synthesized in Fig. 2.

© 2019, FedoaPress


Particularly interesting appears the analysis of the different patches (FPs and IPs) that
represent the core areas from which the three ENs are built.
In addition to the progressive decrease of the fragmentation values linked to the increase of
forestry areas from 1990 to 2012 and 2018, it is evident that the integration of the SCIs in
building the 2012 and 2018 ENs is able to improve significantly the compactness and the
spatial distribution of the core areas on the study area. The ENs’ P graphshows a constant
increasein core areas class values with a slice increase from 1990 to 2012 and 2018. Both the
other graphs (HQ and BP) show similar values for the core areas class in 1990 and 2012, but
also a great increase in 1990. Vice versa, for the other classes can be noticed a decrease
during the time interval under investigation.
Indices Description 1990 2012 2018
Number of Links (NL) Number of 781 577 1078

connections between
habitat nodes in the
landscape
Number of Components (NC) Number of nodes in 1 8 1
which exist a path
between every pair of
nodes
Harary index (H) Sum of reciprocals of 9701.40 7333.84 14503.13
distances between all
pairs of vertices of a
connected graph
Landscape Coincidence Probability (LCP) Probability that two 0.39 0.25 0.47
points randomly
located within the
landscape belong to
the same habitat
component
Integral Index of Connectivity (IIC) Habitat availability on 0.04 0.02 0.06
a binary connection
model
Flux (F) F index gives 1562 1154 2156
information on
dispersal probability
within patches
Probability of Connectivity (PC) Probability that two 0.39 0.25 0.47
points randomly
placed within the
landscape fall into
habitat areas that are
reachable from each
other
(interconnected)
Betweenness Centrality (BC) Centrality measure 0.03±0.06 0.04±0.08 0.02±0.04
based on shortest
paths in a graphs
Tab. 1 Ecological Networks (ENs) indices.

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4 CONCLUSIONS
Starting from the analysis of the recent land-use dynamics occurred in the study-area, we
scrutinised the performance and changes of the landscape connectivity analysing the period
between 1990, 2012and 2018 comparing the three different ENs. This is a step of a multi-
temporal analysis that widely showed its significant role in the sustainable landscape planning.
Moreover, several future research directions are outlined: the analysis of intermediate years
(2012 in this case), a deepening on the dynamics of fragmentation and their effects on
landscape connectivity, and the impact of new built-areas.
Fig.2 Synthesis of the landscape morphological spatial pattern analysis (MSPA) performed on
Ecological Networks’ patches (ENs’ P), habitat quality (HQ) and Bio-Permeability (BP)

© 2019, FedoaPress


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AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Giuseppe Modica, Ph.D. in Environmental and Agro-forestry Engineering, researcher and assistant
professor in Rural Buildings and Rural Landscape at the Department of Agraria of the Mediterranea
University of Reggio Calabria (Italy). Member of AIIA (Italian Association of Agricultural Engineering),
CIGR (Commission International du Génie Rural) and AgEng (International Association of Agricultural
Engineers). His main research interests focusing on sustainable landscape planning, landscape
services, geospatial information in decision support systems, multi-criteria evaluation, Remote sensing
applications in Agro-Forestry. He is author of more than 70 publications in these research fields.

© 2019, FedoaPress


Referee for several international journals and member of scientific committee in several international
conferences.
Salvatore Praticò, graduate cum laude in Forestry and Environmental Sciences at “Mediterranea”
University of Reggio Calabria (Italy). PhD in Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences and
Technologies. Postdoctoral Researcher in “Rural buildings and agro-forest landscape planning”
(AGR/10) at “Mediterranea” University of Reggio Calabria (Italy). His main research interests focusing
on sustainable landscape planning and management, Land Use/Land Cover (LU/LC) dynamics and
changes, landscape services, geospatial information in decision support systems, remote sensing and
photogrammetry applications in Agro-Forestry, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and their application
in precision agriculture.
Luigi Laudari, Ph.D. in Environmental and Agro-forestry Engineering and research fellow at the
AGROMATER-LAB Laboratory of the Mediterranea University of Reggio Calabria. Research interests:
Geographic information systems; Landscape ecological planning; Ecological networks.
Carmelo Riccardo Fichera, former full Professor in "Rural Building and Landscape Planning" at the
Department of Agraria, “Mediterranea” University of Reggio Calabria, Italy. Past president of the II
Technical section of the Italian Society of Agricultural Engineering (AIIA). Member of GIGR
(Commission International du Génie Rural), AgEng (International Association of Agricultural
Engineers), SIFET (Italian Association of Topography and Photogrammetry), RURALIA (Italian
Association for re-utilization of agricultural sites). Author of over 130 scientific publications dealing
with the following subjects:Technical innovation and sustainability in farm building; Landscape
planning; Geographic Information Systems for rural planning;Infrastructures for an integrated use of
rural landscape and protected areas.
Salvatore Di Fazio, full Professor in Rural Architecture and Landscape at the Department of Agraria,
“Mediterranea” University of Reggio Calabria, Italy. In the same Department is member of the teaching
staff (courses in charge: “Forestry building and Landscape"; “Landscape planning and agroforestry
infrastructures”; “Agricultural buildings and plants”) and coordinator of the Postgraduate Master
Programme in “Forestry and Environmental Science”. Director of the CRTA Laboratory and Research
Unit. Member of the Editorial Board of JAE (Journal of Agricultural Engineering). Research fields:
sustainable design of farm buildings; valorisation of the rural architectural heritage; landscape analysis
and planning; territorial infrastructures for agriculture and forestry.

© 2019, FedoaPress

COMPARATIVE ECOLOGICAL
NETWORK ANALYSIS
TARGET AND VECTOR SPECIES AND OTHER
NATURALISTIC ISSUES
MAURIZIO MULAS, MATTEO CABRAS

ANDREA DE MONTIS

e-mail: mmulas@uniss.it
matteocabras80@gmail.com, andreadm@uniss.it
URL: www.uniss.it

Mulas, M., Cabras, M. & De Montis, A. (2019). Comparative ecological network analysis. Target and vector
species and other naturalistic issues. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature and ecosystem services
ABSTRACT
Urban settlements produce strong alteration of natural environments and of their ecological
structures. Land fragmentation and lack of vegetation in most of the soil space create an
unsuitable environment for a large quantity of animals normally living in the region. The
ecological networks can be classified among the territorial devices able to guarantee the
functional and spatial connectivity between the environmental and landscape components,
ensuring the continuity of flow in the matrices and contrasting the processes of fragmentation.
These strategies are finding wide applications espec ially in the peri-urban and urban-rural
transition zones characterized by the presence of residual ecosystems, which still preserve
natural values and facilitate the dispersal processes of plant and animal populations. In this
work, two pilot areas located in the peri-urban fringe areas of the cities of Sassari and Nuoro
are identified, analyzed and compared. The presence of agricultural areas, gardens and tree-
lined avenues offers the possibilities for the realization of ecological networks that are studied
according to the theory of complex networks and starting from the characteristics of the two
most widespread plant target species in these areas: the Holm oak and the Olive tree. European
jay (Garrulusglandularius) and the common starling (Sturnus vulgaris) have been considered as
vector animal species. Combining the study of the green areas (patches distribution and size)
and the potential distance of dissemination by birds (corridors), two ecological networks were
built for the towns of Nuoro and Sassari.
KEYWORDS
Ecological networks, target plant species, vector animal species, plant spreading, natural
patches, ecological corridors.
Comparative ecological network analysis

1 INTRODUCTION
The development of human settlements exerts interference on the balance and on the
functional dynamics of the environment and the landscape. The construction of a variety of
urban centers (from metropolitan areas to small villages) and the necessary transport and
mobility infrastructure resulted in numerous obstacles. These artificial buildings act as
interpositions and interrupt the continuity originally observed in large natural areas.
Landscape fragmentation (LF) is the phenomenon according to which the very large initial
parts of the habitat (also called patches) are progressively cut and divided into even smaller
and more isolated fragments (Fichera et al., 2015). LF has many deficiencies, such as reduced
animal mobility and seed dispersal activity, and should be neutralized to achieve healthier
landscapes in contemporary peri-urban settlements. An important strategy to decrease LF is
the design and implementation of structures capable of reconnecting patches into larger and
more robust assemblies. In this regard, ecological networks (EN) are documented to serve
the cause, as they allow the reunification of patches through the different parts of an urban
settlement from the core to the periphery (Bennett & Mulongoy, 2006). An important method
to support the design of EN is the analysis of the ecological network (ENA), which allows the
construction and analysis of ENs starting from their relational and functional properties
(Schramski et al., 2011). ENA consists of the application of network analysis to the study of
ecological systems. Network analysis is a scientific field that studies complex systems by
projecting their properties on a graph that includes single entities (modeled as nodes)
interconnected by links. Our study focuses primarily on mutualistic networks, such as
relationships within ecosystem services such as pollination and seed dispersal. These are the
cases of frugivorous nets, in which the plants interact with their animal dispersants of seeds
(Ings et al., 2009). One of the main advantages of network analysis is that it allows the
comparison of apparently different systems by adopting very simple metrics, so it adds a
unifying perspective to the study of similarities and differences and their motivations. Many
authors have used network analysis in comparative approaches to the study of ecological
systems (Théau et al., 2015). In this work, we aim to apply complex network analysis to
support the design of two ENs for the cities of Sassari and Nuoro, in Italy (Fig. 1). We compare
these systems by setting the same patch number and focusing on naturalistic characterization
and centrality properties. We develop the analysis of centrality in a comparative perspective
by comparing two systems of similar size and characteristics. These systems consist of the
proposed ENs for the cities of Sassari and Nuoro, in Sardinia, Italy. The ENs consist of a series
of physical earth patches (the nodes of the system) that host plant-based species and are
intertwined by a set of exclusively aerial connections (the edges) corresponding to the seed

© 2019, FedoaPress

M. Mulas, M. Cabras, A. DE Montis
dispersion activities provided by volatile species of vectors (Guimarães & De Deyn, 2016). As
proposed by Ings et al. (2009), selected ENs can be classified as mutual networks (MW). In
fact, their modeling is adapted to the dispersion of the seeds of two Mediterranean plant
target species (Holm oak, Quercus ilex and Olive, Olea europaea) through the frugivorous
activity and the movement of some volatile vectors species (including European jay,
Garrulusglandarius and the common starling, Sturnus vulgaris).
2 METHODOLOGY
The study started with the identification of two target plant species (Quercus ilex, Olea
europea). Holm oak and Olive tree are considered prevalent in peri-urban ecosystems and in
some urban contexts (treelinedavenues, public and private gardens). For every plant species,
oneor more animal seed dispersal species were selected based on the realistic possibility to
observe them undisturbed in the urban environment. For the Holm oak, the most active vector
in the seeds dispersal is theEuropean jay (Garrulusglandularius) (Gómez, 2003; Pons &
Pausas,2007). The average dispersal distance of the bird is 250 m, with a recorded maximum
of 1000 m. Some rodents like Apodemussylvaticus and Eliomysquercinus (Gómez et al., 2008)
also contribute but are less effective n the dispersal of the seed. Rodents are also active in
the seed dispersal of Olea europaea but the maximum distance of dispersal of these vectors
is a few meters. Moreover, rodents are frequently controlled in the urban environment by
means of specific poison substances.

© 2019, FedoaPress


Fig. 1 Aerial view of the towns of Nuoro (above) and Sassari (below)
More efficient as Olive seeds disperser are many frugivorousbirds, such as the Common
Starling (Sturnus vulgaris), Song Thrush(Turdusphilomenos), Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla),
Sardinian Warbler(Sylvia melanocephala) (Rey,Alcántara, 2000; Alcántara & Rey,2003). These
species eat the fruit and regurgitate stones 20–50 min later with a mean dispersal distance of
100m (Bass et al., 2006).
Even large wild mammals and livestock, such as pigs, sheep, goat sand cattle, feed on Holm
oak and Olive trees. However, these vectors effectively disperse only the Olive seeds and their
presence in the urban environment is occasional. Because of these considerations, we selected
the European jay as vector of Holm oak seeds and the frugivor ous birds as vector of Olive
seeds (De Montis et al., 2016). Rodents and other potential terrestrial vectors usually active
mostly in rural areas have been excluded, because of their absence or effective control in
urban areas. This is the reason why streets and road fencing did not affect patch
fragmentation. However, we know by direct observation that the two vectors are abundantly
present, as well as reported also by experts of bird watching (personal communication).
Moreover, the theoretical nature of the study does not imply a quantification of vectors but

© 2019, FedoaPress

only of the potential distance of their dispersal action. Thus, in this paper no ecological data
have been reported on the populations of these vector species; but their conspicuous presence
in the urban area and the occurrence of natural plant communities surrounding the city make
them realistically active seed vectors.
3 RESULTS
In the cities of Nuoro and Sassari, the extension of the patches varied in the transition from
the peri-urban context to the urban context (Fig. 2). In both cases, the greatest percentage
of green areas is attached to the class of small size patches, but Sassari shows by far a higher
figure (48.5%), because of the presence of a variety of small urban gardens. Much lower
values were found for the remaining size classes with slightly larger figures reported for Nuoro.
60,0%
50,0%
40,0%
30,0%
Nuoro
20,0%
Sassari
10,0%
0,0%
0 100 101 250 251 500 501 750 751 1000 More
than 1000
Percentage share of patches by surface area (m2)

Fig. 2 Analysis of the percentage share of patches by surface area
The largest patches were observed for both the towns in not negligible shares and usually
correspond to peri-urban areas, where agricultural areas are intertwined with zones in the
past devoted to the cultivation of the Olive tree.
In Fig. 3, the results of the naturalistic characterization of the patches showed a homogeneous
distribution of the target species. In both the towns, the two target species were absent in a
very important share of patches (more than 50%).

© 2019, FedoaPress


Nuoro
52,1%
Quercus ilex absence
60
40
20 12,7%
3,9 % 0,8%
0
Absence Plants Young plants Established
renewal plants
Olea europaea
Nuoro
2 1,8 %
Quercus ilex young plants
1,5
1
0,6 %
0,5
0% 0,1 %
0
Absence Plants Young Established
renewal plants plants
Olea europaea
Nuoro
Quercus ilex established plants
14 12,1 %
12
10
8
6 4,4 %
4
1,4 %
2 0,5 %
0
Absence Plants Young Established
renewal plants plants
Olea europaea


© 2019, FedoaPress

Sassari
60 53,6 %
Quercus ilex absence
50
40
30
16,9 %
20
10 2,5 % 2,5 %
0
renewal plants
Olea europaea
Sassari
0,5
0,4 %
Quercus ilex young plant
0,4
0,3 %
0,3
0,2
0,1 %
0,1
0 %
0
renewal plants
Olea europaea
Sassari
Quercus ilex established plant
20
16,0%
15
10
6,4 %
5
0,2 % 0,1 %
0
renewal plants
Olea europaea

Fig.3 Analysis of the characterization of patch development phases for Nuoro and Sassari

© 2019, FedoaPress


Significant values were reported for the patches, in which there are established plants of Olive
trees in the absence of Holm oaks (12.7% for Nuoro and 16.9% for Sassari). The patches in
which there were established plants of Holm oak in the absence of Olive trees represented
the 12.1% for Nuoro and the 16.0% for Sassari (De Montis et al., 2019).We generally
observed a greater human control over cultivated and spontaneous vegetation in Sassari.
In this town, we observed patches, where the presence of the Olive tree was typical of areas
characterized by semi-natural zones. In these environments, we also observed processes of
settlement of a diversified and specialized flora (degraded urban areas).
Few Olive trees were present in private and public gardens, characterized by artificial and
homogeneous environments. In these contexts, the regular care taken by private individuals
prevented the growth of the Olive tree renewal. Regarding the distribution of Holm oak, the
species occurred on public areas (schools, public parks or sports facilities), where vegetation
referred to very anthropized environments, parking lots, flowerbeds, road trees and in
uncultivated marginal areas. The Holm oak shows a remarkably poor renewal, probably due
also in this case to the periodic treatments carried out by the gardeners.
In the case of Nuoro, urban parks are characterized by the presence of Holm oak and Olive
trees. In the past, these species have been used in urban green. In fact, there are numerous
road trees, in which the Holm oak appears. In the case of Nuoro, there is also a greater wealth
of the target species within the selected patches, due to less anthropic control, facilitating the
renewal process of the Olive tree and the Holm oak.
The direct correlation between the absence of Holm oak and the dominance of Olive tree is
more evident in Nuoro than in Sassari. While the Holm oak is found at the stage of young and
established plants, a renovation is very difficult for the Olive tree, which instead asserts itself
in the absence of the Holm oak. This evolution is expected, according to the ecological
successions (Mulas et al., 2003).
In Fig. 4, we report on a comparative analysis of the land use patterns affecting the EN in the
two towns, as per the zoning of the correspondent municipal master plan.
While in Nuoro the patches fall mostly (roughly 72%) in the completion (B) and expansion
(C) residential zones, in Sassari they correspond broadly (roughly 51%) to neighborhood (S)
and general (G) service delivery zones. In both the towns, a very small share of patches was
found in the most aggressive industrial (D) and in the environmentally protected (H) zones.

© 2019, FedoaPress

70,0%
60,0%
50,0%
40,0%
30,0% Nuoro
20,0% Sassari
10,0%
0,0%
A B C D E F H S
Percentage share of patches by land use

Fig. 4 Analysis of the percentage share of patches by land use type (A: historic district; B: completion
residential zone; C: expansion residential zone; D: industrial; E: farming area; F: touristic area; G:
services; H: environmentally protected; S: neighborhood)
3 DISCUSSON AND CONCLUSION

The analysis of the distribution of the target species showed the presence of monumental
plants in the patches of interest for the functioning of the EN. These patches were found in
areas of historical-cultural importance of the city of Sassari, such as the area of the public
gardens or the rows of Holm-oaks around the public schools. The Olive growing areas have
been incorporated by urban expansion and represented areas of transition towards the
countryside. In these interface situations, peri-urban green areas represented a link between
rural areas and the green elements of urban patches. Through natural dissemination
processes, the peri-urban area, between the urban and rural landscapes, presenting
accentuated natural features, represented a source area receiving strong inputs from the rural
area. Among the species present in the area, the Olive tree was predominant. The presence
of Holm oak was low and was favoured by natural dissemination from adjacent rural areas.
Within the urban area, there were some seminatural contexts. These areas, representing
natural urban gaps, sometimes left abandoned, were easily colonized by natural vegetation.
These areas, without a specific function, had a high degree of floristic richness with species
typical of natural environments. In the case of Nuoro, inside the city there are no abandoned
areas that allow the uncontrolled spread of the target species. However, even in the case of
Nuoro, the dissemination process is favoured by the presence of a natural plant community
close to the city and by the strong presence of target species that allow the spread of seeds.

© 2019, FedoaPress


The numerous urban parks keep within them numerous examples of Holm oak and Olive trees
that were used in the past, together with other species, in the urban green.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This work is connected to the research project “Ecological networks and landscape planning:
case studies in Sardinia” approved after peer review evaluation by the University of Sassari
and funded by Fondazione di Sardegna.
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/j.1420-9101.2003.00618.x.
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L., Fichera, C.R.(2016). Urban-rural ecological networks for landscape planning. Land Use Policy 50,
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De Montis, A., Ganciu, A., Cabras, M., Bardi, A., & Mulas, M.(2019). Comparative ecological network
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heterogeneous landscape. Ecography 26, 573–584. https://doi.org/10.1034/j.1600-0587.2003.03586.
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Gómez, J.M., Puerta-Piñero, C., Schupp, E.W.(2008). Effectiveness of rodents as local seed dispersers
of Holm oaks. Oecologia 155, 529–537. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-007-0928-3.
Guimarães, P.R., De Deyn, G.B.(2016). Ecological networks: assembly and consequences. Oikos 125
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Ings, T.C., Montoya, J.M., Bascompte, J., Blüthgen, N., Brown, L., Dormann, C. F., … Woodward, G.
(2009). Ecological networks-beyond food webs. The Journal of Animal Ecology, 78(1), 253–69.
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Mulas, M., Perinu, B., Ruiu, E.P.(2003). Ecologia delle forme selvatiche di Olea europaea L. in una
formazione a macchia mediterranea [Wild Olea europaea L. ecology in a maquis plant cover].
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Forests for the New Millennium]” 159–165.
Pons, J., Pausas, J.G.(2007). Acorn dispersal estimated by radio-tracking. Oecologia 153, 903–911.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-007-0788-x.
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connecting patterns of seed dispersal to seedling establishment. J. Ecol. 88, 622–633.
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AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Maurizio Mulas is Associate Professor of Arboriculture at the University of Sassari (Italy), and
selection, ecophysiology and use in the urban environment of woody plants of the Mediterranean
climate are among his main research fields.
Matteo Cabras holds a Ph.D. in Sciences of Agricultural and Forestry Eco-systems and Food
Production at the University of Sassari. A part of his research interest focuses on ecological networks,
as he held a scholarship in the research project Ecological networks and landscape planning: case
studies in Sardinia funded by Fondazione di Sardegna.
Andrea De Montis, Civil engineer, Ph.D. in Urban planning Sapienza, University of Rome and Master
in rural development at the Department of Agriculture, University of Sassari. He is principle investigator
of a research project on Ecological networks and landscape planning: case studies in Sardinia funded
by Fondazione di Sardegna.

© 2019, FedoaPress

MEASURING CONNECTIVITY IN
NATURA 2000 SITES
AN APPLICATION IN SARDINIA
VITTORIO SERRAa, ANDREA DE MONTISab

ANTONIO LEDDAb
a
Engineering and Architecture, University of
Cagliari, via Marengo, 2 – 09123 Cagliari, Italy
e-mail: vittorio.serra1986@gmail.com
b
Department of Agraria, University of Sassari
viale Italia, 39 – 07100 Sassari, Italy
e-mail: andreadm@uniss.it
antonioledda@uniss.it

Serra, V., De Montis, A. & Ledda, A. (2019). Measuring landscape fragmentation in Natura 2000 sites. An
application in Sardinia. In C. Gargiulo & C. Zoppi (Eds.), Planning, nature and ecosystem services (pp. 1049-
ABSTRACT
Landscape fragmentation (LF) is a process where natural and semi-natural environments tend
to divide into several smaller separate fragments. LF is largely caused by roads and railways, as
well as urbanized areas. The most evident effects of LF consist of isolation of animal and plant
species, reduction of biodiversity and loss of connectivity between habitats. Several indicators
for measuring LF are available in literature. In this work, we use the connectivity indicator (CIx)
for Natura 2000 sites. CIx is part of a more complex indicator - the City Biodiversity Index (CBI),
or Singapore Index on Cities’ Biodiversity Index –which is useful for measuring connectivity of
natural areas. We apply CIx to Natura 2000 sites, where the Tetrax tetrax (Little Bustard) has its
habitat. We (i) consider the Tetrax tetraxas target species in that it is a near threatened species,
according to the ‘International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources’ Red
List, and (ii) assess the connectivity between habitats and propose defragmentation measures
able to reconnect isolated or scarcely connected patches.
KEYWORDS
Water Infrastructure; Riverfront Development; Tourism; Protected Ecosystem; the Danube;
the Iron Gates
V. Serra, Ade Monti, A. Ledda
1 INTRODUCTION
Landscape fragmentation (LF) is a relevant process, where large habitat areas -called patches-
become smaller and more isolated with respect to its original condition (EEA, 2011; Jaeger,
2000). LF depends on natural and anthropogenic factors (Battisti & Romano, 2007). This
process can be caused by linear transport and mobility infrastructures (TMIs), such as railways
and roads and by urbanised surfaces, and reduces the free movement of animal species and
landscape connectivity (Bissonette & Adair, 2008).The effects of environmental fragmentation
are highly species-specific (Celada,1995; Davies et al., 2001). For example, niche width, size
of the home-range, use of elements in the environmental mosaic, ability to disperse, need to
be considered to assess the sensitivityof wildlife to LF (Bright, 1993; Dooley & Bowers, 1996).
LF is measurable through several indices. In this work, we assess the reciprocal phenomenon
of LF, i.e. the landscape connectivity (LC), by developing on the connectivity index (CIx). This
index provides with information on the connectivity of wilderness areas in cities and is a
component of the City Biodiversity Index (CBI) -also known as Singapore Index- which is a
combination of 23 indicators (Deslauriers et al., 2017). Connectivity is defined as ”the degree
to which the landscape facilitates or prevents movement between patches [and can be]
measured by the probability of movement between all points or areas of intervention of a
landscape” (Taylor et al., 1993).We applied CIxin two Natura 2000 sites in Sardinia (Italy):(1)
‘Campo di Ozieri e pianure comprese tra Tula e Oschiri’ and (2) ‘Altopiano di Campeda’.
The ‘Habitat Directive’ (Directive 92/43/EEC; EEC, 1992) aims at the protection of European
biodiversity, preservation of natural habitats, wild flora and fauna, and sets the ‘Natura 2000’
network, which consists of special conservation areas, including special protection areas
according to the ‘Birds Directive’ (Directive 2009/147/EC; EC, 2009). The Natura 2000 network
includes Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), Sites of Community Importance (SCIs), and
Special Protection Areas (SPAs). In detail, the Birds Directive defines the network of SPAs,
while SCIs and SACs are set under the Habitats Directive. In Sardinia, 89 SCIs and 37 SPAs
have been defined, and six SCIs coincide with as many SPAs (MEPLS, 2012).
Conservation areas designed for biodiversity protection can be negatively affected by LF due
to TMIs and urbanized areas (Saunders et al., 1991; Serrano et al., 2002; Biondi et al., 2003;
Battisti & Romano, 2007; Neri et al., 2010; EEA, 2011; Harrisson et al., 2012; Battisti et al.,
2013; Romano & Zullo, 2013; Astiaso Garcia et al., 2013).
CIx is a measure of LC, considering intra and inter patch movement. We consider as target
species the Tetrax tetrax, species at risk of extinction and still present in the Natura 2000
sites considered in this study.

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Measuring connectivity NATURA 2000 sities

This paper unfolds as follows. In the next section, we present the method adopted to measure
LF. In the third section, we apply the method and show and discuss the findings. In the fourth
section, we report on the concluding remarks.
2 METHODOLOGY
In the last decades, scholars have proposed several metrics for measuring LF and LC. In this
work, we focus on LC and adopt the CIx. According to the last modification introduced in
2012,this index describes -beyond the usual inter-patch connectivity- also the intra-patch
connectivity (Chan et al., 2014). This is relevant, as the survival of many species depends on
their ability to move between and within habitat areas (La Point et al., 2015; Rudd et al.,
2002). CIx obeys to the following Equation 1:
CIx = (1)
where AGi stands for the size of group i of connected patches, and Atot is the total extent of
natural areas. Connectivity of each individual group of patches includes intra- and inter-patch
connectivity. The indicator allows us to consider the total area of connected habitats, where
species are free to move, and the movement is made possible by inter patch connectivity
invarious scenarios of ecological connection, as shown in Equation 2:
(2)
where CIIntra stands for intra-patch connectivity and CIInter for inter-patch connectivity. They
are obtained, according to the following Equations 3 and 4:
(3)

(4)
where AGiPi and AGjPj stand for the area of any single patch in each group AGi.
The City Biodiversity Index(CBI) Manual (Chanet al., 2010) recommends a 100 meters
threshold distance for designation of related patches. However, the distance may be changed
to meet specific research requirements; for example, for species specific studies, where
dispersion distances are known (Deslauriers et al., 2017). In this study, we choose the Little
Bustard (Tetrax tetrax L.) as target species.The Little Bustard -Tetrax tetrax (Linnaeus, 1758)

© 2019, FedoaPress

- has been classified as ‘Near Threatened’ species, according to the ‘International Union for
Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources’ (IUCN) Red List (BirdLife International, 2018).
In Europe, 250 Natura 2000 sites have been designated for the Little Bustard in Bulgaria,
France, Italy, Latvia, Portugal, Slovakia, and Spain (EEA, 2019). This species is protected in
24 Natura 2000 sites in Italy and especially (16) in Sardinia (EEA, 2019). We calculate CIx for
two Natura 2000 sites, which are described in Tab. 1and Fig. 1.
LUs Code Area (ha)
Campo di Ozieri e pianure IS1 27,513.97

comprese tra Tula e Oschiri
Altopiano di Campeda IS2 4,671.33
Tab.1 The landscape units (LUs) selected in this study
Fig.1 On the left, geographical locations of the LUs under study (in grey). On the right, habitat
fragmenting elements are marked (in red)
3 RESULTS
We use a Geographic Information System (GIS) to perform the study. Various GIS tools have
proved useful in spatial analysis and in measuring landscape (habitat) fragmentation (De
Montis et al., 2018; De Montis et al., 2017). We use open-acces data (RAS, 2008). CIx was
obtained by implementing GIS analyses and using data in the shapefile format. Tunnels and
bridges were excluded from TMI straits. According to the road type, we have applied different
buffers (Tab. 2).

© 2019, FedoaPress


TMIs Buffer
‘Major roads’ 2 x 10 m
‘Secondary roads’ 2x5m
‘Railroads’ 2x2m
Tab.2 Buffer (in metres) depending on different types of linear infrastructures
Resulting polygons were merged with the polygons of urbanized areas, in order to obtain the
final geometry of fragmentation (EEA, 2011; Jaeger, 2000). We consider natural areas that
often host the little bustard, i.e.cultivated areas and pastures. Unsuitable areas for little
bustard include urban areas, TMIs, and forests, which are perceived as barrier by the target
species(barrier effect) (Concas & Petretti, 2012). The little bustard is a sedentary species
(limited home range), then we have considered three possible connectivity scenarios at
different distances (buffer width:50,100 and 200 m).
In Tab. 3, we report on the values of CIx.
Connectivity IS 1 Ratio IS 2 Ratio
(ha) (CIx/Area) (ha) (CIx/Area)
Total Area (ha) 27,513.97 4,671.33
Buffer width (m)
50 CIIntra 163 60.81
CIInter 5,950.30 2,957.82
CIx 6,113.30 22% 3,018.63 64%
100 CIIntra 163.58 60.81
CIInter 6,849.38 2,961.15
CIx 7,012.97 25% 3,021.96 64%
200 CIIntra 163.58 60.81
CIInter 6,980.38 2,961,25
CIx 7,143.96 26% 3,022.07 65%
Tab.3 Assessment of LC:CIx and superficial CIx
According to the results, ‘Campo di Ozieri’shows a constantintra-patch connectivity value

(equal to163) in all the three connection patterns; it has an inter-patch connectivity that varies
from 5,950.30 (50 m buffer scenario) to 6,980.38 (200 m buffer scenario). ‘Altopiano di
Campeda’shows an inter-patch connectivity equal to 60 ha, while the inter-patch connectivity
varies from 2,957.82 (50 m buffer scenario) to 2,961,25 (200 m buffer scenario). ‘Campo di
Ozieri’ has the highest connectivity (7,143.96 hectares for the 200 m buffer scenario), while
‘Altopiano di Campeda’shows the lowest one (3,018.63 for the 50 m buffer scenario). The
ratio between CIx (total area of the connected patches) and total area of Campo di Ozieri is
25%, while for Altopiano di Campeda it is 64%. The greater connectivity found in the

© 2019, FedoaPress

Campeda SCI is due, as shown in Fig. 1, to the scarce presence of fragmenting elements
within the habitat. The flat SCI of Ozieri presents a greater fragmentation, partly made up of
the scattered building, and linear infrastructures, such as roads and railways
4 CONCLUSION
In this paper, we have assessed LF by studying the reciprocal phenomenon of LC. We have
considered the CIx as a relevant measure of connectivity and applied a comparison between
two Natura 2000 sites located in Sardinia (Italy). We have measured the intra and inter
patches connectivity of landscape areas constituting the habitat of the Little bustard, a species
classified as ‘Near Threatened’ due to the reduction of its habitat. We have discovered that
‘Altopiano di Campeda’is less fragmented, as the percentage of the various connection scenes
on the total area is equal to 64%, while in the Campo di Ozieri in the hypothesized scenarios
the same index is equal to 25%. This suggests that the site ‘Altopiano of Campeda’is more
favourable for our target species.
These results can be useful to planners in order to provide mitigation measures for landscape
fragmentation that support habitat connectivity.
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AUTHOR’S PROFILE
Vittorio Serra, Master’s degree in forestry and environmental system, University of Sassari, Phd
student in Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Cagliari. His research interests focus on
Andrea De Montis , Civil engineer, Ph.D. in Urban planning Sapienza, University of Rome and Master
in rural development at the Department of Agriculture, University of Sassari. His research interests
concern regional and landscape analysis and planning, strategic environmental assessment, and,
recently, the strategy for the adaptation to climate changes.
Antonio Ledda, master’s degree cum laude in Planning and Management of Environment and Rural
Land, PhD in Civil Engineering and Architecture (Doctor Europeaus), is assistant professor at
Department of Agricultural Science, University of Sassari. His research interest focuses on rural
buildings, historic rural buildings, rural areas and landscapes, strategic environmental assessment in
urban, regional, and landscape planning, landscape fragmentation and defragmentation measures,
and governance processes in climate adaptation strategies.

© 2019, FedoaPress

Carmela Gargiulo is full professor of Urban Planning Techniques at the University of Naples Federico II. Since 1987 she has been
involved in studies on the management of urban and territorial transformations. Since 2004, she has been Member of the
Researcher Doctorate in Hydraulic, Transport and Territorial Systems Engineering of the University of Naples “Federico II”. She is
Member of the Committee of the Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering Department of the University of Naples
“Federico II”. Her research interests focus on the processes of urban requalification, on relationships between urban
transformations and mobility, and on the estate exploitation produced by urban transformations. On these subjects she has
tr
co-ordinated research teams within National Project such as Progetto Finalizzato Edilizia - Sottoprogetto “Processi e procedure”
(Targeted Project on Building – Subproject “Processes and procedures), from 1992 to 1994; Progetto Strategico Aree
Metropolitane e Ambiente, (Strategic Project Metropolitan Areas and Environment) from 1994 to 1995; PRIN project on the
“Impacts of mobility policies on urban transformability, environment and property market” from 2011 to 2013. Principal
investigator of the Project Smart Energy Master for the energy management of territory financed by PON 04A2_00120 R&C Axis
II, from 2012 to 2015. Scientific Responsible Unit Dicea Project by Fondazione Cariplo “MOBILAGE. Mobility and aging: daily life
and welfare supportive networks at the neighborhood level” 2018-2020. Scientific Responsible Unit TeMALab Dicea ERASMUS+
Key Action2: Project “Development of a Master Programme in the Management of Industrial Entrepreneurship for Transition
Countries” (MIETC), partners: University of Santiago de Compostela (leading organization), University of Ljubljana, Academy of
Science of Turkmenistan, Karaganda Economic University of Kazpotrebsouz (2020-2022). Author of more than 130 publications.
Since 2008 Associate Editor of TeMA Journal of Land Use, Mobility and Environment.
Corrado Zoppi, Civil engineer, is Doctor of Philosophy in Economics (Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, United
States, 1997), Doctor of Research in Territorial Planning (University of Reggio Calabria, 1992), and Master of Science in Economic
Policy and Planning (Northeastern University, 1990). Since October I 2015 he is Professor (Full Professor, Scientific Disciplinary
Sector ICAR/20 Urban and Regional Technique and Planning)) at the Department of Civil, Environmental Engineering and
Architecture. In the past, he taught at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Cagliari, and at the Faculties of Architecture
of the Universities of Rome “La Sapienza” and Sassari-Alghero. He is presently the Official Professor of the Module of Strategic
Planning of the Integrated Course of Strategic Environmental Planning and of the Course of Regional and Urban Planning at the
Faculty of Engineering of the University of Cagliari, and the Coordinator of the Undergraduate and Magisterial Degree Programs at
the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture of the University of Cagliari. He was the Coordinator of the Panel for the Assessment
and Evaluation of Public Investments of the Sardinian Regional Administration in the period 2007-2013. He was the Coordinator
of the Graduate
G Committee of Environmental and Territorial Engineering of the University of Cagliari in the period 2012-2015. He
is the President of the Faculty Committee of Engineering and Architecture of the University of Cagliari.
ISBN:978-88-6887-054-6
DOI:10.6093/978-88-6887-054-6

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Federico II Open Access University Press

Smart City, Urban Planning for a Sustainable Future

Planning, Nature and Ecosystem Services

INPUT aCAdemy 2019

La cooperazione al cuore del Mediterraneo

Editorial Advisory Board

© 2019 FedOAPress - Federico II Open Access University Press

Cover and graphic project: TeMALab

Sessione 1 - Ecosystem services and spatial planning

From a species-centred to an ecosystem-based management approach, a case 29

Session: 2 - Integrated management of marine protected areas

Organize the management of protected areas according to an optimal framework. 142

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Session 3 - Rural development and conservation of nature and

Session 4 - Geodesign, planning and urban regeneration

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Urban environment. An analysis of the Italian metropolitan cities 419

Session 5 - Green and blue infrastructure

Green infrastructure as a tool of urban regeneration, for an equitable and 453

Session 6 - Smart city planning

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Session 7 - Water resources, ecosystem services and nature-

Landscape and species integration for a nature-based planning of a 630

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Session 8 - Conservation and valorisation of architectural and

Preservation and valorisation of small historic centers at risk 744

Session 9 - Accessibility, mobility and spatial planning

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Improving regional accessibility through planning a comprehensive cycle network: 859

Session 10 - Tourism and sustainability in the Sulcis area

Special session 1 - Ecological networks and landscape planning

Resilient ecological networks. A comparative approach 995

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A complex index of landscape fragmentation: an application to Italian regional 1007

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How to cite item in APA format:

1 INTRODUCTION – DEVELOPMENTIN PROTECTED ECOSYSTEMS

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3 CASE STUDY –THE IRON GATES GORGE IN SERBIA

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4 ANALYSES AND RESULTS

4.1 ANALYSIS 1: THE INPUTS ABOUT CAPITAL PROJECTS FROM

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2.3 ANALYSIS 3: MAPPING OF LAND ORGANISATION

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5 INSTEAD OF AN ORDINARY CONCLUSION. INNOVATIVE

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Cambridge dictionaries online – CDO (2019). Retrieved from https://dictionary.cambridge.org/

McDonald, T. (2018). Valuing expertise in ecosystem management. Ecological Management &

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Park: between preservation and destruction. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/

Branislav Antoniü is a teaching assistant at the Department of Urbanism, University of Belgrade –

Aleksandra Djukiü is an associate professor at the Department of Urbanism, University of Belgrade –