Planning the transition of cities. Innovative research approaches and trajectories

Francesca Moraci; Carmelina Bevilacqua; Pasquale Pizzimenti

doi:10.6093/1970-9870/10430

Francesca Moraci DArTe Department, Università degli Studi Mediterranea, Reggio Calabria, Italy https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9967-0092
Carmelina Bevilacqua PDTA Department Università degli Studi Roma LaSapienza, Rome, Italy https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8433-0773
Pasquale Pizzimenti DARTE Department - Università degli Studi Mediterranea di Reggio Calabria https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0186-1307

DOI: https://doi.org/10.6093/1970-9870/10430

Keywords: Transition, Ecosystem services, Key enabling technologies, Data driven planning approach, Urban planning and governance

Abstract

In light of the ecological, digital, and jus transition envisaged by the EU for reaching the ambitious Green Deal objective by 2050 and its inherent complexity, this paper focused on the nexus between Ecosystem Services and Key Enabling Technologies as a potential and significant element for the future development of promising research trajectories in urban planning. The transition of cities has become a top priority in academic and policy debates, attracting increasing attention from scholars and policymakers. Ecosystem Services are crucial elements for human well-being, and despite their inclusion in urban plans, there are still issues to address requiring innovative research approaches and trajectories to explore for planning the ecological, digital, and transition of cities. Two main elements are explored in this contribution: 1) the centrality of ecosystem services and the potential of related key enabling technologies for the planning of the ecological and digital transition of cities; 2) the current ecosystem services assessment analytical approaches characterized by a spatially explicit perspective presenting relevant implications for the planning dimension. As a result, the paper outlines a research-based conceptual framework aimed at defining promising innovative research approaches for new trajectories to be explored in urban planning.

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Author Biographies

Francesca Moraci, DArTe Department, Università degli Studi Mediterranea, Reggio Calabria, Italy

Full Professor, PhD, Architect, is Professor in Urban Planning at the Università degli Studi Mediterranea of Reggio Calabria, where she has led several national and international researches and is currently Coordinator of the Pilot Project 4.6.1 (Climate adaptation plans for the reduction of the ecological footprint and ecological debt, aimed at improving the conservation and transformation response in terms of resilience and quality of life in the Calabrian and Lucanian urban and territorial systems) and of the Goal 4.6 (Planning for Climate Change to boost cultural and natural heritage: demand-oriented ecosystem services based on enabling ICT and AI technologies) within the Tech4You Innovation Ecosystem, funded by the Italian PNRR (M4C2 – Inv. 1.5), and is Scientific Responsible for the UNIRC research unit for the ECO-SET (A Multidisciplinary approach to plan ES for cities in Transition) Research Project funded by the Italian PNRR (M4C2 – Inv. 1.1). Director of the STuTeP – Territorial and Urban Strategies for Planning - Research Laboratory, she teaches Urban Planning and Design within the Architecture Degree Program (in Double Degree for international students). She is the author of almost 200 scientific publications, including monographs, journals articles and essays, as well as websites and other online publications.

Carmelina Bevilacqua, PDTA Department Università degli Studi Roma LaSapienza, Rome, Italy

Associate Professor in Urban Planning at the University of Roma LaSapienza. She has led several EU (7th FQ, Horizon 2020) and National (PRIN, PRIN-PNRR) funded Research Projects on the overall topic of urban regeneration and economic development. She is Principal Investigator for the ECO-SET (A Multidisciplinary approach to plan ES for cities in Transition) Research Project funded by the Italian PNRR (M4C2 – Inv. 1.1). Her research interests focus on the role of data-driven planning perspective for the facilitation of cities’ transition and the sustainability of urban transformation. She teaches urban design within the Architecture Degree Program at the University of Roma LaSapienza. She is author of over 100 scientific publications, including monographs, journal articles and essays, as well as websites and other online publications.

Pasquale Pizzimenti, DARTE Department - Università degli Studi Mediterranea di Reggio Calabria

Fixed-Term Researcher (RTDA) in Urban Planning at the Università degli Studi Mediterranea of Reggio Calabria. He is Principal Investigator for the PLANET (Planning ES for cities in transition) research Project, funded by the Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan (M4C2 – Inv. 1.2 “Young Reseachers”). He is a former Marie Curie Fellow for the ZES (opportunity zones for innovation – H2020-MSCA-IF-Global 2018) and has participated as MC early stage and experienced researcher in several EU-funded (7^th FP – Horizon 2020) Research Projects. His main research interests focus on urban regeneration and the planning of cities transition by exploring data-driven planning approaches for investigate urban complexity, the urban dimension of knowledge and innovation dynamics and the role of urban governance and planning in managing the complexity of the current urban transformations. He is author of several scientific publications on the topic.

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