Regenerating Urban Spaces: A Brief Commentary on Green Infrastructures for Landscape Conservation

  • Fabio Bianconi Università degli Studi di Perugia. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
  • Matteo Clemente Università di Roma "La Sapienza" http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4288-3668
  • Marco Filippucci Università degli studi di Perugia. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
  • Luca Salvati Italian Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA)
Keywords: Urban Regeneration, Urban Periphery, Urban Infill, Public Spaces, Green Infrastructure

Abstract

The present study debates on the issue of urban regeneration in contemporary cities, adopting a strategic vision which includes the use of vegetation and green infrastructure to create a network of public spaces. Especially, urban periphery lacks of public spaces, meaning a public use of urban space for outdoor activities and social networks. The extraordinary program for the Italian peripheries, addressed to all the metropolitan cities and provincial capitals in 2016, inspired to Renzo Piano idea of “re-sewing” urban fabrics, has been a good opportunity for testing new approaches to urban regeneration. The case study investigated in this study is the financed project for the city of Perugia, which provides different interventions aimed at improving (and developing new) public spaces through vegetation enhancement and a large area destined to vegetable social gardens as a strategy for urban infill.  By recovering public spaces with social purpose and providing a comprehensive strategy for aesthetic improvement of the city, the case study provides a representative example, how greening the city may promote together biodiversity conservation and urban regeneration.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Fabio Bianconi, Università degli Studi di Perugia. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Engineer, Associate Professor of the University of Perugia, Ph.D. in Design and Survey of the University of Ancona. He has taught at the University of Rome "La Sapienza" and the University of Trento. He is author of several monographs and articles published in national and international journals.

Matteo Clemente, Università di Roma "La Sapienza"

Architect, PhD; research fellow and adjunct professor at Sapienza University of Rome, he deals with the themes of public space, urban regeneration and landscape design. Among his publications: Re-design dello spazio pubblico (Franco Angeli, 2017); Comporre e scomporre l'architettura (Aracne, 2012).

Marco Filippucci, Università degli studi di Perugia. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Engineer, PhD in Sciences of Representation and Survey at "La Sapienza" University of Rome. He is a research fellow and adjunct professor at the University of Perugia, where he is interested in the themes of representation. He is the author of articles and essays and has been awarded by the Italian Union of Design with the silver plate.

Luca Salvati, Italian Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA)

PhD, researcher at the Italian Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA), 15 years experience in the analysis of complex urban and peri-urban systems. He has published more than 200 articles in English, essays and books.

References

Ahern, J. (1995). Greenways as a planning strategy. Landscape and Urban Planning, 33. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0169-2046(95)02039-V

Ahvenniemi, H., Huovila, A., Pinto-Seppä, I., & Airaksinen M. (2016). What are the differences between sustainable and smart cities? City, 60. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2016.09.009

Aymonino, A., Mosco, P.V. (2006). Spazi pubblici contemporanei. Architettura a volume zero. Skira, Milano. ISBN 9788876242724

Bassoli, M., & Polizzi, E. (eds.) (2011). La Governance del territorio. Partecipazione e rappresentanza della società civile nelle politiche. FrancoAngeli, Milano. ISBN 88-568-3991-1

Benedict, M.A., & McMahon, E.T. (2002). Green Infrastructure: Smart Conservation for the 21st Century. Renewable resources journal, vol 20(3): 12-17. ISSN 0738-6532

Bettencourt, L., & West, G.B. (2011). Bigger cities do more with less. Scientific American, 305 (3): 52-53. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/scientificamerican0911-52

Botzat, A., Fischer, L.K., & Kowarik, I. (2016). Unexploited opportunities in understanding liveable and biodiverse cities. A review on urban biodiversity perception and valuation. Global Environ Change, 39. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2016.04.008

Brown, J., Mitchell, N., & Beresford, M. (2005). Protected landscapes: a conservation approach that links nature, culture and community, in Brown. J., Mitchell, N., & Beresford, M. (eds). The protected landscape approach: linking nature, culture and community. International Union for Conservation of Nature, Gland. ISBN 2-8317-0797-8

Bryant, M.M. (2006). Urban landscape conservation and the role of ecological greenways at local and metropolitan scales. Landscape and Urban Planning. 76. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2004.09.029

Chon, J., & Scott Shafer, C. (2009). Aesthetic responses to urban greenway trail environments. Landscape Research, 34(1): 83-104. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01426390802591429

Clemente, M. (2017). Re-design dello spazio pubblico. FrancoAngeli, Milano. ISBN 9788891762450

Colantoni, A., Mavrakis, A., Sorgi, T., & Salvati L. (2015). Towards a 'polycentric' landscape? Reconnecting fragments into an integrated network of coastal forests in Rome. Rendiconti Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei 26(3), 615-624. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12210-015-0394-5

De Franciscis, G. (1997). Rigenerazione urbana. Il recupero delle aree dismesse in Europa. Weidos. Casellamare di Stabia (NA). EANN 9788880900740

DPCM no.127/2016, Decreto del Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri del 25 maggio 2016. Programma straordinario di intervento per la riqualificazione urbana e la sicurezza delle periferie. Available at: http://www.governo.it/sites/ governo.it/files/Bando_periferie_urbane.pdf

European Commission (2010). Towards a Green Infrastructure for Europe: Developing new concepts for Integration of Nature 2000 into the wider countryside. Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/ecosystems/docs/green _infrastructure_integration.pdf

European Commission (2012). Science for Environment Policy. The multifunctionality of Green Infrastructure, In-depth Reports, Bruxelles. Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/ecosystems/docs/Green_Infrastructure.pdf

European Environmental Agency (2011). Green Infrastructure and territorial cohesion. The concept of green infrastructure and its integration into policies using monitoring systems. EEA Technical Report No 18/2011. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union. Available at: https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/green-infrastructure-and-territorial-cohesion

Farina, A. (2000). The cultural landscape as a model for the integration of ecology and economics. Bioscience, 50 (4): 313-320. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1641/0006-3568(2000)050.

Gehl, J. (2010). Cities for people. Island Press. Washington DC. ISBN 9781597265737

Giovinazzi O., & Giovinazzi G. (2010). Segni nel paesaggio. Re-interpretare le infrastrutture lineari, Tema. Journal Of Land Use, Mobility And Environment, 4 (3). doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.6092/1970-9870/208

Iacovantuono, A. & Marcoaldi P. (eds.) (2017). Urban Infill. Orazio Carpenzano. Didattica e progetto nel laboratorio di sintesi finale, Aracne. Roma. ISBN 8854897752

Inostroza, L. (2014). Open Spaces and Urban Ecosystem Services. Cooling Effect towards Urban Planning in South American Cities, Tema. Journal Of Land Use, Mobility And Environment, 4(2): 523-534. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.6092/1970-9870/2541

Kim, J. & Kaplan, R. (2004). Physical and psychological factors in sense of community. Environment and Behavior 36(3): 313-340. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0013916503260236

Jacobs, J. (1961). The death and life of great American cities, Random House, New York. ISBN 9780679741954

La Rocca, R.A. (2011). Sustainable mobility and Lifestyle. Tema. Journal Of Land Use, Mobility And Environment, 4(2): 29-42. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.6092/1970-9870/438

Mabelis, A.A. & Maksymiuk, G. (2009). Public Participation in green urban policy: two strategies compared. International Journal of Biodiversity Science & Management 5 (2): 63-75. doi:http://dx.doi.org/ 10.1080/17451590902978251

Magnaghi, A. (2000). Il progetto locale. Bollati Boringhieri. Torino. ISBN 9788833921501

Moffat, A.J., Pediaditi, K. & Doick, K.J. (2010). Monitoring and evaluation practice for brownfield regeneration to greenspace initiatives. A meta-evaluation of assessment and monitoring tools. Landscape and Urban Planning 97: 22-36. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2010.04.007

Musco, F. (2009). Rigenerazione urbana e sostenibilità. FrancoAngeli. Milano. EAN: 9788856806106

Naumann, S., McKenna, D., Kaphengst, T., Pieterse, M. & Rayment, M. (2011). Design, implementation and cost elements of Green Infrastructure projects. Final report. Brussels: European Commission. Available at: ec.europa.eu/environment/enveco/biodiversity/ pdf/GI_DICE_FinalReport.pdf

Petranzan, M., Neri, G. & Purini F. (2005). La città uguale. Scritti scelti sulla città e il progetto urbano dal 1966 al 2004, il Poligrafo, Padova. ISBN 88711539019788871153902

Pili, S., Grigoriadis E., Carlucci, M., Clemente, M. & Salvati, L. (2017). Towards Sustainable Growth? A Multi-criteria Assessment of (Changing) Urban Forms. Ecological Indicators 76: 71-80. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2017.01.008

Recanatesi, F., Clemente, M., Grigoriadis, S., Ranalli, F., Zitti M., & Salvati, L. (2016). A fifty-years sustainability assessment of Italian Agro-forest Districts. Sustainability, 8 (1), 32. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su8010032

Salata, K. & Yiannakou, A. (2016). Green Infrastructure and climate change adaptation. Tema. Journal Of Land Use, Mobility And Environment, 9 (1). doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.6092/1970-9870/3723

Secchi, B. (2013). La città dei ricchi e la città dei poveri. Laterza, Bari. ISBN: 9788858106648

Whitford, V., Ennos, A.R. & Handley, J.F. (2001). City form and natural processes: indicators for the ecological performance of urban areas and their application to Merseyside, UK. Landscape Urban Planning 20(2): 91-103. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0169-2046(01)00192-X

Published
2018-04-30
How to Cite
BianconiF., ClementeM., FilippucciM., & SalvatiL. (2018). Regenerating Urban Spaces: A Brief Commentary on Green Infrastructures for Landscape Conservation. TeMA - Journal of Land Use, Mobility and Environment, 11(1), 107-118. https://doi.org/10.6092/1970-9870/5216