Bruno Zanon

Planning the urban sustainable development The case of the plan for the province of Trento, Italy

This paper provides an overview of the initiatives for sustainable development taking place in Italy at the urban and provincial levels, stressing some limits they met: unsatisfactory knowledge of environmental conditions, use of too general indicators, modest public participation. The case of the plan for the Province of Trento, currently in progress, is examined. This experience applies an eco-systemic approach to analyze the interactions among the different resource use cycles. Moreover, it tends to overcome the drawbacks of the top-down approach typical of plans, by means of a structured public involvement. In the Province of Trento, a specific attention has to be devoted to the Alpine environment, which is endangered by the urban sprawl and the intensive use of resources. The plan will provide a deeper knowledge of environmental processes and will produce a set of appropriate indicators to assess the level of sustainability of the province, thus giving guidelines for improving policies and actions.

Planning Small Regions in a Larger Europe: Spatial Planning as a Learning Process for Sustainable Local Development

An enlarged Europe is addressing the challenge of territorial cohesion on the basis of a disciplinary and operative framework formed by a number of evolving documents and provisions to be applied and developed at different administrative and planning levels. Rapid and profound changes have occurred in previous decades as far as institutional framework, the role of actors and issues to be tackled are concerned, within a re-scaling process of territorial governance. In this context, small territories can take advantage of European funds, but experience a hard confrontation with the market economy and supra-local visions, use of resources and infrastructure projects. A decisive role, in many countries, has been gained by regional authorities, which must mediate among various territorial levels, institutions and actors involved in a multilevel governance process. The paper focuses on spatial and regional/territorial planning processes among the European dimension, Member States and regions, on the basis of a case study conducted in Northern Italy. The aim is to determine the role of European spatial planning as a “learning machine” [Faludi, A. (2008) European Territorial Cooperation and Learning, disP 172, (1/2008), pp. 3–10.] able to support processes of mutual learning and cooperation, overcoming the attitude of compliance to upper level schemes and financial programmes rather than innovating usual procedures and territorial planning.

Integrating ecological, scenic and local identity values in the management plan of an Alpine Natural Park

Nature conservation policies and procedures have recently acquired a wider mission. Disciplinary advances, the approval of international guidelines and regulations, and the increasing number and variety of protected areas require to overcome the traditional rigid separation between designated areas and the rest of the territory. In particular, the challenge of biodiversity protection and the attention devoted to protected landscapes require innovative approaches. The paper provides a disciplinary framework and illustrates the methodology used in drawing up a management plan for the Paneveggio-Pale di San Martino Natural Park, an alpine protected area located in Trentino, Italy. The Park is characterised by ecological values and spectacular Dolomite scenery, but also by man-made landscapes and the presence of economic activities. The key planning instrument applied is the ‘landscape unit’, which integrates the different values to be protected in a way that reflects the identity of local communities and the shared perspective of nature conservation.

Scaling-down and scaling-up processes of territorial governance: cities and regions facing institutional reform and planning challenges

The process of territorial governance rescaling now ongoing in European countries concerns not only the devolution of competencies from central states to regional politico-administrative levels (towards federalism) but also a new role of institutions, agencies and companies operating in well-defined sectors. A complex – downward and upward – transfer of competencies, powers and resources is taking place. In particular, cities belong to specific territories, but are increasingly involved in large-scale processes as far as services and infrastructure construction and management are concerned, as well as economic and cooperation initiatives. This often requires the creation of regional or upper-scale agencies and companies. The article focuses – within an analytical framework concerning the dynamics of regions and cities in the European space – on three cities in Northern Italy (Bolzano-Bozen, Trento and Verona) undergoing contradictory trends towards federalism, on the one hand, and policy integration at variable scales on specific issues – in a multi-level governance perspective – on the other hand. Finally, the role of strategic, spatial and urban planning processes and tools are analysed, drawing some conclusions of general interest.

An interpretative model for the management of contemporary cultural landscapes in linear infrastructure projects

AbstractStructures and potentialities of cultural landscapes have been studied mostly under a historical perspective. This article questions if contemporary societies can develop cultural landscapes. Starting from an analysis of the structure of contemporary landscapes, it investigates methods of developing cultural landscapes with contemporary knowledge and background. The theoretical assumptions are based on an ecosystem approach and consider the social and functional values in relation to the infrastructure project. Linear infrastructures are the physical basis for material and immaterial links between societies. They structure local territories, but more often reflect upper level rationalities thus physically cross areas without providing a local service. An interpretative model to support cultural landscape dynamics within linear infrastructure projects was developed and tested in three Italian transportation infrastructures. The model was based on the analysis of the structure and the generating pro...

Territorial Cooperation and Multilevel Governance in the Brenner Base Tunnel Project

The rapid change occurring in the economy, spatial organization, as well as institutional systems, affects states and regions, which must face crucial re-territorialization processes. In particular, European integration has produced a shrinkage of the European space and had important consequences in various fields, most of them with a spatial dimension. The result is that regions and countries (as well as economies) which were previously separated by political and customs barriers are now in close contact. As such, they gain advantages and encounter problems. In particular, the “gateways” to states and regions are being shifted from national borders to infrastructure nodes, in most cases coincident with the major metropolitan areas, while the enlarged scale of mobility and privatization processes are producing a concentration of companies operating on a global scale and the proliferation of small enterprises operating in niche markets.

Adapting Cities to Climate Change: Understanding and Addressing the Development Challenges, edited by Jane Bicknell, David Dodman and David Satterthwaite, London, Washington DC : Earthscan, 2009, ISBN 9781844077458 (hbk.), ISBN 9781844077465 (pbk.), xxvi, 397 p., ill., maps

brownfield sites, climate change and sustainable construction industry. In the following chapters (6–8), the book covers distinct aspects of the main theme: it discusses cultural regeneration, the suburban question and regeneration in larger schemes and longer time spans. In these chapters, case studies are especially useful to understand different forms of regeneration. In particular, interesting experiences are presented: Liverpool European Capital of Culture 2008, the planning of eco-towns to be built across England, London Olympics 2012 and the regeneration process in Thames Gateway. In the conclusions, the authors define urban regeneration according to the various issues, dimensions and aspects previously discussed. Key challenges are then proposed as emerging themes in the UK in the next years: partnership working, tackling industrial decline, pursuing the knowledge economy, recovering from the financial crisis, addressing sustainability and climate change, and delivering communities. It is clear how these themes are relevant not only for urban regeneration practices, but also for the whole planning system and debate. The theme of urban regeneration is common in the European context: according to the exploration of UK conditions, the common trends and dynamics with other European countries are easily recognized. The inclusive character of this book, considering all the issues related to urban regeneration and giving few details for each of them for further research, allows us to consider it as a sort of handbook. Scholars and students can explore urban regeneration in the UK reading the whole book, and, also, picking topics, key points, case studies and reading lists in order to delve deeper into some issues. In particular, the case studies presented in each chapter and for each issue constitute a value to better understand the practices. These experiences are relevant also for non-British readers, who are interested to discover the various characters of urban regeneration in the UK. Furthermore, another important aspect of this text is to be updated. It is a second edition of a previous book and it contains several references to recent years’ processes, laws and, of course, case studies. For instance, in the book there are a lot of references to the current UK government’s orientation and policies. Updated case studies (like London Olympics of 2012), constitute an added value considering their impact as urban development projects.