Federica Leone

Bridging Biodiversity Conservation Objectives with Landscape Planning Through Green Infrastructures: A Case Study from Sardinia, Italy

The definition of Green Infrastructure (GI) provided by the European Commission in its 2013 Communication “Green Infrastructure: Enhancing Europe’s Natural Capital” regards GI as a network having the Natura 2000 sites at its core, able of delivering numerous ecosystem services, and “strategically planned”, stressing the importance of GI in integrating ecological connectivity, biodiversity conservation, and multi-functionality of ecosystems. Consequently, the spatial identification and management of GI is an important issue in planning, and especially in landscape planning as understood in the European Landscape Convention.

Integrating Green Infrastructure and Ecological Corridors: A Study Concerning the Metropolitan Area of Cagliari (Italy)

Green Infrastructure (GI) is defined as a network of natural and semi-natural areas that need to be planned in a strategic way to deliver ecosystem services (ESs). This definition highlights two important concepts: multifunctionality and connectivity. Multifunctionality concerns the capacity of a single area to deliver several benefits and to perform multiple functions. The concept of connectivity is often linked to ecological corridors (ECs), defined as spatial elements that connect habitats, allowing species migration and genetic exchange. Consequently, the spatial identification of GIs and ECs in spatial planning is a noteworthy topic. In this study, we propose a three-step methodological approach to identify a multifunctional GI and ECs connecting Natura 2000 sites (N2Ss) in the case study of the Metropolitan City of Cagliari, Italy.

Towards a regional urban agenda: approaches and tools

Abstract During the 2014–20 programming period concerning European structural and investment (ESI) funds, the urban dimension has assumed considerable importance within European Union Cohesion Policy. This shift aims at guaranteeing more coherence between European challenges and urban planning, and at using European funding in a more efficient way. The definition and implementation of an urban agenda has become a prerequisite to meet the objectives of sustainable economic development based on an integrated approach to urban policy. From this conceptual perspective, the collaboration and coordination efforts between different levels of government represents a key element. Therefore, the implementation of models of multilevel governance could promote sustainable and socially inclusive growth of European cities, and greater involvement and coordination of urban areas within decision-making processes. This paper addresses the integrated approach to sustainable urban development through a critical analysis of the implementation of integrated territorial investments (ITIs) in the case study of the Sardinian region of Italy to investigate whether ITI could serve as a tool for pursuing/implementing the urban agenda.

Planning for the Conservation of Historic Districts in Sardinia, Italy

A comparison between Sardinian strategic plans (SPs) and implementation plans of historic centers (IPHCs) shows that a general lack of coordination and integration among these municipal planning instruments and a sort of a communicative short circuit are taking place. On the one hand, SPs tend to neglect the importance and the intrinsic value of cultural heritage within historic districts, and, consequently, to undervalue the systemic and general potential of interventions (often limited to punctual and fragmented restorations of buildings) in the historic centers; and, on the other hand, IPHCs propose analyses of municipal historic settlement systems characterized by excessively philological and self-referential attitudes. This paper proposes a discussion on the definition and implementation of IPHCs with the general goal of orienting their conservative character, mainly based on the urban settlement system’s restoration and restructuring, in order to generate conditions favorable to local economic and social development, following the strategic planning conceptual framework. Moreover, within the framework of the Regional Landscape Plan (RLP), and after providing the reader with a thorough presentation of some important technical issues related to IPHCs and a discussion on the semantics of the term “ontology,” this paper discusses some key points concerning the ontology of the IPHCs procedure, that is the spatial analysis of the IPHCs and implied planning measures.