Isidoro Fasolino

Green for the regeneration in sustainable urban planning

This work proposes a method for urban planning aimed at pursuing the sustainable regeneration of the central neighborhoods of the city through the reorganization of settlement patterns and the protection of its environmental heritage and biological resources. The design approach uses green spaces in all their various forms, increasing soil permeability, with a connecting system of the public spaces and institutions, increasing the energy efficiency of buildings and renewable sources in order to transform the city into a complex productive, livable and sensitive ecosystem. The application of the method focuses on the famous Barrios Pueblos of Guemes and Observatorio which are threatened by a flawed urban legislation that allows for the exclusive vertical development of residential buildings, thus affecting the urban equilibrium of these areas of significant historical value. The planning support methodology focuses on all the aspects related to the wider use of green materials within the city.

ISUT Model. A Composite Index to Measure the Sustainability of the Urban Transformation

The urban transformation is the result of several decisions made in a variety of temporal and spatial scales, which concern the field of urban planning regarding the location of buildings and activities, position of transport networks, that in fact are more persistent (Morris 1994). The urban transformation generates environmental impacts in terms of soil sealing, energy consumption and urban heat island (Ewing and Rong 2008), which result in consequences on stormwater runoff, on raising the temperature and increasing of CO2 emissions. From a representation of the state of the art, the present paper defines a composite index called ISUT (index of sustainability of the urban intervention). The ISUT covers all the essential components of the urban design that condition the energy balance equation (Parham and Fariborz 2010). The composite index value is used to propose better strategies to guide the development of local area plans in conjunction with the City’s Plan using an easy data-set which derives from the knowledge of the territory, which is usually already acquired for urban planning tools on a municipal basis.

Smart Dialogue for Smart Citizens: Assertive Approaches for Strategic Planning

It is very important to know how to communicate, but even more important is knowing how to listen. There is no dialogue without listening. Listening and speaking can generate a virtuous cycle that, enriching the field of information, allows the introduction of essential elements of innovation. It is relevant in this context the assertive ability of who manages and coordinates the decision-making processes. The potential of new approaches based on assertiveness are the new frontier of research discipline that is able to meet future challenges aiming to contribute to the construction of places and forms of living together in the growing interest of fairness and justice. Assertive facilitator knows how to guide difficult people and handle very hard situations without adopting manipulative behaviors. He is able to detect the potential conflict and to bring to light the reasons for disagreement , softening the tone and avoiding any possible uncontrolled escalation. He encourages debates and open discussions; he has to build links too, fueling reports profits, collaborating with others toward common goals; speaking and discussing in groups and among groups; seeking solutions in which, both parties, come out winning. So the view expressed is argument of discussion in the development of the tools of urban structure, with the aim of implementing a participatory methodology in the development of planning tools. We propose an application in the series of meetings of initial preparatory participation to the formation of a Preliminary Plan for a medium size town.