Marco Ranzato

A socio-natural standpoint to understand coproduction of water, energy and waste services

This introductory article of the special issue on ‘Geographies of water, energy and waste service coproduction’ explores the implications of coproducing these services in terms of both accessibility and environmental sustainability. According to a socio-natural standpoint, provision extent and resources metabolized by the services are equally regarded employing a threefold conceptual framework integrating actor/flow and area fields. A rich variety of service coproduction geographies in terms of actors involved, resources mobilized and urban spaces covered emerges. More importantly, coproduction of water, energy and waste services proves to leverage on both service accessibility and environmental sustainability of the related resources.

Landscape elements as a basis for integrated water management

Abstract Water scarcity and flooding associated to climate variability and poor water use efficiency affect the liveability of our cities and their water security in the long term. As advocated by the Integrated Water Management (IWM) model, a transition towards arrangements that, besides centralized water infrastructures, also include onsite and efficient organization of water flows is required. A Landscape Elements Water Management Strategy (LEWMS) has been outlined to immediately guide the exploration of potential source control solutions for the recurrent spatial elements of a given urban landscape (roofs, gardens, parks, etc.) and the result of their reiteration at the catchment level. In the LEWMS, spatial configurations, water flow patterns and stakeholder’s arrangements generated by the spread of different decentralized options are drawn up to allow their comparison. Tested in the Brussels-Capital Region (BCR), the analysed macro effects of micro-scale landscape-based practices are gaining the attention of the local institutions.

Wasteland rehabilitation in rural landscape: a design project in the Verona plain

This contribution presents a design exploration for the rehabilitation of a dumpsite in the mu-nicipality of Isola Rizza, Verona (Italy). In the Verona plain, a former district of brick production left in its wake a cluster of water basins and wastelands that are today distinctive of the land-scape and object of a territorial dispute among landowners, public administrations, and the lo-cal community. A project for the rehabilitation of one of those wastelands, converted into a dumpsite, has been recently developed. It considers the idea of re-organizing the circulation of waste materials and soil involved in the remediation to implement a public park. Although the project has been facing the little consideration given by local regulations to integrated design, it clearly shows the capacity of systemic design to tackle rehabilitation challengering potential spaces integrated with the local ecological and slow mobility networks.

Challenges of water and sanitation service co-production in the global South

Co-production of water and sanitation services, especially in the global South, implies that recipients of a service play a fundamental role in managing water resources. In the context of citizen–government synergies, service recipients are more than consumers, and (co)-production alters their involvement in the service production process, with respect to their relationships with both the natural resources and the delivery process. Our hypothesis is that a meaningful understanding of co-production for water and sanitation services is only possible through an interdisciplinary approach that takes into account natural and social dimensions. The objective is to develop a possible new conceptualization of service co-production that can foster a renewed citizenship while taking into account the risks of urban fragmentation.

Forestazione urbana integrata

The processes of rapid and uneven urbanisation found in the diffusely inhabited areas of the Upper Po Plain have left a dense deposit of residual outdoor spaces, which if reinterpreted appropriately could become a resource to restore balance to the urban ecosystem. The paper discusses strategies for the reorganisation of urban metabolism by means of forms of integrated urban forestation (Fui). The description of a scenario and of some prototype models of integrated urban forestation highlights not only the production capacities but also the numerous environmental services which forestation can offer in a diffuse urban area.