Cities at risk: status of Italian planning system in reducing seismic and hydrological risks

Italy and its urban systems are under high seismic and hydrogeological risks. The awareness about the role of human activities in the genesis of disasters is achieved in the scientific debate, as well as the role of urban and regional planning in reducing risks. The paper reviews the state of Italian major cities referred to hydrogeological and seismic risk by: 1) extrapolating data and maps about seismic hazard and landslide risk concerning cities with more than 50.000 inhabitants and metropolitan contexts, and 2) outlining how risk reduction is framed in Italian planning system (at national and regional levels). The analyses of available data and the review of the normative framework highlight the existing gaps in addressing risk reduction: nevertheless a wide knowledge about natural risks afflicting Italian territory and an articulated regulatory framework, the available data about risks are not exhaustive, and risk reduction policies and multidisciplinary pro-active approaches are only partially fostered and applied.

Review Pages: Planning for Livable and Safe Cities: Energy, Pollution and the Degradation of the Urban Environment

Starting from the relationship between urban planning and mobility management, TeMA has gradually expanded the view of the covered topics, always remaining in the groove of rigorous scientific in-depth analysis. During the last two years a particular attention has been paid on the Smart Cities theme and on the different meanings that come with it. The last section of the journal is formed by the Review Pages. They have different aims: to inform on the problems, trends and evolutionary processes; to investigate on the paths by highlighting the advanced relationships among apparently distant disciplinary fields; to explore the interaction’s areas, experiences and potential applications; to underline interactions, disciplinary developments but also, if present, defeats and setbacks. Inside the journal the Review Pages have the task of stimulating as much as possible the circulation of ideas and the discovery of new points of view. For this reason the section is founded on a series of basic’s references, required for the identification of new and more advanced interactions. These references are the research, the planning acts, the actions and the applications, analysed and investigated both for their ability to give a systematic response to questions concerning the urban and territorial planning, and for their attention to aspects such as the environmental sustainability and the innovation in the practices. For this purpose the Review Pages are formed by five sections (Web Resources; Books; Laws; Urban Practices; News and Events), each of which examines a specific aspect of the broader information storage of interest for TeMA.

Guidelines on building design and operation to minimize air quality impacts from major roads in transit oriented development

Poor air quality has a huge detrimental effect, both economic and on the quality of life, in Australia. Transit oriented design (TOD), which aims to minimise urban sprawl and lower dependency on vehicles, leads to an increasing number of buildings close to transport corridors. This project aims at providing guidelines that are appropriate to include within City Plan to inform future planning along road corridors, and provide recommendations on when mitigation measures should be utilised.

Subtropical subdivisions : toward a lot-rating methodology for subtropical climates

What role can climatically appropriate subdivision design play in decreasing the use of energy required to cool premises by maximising access to natural ventilation? How can this design be achieved? The subdivision design stage is critical to urban and suburban sustainability outcomes, as significant changes after development are constrained by the configuration of the subdivision, and then by the construction of the dwellings. Existing Australian lot rating methodologies for energy efficiency, such as that by the Sustainable Energy Development Authority (SEDA), focus on reducing heating needs by increasing solar access, a key need in Australia’s temperate zone. A recent CRC CI project, Sustainable Subdivisions: Energy (Miller and Ambrose 2005) examined these guidelines to see if they could be adapted for use in subtropical South East Queensland (SEQ). Correlating the lot ratings with dwelling ratings, the project found that the SEDA guidelines would need to be modified for use to make allowance for natural ventilation. In SEQ, solar access for heating is less important than access to natural ventilation, and there is a need to reduce energy used to cool dwellings. In Queensland, the incidence of residential air-conditioning was predicted to reach 50 per cent by the end of 2005 (Mickel 2004). The CRC-CI, Sustainable Subdivisions: Ventilation Project (CRC-CI, in progress), aims to verify and quantify the role natural ventilation has in cooling residences in subtropical climates and develop a lot rating methodology for SEQ. This paper reviews results from an industry workshop that explored the current attitudes and methodologies used by a range of professionals involved in subdivision design and development in SEQ. Analysis of the workshop reveals that a key challenge for sustainability is that land development in subtropical SEQ is commonly a separate process from house design and siting. Finally, the paper highlights some of the issues that regulators and industry face in adopting a lot rating methodology for subdivisions offering improved ventilation access, including continuing disagreement between professionals over the desirability of rating tools.

Urban sustainability and growth management in south-east Asian city-regions : the case of Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong

Major South-East Asian city-regions have experienced considerable physical, economic and social transformations during the past three decades. The rapid pace of globalisation and economic restructuring has resulted in these city-regions receiving the full impact of urbanisation pressures. In an attempt to ease these pressures, city-regions such as Bangkok, Seoul, Tokyo, Taipei, Hong Kong, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur have advocate growth management approaches giving particular interest to urban sustainability. These approaches promote efforts to achieve the triple bottom line sustainability by balancing economic and social development, and environmental protection, and putting more emphasis on compact and optimum development of urban forms. This paper evaluates the case of two South-East Asian city-regions, Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong, and assesses their experiences in managing their urban forms whilst promoting sustainable patterns of urban development. The findings show that sustainable urban development initiatives employing a top down approach has yielded encouraging results in these case study city-regions. However the need for a more concerted effort towards the overall sustainability agenda still remains vital.

Positive development

net sustainability. At best they reduce relative resource consumption. They still consume vast quantities of materials, energy, water and ecosystems during construction. Moreover, green buildings replace land and ecosystems with structures that, at the very best, only 'mimic' ecosystems<'). Mimicking nature is little compensation when we have lost a third of species that are integral parts of our life support system. Already, development has exceeded the Earth's ecological carrying capacity, so even 'restorative' design is not enough. Urban areas must be retrofitted to increase net bioregional carrying capacity - just to support existing or reduced population levels in cities. The eco-retrofitting of our built environment is therefore an essential precondition of achieving a sustainable society. But we need to eco-retrofit cities in ways that increase net sustainability, not just relative efficiency.

Research Monograph: Constructing online collaborative environmental decision making systems

The use of computing to support environmental planning and the development of land use models dates back to the late 1950s. The main thrust of computing applications, which by the early 1980s increasingly included the use of geospatial technologies, is their contribution to better planning and decision making. The computing tools and technologies are designed to enhance the planners’ capability to deal with complex environments and to plan for prosperous and livable communities. This paper examines the role of Information Technologies (IT) and particularly Internet Based Geographic Information Systems (Internet GIS) as spatial decision support systems to aid community based local decision making. The paper also covers the advantages and challenges of these internet based mapping applications and tools for collaborative decision making on the environment.

Research Monograph : Sustainable Australia : Containing travel in master planned estates

Low density suburban development and excessive use of automobiles are associated with serious urban and environmental problems. These problems include traffic congestion, longer commuting times, high automobile dependency, air and water pollution, and increased depletion of natural resources. Master planned development suggests itself as a possible palliative for the ills of low density and high travel. The following study examines the patterns and dynamics of movement in a selection of master planned estates in Australia. The study develops new approaches for assessing the containment of travel within planned development. Its key aim is to clarify and map the relationships between trip generation and urban form and structure. The initial conceptual framework of the report is developed in a review of literature related to urban form and travel behaviour. These concepts are tested empirically in a pilot study of suburban travel activity in master planned estates. A geographical information systems (GIS) methodology is used to determine regional journey-to-work patterns and travel containment rates. Factors that influence self-containment patterns are estimated with a regression model. The key research findings of the pilot study are: - There is a strong relation between urban structural form and patterns of trip generation; - The travel self-containment of Australian master planned estates is lower than the scholarly literature implies would occur if appropriate planning principles to achieve sustainable urban travel were followed; - Proximity to the central business district, income level and education status are positively correlated with travel containment; - Master planned estates depend more on local and regional centres for employment than on the central business district; - The service sector is the major employer in and around master planned estates. It tends to provide part-time and casual employment rather than full-time employment; - Travel self-containment is negative correlated with car dependency. Master planned estates with less car dependent residents, and with good access to public transport, appear to be more self-contained and, consequently, more sustainable than the norm. This research is a useful preliminary examination of travel self-containment in Australian master planned estates. It by no means exhausts the subject. In future research we hope to further assess sustainable travel patterns with more detailed spatial analysis.

The big brother : monitoring urban growth and change for sustainable infrastructure provision

Monitoring urban growth and land-use change is an important issue for sustainable infrastructure planning. Rapid urban development, sprawl and increasing population pressure, particularly in developing nations, are resulting in deterioration of infrastructure facilities, loss of productive agricultural lands and open spaces, pollution, health hazards and micro-climatic changes. In addressing these issues effectively, it is crucial to collect up-to-date and accurate data and monitor the changing environment at regular intervals. This chapter discusses the role of geospatial technologies for mapping and monitoring the changing environment and urban structure, where such technologies are highly useful for sustainable infrastructure planning and provision.