The contemporary city as a complex and dynamic system is able to modify its main components and relations both physical and social between urban agents and artificial elements: the actual rhythm of social, cultural and economic changes ensures that these modifications occur more rapidly than before. Often, the transformation and adaptation processes involve changes in intended uses that means a transition from an original function to a new compatible one with the previous and the building structure. As elements in evolution, urban settlements must include the ability to support changes in all aspects: they must be flexible, smart, efficient, able to optimize resources and increase resilience. The anthropic transformations (at urban scale with i.e. redevelopment of dismissed areas or at local scale with changes of intended use in specific blocks or buildings) produce unexpected impacts on the urban system and its components (infrastructure networks, public spaces, etc.), which influence the behavior of the system itself. In the Italian context, the planning of urban settlements and infrastructure networks (mobility and technological services) is divided into multidisciplinary areas that involve different skills and reference scales that, sometimes, are not able to dialogue with each other (city Plan, mobility and traffic Plans – PRG/PGT, PUT/PUMS). They always refer to long temporal horizons in comparison to fast and sudden changes. Moreover, mobility and technology networks, intended as connective system, are affected by urban fabric changes. In fact, because of the complex nature of urban systems, apparently isolated actions produce significant changes at global level: in particular, intended use modifications lead to important changes in urban loads and, consequently, might create overloads and system dysfunctions. In order to reduce the possible negative effects of urban modifications, it is necessary to define a method that allows a comprehensive and integrative view of urban system and to develop sustainable and flexible monitoring actions. Integrated and flexible approach to urban planning and decision support strategies contribute to more efficient and effective results than sector-based approaches. Furthermore, defining urban phenomena and especially urban change dynamics in a flexible way turns out to be appropriate for urban regeneration, the city evolution and the resilience issues. The paper aims to elaborate a theoretical and methodological research in order to create a tool for tracking and monitoring urban transformations and their impacts. The tool is based on layers’ overlapping that combines the information related to settlement system and to mobility and technological networks: changing a parameter it is possible to evaluate the effects on the others. In particular, the integration of spatial and demographic data allows estimating the variation of people and goods’ flows as results of modifications. In this way, it will be possible to detect the dysfunctions induced by urban transformations on the mobility network and vice versa. Then, authors demonstrate that the overlap of urban modification and technology services, together with maximum permitted loads, allows a comprehensive and integrated vision of current and future situation and build the basis for a large-scale strategic planning. Finally, the paper focuses on the identification of an ‘observatory’ of structural changes that allows mapping the urban modifications, to prevent possible conflicts and to manage infrastructure services at medium-long term. In addition, the tool allows defining rules and actions to be taken for the future of the city by simulating new scenarios. The urban development simulation helps to understand large-scale consequences of spatial planning decisions in a complex urban system.

URBAN MODIFICATIONS AND INFRASTRUCTURAL SYSTEM: A RESEARCH TO EASE INTEGRATED AND FLEXIBLE APPROACHES

de lotto roberto
Conceptualization
;
venco elisabetta
Methodology
;
Esopi Giulia
Formal Analysis
2018-01-01

Abstract

The contemporary city as a complex and dynamic system is able to modify its main components and relations both physical and social between urban agents and artificial elements: the actual rhythm of social, cultural and economic changes ensures that these modifications occur more rapidly than before. Often, the transformation and adaptation processes involve changes in intended uses that means a transition from an original function to a new compatible one with the previous and the building structure. As elements in evolution, urban settlements must include the ability to support changes in all aspects: they must be flexible, smart, efficient, able to optimize resources and increase resilience. The anthropic transformations (at urban scale with i.e. redevelopment of dismissed areas or at local scale with changes of intended use in specific blocks or buildings) produce unexpected impacts on the urban system and its components (infrastructure networks, public spaces, etc.), which influence the behavior of the system itself. In the Italian context, the planning of urban settlements and infrastructure networks (mobility and technological services) is divided into multidisciplinary areas that involve different skills and reference scales that, sometimes, are not able to dialogue with each other (city Plan, mobility and traffic Plans – PRG/PGT, PUT/PUMS). They always refer to long temporal horizons in comparison to fast and sudden changes. Moreover, mobility and technology networks, intended as connective system, are affected by urban fabric changes. In fact, because of the complex nature of urban systems, apparently isolated actions produce significant changes at global level: in particular, intended use modifications lead to important changes in urban loads and, consequently, might create overloads and system dysfunctions. In order to reduce the possible negative effects of urban modifications, it is necessary to define a method that allows a comprehensive and integrative view of urban system and to develop sustainable and flexible monitoring actions. Integrated and flexible approach to urban planning and decision support strategies contribute to more efficient and effective results than sector-based approaches. Furthermore, defining urban phenomena and especially urban change dynamics in a flexible way turns out to be appropriate for urban regeneration, the city evolution and the resilience issues. The paper aims to elaborate a theoretical and methodological research in order to create a tool for tracking and monitoring urban transformations and their impacts. The tool is based on layers’ overlapping that combines the information related to settlement system and to mobility and technological networks: changing a parameter it is possible to evaluate the effects on the others. In particular, the integration of spatial and demographic data allows estimating the variation of people and goods’ flows as results of modifications. In this way, it will be possible to detect the dysfunctions induced by urban transformations on the mobility network and vice versa. Then, authors demonstrate that the overlap of urban modification and technology services, together with maximum permitted loads, allows a comprehensive and integrated vision of current and future situation and build the basis for a large-scale strategic planning. Finally, the paper focuses on the identification of an ‘observatory’ of structural changes that allows mapping the urban modifications, to prevent possible conflicts and to manage infrastructure services at medium-long term. In addition, the tool allows defining rules and actions to be taken for the future of the city by simulating new scenarios. The urban development simulation helps to understand large-scale consequences of spatial planning decisions in a complex urban system.
2018
978-081538731-2
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11571/1418754
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