Rethinking the Urban Green Spaces by the Lens of GIScience: the Experience of the Project Living Urban Parks

Crescini, Edoardo and Peroni, Francesca and Facchinelli, Francesco and Della Fera, Giuseppe and Codato, Daniele and Pappalardo, Salvatore and De Marchi, Massimo (2023) Rethinking the Urban Green Spaces by the Lens of GIScience: the Experience of the Project Living Urban Parks. LET IT GROW, LET US PLAN, LET IT GROW. Nature-based Solutions for Sustainable Resilient Smart Green and Blue Cities. Proceedings of REAL CORP 2023, 28th International Conference on Urban Development, Regional Planning and Information Society. pp. 663-672. ISSN 2521-3938

Text (Rethinking the Urban Green Spaces by the Lens of GIScience: the Experience of the Project Living Urban Parks) CORP2023_106.pdf - Published Version Download (1MB)

Abstract

In Italy, soil sealing is a major threats in terms of soil degradation and the loss of urban ecosystem services. The increase in new artificial surfaces or settlement areas at the expense of green and rural areas is intensifying the effects of climate change, in particular extreme weather events, such as the increase in intense precipitation and heatwaves. In this context, the Municipality of Padua is a paradigmatic case study. According to the Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (2022), almost 50% of the municipal territory is completely sealed, making it the Italian city with the fifth highest values of soil sealing. To contrast the phenomenon, the EU soil strategy for 2030 suggested, among other strategies, the implementation of Nature-Based Solutions, strengthened with the participation and involvement of non-expert actors to be more efficient and effective. This study was developed within the Living Urban Parks (LUP) project (Key Action 3, Erasmus + Programme EU) during two years of research and participatory activities (2020–2022) within the Municipality of Padua. It aims to involve youths aged 18–30 in a public process to reconceive of the urban green spaces of the city and to develop ideas and proposals for more sustainable urban planning, promoting participatory methodologies by using geographical tools (digital and traditional cartography). More than 400 participants were directly involved in the project. All the ideas and proposals mapped during the seminars and workshops have been uploaded to the geoplatform Geocitizen. This geotool is usable on smartphones and tablets and, thanks to its interactive features and a geodatabase, allows the collection of georeferenced ideas, good practices and urban issues regarding green areas and parks. By the end of the project, 118 points had been collected on Geocitizen. Beyond the Geocitizen platform, the participants had the opportunity to test other geotools, such as Geopaparazzi and Google Earth Pro. In addition, the participants were able to present their ideas collected on the platform and directly interact with the local decision-makers who were involved to discuss and promote effective and efficient actions for the enhancement of the green areas and urban parks of the city. The use of different geographic technologies combined with participatory mapping approaches allowed an increase in the knowledge of the urban territory by making people more aware of the issue of soil sealing and urban regeneration opportunities. Finally, LUP allowed to reconception and design of green spaces to promote the restoration of degraded and abandoned areas and to propose the implementation of Nature-Based Solutions.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	geographical tools, green areas, participatory approach, Nature-based Solution, Soil sealing
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor H Social Sciences > HM Sociology
Depositing User:	REAL CORP Administrator
Date Deposited:	03 Oct 2023 14:34
Last Modified:	04 Oct 2023 17:34
URI:	http://repository.corp.at/id/eprint/1032

Actions (login required)

View Item