46
Considering the existing situation, it is reasonable to assume that only some of
the brownfields will be converted to new industrial or residential areas in the next
years. A greening intervention can thus be advanced as a possible, perhaps temporary, solution. Accordingly, the study hypothesizes a possible conversion of the thirteen urban redevelopment areas into new public parks, with the aim of identifying
which intervention should be prioritized to maximise the benefits for the surrounding population. Benefits are measured in terms of increased provision of two key
urban ES for Trento, namely micro-climate regulation and nature-based recreation.
The selection of micro-climate regulation responds to the growing concerns for
summer heat waves, particularly intense in the city due to its low altitude and to the
narrowness of the valley. During the 2003 event, Trento proved to be more vulnerable
to heat waves than other Italian cities (Conti et al. 2005). The combined effect of heat
waves and of the intense urban heat island in the most urbanized part of the city causes
peaks in energy demand and threatens citizens’ health and wellbeing (Giovannini
et al. 2011). Considering the increased frequency and intensity of heat waves expected
in the coming decades (Fischer and Schär 2010), effective solutions to control the
urban micro-climate and to provide cool areas for heat relief during the hot season are
seen as one of the most pressing needs by citizens and administration.
The selection of recreation responds to the specific planning goal of the city
administration: to provide equal opportunities for nature-based recreation and relaxation to all citizens. During the last years, new public parks have been realized in
peri-urban areas to gain a more balanced distribution over the city. However, understanding if opportunities for nature-based recreation are equally distributed is not an
easy task. In Trento, besides urban parks, citizens also benefit from the proximity to
other typologies of green areas where they conduct a wide range of day-to-day recreational activities, including hiking, mountain-biking, trail running, and climbing.
Indicators based on the availability of and accessibility to public urban parks,
though common in urban planning applications, are not enough to capture this variety and to support planning decisions (Cortinovis et al. 2018). Assessing recreation
as an ES, considering different providing units and different levels of demand, could
provide planners with useful information for achieving an equal distribution of recreational opportunities over the city (Kabisch and Haase 2014).
5.3 Producing ES Knowledge to Evaluate Planning
Scenarios
5.3.1 Mapping and Assessing ES
The cooling effect of urban green infrastructure was assessed by applying the
method described in Chap. 4 (see also Zardo et al. 2017 for furher details), specifically designed to support planning and management decisions at the urban and suburban scale. Green infrastructure in Trento were classified according to their size,
soil cover, and percentage of canopy coverage, and assigned a cooling capacity
5 Applying Ecosystem Services to Support Planning Decisions: A Case Study
Considering the existing situation, it is reasonable to assume that only some of
the brownfields will be converted to new industrial or residential areas in the next
years. A greening intervention can thus be advanced as a possible, perhaps temporary, solution. Accordingly, the study hypothesizes a possible conversion of the thirteen urban redevelopment areas into new public parks, with the aim of identifying
which intervention should be prioritized to maximise the benefits for the surrounding population. Benefits are measured in terms of increased provision of two key
urban ES for Trento, namely micro-climate regulation and nature-based recreation.
The selection of micro-climate regulation responds to the growing concerns for
summer heat waves, particularly intense in the city due to its low altitude and to the
narrowness of the valley. During the 2003 event, Trento proved to be more vulnerable
to heat waves than other Italian cities (Conti et al. 2005). The combined effect of heat
waves and of the intense urban heat island in the most urbanized part of the city causes
peaks in energy demand and threatens citizens’ health and wellbeing (Giovannini
et al. 2011). Considering the increased frequency and intensity of heat waves expected
in the coming decades (Fischer and Schär 2010), effective solutions to control the
urban micro-climate and to provide cool areas for heat relief during the hot season are
seen as one of the most pressing needs by citizens and administration.
The selection of recreation responds to the specific planning goal of the city
administration: to provide equal opportunities for nature-based recreation and relaxation to all citizens. During the last years, new public parks have been realized in
peri-urban areas to gain a more balanced distribution over the city. However, understanding if opportunities for nature-based recreation are equally distributed is not an
easy task. In Trento, besides urban parks, citizens also benefit from the proximity to
other typologies of green areas where they conduct a wide range of day-to-day recreational activities, including hiking, mountain-biking, trail running, and climbing.
Indicators based on the availability of and accessibility to public urban parks,
though common in urban planning applications, are not enough to capture this variety and to support planning decisions (Cortinovis et al. 2018). Assessing recreation
as an ES, considering different providing units and different levels of demand, could
provide planners with useful information for achieving an equal distribution of recreational opportunities over the city (Kabisch and Haase 2014).
5.3 Producing ES Knowledge to Evaluate Planning
Scenarios
5.3.1 Mapping and Assessing ES
The cooling effect of urban green infrastructure was assessed by applying the
method described in Chap. 4 (see also Zardo et al. 2017 for furher details), specifically designed to support planning and management decisions at the urban and suburban scale. Green infrastructure in Trento were classified according to their size,
soil cover, and percentage of canopy coverage, and assigned a cooling capacity
5 Applying Ecosystem Services to Support Planning Decisions: A Case Study