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Deep Learning-Driven Morphological Dataset and Analysis Methods for Chinese Campuses
Full text linkGame changer? Planning for just and sustainable urban regions, Paris, 8-12th July 2024Modern campuses in China display distinct morphological characteristics, evolving to form unique patterns as subsystems within the urban environment. Hence, the approaches for comprehensive analysis for those urbanized Chinese campus morphology (UCCM) are important. This study proposes a framework for dataset construction and morphology recognition of UCCM, using visual representing learning methods. Computer vision technologies are used to acquire the morphology patches of 1257 campuses. We analyse the campus morphology with our proposed multi-dimensional morphometrics. Then, we constructed multiple morphological cluster maps for UCCM in terms of road, building and landscape, respectively. The cluster maps show significant compliance with human visual perception. Compared with classic morphometrics, our approach excels in learning implicit morphological characteristics with lower data processing demands and less reliance on expert experience.
Keywords: Urbanized Chinese campus morphology, Morphometric, Visual Representation, Self-organizing Map, Unsupervised learningpublished versio
Heterotopic Pocket Spaces through Intermittent Occupancy
Full text linkGame changer? Planning for just and sustainable urban regions, Paris, 8-12th July 2024In the contemporary context of a profound crisis of public spaces in general, and the Portuguese context in particular, questions of intensive ‘touristification’, fast gentrification, and concentrated immigration are reshaping the use and values of traditional urban spaces. The introduction of new public actors, new communities, and associated different social practices, often lead to feelings of estrangement of the public space, as well as to the emergence of different intermittent uses of public space. In this context we aim to discover different formal and social conditions of space especially within ‘off-map’ places whose use and value are currently being rediscovered and/or shifted. In this article, we propose a new approach to public space as a threefold notion based on: (1) the idea of Pocket spaces, (2) Foucault’s heterotopia and (3) intermittent occupation. We analyse fifteen different potential heterotopic pocket spaces from a threefold perspective composed by the (1) morphological qualities of pocket spaces, (2) the socio-spatio-temporal relationships of Foucault’s heterotopia and (3) the social use based on the capacity of the space to accommodate different uses and practices. We argue that, due to its complexity and ability to embrace contradictions and conflicts, heterotopic pocket spaces can be used as a valuable concept for describing, analysing, and creating speculative designs for a more democratic city, embracing and re-signifying possible estrangement of the public space in the contemporary, everchanging context.
Keywords: heterotopia, urban pocket spaces, intermittent occupancy, public spacepublished versio
Planning for proximity in a fragile urban context. The case of Tirana
Full text linkGame changer? Planning for just and sustainable urban regions, Paris, 8-12th July 2024Tirana is the only city in Albania to have experienced a steady population increase over the past thirty years, due to strong internal migration and its attractiveness due to its great economic, social and cultural development. Its urban development is recent and relates to its political history. The demographic context nevertheless shows a high percentage of families at risk of poverty The contribution attempts, by analysing one of the strategic projects of the new Tirana2030 Urban Plan, the one concerning schools and education, to reflect on the role of planning in the challenge towards the transition to an urban proximity model.
Keywords: Proximity, urban planning, governancepublished versio
Can Fast Urban Growth Be Low-carbon? Sub-Saharan Cities Towards New Territorial Strategies
Full text linkGame changer? Planning for just and sustainable urban regions, Paris, 8-12th July 2024Sub-Saharan Africa is now experiencing rapid urban growth. Considering that buildings account for most of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, guiding such an urban development towards low carbon is vital. With such an aim, this study focuses on the case of Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, which is subject to a rigid and partially outdated urban development system and lacks a deliberate policy addressing sustainable urban growth. This study aims to demonstrate how, in the context of Lusaka, renewable technologies can contribute towards a net zero strategic territorial development. First, a systematic review of the integration of residential rooftop solar photovoltaics (RPVs) was undertaken; second, an in- depth purposive-sampled semi-structured interview with a local expert was conducted; third, the combination between renewable technologies and urban development was explored; finally, the systematic integration of RPVs based on the following four factors was proposed: (1) site coverage, (2) floor area ratio, (3) number of storeys, and (4) dwellers' density. Results show a range of feasible hybrid solutions for addressing Lusaka's electricity needs. Furthermore, this study demonstrated that on-site energy production can influence both horizontal and vertical dimensions of buildings of energy self-sufficient energy communities: the maximum number of storeys, the maximum number of dwellers and, consequently, the floor area ratio. This study aims to pave the way towards regulated, strategic and sustainable territorial development by illustrating an easily replicable strategy.
Keywords: Fast urbanisation; Territorial strategies; On-site energy production; Sub-Saharan Africa; Lusakapublished versio
Research on Rural Revitalization Planning from the Perspective of Ecological Capitalization: Taking Nuanshui Township as an Example
Full text linkGame changer? Planning for just and sustainable urban regions, Paris, 8-12th July 2024Balancing environmental protection and economic growth while promoting rural revitalization and coordinated urban-rural development is a crucial issue in China. With ecological capitalization as the starting point, this research proposes a rural revitalization planning model that is led by ecological principles, supported by population, industry, and land, and complemented by culture, based on the analytical framework of "ecological resources - ecological assets - ecological capital." Taking Nuanshui Township in Inner Mongolia as a typical case, the goal is to transform it into a comprehensive national forest park in the coal mining region of western Inner Mongolia and northern Shaanxi, exhibiting Chinese-style modernization, ecological, and geological characteristics. This approach provides valuable insights for exploring the promotion of rural revitalization through ecological capitalization.
Keywords: Ecological capitalization; Rural revitalization; Nuanshui Township; Sustainable developmentpublished versio
To plan or not to plan? Is this the question?
Full text linkFew articles within planning debates have generated both indignation and fascination like the Non-Plan: An Experiment in Freedom. The idea of the Non-Plan is to embrace a more experimental approach to spatial planning by observing what would happen if people were free to choose how to transform their living environments. As this paper shows, practitioners and scholars have perceived the utility and applicability of the Non-Plan proposals in somewhat ambiguous ways. In their iconoclastic essay, Rayner Banham, Paul Barker, Peter Hall and Cedric Price criticise traditional planning schemes while revealing the different ideologies involved in – and enacted by – the quest for designed orders. Current levels of interest and momentum surrounding the proliferation of ‘plans for societies’ in contemporary discourses make the idea of Non-Plan still fascinating and worth considering. The reactions that the Non-Plan have sparked may be a warning for mavericks of past, present and future generations.publishedVersio
The self-government approach to the planning of the Gran Sasso Laga Park
Full text linkGame changer? Planning for just and sustainable urban regions, Paris, 8-12th July 2024Thanks to the substitutive function of every other planning tool, recognised by law for any Italian park plan, the Gran Sasso Laga National Park Plan was conceived, within the Italian system of hierarchical cascade planning, as vice versa a non hierarchical coordination tool of a co-planning process based mainly on self-government patterns of the communities that live and act in the park territory. Such a co-planning process can be considered as an inherent part of the broader co-evolutionary dynamics of relationships between humans mediated by non-human elements of the environment, according to a specific interpretation of Socio-Ecological Systems (SES), which we in turn interpret as Socio-Cultural-Ecological Systems (SCES), recognising humans as eco-factors and referring to the eco-diversity of SES/SCES rather than simply their biodiversity.
Keywords: Natural parks; Self-government; Territorial co-planning; Coevolution.published versio
Runner-up 2024 AESOP Excellence In Teaching Award - The Urban and environmental design studio
Full text linkThe Urban and Environmental Design Studio (UEDS) is a 10-credit mandatory course for master’s students in Sustainable Architecture and Landscape Design at Politecnico di Milano. The studio integrates ecological and sustainable principles into urban planning and design across scales. It equips students with skills necessary to address climate change, ecological depletion, and urban crises through systemic design. Students first conduct territorial analyses and develop a green infrastructure plan, followed by the creation of strategic masterplans that integrate nature-based solutions for urban sustainability and resilience.publishedVersio
A GIS-based Method for Prioritising Brownfields Transformation into Multifunctional Urban Green Infrastructure: The Case of Rouen Metropolis
Full text linkGame changer? Planning for just and sustainable urban regions, Paris, 8-12th July 2024The spatial expansion of cities results in the loss of natural resources. It is therefore crucial to maintain ecological performance by balancing the land used for human purposes with efforts to restore or protect natural habitats. Here, we investigate how to transform brownfields into multifunctional urban green infrastructure. We use a GIS-based multi-criteria evaluation model to prioritise the brownfields in Rouen metropolis. We show that (1) the integration of site suitability and urban ecological demand is required, (2) Coupling Coordination Degree serves as an appropriate model for determining the interaction and coordination of site suitability and urban ecological demand.
Keywords Brownfield, Urban Green Infrastructure, Site Suitability Analysis, Multifunctionality, Spatial Planningpublished versio
Exploring Transformations in Sustainable Urban Mobility : Insights from CityWalk 2.0 project and beyond
No full textGame changer? Planning for just and sustainable urban regions, Paris, 8-12th July 2024In response to societal shifts towards green and digital transitions, urban mobility emerges as a pivotal arena for change, influencing behaviour, transportation modes, as well as urban planning policies. This paper investigates the role of CityWalk 2.0 project in promoting energy-efficient urban mobility and shifting urban transport systems from car-centric to active mobility modes. Firstly, a literature review is conducted to define a framework for categorising different practices that promote active mobility. Secondly, a comparative analysis was conducted between three CityWalk 2.0 pilot cities. Despite the distinct local contexts, the results showcase the evident impact of 'soft' and 'hard' actions across various dimensions. Common walkability issues related to regulation and street design, as well as the| elevation of pedestrians and cyclists to the apex of the "traffic pyramid" are highlighted in the cities' approaches to sustainable urban mobility. In conclusion, the paper provides essential guidelines for reshaping the discourse on urban mobility transformations in the 21st century.
Keywords: urban transportation, street redesign, travel behaviour, urban mobility policiespublished versio