Planning and Economic Estimative Evaluation of Models for the Management and Use of Environmental Resources in Urban and Rural Areas

Dear Colleagues,

We would like to invite you to submit your latest research in this Special Issue of Sustainability “Planning and Economic Estimative Evaluation of Models for the Management and Use of Environmental Resources in Urban and Rural Areas”.

The relationship between cities, urban green spaces and rural areas has now been at the center of scientific and political debate for several years, due to the importance of the international community’s recognition of the ecosystem services produced by natural capital. Models of planning and management of natural and environmental capital in urban and rural areas are not always effective in ensuring, on the one hand, a sustainable use by the community and, on the other, a sustainable economic and social impact for local communities. Very often, urban and territorial governance processes are far from the model of sustainable, inclusive and resilient cities towards which the objectives of various European and international agendas are oriented, which highlights the need to provide new planning tools.

The United Nations Global Agenda for Sustainable Development (which takes up the indications of the Rio+20 final report) introduces the theme of territorial monitoring. It proposes the integration of the Sustainable Development Goals which need be achieved by 2030 in the short- and medium-term national programs in order to avoid the coexistence of different and inconsistent agendas.

Among the various targets identified, the following are of particular interest for the territory, city, and governments goals which need to be achieved by 2030:

- Improve the sustainability of the current urban development model and planning tools;

- Ensure universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible green and public spaces;

- Achieve land degradation neutral world (LDN) as an essential element to maintain ecosystem functions and services over a given period of time.

The natural capital present in urban areas, urban green system, can therefore take on the role of an instrument for redevelopment, continuity and integration between building renovation and natural and agricultural environments, creating and integrating ecological corridors or networks on a larger scale. Furthermore, it can contribute to reducing the vulnerability of the urban system through the fundamental ecosystem services, indispensable for human life and nature itself.

The provision of ecosystem services has, as is universally recognized, an important role for the development of well-being and quality of life on a par with other services such as cultural, health, etc., although its characteristics are of a very particular nature, deriving from ecosystems and agro-ecosystems.

The ecosystem services of the environmental capital, both in urban and rural areas, coexist in a territorial system, giving rise to ecosystem territorial services, which need specific planning and evaluation tools due to the complex nature of the phenomenon. Too often spatial planning is not measured by its effects, in terms of ecosystem services produced and deleted. Quantitative variables are always flanked by qualitative variables, very often linked to subjective and relational nature, which involves local communities in the way they take charge of the regeneration of the territorial heritage and its capacity to provide ecosystem services.

It is important, therefore, to support the public decision maker in activating participatory and inclusive processes, collaborative governance, to enhance the interaction among the different social actors involved in the investments in urban green systems, to share objectives and management methods and to assess the extent of ecosystem services.  The choice of models for the management of environmental resources, in urban and rural areas, will have to be supported by adequate models for the economic evaluation of the impacts of the transformations caused by the management and use of ecosystem services. The evaluation of urban planning processes should recognize the complexity of the relationships that are established between society and the natural environment.

Prof. Dr. Luisa Sturiale
Prof. Dr. Matelda Reho
Prof. Dr. Tiziano Tempesta
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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• ecosystem services
• multifunctionality
• urban green system
• resilient city
• inclusive city
• urban resilient development
• urban systems sustainability
• urban gardens
• green urban landscape
• urban and peri-urban agriculture
• Green Infrastructures
• evaluation of ecosystem services
• ecosystemic inefficiencies
• green urban planning
• Sustainable Development Goals
• urban planning processes
• collaborative governance
• multilevel governance
• citizens participation
• landscape management
• environmental planning
• land use
• economic evaluation benefits ecosystem services
• socialmulti criteria evaluation
• multi-criteria decision aide