Spatial planning of infrastructures, urban facilities and landscape

The Course aims to provide a set of theoretical, analytical and practical tools to analyse the different features of transport infrastructure (urban roads, public transit, cycle-pedestrian paths) and urban facilities of high territorial relevance (health, education, sport, leisure, culture, energy), with a specific focus on their sustainable integration in the context of urban landscape. The theoretical modules on infrastructure planning and landscape protection are integrated with a set of traditional tools (land-use analysis) and more innovative techniques (land cover, landownership, regulatory framework and feasibility/suitability analyses) to project new potential infrastructure layouts while dealing with constrains and minimising the overall impact on the landscape. The knowledge acquired within the Course allows to address and govern issues related to the spatial planning, design and management of urban infrastructure and facilities, with a view to their sustainable integration with the components of environment and landscape and in accordance with objectives 11 and 12 but also 6.4, 7.a, 6.5, 6.6, 6.b, 7.2, 7.3, 7.a, 8.4, 9.1, 9.4 of the 2030 Agenda.

The Course is structured in lectures and classroom activities (Studio). Lectures provide the relation between theoretical and technical issues that characterise spatial planning. Within the Studio, students are grouped into working groups and guided by the teacher and tutors in delivering a set of assignments aimed at developing an urban transformation project on an assigned portion of land. The Studio anticipates a few intermediate deadlines for completing parts of the assignment, which will be planned such that students can complete the tasks by the end of the Course.

Lectures and Studio-related activities take place in class. 

A basic knowledge of CAD and/or GIS open-source skills and other advanced graphic/design software abilities are recommended for students to attend.

Lectures topics

-       Course Introduction

-       Basic concepts of Land and Spatial Planning

-       Urban infrastructure (power plant and lines, aqueduct, sewerage, water purifier, industrial sites, etc.) and urban facilities (town hall, courthouse, prison, hospital, university, school, museum, theater, stadium, sports hall, urban parks, market hall, slaughterhouse, cemetery, commercial, logistics, etc.)

-       Transport infrastructure (road, railway, port, water channel, airport, subways, trams, people movers, bike lanes, pedestrian sidewalks, etc.)

-       Basic concepts of cartography: iconography, land registry and topographic maps

-       Main regulatory urban planning references: norms and regulations

-       Municipal Urban Plan in Sicily: contents and procedures

-       Urban planning parameters and indices

-       Zoning, urban planning Standards and urban planning constrains

-       Definitions of Landscape

-       Main Regulatory Landscape Planning references

-       Natural areas protected by National laws and related constrains

-       Guidelines of the Regional Landscape Plan in Sicily

-       Land Risks and Sustainable Urban Development

-       Fundamentals of Geographical Information Systems (QGis)

Studio topics

-       Land-use, land cover, landownership analyses

-       Regulatory framework and feasibility/suitability analyses

-       Green infrastructure for providing ecosystem services and Nature-based solutions for adapting to climate change

-       Renewable energy sources systems for enhancing efficiency at urban scale;

-       Urban regeneration for recovering brownfields

-       Landscape protection

-       Land-use policies and public transport systems integration for transit-oriented-development strategies

Examination is carried out in two distinct phases: a preliminary oral presentation of the project design proposal in order to evaluate the general understanding of students about the topics of the Studio, and a final oral exam based on the theoretical topics of the lectures. Only students that will be attending 70% of the total Course hours (and whether they will be finalising the assignment) will be admitted to the final oral examination.

-       Describe the objectives and the contents of the “Municipal Urban Plan”

-       Which are the required Urban Planning Standards for the planning zone “F – public facilities and services”?

-       Explain the concept of “Landscape”

-       In which extents “Land Risks mitigation” is related to “Sustainable Urban Development”?

-       Illustrate the main regulatory urban planning references in Sicily.