Purpose: The need to speed up and simplify the practice of transformation and the topic of reuse is crucial in Italy. The purpose of this paper is to compare successful cases of reuse into housing in Italy and the Netherlands, in order to suggest improvements to the Italian situation. Design/methodology/approach: Previous research at the University of Pavia showed the need to change living standards for new residential buildings. This research focusses on existing buildings and gives a comparative analysis of the Italian and Dutch legislation for residential buildings. Interviews with professionals have been conducted in Italy and the Netherlands to better understand the differences and problems related to housing regulations. Good examples of reuse into housing have been studied to define common guidelines for intervention. Findings: The findings describe the building regulations in Italy and the Netherlands concerning adaptive reuse, and reveals differences between the two countries. Furthermore, the possibilities and barriers for the reuse of existing buildings are highlighted. Practical implications: Lessons are drawn from both contexts, and finally suggestions for improvement of the regulatory system are made for Italy and the Netherlands. Originality/value: This paper aims at revealing the opportunities and barriers of reuse in Italy and the Netherlands. So far, studies were performed to reveal the feasibility of adaptive reuse, though none of these focussed specifically on legal issues. No sufficient studies are performed so far on reuse into housing in Italy, and the comparison of the regulatory systems of the two countries is novel.

Urban areas are increasingly experiencing extreme weather events, especially related to water (e.g., droughts, heatwaves, floods), which are devastatingly impacting infrastructure and human lives. Compact cities, conceived to create more robust, effective, and sustainable environments, are under pressure to increase their resilience by co-producing adaptive strategies mainly focused on the urban public space. However, public space design tends to face environmental challenges without sufficiently exploring their intersection with social issues (citizens living conditions and vulnerability) and political structures (governance). This contribution delves into how urban public space interventions are (not) moving towards achieving urban resilience in an integrated way instead of sectoral. A triple-loop approach has been developed and tested in ten urban public spaces in European compact cities in the last 25 years. The results report how most projects reinforce the social dimension by promoting citizen well-being through new quality standards in public spaces, excluding some citizenry’s vulnerable segments (immigrants, women, and disabled). The political dimension reinforces hard adaptation measures to manage water resources, although increasing attention is put on nature-based solutions, and most projects ensure participation processes. Finally, the environmental dimension is the most transversal by increasing land conversion, ensuring flooding mitigation, and enhancing adaptive capacity.

Outdoor tourism is a form of outdoor holiday that is growing rapidly today, and that stands out from other forms of tourism for its immediate relationship with the landscape which becomes for the tourist the main attraction of the holiday intended as a break from ordinary urban life. Outdoor tourism today represents a growing percentage in the tourism sector, in which mobile homes are the real players. Despite the considerable use of this product in open-air accommodations located in relevant landscapes, there is still no sensitivity in the constructive approach and in the choice of materials in terms of sustainability. In the open-air tourism sector, the lack of ecological sensitivity results from two levels of application: one regarding the whole settlement and the public spaces of outdoor accommodations and one regarding the mobile unit from the design to the production process. This paper will provide some practical strategies to introduce the ecological theme in the mobile home for the tourism sector. The research aims to analyze the production system of mobile homes in order to introduce alternative materials within the existing assembly line. The research demonstrates the possibility of a product being sustainable both economically and environmentally, healthy, and well-integrated with landscape by adopting an approach that makes it possible to use the same assembly line currently in use.

Recent data on the increase in the number of tourists in the outdoor tourism sector led to the need for greater attention to this phenomenon relating to environmental impact. Campsites and administrations deal with the sustainability issue regarding land use, climate and landscape, adopting sustainability protocols and applying a sustainable tourism approach. Among the main challenges is the need to deal with the local landscape. Campsites must define settlement systems that find site-specific solutions in compliance with the morphology, climate, and vegetation as environmental impact mitigation strategies. This study examines three case studies of campsites rethinking for environmental protection, starting from the settlement system of the maxi-caravans cluster. La Rocca Camping Village (lake) fits into the landscape following its morphology; Spiaggia e Mare Holiday Park (sea) contrasts the climatic element using a directed settlement; Agriturismo Fattoria la Palagina (hills) replicates the existing landscape by generating an integrated one. The case studies follow fundamental parameters for a landscape approach of campsite design: morphology, land use, biodiversity, sustainability and heritage. The paper aim is to demonstrate the sustainability of outdoor tourism, with respect to the landscape. The research results offer strategies for planning and regeneration of campsites to respond to sustainability issues.