This study focuses on the July-August 2019 eruption-induced wildfires at the Stromboli island (Italy). The analysis of land cover (LC) and land use (LU) changes has been crucial to describe the environmental impacts concerning endemic vegetation loss, damages to agricultural heritage, and transformations to landscape patterns. Moreover, a survey was useful to collect eyewitness accounts aimed to define the LU and to obtain detailed information about eruption-induced damages. Detection of burnt areas was based on PLÉIADES-1 and Sentinel-2 satellite imagery, and field surveys. Normalized Burn Ratio (NBR) and Relativized Burn Ratio (RBR) allowed mapping areas impacted by fires. LC and LU classification involved the detection of new classes, following the environmental units of landscape, being the result of the intersection between CORINE Land Cover project (CLC) and local landscape patterns. The results of multi-temporal comparison show that fire-damaged areas amount to 39% of the total area of the island, mainly affecting agricultural and semi-natural vegetated areas, being composed by endemic Aeolian species and abandoned olive trees that were cultivated by exploiting terraces up to high altitudes. LC and LU analysis has shown the strong correlation between land use management, wildfire severity, and eruption-induced damages on the island.

With the launch of the European Green Deal (EGD) in 2019, the European Union aims to become a global leader in the ecological transition. To implement sustainable policies at the local level, a place-based, analytical approach is a necessary prerequisite to understanding territorial specificities and adapting the EGD challenges to local conditions and opportunities. Moreover, the research acknowledges the key role of public participation and, thus, the need to construct innovative policies that involve citizens in this process. On this basis, our primary goal was to create a comprehensive, multipurpose, and non-context-specific analytical framework that could support ecological transition policies within the EGD through a place-based, participatory approach. After outlining the major features of the EGD and the place-based approach, this paper describes the steps that were taken to define the framework and select the types of data to be used. In response to the scarcity of methods adaptable to different scales, contexts, purposes, and target groups, we built upon the current studies on sustainability assessments and developed a novel analytical framework for territories ranging from municipalities to nations. This study suggests that a comprehensive, multidimensional territorial analysis—which can interpret and communicate environmental, socio-economic, and institutional specificities of territories—is decisive for bringing together local administrations and citizens, as well as meeting the challenges posed by sustainable development.

Il testo analizza l'applicazione dell'intelligenza artificiale nella progettazione urbanistica attraverso un caso concreto. Utilizzando strumenti computazionali viene proposto un test che confronta soluzioni AI-generated con un progetto tradizionale. L'analisi rivela la capacità degli algoritmi di generare layout, ma evidenzia limiti nell'integrazione con il contesto urbano e nella gestione di aspetti qualitativi. Gli strumenti utilizzati si dimostrano efficaci come supporto valutativo rispetto a schemi di progetto, permettendo simulazioni ambientali rapide, ma richiedono una guida umana per interpretare il tessuto territoriale e gli standard urbanistici. La sperimentazione conferma il ruolo del progettista nel mediare tra calcolo e creatività, integrando etica, narrazione spaziale e adattamento contestuale. L'AI emerge come dispositivo regolativo, ma non sostituisce la visione umana nell'interpretare complessità urbane e nel tradurre valori sociali in soluzioni progettuali. The paper analyses the application of artificial intelligence in urban planning through a concrete case study. Using computational tools, the proposed test compares AI-generated solutions with a traditional design process. The analysis highlights the ability of the algorithms to generate layouts but reveals limitations in the integration with the urban context and in the management of qualitative aspects. The tools used prove to be effective in supporting design schemes and in allowing rapid environmental simulations, but require human guidance to interpret the spatial fabric and urban standards. The experiment confirms the role of the designer in mediating between calculation and creativity, integrating ethics, spatial narrative and contextual adaptation. AI emerges as a regulatory device but does not replace human vision in interpreting urban complexity and translating social values into design solutions.

In recent years vigorous theoretical debate about urban transformation processes has resulted in several studies of the intermediate city, a new form of urbanity. Some scholars have highlighted a complex intertwining of factors that contribute to the proliferation of in-between spaces within intermediate cities: these include the spatial logic underpinning the capitalist development model, the current economic crisis, a lack of interest in heritage resources and an indifference to the quality of public space. The literature has also noted that transformation processes in intermediate cities lack strategic guidance and consequently generate only negative outcomes: isolated piecemeal additions, insignificant projects and emergency remedial measures. This paper provides an overview of the theoretical debate on the intermediate city and the concept of the in-between spaces within its confines. It suggests these spaces should not be considered as degraded urban areas, but rather as places with regenerative potential that could be harnessed through innovative design strategies which exploit their latent potential. The authors argue that in-between spaces should be treated as phenomena of a multi-relational reality, where disorder and uncertainty can be embraced as opportunities for innovation and community-driven design processes. They then outline the key characteristics of in-between spaces and explore, through argument rather than experimental case studies, how these characteristics can inform design principles and strategies that move away from bureaucratic urban management towards more socially and environmentally equitable approaches to (re)produce public space.

Il testo tratta della presentazione del volume Il valore della terra. Teoria e applicazioni per il dimensionamento della pianificazione territoriale avvenuta presso l’Accademia dei Georgofili il 6 dicembre 2011 e che ha visto confrontarsi sul tema delle politiche per la pianificazione territoriale e degli equilibri ambientali e territoriali che a esse si chiede di garantire in un quadro di sostenibilità, il prof. G. Maracchi, l’assessore regionale a urbanistica e territorio A. Marson e i curatori del volume C. Perrone e I. Zetti. In queste pagine vengono tratteggiati i temi affrontati nella presentazione e nel dibattito successivo, seguendo il filo centrale del discorso che i due discussant e i curatori hanno espresso e tracciandone una sintesi più che riportando le singole posizioni. In un secondo paragrafo poi si evidenzia come nel volume i temi che sono emersi nel dibattito vengono affrontati dai vari autori, sempre in un’ottica fortemente interdisciplinare che ha visto confrontarsi studiosi di estrazioni differenti, dalle scienze ambientali all’economia all’urbanistica, in un dibattito serrato e produttivo