Luisa Sturiale (p), Alessandro Scuderi, Giuseppe Stella

Numerous researches in recent years are recognizing the natural environment of cities, often called "urban green spaces", as an important element of urban planning more attentive to environmental and social sustainability objectives. In fact, several studies have recognized the "urban green spaces" as important ecosystem services, capable of directly and indirectly ensuring human health and the well-being of citizens. Urban green spaces" are a complex heritage of the city, which requires careful evaluation in terms of sustainability, taking into account not only the economic variable, but also the social, environmental and institutional one.
Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development is a program of action for people, the planet and prosperity signed in September 2015 by the governments of the 193 UN member states. It incorporates 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into a major action program for a total of 169 'targets'. The SDGs follow up the achievements of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that preceded them, and represent common goals on a set of important development issues: the fight against poverty, the eradication of hunger and the fight against climate change, to name but a few.
Among the objectives of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Goal 11, Sustainable Cities and Communities, is specifically dedicated to urban systems and its ambitious goal is “Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable”. The “urban green spaces” destined to agricultural activities, defined “urban gardens”, are able to offer answers to renewed food, environmental and socio-cultural needs. They can therefore be an important instrument for the integration between building renovation and natural and agricultural environments and could contribute to reducing the vulnerability of the urban system.
Despite growing attention to “urban gardens” in the scientific literature, their inclusion in urban planning is not yet seen as a strategic element for a sustainable, resilient and inclusive social city model. The study aims to determine the value, especially social and inclusive, of urban agriculture developed through “urban gardens” in degraded or abandoned areas, in a district of the city of Catania, called Librino, which can be considered an important pilot experience for the city. The aim of the study is to evaluate the existing relationships among the beneficiaries of the “urban gardens” and the social and inclusive function of the urban agricultural core of the municipal initiative, applying the Social Network Analysis (SNA) methodology.

Dario Musolino (p), Luigi Pellegrino

This paper focuses on the integration of the urban areas of Reggio Calabria and Messina, located in Southern Italy, on the two sides of the Strait of Messina. It focuses in particular on the identification of the scenarios and the policy strategies useful for achieving this objective. The work applies the Policy Delphi technique.
The urban areas of Reggio Calabria and Messina are a case attributable, albeit embryonic, to that of twin cities, cases of pairs of geographically close and integrated cities, functionally and / or institutionally, which have been analysed by extensive literature. The two Southern urban areas have been known for decades for a national debate focused on the construction of the bridge (Ponte di Messina) which would unite Calabria and Sicily. Instead, the issue of their possible integration, independent from the construction of the bridge, is less known, although it could clearly benefit local populations with less expensive investments.
Therefore, the paper tries to answer the following questions: Can the integration between the two urban areas of Reggio Calabria and Messina lead to the birth of a twin-city? Is this a possible scenario? What strategies, what policy actions can bring to an effective integration? What benefits would there be for the two urban areas?
After analysing the socio-economic and institutional situation of the two urban areas, the work presents the methodology of the Policy Delphi, and the application to the case of Reggio and Messina. The Delphi policy has provided for the re-iterated consultation, over two rounds, of a panel of experts and privileged observers, useful to highlight the evaluation of each of the participants regarding current situation, and the possible future changes that the case study area may face; thus, the dominant position (s) regarding analyses, scenarios and strategies to be followed has emerged.
From the analyses carried out on the responses to the Delphi, we could then observe that experts largely consider the transport integration as a the "easiest" strategic option to be followed, in particular as concerns maritime connections and the coordinated management of the whole urban transportation system. This is also the most likely scenario. Furthermore, they consider the institutional unification, or rather the coordination of local and regional governments, as a decisive strategic step as well, although more difficult to achieve in the short and long term.

Alessandra Casu (p), Marco Careddu , Marco Loi

The study addresses a hypothesis of a Plan for Regional Sustainable Development in two Sardinia's regions, one inner and one coastal, mainly based on fire prevention.
Common aspects of all fires are certainly the abandonment of the land and the lack of properly managed agro-pastoral practices. These provide not only food, but also agri-ecosystem services. Their abandonement favor the formation of highly flammable plant material, which is accompanied by an increase in High Temperature Day (HTD) and a decrease in annual averages of rain due to the Climate Change, leading to an increase of the probability of triggering fires and an increase in areas that can be traced.
The proposed study provides a burn probabilities model in current conditions at a 50-meter-pixel scale through wind studies and the Fuel Model used in other studies by experts.
The proposal presents a set of practices based on historical and potential land uses (Forest, livestock, agriculture, peri-urban and urban areas), seen both in the key to preventing fires and improving the socio-economic conditions of the territory, towards a better achievement of SDG 1, 2, 3, 8, 11, 12, 13, 15, and 17.

Stefano Aragona (p)

The paper aims to highlight the cultural and operational change, through theoretical reflections, experiences and good practices, which is necessary to pursue the philosophy of sustainable development of UN 2020 - 2030 Agenda, participating in the construction of "cultured technology" of which Del Nord speaks since 1991.
The intention is to involve the different skills, as the UN Charter of 2015 requires, dealing with both the ancient and the modern. So trying to build synergies, from the Greek word συνεργός, to try to reconstruct and move into a holistic perspective of transformations. The keys words of the are: water and green, energy, security, mobility, Community. Each will be declined in an interdisciplinary way with the territory and the city that, in fact, are experimental laboratories: the local conditions from being constraints must become suggestions for action both for the transformation of the existing and in the construction of places, as Settis has remembered in 2014 in his Lectio Magistralis The ethics of the architect and the restoration of the landscape for the conferral of the honorary degree in Architecture.
All this considering first of all the emergency and opportunities related to the theme of water, greenery, and climatological changes. They require profound changes both in planning and building settlements and, very important for the country of “100 Bell Towers” i.e Italy, in the transformation of the ancient landscape.

Bibliographical references:
Del Nord, R., (1991), "Presentazione", in (eds.) Mucci, E., Rizzoli, P., L'immaginario tecnologico metropolitano, F. Angeli, Milano
Settis S. (2014), L’etica del architetto e il restauro del paesaggio, Lectio Magistralis for the conferral of the honorary degree in Architecture, Università Mediterranea di Reggio Calabria, in https://www.unirc.it/documentazione/materiale_didattico /1464_2013_356_18354.pdf.
UN The Sustainable Development Agenda. 17 Goals to Transform Our World