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The objective of Meglio Muoversi [Better Moving] is the pursuing of the sustainable mobility in its variations of social, economic and environmental sustainability, through the realization of a process of planning, integrated management and monitoring, of advanced mobility services, aimed at thickening tangible and intangible networks of connection (accessibility), changing the travel behaviours of users to discourage the use of private cars and foster the integration between various modes of transport (safety and environmental impacts, efficiency and efficacy). Two services of advanced mobility flexible in space and time have been activated: Chiamabus and C’Entro. Chiamabus is a service on demand, C'Entro is a Car-sharing service and provides for the promotion of the Car-pooling.

The limited scientific knowledge on relationship between exposure and health effects in relation to geothermal activity motivated an epidemiologic investigation in Tuscan geothermal area. The study aims to describe the health status of populations living in Tuscany municipalities where concessions for exploitation of geothermal resources were granted.This is an ecological study, so it is not useful to produce evidence to sustain a judgment on the cause-effect link. The major limits of this type of study are the use of the residence at municipal level as a proxy of exposure to both environmental and socioeconomic factors and the use of aggregated data of health outcomes that can lead to the well-known ecological fallacy.Sixteen municipalities were included in the study area: eight are part of the so-called "traditional" geothermal area, defined as Northern Geothermal Area (NGA) and eight located in the Amiata Mountain defined as Southern Geothermal Area (SGA). In 2000-2006, the average resident population in the overall area was approximately 43,000 inhabitants. Thirty-one geothermal power plants were active, with a production capacity of 811 MW, 5 of them with 88 MW located in the SGA. Statistical analyses on the entire geothermal area, NGA and SGA subareas, and the sixteen municipalities were performed.Mortality data were obtained from Tuscany Regional Mortality Registry for the 1971-2006 period, analysing 60 causes of death, of interest for population health status or consistent with "Project SENTIERI" criteria. Hospital discharge records of residents in Tuscany Region in 2004-2006, anywhere admitted to hospital, were analyzed considering only the main diagnosis, excluding repeated admissions for the same cause. The causes taken into account are the same analysed for mortality were considered. Age-standardized mortality rates (TSDM) and the temporal trends of TSDM for four periods (1971-1979, 1980-1989, 1990-1999, 2000-2006) were computed. Age-standardized mortality/hospitalization ratios (SMR/SHR), with and without adjustment for the deprivation index based on 2001 census data, were calculated: mortality in the years 2000-2006 and hospitalization in 2004-2006. The expected number of events were computed using rates of residents in neighbouring municipalities (municipalities included in 50 km radius circle centred on the study area). Bayesian estimates of mortality/hospitalization ratios (BMR/BHR) at municipal level only and relating maps of the Bayesian risk estimators were elaborated. Congenital malformations (MC) were analysed using data from Tuscan Registry of Birth Defect in 1992-2006 period, relative to outcomes of pregnancies in women resident in the municipalities of study area, wherever the birth or termination of pregnancy occurred. The ratio between observed and expected cases (O/A), with expected defined according to regional rate, were calculated and O/A Bayesian estimates (BMR) are showed only at municipal level. The low weight and the males/females ratio at birth were analysed using data from Tuscany Birth Certificates, covering period 2001-2007, excluding births occurred in facilities outside Tuscany Region. For Low birth weight ( 64 years). Among females resident in SGA a mortality excess from digestive system diseases was observed (72 observed, 55 expected). The hospitalization in the overall Geothermal Area did not show any excess for all causes and all tumours in both genders. Statistically significant excesses for hospital admission from stomach cancer among males (49 observed, 38 expected) and females (42 observed, 28 expected), and from lymphohematopoietic tumours among females, particularly from lymphatic leukaemia (15 observed, 5 expected), were observed. As mortality analysis highlighted, also hospital admissions by geothermal areas and gender showed a worst picture in SGA than in NGA. In the latter, a significant excess of hospital admissions from all causes among females (1,357 observed, 1,284 expected) but not among males (1,193 observed, 1,141 expected) and an excess - close to statistical significance - from all tumours only among females (297 observed; 272 expected) were observed. Furthermore, statistically significant excesses of hospital admissions from digestive system diseases in both genders (M: 392 observed, 350 expected; F: 300 observed, 268 expected), from dementias (16 observed, 8 expected) and from lympho hematopoietic cancers among females, particularly from lymphatic leukaemia (9 observed, 2 expected), were observed. In the SGA, statistically significant excesses of hospital admissions for stomach cancer (M: 32 observed, 21 expected, not significant after adjusting by DI; F: 29 observed, 18 expected), for respiratory diseases (M: 408 observed, 351 expected; F: 339 observed, 277 expected) and for renal failure (M: 61 observed, 41 expected; F: 52 observed, 34 expected) were observed in both genders. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED)

In the past economics ignored the limits of natural resources. In the last few years a new methodological approach comes into economics improving the comprehension of the economic phenomena linked to the satisfaction of the needs of modern man that basic considers the quality of life. The objective of this research is to define the theoretical and methodological aspects of a sustainable economy pointing out the reasons and the grounds on which to build an environmental policy. This one has to consider either the economic matters or the environmental sensitivity of people. This research is divided into three parts. The first one defines the outlines of the sustainable economy and its characteristic features. The second one emphasizes the necessity of replacing the concept of sustainable development instead of development and growth. At last, the third part identifies the basic lines into which the environmental policy has to be realized defining its reasons, its foundations and its valuation systems. Aestimum, Aestimum 47 (2005)

By referring to the wider strategies set up, starting from the middle of the Nineties, by the European cities to promote a sustainable urban mobility and to the more recent concept of soft mobility, which generally includes pedestrian and cycling mobility, this contribution focuses on pedestrian mobility in urban areas, outlining criteria and methods for planning and designing networks of urban public open spaces, such as roads and squares, devoted to an exclusive or prevailing pedestrian use. First of all, the paper analyzes the multiple roles played by roads and squares within the cities: “axes” supporting different mobility flows, including the pedestrian ones, and in the meanwhile urban places in which different activities (commercial activities, meeting, and so on) take place. Grounding on that, the main reasons driving toward an organization of such spaces as urban networks have been outlined. Then, some guidelines and methodological elements, both for planning pedestrian networks and designing their elements taking into account the correspondence between foreseen uses and spatial features of each element, have been provided. Furthermore, the links between the pedestrian networks and the main junctions of other urban mobility networks, as well as between the first ones and the urban contexts have been stressed. Suggested guidelines and methodological elements have been applied and tested both on historical and suburban areas of the city of Naples; nevertheless they represent only a first step towards the setting up of a method for pedestrian networks planning and design in urban areas. Tema. Journal of Land Use, Mobility and Environment, Vol 2 (2009): Selected Papers 2009

An internship period spent in the north of Morocco kingdom (Tetouan) gave a contribute to the organization activity in promoting sustainable development in the rural areas under the Kyoto Protocol. The multitasking project will increase biodiversity planting trees for wood, forage and fruits productions. The paper show a first step study to evaluate the possibility to reach an agreement with the propriety and the manager of these areas in a multifunctional reforestation project. The eligible site suitable for reforestation in accordance with the CDM international scheme is a large plateau (more than 5000 hectares) 600 meters high on the sea level far from the Cannabis crops area. The evaluation of the project costs and of the social benefits for the population consider (using different species) the indigenous communities necessity. The evaluation of carbon sequestration show the small scale of the reforestation project on behalf of the Kyoto Protocol, but give also an idea about the people rights and necessities. The normal afforestation and reforestation projects, under the Kyoto Protocol, try to maximize the CO2 sequestration in a short time, than business laws usually require. A small scale project could be self-managing, less expensive (international certification costs) and more interesting for local communities.

The research moves from the current global and local context and from shared development strategies. From the observation and the analysis of contemporary environmental and energy issues and redefined directions of growth of human activity, it is addressing the question of environmental sustainability and energy conservation of building hospital systems. The work has developed a field survey relating the specific topic of energy saving and efficiency of the Park Hospital in the Italian Lombardy Region. This has been articulated in a diagnosis of technology and efficiency of regional hospitals, implemented through a census, and in a subsequent identification of interventional cases, in order to show its economic, environmental and health performance of the energy efficiency consumption and the environmentally sound.

DIPENDE è un sistema di supporto alle decisioni che permette di conoscere e visualizzare facilmente dati relativi al patrimonio edilizio residenziale. DIPENDE può essere utile a: - Amministrazioni (pianificatori) regionali e locali - Imprese e organizzazioni commerciali - Distributori di energia, investitori e fornitori di servizi - Associazioni e organizzazioni no-profit ai fini di ricerca/studi Come usare DIPENDE Si possono visualizzare i dati e gli indicatori rappresentativi di DIPENDE tramite due modalità di accesso: GIS DIPENDE (Analisi standard e web-GIS) Mapping tool (In costruzione). Excel DIPENDE_Tabelle/Queries per analisi mirate (informazioni su questo applicativo su richiesta) L’integrazione di diversi tipi di dati (sociali, geografici, energetici, di mercato), aggregati a livello comunale, consente elaborazioni e analisi nuove rispetto agli usi abituali del catasto dei certificati APE: la rappresentatività degli edifici certificati, il miglioramento dell’EE attraverso gli interventi incentivati, il rapporto tra tipologia, età e prestazione energetica media del patrimonio, etc. DIPENDE può facilitare l’individuazione delle aree con priorità di intervento e la definizione di politiche e programmi di miglioramento dell’efficienza energetica sul proprio territorio. DIPENDE- Integrated DataBase for the Energy Planning of Building Districts, is a prototype tool to facilitate the analysis and visualization of the energy performance of the building stock: for public authorities, to enhance control, monitoring, planning and, for private actors, to establish marketing and business strategies. The database was developed usng data from Lombardy region EPCs (CENED energy performance certification database), National Statistics and gouvernment incentives for building renovation. Data dates back to 2012.

The current growth of urbanization rate indicates that this trend is not going to stop, and therefore, it stresses the necessity of actions for mitigating the local and global pollution. Moreover, most of the actual stock is characterized by low energy performances since it pre-dates the energy regulation. The paper aims at addressing this issue by proposing the integration of Building Simulation (BS) approach, Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA) methods and Geographic Information System (GIS) tool for developing a new Multi-Criteria Spatial Decision Support System (MC-SDSS) in urban context. The BS of relevant building archetypes allows to identify different resolutions of energy data: hour-by-hour data can be useful for demand-side management or renewable integration while aggregated data can be used for load forecasting and retrofit simulations. The MCA permits choosing between different building renovation alternatives by considering both qualitative and quantitative criteria. Moreover, the GIS support the method by creating geo-referenced databases. The method purposes in giving a comprehensive view to address the complexity of urban building energy planning; due to its flexibility, it can be applied to several urban areas. Three main phases characterize the study: i. overview of relevant existing techniques; ii. description of the integrated proposed method; iii. discussion and future application. The method can provide relevant feedbacks for ranking complex design energy options.

The underlying thesis of this study is that the biomass for energy purposes, coming from farms, forestry, timber industry and Short Rotation Forestry (SRF) for energy, can provide various environmental and socio-economic benefits. First of all, the production of forest biomass for energy involves the reduction of CO2 emissions and the improvement of forest functions, such as hydrogeological and biodiversity conservation. Moreover, forest biomass consumption could contribute to the socio-economic development of rural areas, through the restoration of agro-forest activities and technological advances in the bio-energy field. In the last ten years in Italy several companies of the bioenergy industry, attracted by Government subsidies planned to build dedicated power that use biomass as their main fuel. The primary goal of this study is to analyse the local forest wood supply chain. Therefore, field surveys have been done in order to classify the management and the characteristics of the woodchips supply chain (wood sub-product availability, forest enterprises, working systems, forest woodchips quality).