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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.

Prefigurare assetti urbani futuri nei quali le tecnologie consentano azioni e interazioni fra gli individui inimmaginabili solo pochi anni fa, ha da sempre rappresentato una delle tematiche di ricerca ed approfondimento più interessanti delle scienze della città anche se, probabilmente, non sufficientemente considerate nel dibattito urbanistico del nostro paese degli ultimi venti anni. L’accelerazione verso tali tematiche è stata consistente a partire dai recenti bandi della Comunità Europea e del Ministero dell’Istruzione e della Ricerca Italiano sulle: Smart City. In questa importante svolta, supportata dalle numerose aziende produttrici di tecnologie, dispositivi e media, sembra tuttavia verificarsi una discontinuità nell’ambito della definizione teorica dei processi connessi alla strutturazione ed alla gestione della Smart City. I numerosi approfondimenti sul tema sembrano svilupparsi lontano dalle scienze del governo delle trasformazioni della città e distanti dal principale ambito disciplinare di riferimento: l’urbanistica. Tale discrasia è probabilmente riconducibile a due fattori: da una parte la marginalizzazione del tema relativo a città ed innovazione tecnologica nel dibattito urbanistico nazionale concentratosi su altri, pur importanti, argomenti e, dall’altra l’approccio marcatamente aziendale che la recente accelerazione ha subito e che, in una logica di mercato, tende ad evitare possibili razionalizzazioni dei processi. All’interno del testo verranno proposti approcci, ipotesi e riflessioni probabilmente non strutturate per definire un ordinato sviluppo teorico ma, probabilmente in grado di aprire dimensioni del ragionamento ed indicare possibili scenari che possano essere successivamente ripresi, confutati e riarticolati dagli altri studiosi delle scienze urbane per definirne un nuovo modo di interpretare e tentare di orientare lo sviluppo urbano. Molte delle riflessioni presentate nel seguito rappresentano semplici spunti che necessitano di ulteriori approfondimenti e sviluppi maggiormente strutturati. Ma pare utile avviare un ragionamento che dimostri come la proposizione del modello “smart” per i moderni sistemi urbani non derivi unicamente da necessità tecnicisticamente aziendali, che spingono all’utilizzo di device di controllo urbano, ma possano essere visti come uno stadio evolutivo della città del quale già da tempo si erano prefigurati gli sviluppi. In altre parole obiettivo di questo paper è quello di tentare di ricondurre le dinamiche di sviluppo della SC nel loro naturale alveo di sviluppo teorico-operativo, anche recuperando approcci e riferimenti metodologici riconducibili allo studio del rapporto fra nuove tecnologie e trasformazioni del sistema urbano da tempo sviluppati in sede di ricerca ma mai concretamente adottati per la definizione di nuovi processi di governo della città. Tema. Journal of Land Use, Mobility and Environment, Vol 6, N° 1 (2013): Smart Cities: Researches, Projects and Good Practices for the City

The paper synthesises and compares the results of a research carried out on the energy potential of the provinces of Enna and Syracuse from the perspective of wind energy production. The study highlighted some remarkable differences between the two provinces due to the different wind dynamics and the presence of the landscape characteristics. We propose a wide land planning tool including a section devoted to the calculation of the energy that can be produced by plants located in the permitted areas, an evaluative section devoted to the financial sustainability of the investments, and a section devoted to the landscape assessment due to the different intervisibility of the allowed plants, and a section devoted to the formalization of the decision making process. A set of GIS tools supports the mentioned sections in defining the pattern for the localization of the wind farms, and in measuring and featuring the visual impact.

This site includes coastal dune ecosystems of Central Italy, both along Tyrrhenian and Adriatic coastline. The flora and the fauna of the site is highly specialized with a relevant ecological value. On the other side, the site includes one of the most threatened ecosystems at national and European level, mainly due to direct and indirect human pressures. These areas host many EU interest habitats and species and are included in the Nature 2000 Network. Major EU Habitats are: Habitat 1210 (Annual vegetation of drift lines), Habitat 2110 (Embryonic shifting dunes), Habitat 2120 (Shifting dunes along the shorelines with Ammophila arenaria), Habitat 2230 (Malcolmietalia dune grasslands), priority Habitat 2250* (Coastal dunes with Juniperus spp.), Habitat 2260 (Cisto-Lavanduletalia dune sclerophyllous scrubs) and priority Habitat 2270* (Wooded dunes with Pinuspinea and/or Pinus pinaster). The main topics of the ecological monitoring are: the temporal dynamics of plant diversity and abundance of coastal EU habitats, the periodical observation of nesting avifauna and Testudo hermanni, and the multi-temporal analysis of land cover types and its distribution, as well as of dune morphology and shoreline evolution.

MICROCHP ANALYSIS, DEVELOPMENT AND TESTING OF A MICROCHP STIRLING ENGINE OF 1 KW POWER. ANALISI DEL POTENZIALE DELLA MICROCOGENERAZIONE IN AMBITO CIVILE E DOMESTICO, E PROGETTAZIONE E REALIZZAZIONE DI UN MICROCOGENERATORE A CICLO STIRLING DA 1 KW ELETTRICO.

Nowadays energy transition is a recurring topic, which describes the process of an energy system moving from fossil-based sources towards renewables. The transition can unfold at different levels, from the single initiative of a local com-munity to a complex cross-border agreement. The latter type is well represented by EUSALP, the European macro-regional strategy for the Alpine region. One of its aims is to transform its territory into a model region for energy efficiency and renewable energy. To support a well-informed decision making process, this study provides the first insight about the status quo of energy balances in EUSALP, at local as well as aggregated level. Moreover, it offers an overview on the various energy targets defined by the territorial units that constitute the EUSALP region. Data has been retrieved via a bottom-up quality-oriented process consisting of (i) a survey targeted at responsible person in local energy departments; and (ii) data control and harmonization. We found that the EUSALP region is actually a model region only in clean power production, whereas starting point as well as energy targets of territories are highly heterogeneous. We al-so identified the need of more harmonized data collection methodologies. We conclude that this bottom-up process can support and legitimate policy makers in cross-border cooperation activities under a smart macro-regional energy strategy, which pursues an increment in energy savings, renewable energy production and a broad engagement of relevant stakeholders.

Energy efficiency, sustainability of interventions and efficient management of the conservation process are three increasingly important features of the restoration and regeneration of urban historic fabrics. Several studies identify in the Heritage-BIM the most suitable instrument for the integration and management of knowledge produced during the conservation process, with ongoing experiments that, from the field of representation and geometric survey, have gone in the direction of a multidisciplinary approach. Numerical simulations are one of the most powerful tools for improving energy efficiency of the built heritage, not only for the understanding of complex phenomena and the analysis of the energy and environmental consequences of conservation interventions (also in terms of deterioration), but also because they allow innovative applications in the field of non-destructive analysis and in the reconstruction of the original passive behaviour of historic structures. An HBIM model already contains much of the information required for numerical analysis of historical structures, and interoperability can save time by reducing errors in manual steps but at the moment the process of integration between the two software environments is still complex and in an embryonic phase that requires a multidisciplinary approach and the involvement of numerous experts from different scientific fields. The article describes the methodology of integration between multidisciplinary analyses, HBIM modelling and simulation analysis adopted within the METRICS research project, where it was possible to test the limits and potentials of the currently available approaches, exploiting the digital medium of computational design to bridge the gap between BIM and simulation environments.

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).

The paper presents the objectives of the European Construction Technology Platform for the development of innovative materials, such as: reduction of environmental impact of production and demolition of construction materials; 30% reduction in production times and costs through the introduction of innovative, efficient and predictable processes; increase of energy efficiency of buildings through the use of innovative materials designed for specific applications; reduction in lifecycle costs of construction materials; improve in environmental comfort (health, hygiene, safe, aesthetics); development of new multifunctional materials with high knowledge content specifically designed according to customers' requirements.

1) Files.csv : Dataset acquired on the experimental laboratory setup used for the emulation of a Ducted Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine. 2) DHAWT.xlsx : aerodynamic characteristics of the Ducted Horizontal Axis Wind Turbine chosen as case of study.