Ricerc@Sapienza

Urban realities are of particular interest - as case studies - where architectural requalification and urban regeneration decline in various ways modes and forms of positive dynamics of urban organisms, generating a multiplicity of actions and reactions. In fact, these processes have a peculiar characteristic. They highlight not only the need for systematic planning, at least in the medium term, but the power of progression of interventions.

The contribution focuses on the relevance of the socio-economic values of cultural ecosystem services provided by urban green infrastructure, which are increasingly calling researchers, policy makers and practitioners’ attention from new perspectives, mirroring the needs and claims of the growing population of urban dwellers. The often-conflicting socio-economic implications of the urban green infrastructure are presented, introducing major findings of an extensive repository of international case-studies.

Urban ecosystems are characterized by rich spatial and temporal heterogeneity: a complex mosaic of biological and physical patches in a matrix of infrastructure, human organizations, and social institutions. Worldwide urban ecosystems are under pressure from competing resource demands, protracted inconsistent land uses and climate change. The need to assess vulnerability and adapt to critical environmental phenomena calls for new ways to understand,