PLANNING with NATURE: SUSTAINABLE URBAN PROTOTYPES for PORTUENSE DISTRICT in ROME, ITALY

Abstract

The objective of this study is to regenerate the Portuense district of Rome, in the southwest quadrant of the city, referring to nature-based solutions (NBS) coupled with sustainable solutions in rainwater management. The role of water, both as a resource and as an essential element of urban landscape, was considered. Nature-based solutions include several concepts or technologies ranging from blue-green infrastructure to water saving measures to sustainable rainwater drainage, and their use can be an important tool to mitigate the negative effects of climate change. To this end, high levels of integration between experts from different disciplines are necessary, specifically urban planners, water engineers and ecologists, and the involvement of land and water managers, planners and policy makers on all spatial scales is required. The design solutions in this work were developed following the United Nations 2030 Agenda for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and fitting the following models of city [1]: The Oasis City where NBS solutions improve the thermal well-being of the inhabitants reducing the heat island effect (environmental function); the City of Sponges to increase soil permeability and control rainwater flow making more sustainable the urban drainage system (environmental function); the City for People to improve the liveability and sociability of the spaces (social function). Based on these principles, three design solutions, called prototypes, have been developed: Pocket Park (environmental function), Main Avenue (social functions), Tiber Park (environmental and social functions). The biotope area factor, BAF index, was used here as the main measure to evaluate the effectiveness of the design solutions. The solutions proposed in each prototype can be repeated for all the interventions conceived in the "network of spaces" of the Portuense district.