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Molecular No Smart-Planning in Italy: 8000 Municipalities in Action throughout the Country

Author

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  • Bernardino Romano

    (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of L’Aquila, 67100 L’Aquila, Italy)

  • Francesco Zullo

    (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of L’Aquila, 67100 L’Aquila, Italy)

  • Lorena Fiorini

    (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of L’Aquila, 67100 L’Aquila, Italy)

  • Alessandro Marucci

    (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of L’Aquila, 67100 L’Aquila, Italy)

Abstract

This paper discusses the topic of urban and spatial planning in Italy where decision-making is left almost exclusively to the innumerable, small municipalities present in the country and totaling almost 8000 in number. Projects and actions to transform built areas, infrastructure, and welfare services of all sorts and purposes in a national territory of over 300,000 km 2 are supervised by countless mayors, municipal councils, and boards that govern plots of land corresponding to polygons of a few kilometers per side. This is generally achieved by means of town plans developed outside of any general rule or protocol, the contents of which are often ignored as a result of national legislation that weakens them and sometimes makes them uninfluential essentially. This is a European example of urban planning mismanagement that deserves to be brought to the broader attention of the European technical and scientific community, also because the debate developed so far on this topic—even by eminent and authoritative urban planners—has been published almost entirely in Italian only. Public and political attention towards this issue is extremely limited, although the severe effects of “molecular planning” are beginning to be perceived: unjustified overurbanization and highly patchy, energy-intensive, urban patterns that are destructive for ecosystems and at odds with public interests regarding environmental and urban quality. In this paper, we make some comparisons with other European countries and outline some directions—certainly very difficult to follow—to reconsider and recover from the adverse effects produced to date.

Suggested Citation

  • Bernardino Romano & Francesco Zullo & Lorena Fiorini & Alessandro Marucci, 2019. "Molecular No Smart-Planning in Italy: 8000 Municipalities in Action throughout the Country," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(22), pages 1-17, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:22:p:6467-:d:287910
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Bernardino Romano & Francesco Zullo & Lorena Fiorini & Serena Ciabò & Alessandro Marucci, 2017. "Sprinkling: An Approach to Describe Urbanization Dynamics in Italy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-17, January.
    2. Alex Lord & Mark Tewdwr-Jones, 2014. "Is Planning "Under Attack"? Chronicling the Deregulation of Urban and Environmental Planning in England," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(2), pages 345-361, February.
    3. Bernardino Romano & Francesco Zullo & Alessandro Marucci & Lorena Fiorini, 2018. "Vintage Urban Planning in Italy: Land Management with the Tools of the Mid-Twentieth Century," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-12, November.
    4. Walid Oueslati & Seraphim Alvanides & Guy Garrod, 2015. "Determinants of urban sprawl in European cities," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 52(9), pages 1594-1614, July.
    5. Paolo Pinotti, 2015. "The Economic Costs of Organised Crime: Evidence from Southern Italy," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 125(586), pages 203-232, August.
    6. Patsy Healey & Richard Williams, 1993. "European Urban Planning Systems: Diversity and Convergence," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 30(4-5), pages 701-720, May.
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    Cited by:

    1. Antonio Ledda & Marta Kubacka & Giovanna Calia & Sylwia Bródka & Vittorio Serra & Andrea De Montis, 2023. "Italy vs. Poland: A Comparative Analysis of Regional Planning System Attitudes toward Adaptation to Climate Changes and Green Infrastructures," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-18, January.
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    3. Bernardino Romano & Lorena Fiorini & Alessandro Marucci & Francesco Zullo, 2020. "The Urbanization Run-Up in Italy: From a Qualitative Goal in the Boom Decades to the Present and Future Unsustainability," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-16, August.
    4. Bernardino Romano & Francesco Zullo & Lorena Fiorini & Cristina Montaldi, 2022. "Micromunicipality (MM) and Inner Areas in Italy: A Challenge for National Land Policy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-16, November.
    5. Romano, Bernardino & Zullo, Francesco & Saganeiti, Lucia & Montaldi, Cristina, 2023. "Evaluation of cut-off values in the control of land take in Italy towards the SDGs 2030," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    6. Alessandro Marucci & Lorena Fiorini & Chiara Di Dato & Francesco Zullo, 2020. "Marginality Assessment: Computational Applications on Italian Municipalities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-17, April.
    7. Di Pirro, E. & Sallustio, L. & Capotorti, G. & Marchetti, M. & Lasserre, B., 2021. "A scenario-based approach to tackle trade-offs between biodiversity conservation and land use pressure in Central Italy," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 448(C).
    8. Lucia Saganeiti & Angela Pilogallo & Giuseppe Faruolo & Francesco Scorza & Beniamino Murgante, 2020. "Territorial Fragmentation and Renewable Energy Source Plants: Which Relationship?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-14, February.

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