Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
result in reduction of vulnerability and increase of resilience
7
. These perspectives
offer alternative patterns of interventions with a potentially revolutionary impact
on cities, on government structures, on professional organizations, on formative
processes and on research.
Urban regeneration should be interpreted as inter-sectorial and integrated pol-
icies for sustainable development, and it should be considered strategic for local
development, aiming at promoting and enhancing the urban systems with the
support of the State in partnership with private investors.
Urban quality, revisited according to the concepts of regeneration and resilience,
needs a sustained process of preservation and creative interventions to overcome
stress factors and environmental pressure (endogenous/external) generated by
ordinary events and by geological, weather and socio-ecological emergencies.
Several countries are already planning and implementing adaptation strategies
for building structures (eco-buildings), networks (sustainable mobility, smart grid),
settlements (eco-districts, smart cities), and experimenting new ideas of cities
more sustainable and pleasant to live in (Costantino
2012
). It is now clear, how
energy saving and use of renewable sources are a great opportunity to promote
economic development and independence from conventional energy sources.
Local authorities understand the strategic importance of these actions and now
they use their managerial expertise in planning development in this direction.
Local governments play a leading role in meeting the climate and energy targets
set by the EU.
The ''Covenant of Mayors'' is an agreement in which villages, cities and
regions voluntarily commit themselves to endorse the European Union's target of
20 % CO
2
reduction (Covenant of Mayors
2014
). This commitment must be
pursued by implementing the Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP). The
Covenant of Mayors is a bottom-up support, being the only movement with the
capacity to mobilize local and regional authorities to satisfy the European
objectives. Its role is also of support for efforts made by local governments to
implement energy saving policies.
Even the global network of large metropolis ''Cities Climate Leadership
Group'' (C40
2014
) has the objective to promote development and to implement
policies and programs for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, climate risks
and for the increase of energy efficiency in large cities around the world
8
.
The first edition of the ''City Climate Leadership Awards'' sponsored by
Siemens and C40 (September 2013) prized the first ten cities, recognizing them as
leaders in supporting urban sustainability and in fighting climate change. The prize
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Resilience is understood not only as ability to withstand an external stress, but also to be able to
creating new and better conditions because ''Resilience is the ability to continue to exist, inco-
rporating the change'' (Berkes et al.
2008
).
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The Cities Climate Leadership Group C40 is a network of the world's megacities taking action
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It was created in 2005 by the Mayor of London Ken
Livingstone. C40 harnesses the assets of member cities to address climate risks and impacts
locally and globally. C40 now has grown to 63 members.
