Climate Sensitive Urban Regeneration: Experimenting an Adaptive and Zero-Energy Approach in Trento, Italy

Mitigation and adaptation to the implications of climate change are currently main issues to be tackled in transforming the existing built environment. Design practices mostly focus on energy retrofitting, limiting the integration of nvironmental criteria of outdoor spaces and considerations of future scenarios. A good integration between mitigation and adaptation strategies is foreseen to effectively balance urban health, environmental quality and energy performances through an integrated approach. According to several studies, integrated and multiscale approaches to regenerate the built environment represent an effective asset for the urban fabric, improving the urban quality and delivering simultaneously several functions. The main aim of the study is the definition of tools for practitioners to tackle climate-related challenges with an integrated approach. A performance-based approach is outlined to combine microclimate regulation, runoff mitigation, energy consumptions and urban quality. The proposed workflow is divided into general criteria, which define priorities and potentialities of intervention in the study area, and feasibility criteria, to decide which solutions to choose according to technical, regulatory and landscape integration aspects. The study is carried out in Trento, an Alpine city in the North of Italy, developed along the river Adige. Despite the rich natural landscape of the hillsides, the valley is strongly urbanized, with soil sealing leading to urban heat island effect and stormwater management challenges. The paper provides design solutions to promote low energy, adaptive and healthy urban regeneration interventions at the neighbourhood level, focusing on the transformation of urban surfaces and their physical characteristics.