Regenerative Territories. Fostering a Holistic Process between Performance and Narratives

As cities increasingly face social, economic and environmental challenges posed by rising temperatures, extreme weather events and environmental degradation, the adoption of resilient agendas is pivotal to accelerate climate and energy transition. This involves developing strategies and implementing measures that can enhance their capacities to focus on multiple pathways and plurality of goals. Indeed, designing transitions requires a renewed awareness of ecological and cultural responsibility and a shift towards regenerative solutions balancing the human needs. Considering this framework, the Ecological Landscape Design (ElaDe) laboratory at the University of Trento addresses these issues through an applied research approach in several areas of the Trentino and Veneto regions in the north of Italy. The research aims to contribute to providing positive impacts of urban transformations with a renewed approach of ‘innovate with nature’ and addresses the challenges through a holistic perspective, combining adaptation and mitigation efforts by experimenting with Nature-based Solutions (NbS). Specifically, the activities include support to decision-makers and designers to include NbS in the current practices by updating urban planning tools, innovating design processes. This is achieved by assessing and evaluating the distribution, the effects and socio-ecological impacts of green and blue elements in the built environment. In this view, the dimensions addressed by the research include the introduction of a landscape-based approach, the promotion of climate sensitive urban regeneration and the co-creation of new knowledge with decision-makers. The paper reports the operational outcome of the research activities focusing on the ecological performances of the proposed solutions and on the creation of new narratives to empower decision-makers.