A Multidisciplinary approach to plan Ecosystem Services for cities in Transition
ECO-SET is a NRRP research project funded by the European Union – NextGenerationeEU
Mission 4 – Component 2 – Investimento 1.1 – Fondo per il Programma Nazionale della Ricerca (PNR) e Progetti di Ricerca di Rilevante Interesse Nazionale (PRIN)
ECO-SET is a research project of Relevant National Interest (PRIN) funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU under the Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP). The project aims to develop a data-driven urban planning approach (based on ICT and AI technology) to exploit ecosystem services (ESs) for the design of urban transformations in response to the rising demand for cities’ transition toward protecting nature and reversing the degradation of biodiversity. ECO-SET will put forward an interdisciplinary approach to address the complexity of Urban ES management through data-driven urban planning. Such complexity opens new research development trajectories for the future transition of cities towards resilience and sustainability.
ECO-SET Project builds on the achievements of two previous research projects: the SOUND project (PRIN 2017), which highlighted the role of Innovation Ecosystems by spatializing social network analysis to capture local innovation flows, and the TREND project (H2020 MSCA RISE 2018), which introduced a pioneering approach to strengthening regional capabilities in managing Transition strategies to foster resilience-building processes.
ECO-SET’s central objective is to bridge the technological divide by integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) with Territorial Intelligence (TI) to design planning models capable of handling the complex systems required for climate-proofing urban environments. This approach moves forward by addressing key questions such as: Is the provision of biodiversity a service in itself, or does biodiversity fundamentally underpin all ecosystem services? Can we define parametric measures for ecosystem services that can be incorporated into land-use practices or zoning? How can we value ecosystem services so that they can be transformed into tangible goods that provide direct benefits to people?
The scope is to advance a technological nexus between AI and TI to enable cities to navigate the challenges of climate change and urban transformation, leveraging data-driven insights to shape more resilient and adaptive urban planning processes.
ECO-SET is a research project designed to extend the capabilities of the SOUND project by integrating data-driven urban planning processes to enhance ecosystem services (ESs) within cities. The project responds to the increasing challenges of urban and territorial fragmentation, which demand innovative solutions to tackle the complex knowledge required to address climate change.
Urban regeneration has become a key priority for future development policies, with a focus on maintaining ecosystems and their services to foster resilience and sustainability. The ECO-SET project operates within two interrelated drivers: (i) unveiling the dynamics of context transitions through the application of urban informatics, utilizing big and open data to comprehend the complexity of urban environments for planning ESs; and (ii) constructing a governance and planning framework that identifies the primary factors driving urban transformations aimed at enhancing urban ESs.
Specifically, the research project aims to:
ECO-SET introduces a novel approach by combining ESs with advanced data-driven analytical tools such as AI and TI. This approach aims to empower cities and urban planners in their efforts to combat the side effects of climate change, in alignment with the EU’s vision for a green, digital, and just transition.
The innovation lies in how the project integrates environmental and technological perspectives to create more adaptive urban planning models. ECO-SET tries to enhance the capacity to analyse, predict, and respond to urban challenges, enabling a more informed approach to sustainable growth and climate resilience.
Ultimately, ECO-SET’s innovative combination of ESs and data-driven technologies offers a forward-looking solution for cities striving to transition towards greener, more resilient futures.
The research activities are structured into 6 phases. The phases aim to align the theoretical framework of ecosystem services with practical applications, providing indicators and metrics for resilience and sustainability in urban contexts. The project focuses on systematizing data relevant to ecosystem services in Reggio Calabria, building a correlation matrix between zoning rules and service performance, and developing a digital interface to link AI models with Territorial Intelligence.
The first phase will focus on building a panel data system to classify and analyze ecosystem services relevant to Reggio Calabria. Drawing from scientific literature, European documents, and ISPRA reports, the classification will follow the Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services (CICES). The analysis will identify ecosystem services based on functional criteria, ecological complexity, biodiversity, and their performance in urban transition processes. This phase will also measure ecological and digital costs for different eco-districts, aligning with validated indicators and data.
The third phase will include a review of literature on urban ecosystem services and big data, and the use of machine learning algorithms to analyze big data, identifying target areas and enabling predictive analyses related to ecosystem services.
The fourth phase will include defining metrics for predictive models using big data, AI, and Territorial Intelligence, and designing dynamic AI tools and earth observation techniques to address ecological and environmental demands related to urban transformations.
The fifth phase will include identifying policy areas that link knowledge and innovation dynamics with governance and planning for ecosystem services, and developing methodologies to integrate data from diverse sources using machine learning techniques.
The sixth phase will involve measuring the spatial impacts of ecosystem services in Reggio Calabria, particularly in green and blue infrastructures, and identifying criteria to validate urban transformations by assessing ecosystem trade-offs and synergies between services.
Dipartimento di Pianificazione, Design, Tecnologia dell'Architettura
Dipartimento Architettura e Territorio Reggio Calabria, Italia
Dipartimento Scienze Economiche, Aziendali e Statistiche Palermo, Italia
Dipartimento di Informatica
Salerno - UNISA
This webpage is theì result of the research activities related to the following PNRR Project funded by the European Union – NextGenEU: “ECO-SET – A Multidisciplinary approach to plan Ecosystem Services for cities in Transition” – project funded by the European Union – NextGenerationEU – PNRR – Missione 4 “Istruzione e Ricerca” – Componente 2 “Dalla Ricerca all’Impresa” – Investimento 1.1 – Fondo per il Programma Nazionale della Ricerca (PNR) e Progetti di Ricerca di Rilevante Interesse Nazionale (PRIN). Università: Sapienza Università di Roma; Università degli Studi Mediterranea di Reggio Calabria (Dip. DARTE) ; Università degli Studi di Palermo; Università degli Studi di Salerno
