Indicators for fragile territories and classification of urban and peri-urban configurations: a methodological approach

The thesis research develops a multi-scalar planning process from the general (strategic asset) to specific (project solutions). The process describes an integrated methodological approach focused on fragilities of urban settlements and the proposed methodologies are devolved to comprehend and to analyse the Italian territory. The research is developed through 4 passages of scale (in 3 main chapters). The first chapter aims at introducing some macro-criteria that can characterize the fragile conditions of Italian small municipalities (less than 5000 inhabitants). Levels of fragile conditions are computed through the combination of indicators that represent some main territorial issues (hydrogeological instability, economic backwardness, …). Results highlight the possible distinction of three macro-regions that can represent different clusters of priority for future allocation of funds. Results also highlight territorial gradient of differential measures of fragility in the same territorial context. Then, the investigation focuses on the physical structure of the urban environment for understanding if macro-criteria’s fragility is related also to urban structure. The object is the urban gradient (studied by means of Urban Atlas artificial land data) which generally expands from the main compact city to the surrounding rural areas. Then, the second chapter proposes a classification of main recurrent configurations (from aggregated, compact, and dense tissue to free areas in rural context) found in three Functional Urban Areas in central Italy. The methodology introduces both the role of the author as the Subject Matter Expert in the process of qualitative evaluation and a possible implementation of Supervised Machine Learning techniques in accelerating future processes of recognition. Lastly, the design project is introduced for deepening the study on urban configurations’ structure. The further change of scale is an exercise of in-depth analysis which serves to contextualize the previously modelled configuration within the real urban context. Specific urban fragilities (such as lack of green connections and inadequacy of open spaces) can be associated with the indicators of fragility that have been computed at the macro-scale level. As conclusion, the overall relevance of results is framed within the opportunity to produce high-performance and replicable planning tools for cities and territory management, implementing decision support systems and sustainable urban transformations.