Innovative Tool for Public Administration: a Decision Support for Effective Climate Adaptation in Urban Areas through Nature-Based Solutions

The international and national strategic guidelines establish "Nature Positive" scenarios that represent a strategic response to the ecological transition of urban settlements using ecosystem and nature-based solutions. In Italy, the National Plan for Adaptation to Climate Change establishes the implementation of actions to mitigate the climate risks, through green and grey measures and appropriate effectiveness indicators, which increase the adaptive capacity of systemic socio-economic systems. However, the methodology and operational methods with which to apply these measures at the local scale are still to be developed with respect to local specificities.

In Italy there are several knowledge, financial, technical and regulatory gaps that prevent or slow down the application of these actions at the local scale by Public Administrations.

Among the technical gaps, the adoption of approaches to the planning and design of public spaces emerges which is not yet able to operationally integrate climate adaptation and reducing impacts required at the local scale by national guidelines.

The paper analyses the case of the city of Naples, where for some years the PA has been including climate risk-oriented design criteria within its land governance tools.

The city of Naples, due to its settlement, typo-morphological, environmental and geological characteristics, is affected by the coexistence of climate risk phenomena and by specific conditions of climatic vulnerability of the built environment and the population, with reference to the impacts of heat waves and intense rainfall.

Outdoor spaces, can significantly affect the ability to reduce climate vulnerability at the building and urban scale, while bringing environmental benefits.

Moreover, urban public facilities designed with climate risk–oriented criteria, can be a network of urban spaces effective in counteracting climate impacts.

The aim of the experimentation is to develop a tool to support decision makers and upgrade knowledge and the ability of the PA to apply climate adaptation measures (MASE, 2023). This tool informs the climate risk-oriented planning and design process, with reference to the role of public spaces in reducing climate impacts in urban areas.

The experimentation, conducted using GIS databases, identifies the areas intended for neighbourhoods' equipment most impacted by the effects of heatwave and flooding climate phenomena. Based on the study of the feasibility conditions of the interventions, those suitable for the application of appropriate NBS solutions in open spaces for the reduction of climate vulnerability are taken into consideration.

Through the network analysis method applied in a GIS environment, the areas characterized by favourable proximity conditions are identified in which to prioritize climate adaptation interventions, as continued network of outdoor spaces, to reduce climate vulnerability. The identified NBS solutions are applied, and their effectiveness is verified.

The experimentation develops an operational tool for the Public Administration to select the priority areas of intervention among the urban neighbourhoods' facilities, obtaining an advance in quantitative approach to urban facilities, enhanced as a network of open spaces that provides environmental benefits.

The experimentation are developed in PRIN Research 2022 PNRR Call "REACT - _Regenerative processes Enhancement to Address decision makers toward Climate-proof Transition of southern metropolitan areas".