Lecturer: Roberto De Lotto  

Course name: Environmental planning and assessment
Course code: 505020
Degree course: Ingegneria Edile-Architettura
Disciplinary field of science: ICAR/20
University credits: ECTS 9
Course website: n.d.

Specific course objectives

Starting from essential lessons about Environmental Planning and Landscape Ecology, the main aim of the Course is to give students theoretical, methodological and practical instruments to enforce Strategic Environmental Assessment procedure to Regional and Urban plans. European Directive 2001/42/CE set a specific process that is mandatory for many plans and programs in order to integrate environmental issues in planning ones, and to assess the effects of their implementation on the environment.

Course programme

The Course is made of three main sections: in the first one basic concepts of Environmental Planning and landscape Ecology will be exposed and explained together with the application fields of Strategic Environmental Assessment. In the second one the SEA procedure will be described following European and italian legislation. In the third one students will apply with technical, theoretical and methodological instruments such as assessment methods, Biotope Area Factor application, GIS and Map Overlay.

Environmental Planning, Landscape Ecology and SEA application field
The first part of the course is characterized by lessons about the basic concepts, the cultural implications and historical development of Environmental Planning and Landscape Ecology in worldwide context. Then it will be exposed the field of application of SEA procedure, considering the disciplinary context and the cultural development of concepts connected to sustainability (livability, resilience, flexibility). The role of SEA is described as a process integrated in a worldwide shared attitude toward sustainability objectives which were defined since 1972 in ONU conferences and in European directives.

SEA's procedure and editing
In the second part of the course the procedure of SEA is explained and students are called to simulate a SEA process of a pre-selected urban plan. The process is explained basing on he several passages that compose it; for each passage students will learn the usefulness and the pertinence with the specific urban plan they will practice. The procedure is composed by two main phases. The first is analytical, in which the main components of urban environment are described. All the environmental themes (such as: air, water resources, soil, ecosystem, ...) will be introduced and studied. The second phase consists in the evaluation one in which the effects of urban plan are recognized and assessed. The second part of the course ends with the draft of an Environmental Report.

Technical and operative instruments
The third part of the course will develop some technical instruments that are indispensable to acquire awareness of assessment processes. Some of these techniques are: Strumenti operativi specifici utilizzati nella Valutazione Ambientale Strategica La terza parte del Corso approfondisce gli strumenti operativi specifici utilizzati nella VAS quali: descrizione e utilizzo dei Sistemi di Indicatori, metodi e modelli per la creazione degli scenari alternativi, metodi e modelli per la Valutazione dei progetti

• GIS and map Overlay;
• Biotope Area Factor;
• indicators system: use and definition;
• Impact Matrix;
• qualitative and quantitative assessment methods;
• building of alternative scenario

Course entry requirements

Knowledge derived from Urban Planning teachings

Course structure and teaching

Lectures (hours/year in lecture theatre): 80
Practical class (hours/year in lecture theatre): 40
Practicals / Workshops (hours/year in lecture theatre): 0

Suggested reading materials

Material furnished by teaching staff

Frederick R. Steiner. The Living Landscape: An Ecological Approach to Landscape Planning. McGraw Hill Professional. 2000.

Testing and exams