60
Rural Construction and Environmental Land Management
REGGIO DI CALABRIA
Overview
Date/time interval
Syllabus
Course Objectives
The course helps expanding personal knowledge and managing cultural/technical tools to work with the problem of landscape planning, considering in particular the agroforestry landscape as a multifunctional space. In the framewok of the historic evolution of Landscape Planning, either in terms of theoretical aspects and specific law and regulation systems, they are considered the main Landscape Planning models. Among them, the “Ecological Landscape planning model” is given particular attention, stressing the need to address the planning choices on the basis of accurate analysis of landscape and its suitability for the various potential uses. To this end it is made refence to GIS and decision support systems helping landscape planning. In the context of agroforestry landscapes. Through the course the students can acquire basic knowledge to analyse, plan and design the main kinds of infrastructures for the agroforestry landscape (road networks, trails, greenways, ecomusums, green infrastructures) and for the integrated management and public use of the urban and peri-urban green spaces. These last are seen also as a specific theme of urban planning, considering their many functions and the various ecosystem services they provide.
The course allows for acquiring knowledge, capacities and skills as described in the following sections:
Knowledge and understanding
Acquisition of fundamental cultural tools and methods for understanding landscape and its change dynamics, the technical processes of landscape planning and infrastructure planning and design, accordingly with an integrated vision and approach.
Applying knowledge and understanding
Capacity to frame methodologically landscape analysis and finding pathways to resolve specific problems concerning the management, planning and design of the agroforestry landscape and infrastructures, and green areas.
Making judgements
Acquisition of critical capacity enabling a proper consideration of the field of application and potential use, in terms of opportunities and limits, of the various methods and tools presented in the course, in relation to different landscape types, conditions and problems.
Communication skills
Organizing and producing technical texts and planning/design outputs; presenting the results obtained to the public; working in a group and integrating with other components having a different professional training.
Learning skills
Self learning skills through specialistic scientific and technical literature for a continouos expansion and updating of personal training.
Course Prerequisites
A good knowledge of English language (either spoken and written) is required. It is also required a basic knowledge of cartography, topography, technical and architectural drawing. The programme of the course is strictly related with the one of the other teaching module of the integrated course. Therefore students are expected to acquire on parallel the basic notions and methods concerning GIS and Landscape spatial analysis.
Teaching Methods
The course is delivered in a face-to-face class through lectures concerning theoretical aspects, application of the methods and tools presented, and analysis of case-studies. The students are also required to carry out the personal homework assigned. Students’ presence in the class, although not compulsory from the regulatory point of view, is essential for having an active participation and interaction in the course, as required by the teaching method followed. Students are given the opportunity to study more in detail specific topics they can choose from among those proposed by the teaching staff. This part of the course is based also on papers and texts in English, since it is needed to build and update advanced knowledge in an international perspective.
Assessment Methods
The two teaching modules composing the integrated course are given equal weight in the final evaluation of the students. To pass the final exam of the integrated course students will have to sustain an oral examination on the programme of both modules. A pre-requisite for the final exam is a positive evaluation of the intermediate tests and of the outputs of the work assigned.
Texts
- Steiner F., The Living Landscape: An ecological approach to Landscape Planning. McGraw-Hill, 1991 (1st edition) and further revised editions.
- Agnoletti M., Paesaggio rurale: evoluzione, valorizzazione, gestione, Edagricole
- De Montis A., Pianificare il paesaggio rurale, Università degli studi di Sassari
- Toccolini A., Fumagalli N. e Senes G., Progettare i percorsi verdi: Manuale per la realizzazione di greenways, Maggioli editore
Other updated texts and learning materials on specific themes (landscape infrastructures, in particular) are made available by the teaching staff in the ambit of a shared folder in the TEAM created for the course in Microsoft Teams.
Contents
1. Introduction.
Aims and main topics of the course. Ecosystem services provided by the rural and forestry space in relation to its multifunctionanility
2. Historical issues and general critical aspects.
Reading and interpretation of the ongoing change trends concerning the rural space. Tools and methods for the sustainable management and planning of the rural landscape. Rural-Urban dialectics in contemporary society.
3. Analysis and interpretation of the agro-forestry landscape transformation processes.
The idea of landscape as enlightened by the European landscape Convention. Landscape components and inventories. The landscape between technical management and social construction. Multitemporal analysis and qualitative and quantitative reading of landscape change. Exercise: Case studies with the characterization and analysis of rural landscapes presenting conditions and problems tipycal of the Mediterranean areas.
4. Planning methods for the agro-forestry landscape
The agroforestry areas in the framework of landscape planning and its evolution. The ecological planning of the agroforestry landscape: the cultural framework and the methodological aspects. Main phases to be considered. Participation issues in landscape planning.
5. Land suitability analysis in sustainable landscape planning
Land use planning. Landscape suitability analysis and choosing between land-use alternatives. Land Capability Classification (LCC). Land evaluation and site assessment in landscape planning (The LESA method). Application examples: The use of GIS in landscape suitability analysis; decision support systems. Review of case-studies concerning the rural and agroforestry landscape planning.
6. Green areas and urban forestry in landscape planning
The legislation and regulatory framework and its evolution. Monitoring and verification of the accomplishment of planning standards; Planning strategies and participatory approaches to landscape planning. Applications and examples.
7. Landscape infrastructures
Punctual, linear and aerial infrastrucures. Multifunctionality of the agroforestry space and integration with the infrastructural system. Stategic landscape planning and definition of agroforestry infrastructures.
8. Road system and mobility infrastructures
Transport and mobility network in the agroforestry space. Preliminary considerations and strategic approach. Road planning and design: steps of the design process and specific technical of the design outputs. Application and examples, with reference to some case-studies. Planning and design of rural trails.
9. Green transport and mobility network
Multifunctional mobility-infrastructures and rural-urban connections. Green infrastructures. Greenways: ideas, concepts, panning and design methods. Greenways and ecological networks. Application and examples: Analysis of specific greenways in the Italian and European contexts (planning and design aspects)
10. Open air museums and Ecomuseums
History of a museum idea. Open air museums and protection of the vernacular architectural heritage. Ecomuseuns and landscape valorisation. Landscape, resources, protection and and strengthening of local identity. Planning and design issues, application and analysis of ongoing projects and experiences.
11. Ecomuseums: Application issues
Examples of ecomuseus in mountain and forestry areas: analysis of case-studies. The Italian ecomuseum network. Ecomuseums as a patrticipation tool in the landscape planning process. Example: Community maps (Parish maps), experience and participatory methods.
12. Final synthesis of the course issues
Presentations given by the students on the cases studied and the work assigned. Group discussion.
More information
A dedicated TEAM, set up in the ambit of Teams Microsoft platform, is accessible to all the students regularly registered through a passcode made visible to them in the specific section of the Department institutional website. In the TEAM learning materials are made available through shared folders concerning: lesson presentations, learning tools and texts suggested bay the teaching staff, results of the verification “in itinere” tests proposed, a guide for the preparation of the final exam containing self-verification questions and tests.