Ecosystem services innovation and integration of knowledge for the contemporary city

The territory, today, is very vulnerable and unprepared for possible changes linked to the uncontrolled exploitation of resources which causes land consumption. Cities increasingly suffer impacts, often catastrophic, because they have to deal with climate change. Contemporary urban planning is therefore urged to search for new paradigms more suited to the scenario of malaise in which we live. Specifically, the role of the evaluation of Ecosys-tem Services (ES) is of particular importance as a cognitive and interpreta-tive support for the different functions of the soil, directly connected to human well-being and their value for the quality of life. Furthermore, the potential of environmental infrastructures as a tool for structuring a wide-spread and sustainable project for cities is fundamental, capable of enhanc-ing the different vocations of the urban environment, starting from the con-servation and enhancement of the ecosystem functions that the soil pro-vides. The paper highlights the importance of the function of valorising ES as a possible response to the needs of the contemporary city, through new scientific methodologies, which offer a possible approach to the prevention of ecological problems caused by human action, and to the resolution of conflicts arising from changes in land use.