Planning the transition of cities. Innovative research approaches and trajectories

In light of the ecological, digital, and just transition envisaged by the EU for reaching the ambitious Green Deal objective by 2050 and its inherent complexity, this paper focused on the nexus between Ecosystem Services and Key Enabling Technologies as a potential and significant element for the future development of promising research trajectories in urban planning. The transition of cities has become a top priority in academic and policy debates, attracting increasing attention from scholars and policymakers. Ecosystem Services are crucial elements for human well-being, and despite their inclusion in urban plans, there are still issues to address requiring innovative research approaches and trajectories to explore for planning the ecological, digital, and transition of cities. Two main elements are explored in this contribution: 1) the centrality of ecosystem services and the potential of related key enabling technologies for the planning of the ecological and digital transition of cities; 2) the current ecosystem services assessment analytical approaches characterized by a spatially explicit perspective presenting relevant implications for the planning dimension. As a result, the paper outlines a research-based conceptual framework aimed at defining promising innovative research approaches for new trajectories to be explored in urban planning.