Urban Green: Climate and Water as Increasingly Strategic Resources — Highlights from SUR Lab’s contribution to Il Sole 24 Ore and Radiocor

SUR Lab contributed to Il Sole 24 Ore and Radiocor with an article examining the multiple benefits of urban green in the context of climate change and increasing pressure on city resources. The article, titled “Verde in città, dal clima all’acqua sempre più una risorsa,” focuses on how parks and other green areas are becoming essential components of more resilient and sustainable urban systems.

In the article, Benedetta Lucchitta, researcher at SUR Lab at Bocconi University, discusses the role of urban green as a strategic resource for contemporary cities. Green areas can help contain rising temperatures, act as carbon sinks, and provide important environmental services linked to water regulation and pollution mitigation. Scientific evidence increasingly shows that urban parks and trees are not only aesthetic or recreational assets, but also critical infrastructure for climate adaptation.

The contribution also underlines that the value of urban green is being recognised more clearly in both research and public debate. Experiences and studies from international cities such as New York, Seoul, Paris, Madrid, and Valencia point to the wide range of benefits associated with well-designed and well-maintained green spaces. This includes lower urban heat, improved environmental quality, and better management of climate-related stressors.

The article further highlights the need to treat urban green as a long-term investment in urban resilience. In this perspective, maintaining parks and strengthening green infrastructure is not a secondary issue, but a central part of how cities can respond to climate change while improving liveability and environmental quality for residents.