Research

The research area promotes critical, creative, and collaborative research focused on innovative and transformative solutions in the field of sustainable urban regeneration. The aim is to develop and disseminate knowledge, methods, and best practices to face complex urban challenges. The research activities are based on cross-disciplinary approaches with the aim to produce collaborative and world-leading research products.

Business models for the implementation and management of urban green areas. Green spaces in cities play a key role for quality of life and urban sustainability, as they generate several ecosystem services such as improvement in air quality, mitigation of urban heat island effects, provision of recreational opportunities, aesthetic value enhancement, and others. In order to improve the fruition of urban green spaces, management models should adopt an integrated approach, going beyond issues like maintenance and safety. New management models could foresee the creation of multi-functional and recreational green spaces, suitable for different stakeholders. Several governance, business and financing models can be adopted to support an integrated management of green spaces: these range from fully-public models, to public-private collaborations, to fully-private models. Different types of entities can be set-up to manage and animate urban green areas with an integrated approach. This annual position paper of SUR lab will explore different business and management models for urban public green spaces, also considering their relation with urban regeneration projects.

Each year we investigate a different crucial and strategic topic for sustainable urban regeneration.

FIRST YEAR
The COVID-19 pandemic is profoundly changing the perception of living and working spaces. There is a need for rethinking and reshaping urban spaces and services to face the new challenge. The research aimed to study the evolution of shared living and working models (co-living, shared housing services, co-working, smart working, etc.) and the opportunities offered by new technologies. The position paper developed by the SUR Lab research team is available here. 

SECOND YEAR
Investments oriented to ESG criteria (Environmental, Social and Governance) are increasing in all sectors, including the real estate. The EU has developed a taxonomy of environmentally sustainable activities. Within this distruptive time the research aimed to investigate financing instruments, looking at the ESG criteria, financial rating systems, EU taxonomy, and evaluation instruments (including GRESB) to assess the performance of investments related to sustainable urban regeneration. The position paper developed by the SUR Lab research team is available here. 

FOURTH YEAR
In the fourth year, we will explore innovative business models for urban sustainable regeneration projects in order to identify, categorize and evaluate them, drawing on national and international cases.

FIFTH YEAR
In the fifth year, we will identify and assess the private and social value generated by urban regeneration projects, considering the whole value chain involved in urban transformations, which include energy efficiency, sustainable use of water, CO2 emission reduction, land use, green infrastructures, etc.