Cities in Just Green Transitions. Towards a 2030 climate-neutral strategy for Turin
From September 18 – 22 in Turin, Italy the impactful in-person portion of the “Cities in Just Green Transitions. Towards a 2030 climate-neutral strategy for Turin” summer school unfolded.
The summer school brought together 10 enthusiastic students from the Polytechnic University of Turin (POLITO) and 10 international students from Polis University and the University of Belgrade – Faculty of Geography, within the framework of the HORIZON-WIDERA project “GreenFORCE. Foster Research Excellence for Green Transition in the Western Balkans” (https://greenforcetwinning.net/). In this article, we explore the key highlights and insights gained during this impactful event.
The Collaborative Effort:
The summer school was a collaborative effort involving several universities and institutions part of the GreenFORCE project: Co-PLAN, Institute for Habitat Development (coordinating partner, AL); Polis University (AL); Polytechnic University of Turin – R3C Responsible Risk Resilience Centre (IT), Nordregio (SE), University of Belgrade – Faculty of Geography (RS) and Center for Economic Analyses Association (MK).
Understanding the Challenge:
The summer school encourages students to identify the challenges and opportunities of just and green transitions in Turin’s post-carbon city context. The primary challenge faced by the students was operationalizing the principles of green transition in Turin’s unique context. To address this, they needed to coordinate spatial and landscape planning instruments and decision-making strategies within a coherent and integrated framework. The students embarked on this journey through a series of lectures, working group activities, and mentorship sessions. Importantly, the learning extended beyond local boundaries, as they explored examples and case studies from both Europe and the Western Balkans.
Day One: Setting the Foundation
The summer school’s inaugural day began with opening remarks from Andrea Longhi, Vice Head of DIST, Grazia Brunetta, Coordinator of R3C, and Giancarlo Cotella, GreenFORCE POLITO Team Coordinator. Erblin Berisha and Elena Todella provided a synthetic introduction of the summer school. The day featured a theoretical introduction to “Territorial Resilience and Just Green Transitions” by Grazia Brunetta and Ombretta Caldarice, from R3C. Since Green Transition could be framed within the resilience-oriented policies and plans, the lecture framed the concept of territorial resilience, from its roots in ecology to resilience thinking in spatial planning welcoming the just green transition in the planning process.
Elena Deambrogio from the Municipality of Turin, allowed students to go in-depth into the case study with the presentation “Turin in the 100 Climate Neutral Cities Mission”.
The day culminated with an exercise on “Spatialisation of Just Green Transition Impacts” led by Andrea Ajmar, Polytechnic University of Turin, and Aleksandar Djordjevic, University of Belgrade – Faculty of Geography, which focused on the application of geomatics techniques and GIS in analysing and spatializing indicators representative of just green transitions.
Day Two: Immersing in Turin’s Transformations
The second day was dedicated to a deeper exploration of Turin’s transformation processes. It was organized by Urban Lab, an urban agency and autonomous association created to narrate the transformation processes of Turin and the metropolitan area.
Students were provided with a presentation by Quirino Spinelli, Municipality of Turin, Turin City Planning Department staff, on “Rethinking Turin: challenges, strategies, opportunities”, and an introduction on “The post-industrial transformation of Turin”, by Chiara Lucchini, Urban Lab Territorial Development.
An afternoon city tour led by Urban Lab highlighted significant post-carbon areas in Turin, including Dora Park, Bee Ozanam, Baldissera Square, the Einaudi Campus, and Ottavio Mario Mai street, showcasing innovative redevelopment projects and initiatives:
- Dora Park covers an area of 45 hectares where the five industrial areas Ingest, Vitali, Mortara, Valdocco and Michelin once stood. Elaborated following an international competition based on Jean-Pierre Buffi and Andreas Kipar’s masterplan, the project by Germany’s Latz + Partner with Turin-based Studio Pession recycles materials, structures and routes from the old iron and steel works, metallurgical factories, and tyre factories.
- Bee Ozanam is located in a former industrial complex with an original “ship-machine” architecture, as a regenerated space in the name of sustainability with vegetable gardens and roof gardens, a social restaurant, an apiary, and an open and inclusive community hub where ideas, projects and activities can be generated.
- Baldissera Square is one of the most talked about road junctions in the city due to frequent traffic jams and the cause of strong complaints from citizens. Nearby, the project to redevelop a long railway trench on Via Saint Bon, where the Turin-Ceres line originally ran, was presented as a way to recover the now disused tunnel between the Madonna di Campagna neighbourhood and the Dora.
- The new Einaudi Campus sits along the Dora River, where “metal” gasometers stand as evidence of the city’s industrial past (former Italgas area). It is home to the Law and Political Science faculties of the University of Turin. The project signed by Foster & Partners, Camerana & Partners, Tecnimont, Mellano Associati and Giugiaro Architettura, winners of an international competition, creates an organic system of seven pavilions with ribbon facades, arranged around a large circular plaza.
- Ottavio Mario Mai street is the subject of a recent redevelopment by the City of Turin. With about 4,500 square metersof pedestrian area equipped for the benefit of students and citizens, this project is part of the interventions financed through the European project Urban Innovative Actions, aimed at improving the liveability of public spaces in the areas adjacent to the Dora River, including in the evening and night hours.
The tour ended at Off Topic, a centre for youth protagonism born thanks to a deal made by the Turin Youth Centre, an association that in 2017 decided to invest in the renovation of spaces for the creation of a new hub for the city.
Day Three: Analysing Socio-Economic Aspects and diving into Land-Based Financing
Day three focused on socio-economic analyses, featuring presentations on “Cost-Benefit Analysis: an approach to measure Just Green Transition”, by Merita Toska, Co-PLAN – Institute for Habitat Development, and “A case study in North Macedonia: cost-benefit analysis for coal thermal plant decommissioning”, Vesna Garvanlieva, Center for Economic Analysis (CEA).
These lectures introduced the audience to the Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) and the Social Environmental Cost Benefit Analysis (SE-CBA) as an instrument to assess, among others, the impact of green transition actions. Students were also introduced to an applied exercise with the aim to combine theory with an example of a practical perspective of what an input-output analysis is and how it may be used.
The day also included an applied exercise and discussions on “Land-Based Financing”, by Kejt Dhrami, Co-PLAN – Institute for Habitat Development. The session introduced an emerging approach that seeks to harness the potential of land markets to fund and promote sustainable land use practices and nature-based solutions. The aim was to equip students with a background understanding of land markets, value capture instruments, and surplus value calculations (residual land value for public use) in the context of resilient urban development. The presentation was complemented by a gaming exercise, where a land purchase process was simulated with students, empowered to explore innovative ways to finance and implement climate solutions, contributing to a more resilient future.
Day Four: Reimagining Green Transition
The fourth day introduced students to the challenges and opportunities associated with “Just Green Transition: between carbon-neutrality and (re)industrialisation”, led by Carlos Tapia and Alberto Giacometti, Nordregio. This added to the first presentation, “Unpacking the ‘Just Green Transition’”, made by Nordregio during the Summer School kick-off event.
Students were pushed to challenge the dominant narrative of the JGT which focuses on the negative impacts (on labour) of decommissioning ‘obsolete’ industries and energy systems and brings to light the challenges of adaptation to new technological regimes and re-industrialisation.
The teaching staff introduced the case study areas and detailed material related to planning challenges, socio-economic trends, and governance context, then students were involved in a practical exercise to work on planning and strategic solutions. Towards the end of the day students were welcomed again by Andrea Bocco, Head of the Department, DIST, Polytechnic University of Turin.
Day Five: Presenting Strategies for Turin
The summer school culminated on the fifth day with intermediate presentations of the groups’ work. To view the group presentations, click here. Students showcased their strategies for Turin’s green transition, engaging in a roundtable discussion with professors and tutors to exchange knowledge and receive feedback. The event concluded with guidance on further case study deepening, as online intermediate and final presentations are scheduled for October and November 2023.
Conclusion:
The ” Cities in Just Green Transitions – Towards a 2030 Climate-Neutral Strategy for Turin” summer school thus far has exemplified the power of collaboration, knowledge sharing, and interdisciplinary learning. In addition to empowering students to address the complex challenges of green transition, emphasizing resilience, sustainability, and innovation.
To read the reports provided by each team of students, click on the below:
- Final report of team 1: Torino Digital Renaissance Initiative – Fostering Digital Progress and Sustainable Urban Evolution in Torino;
- Final report of team 2: ENERGY EQUI(Pover)TY – Through addressing energy security;
- Final report of team 3: GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE AND CLIMATE CHANGE Subtitle Green – Infrastructure and Sustainable Mobility;
- Final report of team 4: SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE URBAN HEAT ISLAND EFFECT – Just and Green Transitions;
- Final report of team 5: URBAN GREEN REGENERATION – Urban regeneration and sustainable mobility.
