The student will acquire specific knowledge in the following fields: - concepts, policies and tools for the conservation of environmental resources (international conventions and national frameworks) with particular reference to spatial policies; - ability to set up an analytical framework for the identification and the understanding of values and critical aspects of a given environment related to land uses; - planning and management strategies for the preservation and enhancement of environment and landscapes (protective designations, park planning, landscape planning, open space planning and such); - environmental assessment methods and procedures. The proposed activities entail a plurality of theoretical and practical skills, including environmental assessment (ES) and related procedures (EIA, SEA), landscape character assessment; reading and interpretation of planning tools; problem-solving and future scenario envisioning; park planning; landscape planning.

The knowledge and skills that the students are expected to have acquired in the previous training mainly concern territorial governance and institutional system of planning, and territorial analyses. In addition, a basic ability to use GIS is required, which - beside being a prerequisite to attend this MSc - can be acquired attending the course Geomatics for Urban and Regional Analysis.

The course is organized into four modules, namely: A) Concepts, Paradigms, Approaches. Reconstruction of the theoretical framework and identification of key concepts (man and nature, environment, landscape, wilderness ecosystem services, ecology, environmental resources, sustainability, adaptation and resilience). B) Knowledge and Assessment. Environmental analyses. Suitability. Landscape ecology, connectivity and ecological networks. Environmental assessment. Ecosystem services and environmental indicators. Landscape assessment. Soil sealing and Land take. Impact, mitigation, compensation, avoidance. C) Protection. Conservation policies, strategies and planning tools. International bodies and conventions. Protected areas: typology, mission, role of management and challenges. Environmental ethics. Landscape protection and regulation. D) Planning. Park planning, park management. Landscape policies and planning. Water sensitive planning. Rural planning. Green infrastructure and nature-based solutions. Ecological restoration. The above listed topics which will be dealt with by lectures, seminars, and exercises. Lectures, seminars, site-visits make up the most part of the program; a third of the time is devoted to setting up and tutoring students’ exercises. The course will also offer an extra-activity related to the part (A)(Concepts): students will interact with the class on “National Parks” of the DePaul University (Chicago), in the framework of the “Global Learning Experience”. This interaction will deal with the “New Ecological Paradigm”, and Environmental Rights.

In AA 2019/20 the course will also offer an extra-activity related to the part (A)(Concepts): students will explore the “New Ecological Paradigm” interacting with two classes of The University of Tokyo and with DePaul University (Chicago), in the framework of a “Global Learning Experience”. To this aim, students are invited to take the Intercultural competence and global citizenship Test. http://iddresources.org/gle/introtoic/index.html

The course is organized into four parts, corresponding to the four main contents’ section. Each part consists of lectures, seminars on case studies, and students’ exercises. Students are expected to apply concepts and methodologies presented in the theoretical lectures, and to present their findings to the class, providing stimuli for a collective discussion on a given topic. They will be asked to present the exercise outcomes in an oral form, facing a collective discussion and receiving comments from the teachers and the class. These feedbacks (possibly expressed through a grade) do not contribute to the final evaluation but they are intended to help students to be aware of their own work and to reframe it, if needed. The planned exercises are as follows: (A) (C) GLE interaction on Environmental rights; outcome: short report (3-4.000 char.); (B) (D) Application of GIS-based environmental indicators on a urban area; discussion on the results and identification of possible measures for the environmental integration into spatial planning; outcome: report (texts, cartographies, and other graphics. A format will be provided). Site visits will be organized (if possible), as further methodological insights into the planning practice.

Bibliographic references will be progressively specified during the course. The basic study material (both for lectures and for exercises) will be provided through the course web portal. The introductory bibliography is the following. Main references Alcamo, J., 2001. Scenarios as tools for international environmental assessments. Environmental issue report 24. European Environment Agency, Copenhagen. https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/environmental_issue_report_2001_24 Brown J., Mitchell N. & Beresford M. (2005). The Protected Landscape Approach. Linking Nature, Culture And Community. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: Edited by IUCN – The World Conservation Union. Catpaisatge, Landscape and the local perspective, http://www.catpaisatge.net/monlocal/eng/index.php Dudley N. (ED.). (2008). Guidelines for Applying Protected Area Management Categories. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN. English Heritage, Natural England, et al. [2012] Planning for the environment at the neighbourhood level, Publication code: LIT 6524. http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20140328154245/http://cdn.environment-agency.gov.uk/LIT_6524_7da381.pdf Gambino R. Peano A. (Eds.). (2015). Nature Policies and Landscape Policies. Towards an Alliance, Dordrecht: Springer. MAES Mapping and Assessment of Ecosystems and their Services (MAES), http://biodiversity.europa.eu/maes Maruani T., Amit-Cohen, I., 2007, Open space planning models: A review of approaches and methods, Landscape and Urban Planning 81 (2007) 1–13. OECD, Spatial Planning INstruments and the Environment (SPINE) http://www.oecd.org/environment/spine-spatial-planning-instruments-and-the-environment.htm (Oct 2018) Steiner, Frederick. 2008. The Living Landscape, Second Edition: An Ecological Approach to Landscape Planning. Washington, DC: Island Press. Elmqvist, T., Andersson, E., Frantzeskaki, N. et al. Sustainability and resilience for transformation in the urban century. Nat Sustain 2, 267–273 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-019-0250-1. Priess at al. 2018, New EU-scale environmental scenarios until 2050 – Scenario process and initial scenario applications, Ecosystem Services, Volume 29, Part C, February 2018, Pages 542-551, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2017.08.006 Legislative and administrative references IUCN, ECOLEX - the gateway to environmental law, https://www.iucn.org/resources/conservation-tools/ecolex Council of Europe (2000) European Landscape Convention, Florence. EC European Commission, Directive 2001/42/EC [Strategic Environmental Assessment Directive] EC European Commission, Directive 2011/92/EU [Environmental Impact Assessment – EIA Directive] http://ec.europa.eu/environment/eia/index_en.htm Other recommended resources European Conference of Ministers responsible for Regional/Spatial Planning (CEMAT) of the Council of Europe, 2007, Spatial development glossary, Council of Europe Publishing http://www.coe.int/t/dgap/localdemocracy/cemat/default_en.asp UN Habitat3, 2016, The New Urban Agenda, http://habitat3.org/the-new-urban-agenda/ Extra activities Intercultural competence and global citizenship Test. http://iddresources.org/gle/introtoic/index.html Dunlop et al. 2000, Measuring Endorsement of the New Ecological Paradigm: A Revised NEP Scale, Journal of Social Issues, Vol. 56, No. 3, pp. 425–442, https://spssi.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/0022-4537.00176

Exam: Compulsory oral exam; Group graphic design project;

The work done in the classroom during the course, interaction with teachers and active participation in the lessons are the basis of the progressive and the final evaluation. Students are expected to produce a final Report, which includes the re-elaboration and synthesis of all the work (exercises) carried out during the course and must be at least one three days before the exam’s date. The exam consists in an oral presentation and discussion that takes around 30”. Grading criteria as follows: Report, i.e. sum up of the exercises carried out during the course, plus frequency, commitment, active participation and interaction with teachers, ability to group work and ability to communicate, contribute to the final grade up to a quarter; • Presentation of the final exercise (through slide show, 10”). This section will make a quarter of the final grade. • Discussion on one students’ choice topic, 10”. This section will make a quarter of the final grade. • Answer to one or two question(s) on the contents of the course, 10”. This section will make a quarter of the final grade. The teacher will express a final collective grade. Criteria for online exam: Criteria and progress for on line and on site exam are the same.

Exam: Compulsory oral exam; Group graphic design project;

The work done in the classroom during the course, interaction with teachers and active participation in the lessons are the basis of the progressive and the final evaluation. Students are expected to produce a final Report, which includes the re-elaboration and synthesis of all the work (exercises) carried out during the course and must be at least one three days before the exam’s date. The exam consists in an oral presentation and discussion that takes around 30”. Grading criteria as follows: Report, i.e. sum up of the exercises carried out during the course, plus frequency, commitment, active participation and interaction with teachers, ability to group work and ability to communicate, contribute to the final grade up to a quarter; • Presentation of the final exercise (through slide show, 10”). This section will make a quarter of the final grade. • Discussion on one students’ choice topic, 10”. This section will make a quarter of the final grade. • Answer to one or two question(s) on the contents of the course, 10”. This section will make a quarter of the final grade. The teacher will express a final collective grade. Criteria for online exam: Criteria and progress for on line and on site exam are the same.