Historic City Centers stand as the most tangible evidence of human history for their cultural significance and architectural heritage, as well as the beating heart of our society thanks to the strong identity value that characterizes them. Their intrinsic significance, indeed, goes beyond mere architectural beauty, and instead represents the cornerstone of the social, cultural, and economic life that shape cities and communities. Consider, for instance, their role in driving tourism, hosting gathering spaces that act as the main stage of social interaction, cultural events, and everyday human activities (including residential, business, and institutional). Nevertheless, academic and professional debates are still widely open to the research of solutions to evaluate and reduce the risks linked to old and new disasters which every day jeopardize the safety of historic city centers and their inhabitants. It’s the case, for instance, of disasters related to natural factors (i.e., seismic areas, floodplains, landslides), human activities (i.e., climate change, pollution, heatwaves, terrorist acts), as well as their combination from a multi-risk perspective. In addition to this, multiple factors such as high population density, narrow streets and layout together with non-updated regulations, preservation constraints to assure historical authenticity, lack of emergency plans, retrofit buildings and infrastructures due to logistic, executive, and economic reasons, further increase the risk in such scenarios. In this regard, effective solutions should take advantage of holistic approaches, to systematically take into account vulnerabilities, exposures, and hazards that determine the risk, as well as expeditious ones, to speed up the development of methodologies and tools for assessing and reducing the risk itself, and facilitate their application by professionals. Accordingly, interdisciplinary collaboration between urban planners, emergency planners, policymakers, and community stakeholders are paramount in fostering resilience, preparedness and safety of the built environment. Whitin this context, this thesis addresses the development of methodologies and tools for risk reduction measures in Historic City Centers through sustainable and holistic approaches, with particular attention to integrated analyses of physical vulnerability and exposure. In particular, several dynamics relating to specific or general circumstances are explored according to multiple scales of representation and modeling, ranging: - from microscale to mesoscale analyses of the built environment (that is from single building and/or street level to neighborhood level); - from microscale to macroscale behavioral analyses of the hosted users (that is from single pedestrian to groups of them); - from normal fruition conditions to specific risky conditions (that is from pre-emergency to emergency conditions, and in particular considering floods); - from real-world to typological case studies application. To support such actions, quick- and easy-to-apply tools and methodologies are developed to speed up evaluation processes, reduce application complexity and economic efforts, and improve replicability also for policymakers and local authorities. Data collection mainly involved rapid surveys and video analyses for databases creation (e.g., mechanical parameters of local masonry typologies, frequencies and conditions of usage of public spaces by users, recurrent human behaviors in specific risk conditions). Risk quantification analyses are performed through the introduction of synthetic metrics and user-friendly representations (e.g., Risk Indexes, Key Performance Indicators, Risk Maps, specific parameter confidence ranges). Outcomes, thus, not only jointly answer to a wide range of issues according to several perspectives, but also provide customized methodologies and tools to be used for customizable risk reduction analyses, even outside the contexts strictly linked to those herein investigated (e.g., different urban scenarios, different types of risk). It is therefore a thesis which, in addition to its innovation in the academic field due to its transversality both in conception and in the field of application, is also characterized by a clear practical character to provide immediate feedback on issues that evolve and affect historic city centers and its users. As a result, the next research steps are clear, and will certainly concern the refinement of the proposed tools to provide even more comprehensive and complete analyses also in view of the future challenges that our society will have to face.
I centri storici rappresentano importantissime testimonianze culturali e architettoniche, nonché il cuore pulsante della nostra società grazie al forte valore identitario che li caratterizza. Il loro significato intrinseco, infatti, va oltre la mera bellezza architettonica, e rappresenta la pietra angolare della vita sociale, culturale ed economica a cui si ispirano città e comunità. Il dibattito accademico e professionale è ancora ampiamente aperto per la ricerca di strumenti per la valutazione e riduzione di rischi legati a disastri annosi e di più recente comparsa che ogni giorno mettono a repentaglio la sicurezza dei centri storici e dei loro abitanti. Si pensi ad esempio ai disastri legati a fattori naturali (terremoti, alluvioni), attività umane (inquinamento, terrorismo), nonché la loro combinazione in ottica multirischio. Inoltre, fattori quali l’elevata densità abitativa, layout urbani angusti, normative e piani di emergenza spesso non aggiornati a causa di vincoli di natura logistica, esecutiva ed economica, contribuiscono ad aumentare il rischio. A tal proposito, soluzioni efficaci dovrebbero sfruttare approcci olistici, tenendo conto in maniera sistematica dei fattori di vulnerabilità, esposizione e pericolosità che determinano il rischio, nonché speditivi, per velocizzare e facilitarne al tempo stesso l’applicazione da parte degli addetti ai lavori. Di conseguenza, la collaborazione interdisciplinare degli addetti ai lavori è fondamentale per promuovere la resilienza, la preparazione e la sicurezza dell’ambiente costruito e dei suoi abitanti. In questo contesto, questa tesi affronta lo sviluppo di metodologie e strumenti per la riduzione del rischio nei centri storici attraverso approcci sostenibili e olistici, con particolare attenzione ad analisi integrate della vulnerabilità fisica e dell'esposizione. In particolare, vengono esplorate dinamiche relative a contesti generali e/o specifici attraverso diverse scale di rappresentazione e modellazione, che includono analisi: - dell'ambiente costruito dalla microscala alla mesoscala (ovvero dal singolo edificio/strada a complessi di edifici/strade/piazze); - comportamentali dalla microscala alla macroscala (ovvero dall’analisi del singolo pedone a gruppi di essi); - in condizioni sia di normale utilizzo, sia di rischio specifico (in questo caso le alluvioni); - sul contesto di applicazione attraverso casi studio reali e tipologici/idealizzati. Per supportare queste azioni vengono quindi sviluppati strumenti e metodologie tali da accelerare i processi di valutazione, ridurre la complessità applicativa, e migliorare la replicabilità anche per le autorità locali. La raccolta dei dati necessari in tal senso ha comportato principalmente l’utilizzo di strumenti speditivi come questionari e analisi video per la creazione di database (ad esempio, per la raccolta indicizzata di parametri meccanici delle murature, delle condizioni di utilizzo degli spazi pubblici, o dei comportamenti ricorrenti durante emergenze). La quantificazione del rischio viene effettuata attraverso metriche e rappresentazioni sintetiche di facile utilizzo come indicatori e mappe di rischio. I risultati forniti rispondono in maniera organica ad un’ampia gamma di problematiche secondo diverse prospettive attraverso metodologie e strumenti personalizzabili anche per analisi di contesti urbani e rischi differenti. Si tratta quindi di una tesi caratterizzata, oltre che da una indubbia innovatività in ambito accademico grazie alla sua trasversalità sia nella concezione che nel campo di applicazione, anche da uno spiccata praticità per fornire riscontro immediato alle problematiche che interessano i centri storici e i suoi abitanti. Pertanto, i prossimi passi della ricerca appaiono chiari, e riguarderanno sicuramente l’affinamento degli strumenti proposti per fornire analisi ancora più esaustive in vista delle sfide future che la nostra società dovrà affrontare.
Physical vulnerability and exposure assessment in Historic City Centers: Development of methodologies and tools for risk reduction measures / Romano, Guido. - (2024 Jun 11).
Physical vulnerability and exposure assessment in Historic City Centers: Development of methodologies and tools for risk reduction measures
ROMANO, GUIDO
2024-06-11
Abstract
Historic City Centers stand as the most tangible evidence of human history for their cultural significance and architectural heritage, as well as the beating heart of our society thanks to the strong identity value that characterizes them. Their intrinsic significance, indeed, goes beyond mere architectural beauty, and instead represents the cornerstone of the social, cultural, and economic life that shape cities and communities. Consider, for instance, their role in driving tourism, hosting gathering spaces that act as the main stage of social interaction, cultural events, and everyday human activities (including residential, business, and institutional). Nevertheless, academic and professional debates are still widely open to the research of solutions to evaluate and reduce the risks linked to old and new disasters which every day jeopardize the safety of historic city centers and their inhabitants. It’s the case, for instance, of disasters related to natural factors (i.e., seismic areas, floodplains, landslides), human activities (i.e., climate change, pollution, heatwaves, terrorist acts), as well as their combination from a multi-risk perspective. In addition to this, multiple factors such as high population density, narrow streets and layout together with non-updated regulations, preservation constraints to assure historical authenticity, lack of emergency plans, retrofit buildings and infrastructures due to logistic, executive, and economic reasons, further increase the risk in such scenarios. In this regard, effective solutions should take advantage of holistic approaches, to systematically take into account vulnerabilities, exposures, and hazards that determine the risk, as well as expeditious ones, to speed up the development of methodologies and tools for assessing and reducing the risk itself, and facilitate their application by professionals. Accordingly, interdisciplinary collaboration between urban planners, emergency planners, policymakers, and community stakeholders are paramount in fostering resilience, preparedness and safety of the built environment. Whitin this context, this thesis addresses the development of methodologies and tools for risk reduction measures in Historic City Centers through sustainable and holistic approaches, with particular attention to integrated analyses of physical vulnerability and exposure. In particular, several dynamics relating to specific or general circumstances are explored according to multiple scales of representation and modeling, ranging: - from microscale to mesoscale analyses of the built environment (that is from single building and/or street level to neighborhood level); - from microscale to macroscale behavioral analyses of the hosted users (that is from single pedestrian to groups of them); - from normal fruition conditions to specific risky conditions (that is from pre-emergency to emergency conditions, and in particular considering floods); - from real-world to typological case studies application. To support such actions, quick- and easy-to-apply tools and methodologies are developed to speed up evaluation processes, reduce application complexity and economic efforts, and improve replicability also for policymakers and local authorities. Data collection mainly involved rapid surveys and video analyses for databases creation (e.g., mechanical parameters of local masonry typologies, frequencies and conditions of usage of public spaces by users, recurrent human behaviors in specific risk conditions). Risk quantification analyses are performed through the introduction of synthetic metrics and user-friendly representations (e.g., Risk Indexes, Key Performance Indicators, Risk Maps, specific parameter confidence ranges). Outcomes, thus, not only jointly answer to a wide range of issues according to several perspectives, but also provide customized methodologies and tools to be used for customizable risk reduction analyses, even outside the contexts strictly linked to those herein investigated (e.g., different urban scenarios, different types of risk). It is therefore a thesis which, in addition to its innovation in the academic field due to its transversality both in conception and in the field of application, is also characterized by a clear practical character to provide immediate feedback on issues that evolve and affect historic city centers and its users. As a result, the next research steps are clear, and will certainly concern the refinement of the proposed tools to provide even more comprehensive and complete analyses also in view of the future challenges that our society will have to face.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.