Urban Ecosystem Services to support the design process in urban environment. A case study of the Municipality of Milan

Abstract

In dense urban areas nature capital is a vital resource for providing numerous ecosystem services important for human welfare and survival but at the same time cities provide several different private and public services. Both, natural and human services, contribute to the overall well being of the citizens. The present paper aims at mapping and evaluating the “Urban ecosystem services” (UESs) that are generated from natural capital in combination with human-derived capital, and that contribute, directly or indirectly, to human well-being in urban areas. This paper aims at analysing, mapping and evaluating different types of UESs both natural and human origin in the case study of the municipality of Milan. A Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis  (MCDA) approach has been implemented to synthetize and map the UESs. Finally, the paper describes how the present approach can support the design and urban planning process.