Aestimum

Bio-districts and the territory: evidence from a regression approach

2022-04-01T13:23:04+00:00

In recent years the bio-districts have been considerably spread in Italy. The bio-district can be defined as a locally rooted multifunctional project with the involvement of farms and institutions. Our research aims at assessing potential relations between territorial, socio-economic features and the presence of bio-districts in an area, by means of a logit regression analysis at municipal scale in Italy. Data have been collected from several sources, among which ISTAT digital databases. Main results show as farms with diversification activities and the presence of Local Action Groups are factors related to the rising of bio-districts in a territory. Moreover, the study highlights the role of bio-districts in disadvantageous and mountain areas, in developing effective territorial governance. In terms of policy implication, CAP 2023-2027 can constitute the ideal bench for testing bio-districts function playing a crucial role in reaching the objective set by the Farm to Fork strategy.

The hidden value of non-timber forest products: income contribution of the Basilicata wild truffle

2022-04-01T13:22:48+00:00

The Basilicata region (South of Italy) is land of truffles where the gastronomic, economic and cultural awareness has developed for this non-timber forest product only in the past decade. Little is known about truffle production and its social, economic and environmental implications. In this article we investigate the Basilicata truffle sector by devoting particular attention to the truffle hunters who gather the truffles from the forests. The data for the analysis were collected through a survey with the aim of describing the gathering activity (people involved, specie and quantities collected, etc.) and assessing its significance as a source of income. Results show that truffles can provide local communities with earning opportunities. However, the truffle sector needs to be protected and enhanced.

Buildings’ energy performance, green attributes and real estate prices: methodological perspectives from the European literature

2022-04-01T13:23:11+00:00

Buildings’ energy efficiency may affect real estate prices, but the literature suggests that the effects of green attributes and Energy Performance Certificate ratings on the value of residential properties in Europe are still variable across contexts. The adoption of methods able to appropriately investigate this issue is thus essential. In this framework and to support future studies, this paper offers a methodological review of scientific works on the topic published in the last five years. Our work does not only represent an update of other reviews, but it originally analyses the papers by a methodological viewpoint. Results highlight a progressive refinement of the research questions and methods adopted. Then, the increasing importance of concepts such as latent variables and green attributes in the real estate pricing process is detected and identified as a field to be furtherly explored. Finally, Structural Equation Modelling is proposed as a promising approach for future studies.

Assessing the perception of urban visual quality: an approach integrating big data and geostatistical techniques

2022-04-01T13:22:56+00:00

Human well-being is affected by the design quality of the city in which they live and walk. This depends primarily on specific physical characteristics and how they are aggregated together. Many studies have highlighted the great potential of photographic data shared on the Flickr platform for analyzing environmental perceptions in landscape and urban planning. Other researchers have used panoramic images from the Google Street View (GSV) web service to extract data on urban quality. However, at the urban level, there are no studies correlating quality perceptions detected by social media platforms with spatial geographic characteristics through geostatistical models. This work proposes the analysis of urban quality in different areas of the Livorno city through a methodological approach based on Geographical Random Forest regression. The result offers important insights into the physical characteristics of a street environment that contribute to the more abstract qualities of urban design.

Rassegna giurisprudenziale

2022-04-01T13:23:02+00:00