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Ecological modernisation evokes circular patterns and processes. It places the city and the university in a symbiotic relationship. The University's Third Mission acquires a particular relevance in this perspective. It must therefore be strengthened above all on a cultural and civic level. A concrete possibility, proposed here, appears to be connected to the role and mission of emeritus professors. They can in particular contribute in the direction of enhancing and operationalising the "transformative potential of the city for the common good", complementing the already existing institutional academic initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fifth chapter of the Enciclical All Brothers on the need for "better politics" offers the cue for some reflections on its re-generation. Today politics is facing with the ecological modernization of society, which is the greatest transformation ever imagined in history. But there is a context of growing mistrust: for example, between young people and governments, between citizens and public institutions. Here we propose the experimentation of a local government that takes as its entry point the valorization of public spaces, starting with those with cultural values, to promote collaborative processes between citizens and institutions based on self-organization. The adoption of the circular economy model, based on cooperation, contributes, especially if supported by the "culture of evaluation of results", to re-generate inclusion and trust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is a consequence of our difficulty to manage the currently conflicts and contradictions. It is configured as a process that makes human life on Earth increasingly uninhabitable, making the relationship between the Earth's ecosystem and humanity increasingly difficult. A fundamental cause of the climate change is the way in which economic wealth is produced and distributed. The current economy produces also ecological and social poverty. The adaptive reuse of cultural assets is proposed in the general framework of the Green New Deal of European Union, assuming the circular economy model for re-integrating economy into ecology. The aim of the paper is to identify how to transform a died heritage site into a living system, to be managed as a complex adaptive system, discussing the ways in which adaptive reuse can be implemented as the entry point for implementing the circular city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Each city is a living organism with its own dynamics. Cities, as complex dynamic and adaptive systems, are able of self-organization/self-management. There are many causes of the decline of cities today (poverty, unemployment, etc.) that interdepend on the others in continuous retroactive processes. The general proposal of this paper refers to a key word: "regeneration" as revitalization of the activities in the perspective of the circular economy/city. The aim is to explore how an urban circular economy can be implemented through a cultural landscape-based approach, analysing the case study of Matera (Italy) and assuming the interdependence between a specific landscape and the circular economy/city models. The aim is to understand how to transform a millennial experience of underdevelopment into a dynamic development perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tourism is the third largest socio-economic activity in the EU and thus it can be considered an engine for development, producing many positive impacts, from trade sector to employment. At the same time, it can produce many negative impacts because it is configured according to the model of linear economy. A deep analysis of impacts produced by tourism sector and its great potential in contributing to the achievement of SDGs are presented. The aim of this paper is to identify a tourism development/management model able to produce multidimensional benefits and, simultaneously, reduce (environmental, social and economic) costs. In this perspective, the circular economy is proposed as a model able to contribute to make tourism more sustainable. This model necessarily requires appropriate evaluation tools, indicators and knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multidimensional evaluation processes are considered as fundamental tools in managing the transition to the ecocity, toward a new ecological, urban and economic base, founded on synergies among three interdependent circuits of value creation: industrial economy, heritage economy and civil economy. The proposed approach can be a theoretical reference for next methodological and operative applications related to the port-city system, as example where the main contemporary contradictions/paradoxes come into being, and also the most suitable site where to reduce conflicts and transform them into synergies among creativity, resilience and sustainability for a human sustainable city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The shift towards the new paradigm, that is, the "ecological and humanistic" paradigm, introduced by the United Nations in the Agenda 2030, and the current period of health emergency due to COVID-19 place the human dimension at the centre of the development strategies for our cities. The humanistic dimension, in particular, is related to human wellbeing, health and living conditions. The health and wellbeing of citizens depend on factors and actions that go beyond the health sector. In particular, here, the attention is focused on the negative impacts produced by pollution and climate change, issues that concern (and that are closely related to) most urban agglomerations in the world. The pandemic due to COVID-19 has highlighted the close relationship existing among social, natural and economic systems. Each system is interdependent on the other. Thus, the pandemic has boosted the necessity to accelerate efforts to address climate change. Therefore, in this framework, new urban development models are required. The circular economy model is proposed as a model able to reduce the negative impacts of urban transformations. The attention is then focused on implementation tools for improving decision-making processes and, in particular, on the evaluation tools for assessing the multidimensional impacts of urbanisation on human health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This position paper critically analyses the process to implement the UNESCO Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape (2011), exploring evaluation tools, innovative business / management models and financing tools for the conservation and regeneration of Historic Urban Landscape (HUL), to make it operational in the perspective of a circular economy model of sustainable development for city / territory system regeneration. Through evaluation tools, it is possible to pass from general principles to operational practices; to produce empirical evidence of the economic, social and environmental benefits of HUL integrated conservation and regeneration. The challenge of generating a symbiosis between conservation and transformation issues requires adequate evaluation methods, business, management and financing tools, engaging civil society and local stakeholders, capturing both HUL tangible and intangible values to turn the historic urban landscape into a driver of sustainable growth. The analysis carried out in this paper shows that through the suggested tools it is possible to make operational the UNESCO Recommendations, transforming conflicts into opportunities, producing economic attractiveness and strengthen social awareness and cohesion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]