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This study investigates the complex interplay among innovation, research and development (R&D), and entrepreneurship within the context of European nations. The focus of the study is also on the contributory role of tertiary educational institutions in nurturing entrepreneurial activities. To deepen the understanding of these multifaceted relationships and their subsequent impact on regional economies, the research introduces a novel metric termed the Innovation Readiness Environment (IRE) index. This index combines various indicators such as R&D expenditure, patenting rates, firm size, and educational levels, thereby providing a framework for evaluating firms' innovative capabilities and entrepreneurial success in a given region. Utilization of this index offers policymakers and stakeholders a nuanced understanding of the regional innovation ecosystem, facilitating the identification of strengths and deficiencies. This, in turn, enables the formulation of targeted policy interventions to enhance innovation and entrepreneurship. One relevant conclusion drawn from this study is the pivotal role of tertiary education in catalyzing entrepreneurial ventures. The findings posit that higher levels of entrepreneurial education significantly supplement an individual's likelihood of entrepreneurial success by imparting the requisite skills and knowledge indispensable in a competitive business milieu. By fostering an environment conducive to innovation, higher education institutions emerge as critical agents in cultivating entrepreneurial acumen and stimulating economic expansion. The study further incorporates a spatial analytical framework to elucidate the regional specificities of innovation at the pan-European scale.

The European Union has set ambitious targets for energy efficiency to promote energy sustainability and decarbonisation of energy systems by introducing performance indicators that can be used in different contexts at international, national or regional level. In particular, the macroeconomic indicator of Electrical Intensity (EI) and Sustainable Electrical Intensity (SEI) can be used to measure energy performance on different scales, to identify the amount of energy used per unit of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), thus providing a picture of sustainability in economic and spatial terms. In order to support appropriate urban and territorial policies that can have a positive effect not only on GDP, but more generally on the fair and sustainable well-being of citizens, the complexity of the EI must be addressed by assessing the impacts of energy efficiency interventions and the development of renewable energy installations. The aim of the work is to develop a comparative approach between the spatial distribution the total electricity consumption (EI index) and the total renewable electrical consumption (SEI index) of the Italian Regions - and a dataset of BES indicators - Equitable and Sustainable Well-being - to evaluate of the regional electricity transition.

This study investigates the complex interplay among innovation, research and development (R&D), and entrepreneurship within the context of European nations. The focus of the study is also on the contributory role of tertiary educational institutions in nurturing entrepreneurial activities. To deepen the understanding of these multifaceted relationships and their subsequent impact on regional economies, the research introduces a novel metric termed the Innovation Readiness Environment (IRE) index. This index combines various indicators such as R&D expenditure, patenting rates, firm size, and educational levels, thereby providing a framework for evaluating the innovative capabilities and entrepreneurial success of firms in a given region. Utilization of this index offers policymakers and stakeholders a nuanced understanding of the regional innovation ecosystem, facilitating the identification of both strengths and deficiencies. This, in turn, enables the formulation of targeted policy interventions to enhance both innovation and entrepreneurship. One salient conclusion drawn from this study is the pivotal role of tertiary education in catalysing entrepreneurial ventures. The findings posit that higher levels of entrepreneurial education significantly supplement an individual's likelihood of entrepreneurial success by imparting the requisite skills and knowledge indispensable in a competitive business milieu. Higher education institutions, by fostering an environment conducive to innovation, emerge as critical agents in the cultivation of entrepreneurial acumen and the stimulation of economic expansion. The study further incorporates a spatial analytical framework to elucidate the regional specificities of innovation at the pan-European scale.

Climate has always been studied in cities, where strong relations can be found with urban form and spatial patterns. Temperature variations, heat islands and floods are among the main factors to represent climatic phenomena and related changes over time. The same urban location choices come out from the need to resist adverse events. In general, the urban form can be related to climatic conditions, both to benefit from positive externalities - healthiness, sun exposure, ventilation, water supply - and to reduce negative externalities - thermal stress, heavy rainfall and heat islands. Furthermore, urban development, particularly attributable to land take, put in evidence how the European, and particularly the Italian, urban system presents 56% of population settled in urban areas with a high value of sealed surfaces and limited green areas, so that urban centres are more and more characterizing as climate change hotspots. In this framework the hereby presented research is developed, focused on the observation of the temperature variations in urban areas in time, aimed at capturing the changes occurring also considering the spatial extent and form of the cities more vulnerable to such phenomenon. The research in particular was aimed at exploring possible different ways of aggregating areas to a proper urban dimension: in particular Metropolitan Cities (MC) and Labor Market Area (LMA) in order to identify the most suitable geographical dimension both for the observation of the phenomenon and for the policy targets of climate neutrality. This is done analysing the spatial autocorrelation of climate-related variations in space and time.

The aim of the study was to verify the knowledge on oral cancer and to assess possible differences in awareness and information basing on different demographic and subject-related factors. An anonymous survey was provided to 750 random subjects using online-based questionnaires. Statistical analysis was performed in order to evaluate the influence of demographic variables (gender, age, education) on knowledge of oral cancer and its risk factors. 68.4% of individuals knew about the existence of oral cancer, mostly from media and family/friends. Awareness was significantly influenced by gender and higher education, but not by age. Most participants recognized smoking as a risk factor, but alcohol abuse and sunlight exposure are less known, especially among less educated subjects. On the contrary, our study shows a diffusion of false information: more than 30% of the participants indicated the possible role of amalgam fillings in oral cancer onset, independently of gender, age or education. The results of our study suggest the need for oral cancer awareness campaigns, where school and healthcare professionals should be actively involved in promoting, organizing and finding methods to monitor the medium and long-term efficacy with proper methodological quality.

The paper is the result of an ongoing research, considering the use of raw and recycled materials in the construction sector. In particular, the idea is considering such use within a Circular Economy framework, analysing its potentials in the case of the closed market of Sardinia Island (Italy), identifying potential clusters and their ‘optimal’ shape. In the paper, we highlight a theoretical framework for circular economy, adapting a classical model of industrial location to the construction sector. We build a georeferenced database of activities related to the extraction, processing and disposal of materials related to construction, as a result of the MEISAR Project - https://meisar.org/en/. Such a result is presented in a tool named MEISAR_Map; we then propose a method, based on spatial analytical techniques, namely point pattern analysis, for delimiting spatial clusters. The closed market of Sardinia is analyzed and, in particular, the case study of the new football stadium in Cagliari, which involves the demolition of the existing stadium and the use of "secondary" raw materials for the construction of the new Cagliari stadium.

This research develops from a set of basic geographical questions about the outbreak of Covid-19 out of China in Europe. The questions dealt with why and why with such strength Italy has been seriously hit, one of the most important cases in terms of death toll out of Hubei Province and mainland China, in the world, making the country a worldwide study case for epidemic concentration and diffusion. Questions were also related to geographical similarities among the areas hit, and particularly the Po Valley region and Wuhan metropolitan region in Hubei province, and also related to why such a divide of the virus spreading was identified in Italy between Northern and Central and Southern regions and provinces. In order to try to give an answer these questions, authors realized a vast and articulated database of indicators at provincial level in Italy, performing several geographical analyses - ecological approach - based on Spatial autocorrelation and Geographical Weighted Regression, coming to the conclusion that aspects such as land take, pollution can seriously influence the phenomenon and justify a pattern as that observable in Italy. The analyses and observation of the phenomenon also suggests that policies based on urban regeneration, sustainable mobility, green infrastructures, ecosystem services can create a more sustainable scenario able to support the quality of public health.

Sport has always played a prominent role in civil society. Although it has been conceived as a strategic political means throughout history, nowadays sport is considered a positive force in achieving sustainable development. The international documents recognize the contributions it makes to health, education and social inclusion objectives. Anyway, the analysis concerning the relationship between sport and the city should consider both social and physical aspects because people are progressively understanding the city as an ideal palimpsest for sports activities. In this regard, the new phenomenon called "street sport" represents a real challenge for urban governance and planning. The present study focuses on policies and urban design projects adopted by Cagliari City Council to make Cagliari a great Sports City. Cagliari has unique environmental, geographical and climatic features which allow to promote sport activities throughout the year. Moreover, in the recent years the City has realized significant interventions, both on a local and on a regional scale, as the operation - on going - of refurbishment and reconstruction of the new Stadium. Within this favourable condition, the authors examine the community perception on benefits that sport provides for human well-being and for city development through the administration of a specific questionnaire. The outcome of this survey highlights to what extent citizens recognize Cagliari as a Sports City and gives interesting suggestions for the definition of shared policies and actions able to assume sport as a lever of sustainable development in the future.

Why was Italy hit first among western countries? The organized research brought together the attention of doctors, geographers and planners to try to understand the origins of Covid-19 in Italy. Analyzing various data at the provincial level, we tried to include how environmental, geographical, socio-economic variables played a role in the 2020 pandemic in Italy.

This paper shows the first findings of an ongoing research project on “Territorial Impact Assessment of the Italian regions territorial cohesion. Place based evidence model for the policy evaluation towards the development of green economy in inner and metropolitan peripheries”, coordinated by Maria Prezioso (Tor Vergata University, Rome) as Principal Investigator. We hereby present the results of the first two years of investigation carried out by the Research Unit number 8, located in Trieste.

The image of the Smart City recalls Lynch’s “Image of the City” (1960) and the ways in which urban spaces are perceived by the community and users. The categories presented there hold a physical, tangible component, related to the spatial and material aspects of the city. Talking about Smart Cities, a little formulated and tackled question refers to what the image of the Smart City is, and how it is possible to represent it. The debate on the Smart City regards mainly the digital component and technological aspects, often not visible or perceivable, neglecting the more humanistic aspects and implications. We carry on a reflection on the “image of the smart city”. We propose some possible evolutions of the concept and research directions, in light of the new challenges posed by COVID-19 and the pandemic, as well as the need for a more human-centric approach to planning and managing urban areas and human settlements.

This article seeks to explain passengers’ choice of airport and analyse catchment areas of three airports in the Upper Adriatic region. The Upper Adriatic region is considered as a uniform, territorially and socio-economically integrated region – and as a single multi-airport and cross-border region. The analysed region is also specific in terms of its geographical, political, economic, and social characteristics, since it extends beyond the boundaries of four countries. The analysis of outbound passengers and catchment areas of the Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport (LJU), Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE) and Trieste Ronchi dei Legionari Airport (TRS) draws on a survey conducted in 2011. The analysis includes the records of 1552 surveyed passengers with permanent residence in the region. Characteristics of outbound passengers were analysed separately in terms of sex, age, employment, purpose of travel and mode of transportation to the airport. A spatial analysis of airport catchment areas was conducted using the separate and total distances covered to the selected airport, and the purpose of travel in the empirical model of the relevant airport catchment area.The results suggest that small airports have small primary catchment areas, as over 70% of passengers originate in the immediate proximity of airports.

In less than one century, Italy has tested a strong intensification of immigration changing from a country originating great migration flows to a country which is the destination of migration flows. The aim of this paper is to examine foreign immigration in Italy distinguishing according to nationality of foreigners. The spatial dimension of migration flows has been analyzed in this paper using Spatial Autocorrelation techniques and more particularly Local Indicators of Spatial Association in order to analyze the highest values of a foreigner group considering the relationship with the surrounding municipalities.

In meno di un secolo, l'Italia ha sperimentato una forte intensificazione del fenomeno migratorio, trasformandosi da paese di origine a paese destinatario di flussi migratori. Lo scopo di questo lavoro è quello di analizzare le consistenze dei diversi gruppi etnici nei singoli comuni italiani, esaminando il fenomeno migratorio, distinguendo i movimenti interni ed esterni e le singole provenienze degli stranieri. Per analizzare la dimensione territoriale dei flussi migratori sono state utilizzate tecniche di autocorrelazione spaziale ed in particolare il Local Indicator of Spatial Association (LISA), al fine di considerare i più alti valori di concentrazione di un gruppo straniero in rapporto ai comuni circostanti.

L'articolo riguarda l'analisi dei valori urbani e la loro distribuzione spaziale in un ambito urbano. Lo scopo del contributo è quello di combinare l'utilizzo di Sistemi Informativi Geografici con le tecniche di analisi spaziale per modellizzare i valori immobiliari nell'ambito di un'area urbana. Un test è stato condotto utilizzando valori immobiliari a livello di codici postali per la città di Swindon (UK).

Smart Cities, Dumb Cities: Cittadini intelligenti dialogano sulla città

Smart cities or dumb cities? Città ed opendata

A recent study by the Economist shows that despite the United States and European Union they have comparable population, in U.S. population of 164 million people reside in the top 50 metropolitan areas where Europe stops at 102 million. This gap leads to surprising consequences in terms of productivity and income.

C’è una certa convergenza tra gli esperti internazionali sulle Smart Cities (Ratti, 2013; Townsend, 2013) nel ritenere che queste città siano caratterizzate dalla sovrapposizione di un layer, di uno strato tecnologico abilitante, sulla città già esistente, non snaturando quindi le caratteristiche attuali della città, ma dotandola di una ‘quarta rete tecnologica’ (la rete Internet nella sua componente fisica, infrastrutturale) oltre alle utilities che già conosciamo (acqua, luce, gas), in grado di collegare persone e cose tra loro (l’Internet ‘classica’ e la ‘Internet of Things’ che sempre più caratterizzerà la nostra interazione con gli oggetti).

Oggi è molto diffuso un approccio che associa in maniera stret- ta il concetto di Smart City alla repentina diffusione di dispositivi elettronici. Azioni di questo tipo, per quanto di indubbia utilità, se completamente sconnesse dal contesto e soprattutto dalla città possono trasformarsi in un inutile spreco.

The term Smart City is to-date widely used little clarity appears in the definition behind that. Several approaches lead to a growing emphasis on the combined use of geographic information and communication technology to build cognitive frameworks in city planning and management. The present paper tackles an effort of defining smart cities and identifying theelements of smartness but also the critical aspects related to the current interpretation of the term. In particular the risks of considering also the technological layer of the Smart City as an innovative element is observed, highlighting on the contrary the need to consider Smart Cities in terms of a major urban planning effort to coordinate and harmonize the different urban players sustained by ICT instruments.

Negli ultimi anni l’evoluzione delle tecniche applicate all’informazione geografica ha raggiunto dei livelli impensabili sino a pochi anni or sono. Mai come oggi la disponibilità di dati, programmi, procedure e metodi di analisi sono stati così ampiamente alla portata di tutti. Non più solo gli addetti ai lavori sono in grado di parlare di questi argomenti e di produrre Informazione Geografica, ma anche i cosiddetti neogeografi. Abstract The best of all worlds In recent years the evolution of techniques applied to geographic information reached levels unthinkable a few years ago. Never as today the availability of data, programs, procedures and methods of analysis have been so widely available to everyone. No longer just the experts are able to talk about these issues and produce geographic information, but also socalled "neogeographers".