Innovative sensors for monitoring climate change and extreme events, seismic networks to record earthquakes even of low magnitude in real time and digital information dashboards to inform citizens and PA and strengthen the resilience of cities.
These are some of the results of the ARCH 2020[1] project, funded by the Horizon 2020 Programme, coordinated by the Fraunhofer Institute and implemented, for the Italian part, by ENEA, INGV, the Municipality and University of Camerino.
The project tested these results on four pilot cases: Camerino (Macerata), whose historic center was seriously damaged by the earthquake in central Italy on 30 October 2016, Bratislava (Slovakia), Hamburg (Germany) and Valencia (Spain) whose historic areas are threatened by climate change and related extreme events[2].
“As part of the project, we took the opportunity of the digital transition of PA and local authorities to co-create analysis/intelligence platforms and data-based services”, explains Sonia Giovinazzi, ENEA researcher of the laboratory of analysis and protection of critical infrastructures and contact person of the Agency in the project. “In this way - he adds - we have strengthened the ability of the PAs, of the managers of historic areas and of local communities to know, evaluate and respond to extreme climatic events and other natural hazards and to build a shared and proactive attitude of resilience to mitigate the impacts induced by these hazards, avoiding extreme consequences and disasters and increasing awareness among citizens".
Specifically, as part of the project, data were acquired from latest generation sensors, from analyzes carried out in situ and in the laboratory, from surveys administered to the population and public administrations. The collected data was then transformed into useful information and knowledge, easily usable through digital dashboards to support the decisions of the Public Administrations.
Practical and easy to use, the digital dashboards provide real-time data trends and key performance indicators, such as, for example, the danger of the territory, the vulnerability of the built environment, the tangible and intangible values of monumental assets and works of art. art of historic areas, making it possible to move from monitoring to action with informed and knowledgeable decisions on prevention and mitigation strategies, risk and emergency management and resilient post-disaster reconstruction.
“For the city of Camerino, ENEA has developed dashboards to support the planning of structural interventions on buildings by hypothesizing possible future earthquakes of different intensities and the impact scenarios that could result before and after the implementation of resilience. The dashboards allow Public Administrations and the population to appreciate the benefits that such interventions could bring in avoiding damage to buildings, consequences on the populations, and in preserving the functionality, traditions and works of art of historical centers, of inestimable value but extremely vulnerable”, underlines Maria Luisa Villani, ENEA researcher of the Laboratory of Analysis and Protection of Critical Infrastructures.
"The data collected by the ENEA, INGV and UNICAM sensors were processed in order to evaluate performance indicators that could be easily understood by public administrations to increase their awareness of the danger and vulnerability of the territories and therefore support them in identifying the necessary strategies to a resilient reconstruction, for this reason we hope that they will become a pilot model that can also be replicated in other contexts"Giovinazzi adds.
As a real guide to combine extreme event risk management and climate change adaptation, ARCH results have also been acquired by the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) and available for download from the website On the basis of the agreement[3], three years after its publication, the guide can be transformed into a proposal for a European or international standard to be submitted to the CEN or ISO technical committees and UNI is also working towards the adoption of the document in Italy.
“In Camerino we have installed an urban seismic network that covers the entire historical center and the internal territory of it, which allows seismic events, even of low magnitude, to be recorded promptly and in real time. This will make it possible to better characterize the local seismic response of the historic center and therefore to understand which sites amplify the earthquake more for the purpose of territorial planning of urbanized areas, how to guide the choice of areas for new settlements, define priorities and eligible interventions in a given area, plan the investigations and the necessary levels of detail” underlines Antonio Costanzo, INGV researcher and coordinator of the institution's activities for the project.
“The University of Camerino has developed methods and tools for structural monitoring and diagnostics aimed at the recovery of these monumental assets and has tested them on Palazzo Ducale, until 2016 seat of the Rectorate of UNICAM and the School of Law, unusable since then nowadays. Right inside Palazzo Ducale di Camerino ENEA, UNICAM, INGV, assisted by the Municipality, had the opportunity to work in teams developing and deepening multidisciplinary skills applied to cultural heritage", explained Prof. Andrea Dall'Asta. “Furthermore, in collaboration with the ENEA Materials and Chemical-Physical Processes Laboratory we have made a contribution to the knowledge of historical mortars, whose mechanical and chemical characteristics are an important element, among others, for the purpose of assessing the seismic vulnerability of buildings in historic centers, highlights Prof. Graziella Roselli.
"The Municipality of Camerino is using the results of the ARCH project to carry out better seismic improvement and adaptation designs and to improve, at the same time, the usability of the buildings themselves", underlines the Arch. Maurizio Forconi, Head of Private Construction and Urban Planning of the Municipality of Camerino.
Among the innovations developed:
- An information system that includes two georeferenced databases HArIS and THIS relating respectively to the characteristics of the historic area and to hazard data, historical, from projections and acquired in real time by monitoring systems. These databases provide users with relevant data and information and feed the ARCH-DSS dashboard collection.
- A collection of dashboards to visualize risk scenarios developed according to the specific needs of each single historical area. The dashboards represent vulnerability and impact indicators for hazard scenarios at different levels of severity and for different time levels (present, near future ie 2050 and remote future 2100); they also support the identification and evaluation of resilience measures and strategies, as well as the monitoring of the risk itself.
– The RAD is an online self-assessment tool in the form of a questionnaire that allows you to assess the current level of resilience of a historical area, allowing you to monitor improvements over time to formulate action plans for the measures to be taken covering various aspects including: climate change adaptation, disaster risk and heritage management. The RAD, specifically designed as a multi-stakeholder tool, combines the efforts of city government practitioners, service providers, policy makers and other local and regional stakeholders in assessing and improving resilience.
– It is a “toolbox” that includes a profiling table of possible risks, a tool for setting priorities for scenarios, and a model to support co-creation workshops, identify together with stakeholders vulnerabilities, dangers and relationships cause and effect that can lead to risks and impacts.
· - Possible impact of climate change on historic centers with particular reference to the impact on the health of local communities.
·- Possible impact that climate change and earthquakes could induce in the historic center with possible damage to buildings and cultural heritage, economic losses and consequences on the population following a seismic event:
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[1] Advancing Resilience of historic areas against Climate-related and other Hazards
[2] The 4 pilot cities collaborated with 12 other European cities interested in increasing the resilience of their historical areas through a mutual learning process (Bratislava, Slovakia Cannes France, Warsaw Poland, Zadar Croatia
Camerino, Italy Appignano del Tronto Italy, Rhodes Dodecanese Greece, Maribor Slovenia, Hamburg Germany, Liverpool UK, Regensburg Germany, Thessaloniki Greece, Valencia Spain Alba Italy, Augsburg Germany, Zaragoza Spain)
[3] CEN Workshop Agreement (CWA)CWA 17727:2022 City Resilience Development - Guide to combine disaster risk management and climate change optimization - Historic areas
Image - ARCH THIS and ARCH HARIS
Photo 1 - Changing room.
Photo 2 - Bratislava.
Photo 3 - Hamburg.
Photo 4 - Valencia.