Ecosystem Services Analysis and Design through Nature-Based Solutions in Urban Planning at a Neighbourhood Scale

The new frontiers of sustainable cities should focus on urban planning tools and strategies
that are able to integrate ecosystem services in urban development. An important step could include
the design of nature-based solutions (NbSs) for introducing important ecological functions aiding
human well-being and mitigating the loss of soil. In this study, we propose a methodology to analyse, in a spatial way, the effect of land use scenarios generated by urban planning in the provision
of ecosystem services. The methodology analyses the variation of ecosystem services, considering
the ecosystem services of the study area and their potential roles in changing the functions of
planned urban actions as the starting point. One scenario of analysis includes the integration of
NbSs into urban planning. The case study is that of a peri-urban area, characterized by an agroecosystem, which is intended for urban development in the municipality of Gallipoli, Southern Italy.
The analysis highlights a low provision of ecosystem services by the agroecosystem, which has had
the effect of important olive trees being destroyed by Xylella fastidiosa bacteria. Thus, the integration
of NbSs and reducing the construction of buildings in the urban neighbourhood plan could improve
the quantity of ecosystem services in the area. Moreover, the ecological design of ecosystem services
could improve the typology of ecosystem services provision in the area in consideration of the starting points. Therefore, the analysis of the capacity to integrate ecosystem services in urban planning
at the neighbourhood scale could be a tool of ecological urban design, useful to support the decisionmaking processes.