A smart sustainable district is generally characterized by low carbon solutions and technologies that optimize resource use and also promote wellbeing and sustainable lifestyles. However the involvement of different urban stakeholders is crucial to develop and establish smart and sustainable innovation at district scale. This study presents the case of an Industrial District of Bologna (Italy), the Roveri District, where a transition process has been started through a systemic and integrated approach towards the creation of Roveri Smart Village.
Roveri Industrial District was settled in the early seventies as an industrial area in a brownfield near the southern boundary of Bologna city, Italy. Currently, Roveri Industrial District represents one of the Italian Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of small and medium-sized enterprises. Therefore, the regeneration of this area towards the creation of Roveri Smart Village is a big challenge to achieve.
This study provides a collaborative and integrated approach to support the Roveri industrial district transformation with the aim both to steer the innovation towards a Sustainable Smart District and build a community and a strong network of enterprises and local stakeholders.
Roveri Smart Village is not a single project but a combination of different research projects and activities provided by different stakeholders such as research agencies, academia, trade associations and local institutions. Thanks to this scientific and institutional support, Roveri could therefore be considered as a laboratory to experiment innovative activities and competences in the field of circular economy, energy efficiency, smart city.
In the framework of Roveri project, several national and international research projects, have currently seen their implementation within the industrial area with significant experimental achievement and steering the transformation towards a Sustainable Smart District. In particular:
- Food Crossing District Project, where a first Industrial Symbiosis (IS) path for Roveri enterprises was tested. As a result, individual meetings and collective IS tech tables with the involvement of a sample of companies have been explored possible synergies such as shared management of some services and resources.
- Climate KIC Pioneers into Practice Programme, where a bottom-up participatory process inspired by the Oasis Game and the philosophy of the Insituto Elos was realized. As a result, the enhancement of the participation of different stakeholders (enterprises, citizens, institutions, local associations…) and a common vision for Roveri Smart Village have been achieved.
- BEST Energy CheckUp project is aimed at organise and encourage professional cooperation between business entrepreneurs to achieve energy savings and renewable energy production. A first energy check-up of a sample of companies has been implemented.
- Go-SIV an European H2020 12-month project aimed at supporting innovation processes implemented by SMES, especially focused on the redevelopment of industrial areas located at the margins or within urban areas.
The adoption of a collaborative and integrated approach, with the involvement of the whole industrial, institutional and citizens stakeholder community, has provided a valid support for a more efficient design and plan development of the smart and sustainable district. Moreover, the combination of different projects within the industrial area has allowed to accelerate a dynamic transition process in order to tackle the numerous challenges related to environmental, social and economic aspects
KEYWORDS: smart and sustainable district, collaborative process, circular economy, industrial symbiosis, energy efficiency
5g. Special Track - Industrial symbiosis, networking and cooperation as part of industrial
