Landscape architecture and sustainable energy transition

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Landscape architecture and sustainable energy transition

Designing for renewable energy policies from the Italian perspective

Silvia Minichino

Front cover: hand sketches realized by Fabrizio Cembalo Sambiase, Progetto Verde and Matteo Pedaso, LAND.

Back cover: hand sketches realized by Hans Peter van Schooneveld, KUIPER Companions and Steven Slabbers,BOSH SLABBERS.

Table of contents

Acknowledgments 9

Abstract 11

Chapter 1. 15

Introduction

1.1 Problem description 15

1.2 Scope of the research 17

1.3 Knowledge gaps 18

1.4 Research propositions 19

1.5 Research goals and questions 19

1.6 Materials and Methods 20

1.7 Definitions of key concepts 24

1.8 Structure of the thesis 25

Part 1. 29

Changing perspective on the dialectic landscape and

renewable energy. The emerging role of landscape architecture in sustainable energy transition

Chapter 2. 31

Starting concepts and literature discussion

2.1 Landscape and renewable energy. An emerging topic in the academic debate 31 2.2 Discourses on landscape and renewable energy: conflicts, transition and space 33 2.3 Renewable energy and sustainable energy transition in landscape

planning and design 34

2.4 Conclusions 40

Part 2. 43

Landscape architecture from the perspective of sustainable energy transition

Chapter 3. 45

Italian landscape architecture approach to renewable energy 45

3.1 Introduction 45

3.2 Shared values in Italian landscape architecture 46

3.3 The controversial nature of design in landscape architecture 47

3.4 Landscape design and landscape planning 48

3.5 Landscape and design as common ground in decision making 49 3.6 An outline of the dialectic planning-design within Italian landscape architecture 49 3.7 Renewable energy diffusion and landscape architecture in Italy 50 3.8 Italian landscape architects opinions on sustainable energy transition (part I) 51

3.8.1 Examples from ‘Architettura del paesaggio’ 51

3.8.2 Landscape architects opinions from the online questionnaire 53

3.9 Conclusions 54

Chapter 4. 57 Landscape architects dealing with renewable energy:

Italian and Dutch cases

4.1 Introduction 57 4.2 Searching for renewable energy-related precedents in landscape architecture 58

4.3 Doing designing knowledge explicit 61

4.4 Design process and landscape architecture 64

4.5 Landscape architecture firms dealing with renewable energy 64 4.6 Italian and Dutch approaches to designing renewable energy 71

4.7 Conclusions 87

Part 3. 89

Sustainable energy transition from the perspective of landscape architecture

Chapter 5 93

Landscape architecture’s possible role for integrating landscape in renewable energy policies

5.1 Introduction 93

5.2 What landscape has to do with renewable energy policies?

The European Landscape Convention proposition 94

5.3 Territorialization of renewable energy policies and landscape 96 5.4 Different approaches to landscape integration in renewable energy 97

5.5 Conclusions 101

Chapter 6. 105

Energy plans and landscape planning for sustainable energy transition in Italy

6.1 Introduction 105

6.2 The overlapping concepts of sustainable energy transition and renewable energy governance 106 6.3 Sustainable energy transition and renewable energy in Italy 108 6.4 Landscape planning and design tools for sustainable energy transition 112 6.5 Pairing of energy planning and landscape planning instruments 114

6.7 Conclusions 116

Chapter 7. 119

Landscape planning and design for sustainable energy transition.

A comparison between Dutch and Italian practices 119

7.1 From renewable energy technology to sustainable energy landscape 119 7.2 Searching for landscape architect’s contribution to sustainable energy transition 122

7.2.1 Materials and methods 122

7.2.2 Key concepts from transition research 124

7.3 Contribution of Dutch and Italian landscape architects to

sustainable energy transition 125

7.3.1 Selected embedded cases 128

7.3.2 Landscape architects’ involvement in sustainable energy transition 133 7.3.3 Italian landscape architects opinions on sustainable energy transition (part II) 141

7.4 Discussion and conclusions 143

7.4.1 The transition management framework and the contribution of

landscape architects 143

7.4.2 Landscape architects and sustainable energy transition 144 7.4.3 Italian landscape architecture and sustainable energy transition 144

Part 4. 147

From sustainable energy landscape planning and design to renewable energy policies

Chapter 8. 149

General discussion and conclusions

8.1 Landscape architecture – sustainable energy transition link 149 8.3 Landscape planning and design for sustainable energy transition 150 8.4 Italian landscape architects’ possible role in designing

sustainable energy landscapes and beyond 151

Chapter 9. 157

Controversial issues and open questions

9.1 Landscape, landscape architecture, landscape design 157 9.2 Italian landscape planning and the role of design for sustainable energy transition 158

Chapter 10. 161

Sintesi in Italiano

References 183

List of cases 201

Format for interviews with landscape architects 203

Format for the online questionnaire 209

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Electrical power lines, Corsico, Milano, Italy.

(S. Minichino)

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Electrical power lines, Hoeksche Waard, South Holland, The Netherlands . (S. Minichino)

Acknowledgments

While revising this research, I had the opportunity to reflect on the three years of heartfelt attempts at broadening my vision of landscape architecture and renewable energy. This work was possible with the support of colleagues, friends and my family. I really want to thank everyone who shared my concerns, intentions and my attempts at giving order to my thoughts.

I would like to thank my supervisors, Carlo Natali and Sven Stremke who, from two different disciplinary perspectives, helped me to give sense to this piece of research.

The possibility of spending a period of my PhD abroad is largely thanks to Gabriele Corsani who supported my desire to discover other experiences beyond the national boundaries.

Particular thanks are due to Gabriele Paolinelli who encouraged me to follow this research journey and dedicated his time to discussions with me. Jusuck Koh also deserves acknowledging, as he took time to revise some texts during my stay in The Netherlands, writing deep critical reflections about my work.

Special thanks also go to those in Florence and Wageningen, who shared research methods and contents with me, being very inspiring for my work. I especially want to thank Chiara Serenelli who shared various doubts with me, even if none were solved, Renée de Wall who taught me a lot about Dutch context and landscape architecture research and the NRG lab members who ‘energised’ my perspective on energy landscape and beyond.

I would extend my gratitude to Pieter Veen and VISTA Lanscape Architecture and Urban Planning; Jasper Hugtenburg and HNS Landscape Architecture, Hans Peter van Schooneveld and KUIPER Companions; Steven Slabbers and BOSH SLABBER; Fabrizio Cembalo Sambiase and Progetto Verde;

Daniela Moderini and Moderini & Selano, Anderas Kipar and Matteo Pedaso and LAND; Guido Ferrara and FerrarAssociati, who enthusiastically, offered their time and opinions, which were essential for this research project. I want to thank also anonymous landscape architects who took part in the on line survey for this research work because they encouraged me to pursue this topic further.

I really want to thank everyone who revised my English texts, especially Jennifer and Kay.

And last but not least, my family, Eda, Daniela and Toscano, and Carlo, my extended family, Damiano, Marco and Antonio supported me during the troubled yet exciting period of writing my thesis, helping me to gain a more objective perspective on my working days.

Water storage for hydroelectric power plant, Caccamo, Macerata, Italy.

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Abstract

The discipline and profession of landscape architecture is rooted in design and uses a design approach based on sliding spatial-temporal scales. Recently, landscape architecture has started dealing with the emerging paradigms of complexity and sustainability (Musacchio, 2009b). In order to contribute to these paradigms, landscape architecture proposes a collaborative approach aimed at the democratization of design processes. Due to this reason, landscape architects are more and more involved in the emerging field of sustainable transitions which, for instance, concerns climate change, water management and energy.

Renewable energy deployment is one of the strategies to promote sustainable energy transition (Strong, 1992). This kind of process involves the whole territory and deals both with the formulation of energy strategies and with their implementation. These actions occur on different spatial scales and involve an increasing number of actors.

The main objective of this research work is to investigate the contribution of landscape architecture to sustainable energy transition, focusing mainly on Italy. To this end, this research wants to explore how landscape architecture can bridge the gap between the formulation of renewable energy strategies and their implementation.

This research grounds on two propositions: the first one is that landscape design, which is at the core of landscape architecture, can provide information for energy plans and energy policies. The second one is that landscape design is also a means for integrating the landscape into sectoral policies, especially those regarding renewable energy.

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This research work follows the research on design approach (Deming &

Swaffield, 2011) and considers as case studies Italy and the Netherlands. Energy- related landscape architecture projects are analyzed in both countries. Moreover, I created and then analyzed renewable energy-related precedents as embedded cases, according to the transition management theory (Loorbach & Rotmans, 2010).

This study has three main outcomes: the first one shows that landscape architecture-sustainable energy transition link has a powerful role in dealing with renewable energy deployment and the second one demonstrates that landscape design processes and products, elaborated at the site scale, are also used for energy spatial visions. Finally, the third one shows that such operational knowledge, if strategically used, can be essential to provide information for energy- related decision making processes, as well as for the formulation of renewable energy policies.

In Italy, as elsewhere, the embedded cases analyzed showed that landscape architecture knowledge and skills have started to be used for the formulation of renewable energy strategies at different levels of the territorial governance. Therefore, landscape design has started to be envisioned as a method to discuss various design solutions. Starting from the discussion on landscape design, the formulation of renewable energy policies includes landscape development scenarios.

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Wind farm, Groningen, The Netherlands.

(S. Minichino)