Paolo Picchi

Academie Van Bouwkunst Amsterdam, Landscape Architecture, Post-Doc

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Paolo Picchi currently works as Postdoc Researcher in Landscape Architecture at the Academy of Architecture | Amsterdam University of Fine Arts |HDEL High Density Energy Landscape Research Group. Paolo does research in Landscape Planning and Design in relation to Renewable Energy development with a particular focus on Ecosystem Services trade-offs and participation with communities. Since 2014 is associate member of the NRGlab set at the Wageningen University, The Netherlands. At present he is project coordinator for the research METRO (Metropolitane EnergieTransitie en Ruimtelijke Ordening) in partnership with the Municipality of Amsterdam. The aim is to explore the spatial dimension of energy transition in densely populated landscapes as the Amsterdam Metropolitan Region.
Supervisors: Sven Stremke

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Justyna Przedańska

Lorenzo Tinti

Daniel Cueto

Veronica Hernandez Jimenez

Ifigenia Psarra

Hanze University of Applied Sciences

Henny van der Windt

Paolo Picchi

Università degli Studi di Firenze (University of Florence)

Alexandra Kruse

Paolo Picchi

Amsterdam School of the Arts

Lummina Horlings

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Papers by Paolo Picchi

Regional Strategy, Municipality Plans and Site Designs for Energy Transition in Amsterdam, The Netherlands: How Sustainable Are Implementation Processes on Different Spatial Levels?

Sustainability

Energy transition has a prominent role in 21st-century urban agendas. Worldwide, cities pursue th... more Energy transition has a prominent role in 21st-century urban agendas. Worldwide, cities pursue the local implementation of international, national and regional agendas aiming at a sustainable energy transition. Landscape integration, multifunctionality and community participation are three of the key concepts here. These concepts are interpreted differently across the different spatial levels. The object of this paper is to analyse the application of the three sustainability concepts at the regional, local and site levels for the city of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The results show that the degree of implementation of the concepts depends on what factors are considered important at each spatial level. At the regional and local levels, landscape integration with regards to social factors such as finances and co-ownership drive successful implementation, thanks to the organisation of effective participatory processes. At the site level, landscape integration and multifunctionality wit...

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Co-designing energy landscapes: application of participatory mapping and

Handbook on the Geographies of Energy

The chapter begins with a literature review of energy potential mapping, ecosystem services (ES) ... more The chapter begins with a literature review of energy potential mapping, ecosystem services (ES) assessment and participatory mapping (PM). PM is a key technique to conduct tradeoff analysis while co-designing sustainable energy landscapes (SEL) with local communities. Stakeholders, among others, participate in the mapping of ‘hot spots’. Geographic Information System software can be used to analyse the existing landscape and renewable energy potentials as well as to process stakeholder values and preferences with regard to landscape quality/ES supply, and renewable energy technologies, respectively. The chapter introduces a framework for co-designing a SEL with special attention to the use of PM and ES, and discusses key opportunities and challenges associated with the approach. In particular, mutual benefits emerge once the domains of ES and renewable energy are approached in a concerted manner. The chapter illustrates that co-designing energy landscapes together with stakeholders can help to better understand and manage tradeoffs between ES.

Linking research through design and adult learning programs for urban agendas: a perspective essay

Local government are addressing energy transition, one of the prominent sustainability goals in t... more Local government are addressing energy transition, one of the prominent sustainability goals in the urban agendas, yet they need to enhance capacity building, therefore engagement with sustainability science and adult learning programs for civil servants are frequently activated. Landscape architects are more frequently called to be boundary spanners in complex sustainability goals. This perspective essay aims at reflecting on the synergetic links between adult learning approaches and landscape architecture research through design in the prominent field of the transition to renewable energy. The reflections will be narrated by means of a first application conducted for the Municipality of Amsterdam. The tentative implications suggests that a social learning environment founds synergetic links to a constructivist research through design approach.

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How do policy options modify landscape amenities? An assessment approach based on public expressed preferences

Environmental Science & Policy, 2013

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A22 verso una infrastruttura osmotica per un paesaggio sostenibile. Linee di indirizzo e eriferimenti progettuali

Assessing the impact of renewable energy sources infrastructures on ecosystem services at the landscape scale: a review, towards more integrated approaches

A conversation on the intangible with Juan Manuel Palerm

Ri-Vista. Research for landscape architecture

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Energietransitie in stedelijke landschappen

Enhancing the relationship between the landscape of energy transition and the ecosystem services

Governments adopt strategies to follow the objective Europe 2020 and focus on the development of ... more Governments adopt strategies to follow the objective Europe 2020 and focus on the development of Renewable Energy Technologies, RET, to improve the transition of the production of energy from fossil fuels sources to renewable energy sources, RES. More than decades before, the energy transition towards renewable energies emerges as a relevant objective of the European governments. The fluctuating prices of oil and the uncertainty on the future supply of fossil fuels open new challenges for communities to actuate an energy transition towards RES. The RET can afflict deeply the landscape structure and by this point of view the energy transition is one of the most relevant drivers in the landscape change of the last three decades. In several cases energy transition may face opposition from regions and communities because of the change that RET produce in local landscapes and related economic, cultural and ecological functions. This change has been defined as a conflict between the local...

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Co-designing energy landscapes: Application of participatory mapping and geographic information systems in the exploration of low carbon futures

Why energy democracy can enhance landscape democracy in the energy transition: some reflections on the Italian case

The energy transition towards renewable energy sources is unavoidable in order to reduce gas emis... more The energy transition towards renewable energy sources is unavoidable in order to reduce gas emissions by 40-70% within 2050 (Paris, 2015). In the last two decades, we assisted at frequent oppositions and block to the installation of renewable energy technologies by local communities, because of the associated landscape change. Local initiatives aiming at the 100% self-sufficiency can be a challenging approach for a sustainable energy transition, safeguarding bot the landscape democracy and the energy democracy. According to studies in sociology, the success of these bottom-up processes at community level depends on the socio-historical backgrounds and in the consequent capacity of acting in a cooperative perspective for the management of common goods. A special attention will be deserved to the Italian regional contexts. According to present literature, landscape architects are called to be facilitators for knowledge integration and reflections among different disciplines and backg...

Deploying ecosystem services to develop sustainable energy landscapes: a case study from the Netherlands

Smart and Sustainable Built Environment

PurposeThe transition to a low carbon future is an emerging challenge and requires the planning a... more PurposeThe transition to a low carbon future is an emerging challenge and requires the planning and designing of sustainable energy landscapes – landscapes that provide renewable energy while safeguarding the supply of other ecosystem services. The aim of this paper is to present the application of an ecosystem services trade-off assessment in the development of sustainable energy landscapes for long-term strategic planning in a case study in Schouwen-Duivenland, The Netherlands.Design/methodology/approachThe application consists in three activities: in (1) stakeholder mapping hot spots of ecosystem services and renewable energy technologies in a workshop, (2) landscape design principles being discussed by a focus group, (3) experts gathering the information and proceeding with an assessment of the potential synergies and trade-offs.FindingsThe case study indicates that (1) deploying the ecosystem services framework in planning and design can enhance the development of sustainable e...

The ecosystem services concept: a new Esperanto to facilitate participatory planning processes?

Landscape Ecology

\textcopyright} 2018, Springer Nature B.V. Context: Several case studies investigated the role of... more \textcopyright} 2018, Springer Nature B.V. Context: Several case studies investigated the role of ecosystem services in participatory planning processes. However, no systematic study exists that cuts across a large number of empirical cases to identify the implications of using ecosystem services in participatory planning. Objectives: This study explores the potential of the ecosystem services concept to act as a boundary concept (“new Esperanto”) to facilitate the integration of actors&#39; perceptions and objectives into planning goals. Methods: We analyzed eleven case studies to explore how the ecosystem services concept has been operationalized to support participatory planning processes, and to identify lessons from successful applications. We characterized the case studies according to contextual and methodological criteria. Each case study was assessed through a codified score card method in order to detect success or failure criteria in using the ecosystem services concept in participatory planning. We compared the case study criteria with the results of the balanced score card method. Results: We identified several positive effects of applying the ecosystem services concept in participatory planning, including the facilitation of knowledge sharing and consideration of local experiences, the support towards a shared vision, and the increased awareness among local actors concerning their role as ecosystem services suppliers or beneficiaries. Among the drawbacks, we identified the risk of overemphasizing specific ecosystem goods or services during the process. Conclusions: We conclude by providing some recommendations to enhance future practice related to issues such as communication, use of local knowledge and integration of ecosystem services in existing legal instruments.