Papers by Angela Moriggi
Sustainability Science , 2019
Enabling resources are the array of tangible and intangible assets that social entrepreneurs mobi... more Enabling resources are the array of tangible and intangible assets that social entrepreneurs mobilize or create to bring forward novel place-based initiatives, to respond to unmet sustainability challenges and ideally contribute to virtuous processes of socioeconomic transformation. Understanding the role of resources in constraining or enabling the development of social enterprises holds important implications not merely for the initiatives, but also for the places where they are embedded. Existing studies fail to provide a comprehensive, empirically grounded account of resources for place-based social entrepreneur-ship. This paper aims to fill this gap, by exploring the array of resources that enable and constrain the development of Green Care practice, i.e., nature-based activities with a social innovation purpose. Three communities of Finnish practitioners-a nature-tourism company, a care farm, and a biodynamic farm-were involved over the span of 3 years in research activities conducted with an in-depth qualitative approach. Participants were engaged in several stages of iterative learning combining conventional and action-research methods: semi-structured interviews, participatory mapping, and a co-creation workshop. Results show that entrepreneurs resort to a great variety of enabling resources, inclusive of both tangible and intangible assets, that are only marginally considered by relevant literature. Based on these findings, the paper proposes a novel set of enabling resources, comprehensive of nine clusters: infrastructural, institutional, material, place-specific, organizational culture-related, social, ethical, affective, and competence-related. Two concluding insights can be inferred: understanding resources is paramount to grasp possibilities and challenges of place-based entrepreneurship; in-depth participatory processes are needed for a thorough and grounded investigation of enabling resources in places.
Monde Chinois Nouvelle Asie , 2018
La Chine est le premier contributeur mondial aux émissions de gaz à effet de serre et l’un des pa... more La Chine est le premier contributeur mondial aux émissions de gaz à effet de serre et l’un des pays les plus vulnérables au changement climatique. Pourtant, la vulnérabilité sociale au changement climatique est encore mal comprise. En particulier, les études relatives au genre sont presque absentes du débat sur le changement climatique. Au niveau scientifique, des efforts très limités ont été déployés pour étudier la pertinence des différences entre les sexes en matière d’efforts d’adaptation et d’atténuation. Ce chapitre vise à contribuer à combler cette lacune en fournissant une analyse des conditions structurelles de l’inégalité entre les sexes qui affecte le pays aujourd’hui et en soulignant leur lien étroit avec la vulnérabilité sociale au changement climatique. Les résultats indiquent que la féminisation du travail, l’inégalité d’accès aux ressources, l’inégalité d’accès à la prise de décisions et les normes « sexospécifiques » traditionnelles peuvent jouer un rôle important dans la capacité des femmes à faire face au changement climatique en Chine.
Environmental Science & Policy, 2018
This paper introduces a participatory framework for Sustainability Assessment (SA) for urban Inte... more This paper introduces a participatory framework for Sustainability Assessment (SA) for urban Integrated Watershed Management (IWM). The framework is applied to the Lihu Lake Basin (Wuxi City), where between 2002 and 2012 an IWM program was implemented, coordinating water environmental management measures with urban planning. The framework for SA introduced in this paper is based on a Multi-Criteria-Decision-Analysis (MCDA) approach integrating criteria of environmental, economic, and social sustainability. Local stakeholders were engaged in focus group discussions (FGDs) to validate and weigh criteria and attributes employed in the SA framework. Results of the model application indicate that the programme implemented in the Lihu Basin yielded positive results in enhancing environmental conditions, providing more sustainable avenues of environmental management funding, and fostering economic growth. Despite efforts put forward by local authorities, performance of social indicators was comparatively worse, due to relocation policies, increase in housing prices, and scarce public participation. Results show that decision makers pursued viability, rather than comprehensive sustainability.
Sustainability, Jun 19, 2018
This paper aims at investigating the change over time in the environmental awareness in rural Chi... more This paper aims at investigating the change over time in the environmental awareness in rural Chinese communities and its correlation with environmental management measures implemented at the local level. We identify three main components of awareness, namely: perception, behavior, and attitude toward environmental management measures. Data were collected from two surveys in three villages in northern China in 2006 and 2015 that interviewed 125 and 129 respondents, respectively, and were analyzed employing an Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) approach. The results discussed in the paper show that environmental awareness increased between 2006–2015, and was mainly manifested in better environmental behavior and understanding of environmental status due an improvement in rural infrastructure and a greater amount of information provided to rural residents about the environment. Place of residence had a considerable influence on respondents' environmental awareness: residents in eco-villages had a higher environmental awareness than those living in common agricultural villages. This appears to indicate a positive nexus between the comprehensiveness of environmental management measures implemented locally, and environmental awareness. Also, the universality of environment issues reduced the importance of socioeconomic and demographic factors in determining the degree of environmental awareness. However, more attention should be paid to villagers' external behavior and inner feelings, such as their attitude to governmental management policies. These findings yield important policy implications that are relevant to the promotion of environmental awareness in China's rural communities, and the adoption of more effective environmental management measures.
MEDIUM Project Newsletter, 2017
The concept of ecological civilization (shengtai wenming 生态文明) has been gaining increasing import... more The concept of ecological civilization (shengtai wenming 生态文明) has been gaining increasing importance in China's official discourse on sustainability. It calls for a readjustment of the relationship between humans and the natural environment they inhabit, based on a systemic approach to development. Domestic and international observers are still divided over its concrete implications for urban sustainability: does it have a potential to trigger positive change? Or is it rather a rhetorical tool, a buzzword void of any substance? To find an answer to these questions, a team of MA students of the Department of Asian and North African Studies and MEDIUM researchers at Ca' Foscari University Venice are conducting a systematic review of assessment systems devised to measure progress towards urban ecological civilization. The work is based on the assumption that such systems act as normalizing tools, favoring the adoption of practices consistent with the evaluation criteria they employ. By looking into assessment systems, we can therefore gain valuable insights on the potential of ecological civilization for urban sustainability. So far, the team has screened 25 assessment systems, published on Chinese scientific journals between 2008 and 2015. A total of 758 indicators have been extracted and characterized based on different dimensions of sustainability and relevant assessment criteria. The definition of dimensions and criteria has been conducted by triangulating scientific literature and Chinese policy documents, in order to allow for comparison with previous studies and to reflect recent policy developments. Preliminary results show that systems have a large predominance of environmental and social indicators, respectively 49% and 25% of the total. If we cluster together social, cultural, and policy indicators (which often go indistinctly under the dimension 'society'), they account for 37% of the total. The potential for ecological civilization driven innovation is evident in the cultural and policy dimensions. Indeed, they appear to attach particular relevance to aspects such as ecological and environmental awareness, education and research related to ecological issues, and−albeit to a lesser extent−to the embracement of ecological lifestyles. As to what extent ecological civilization is bound to influence urban governance still remains to be ascertained further. Two aspects are key in this respect: (a) the degree and extent of participation of stakeholders in the process of development of indicators systems; and (b) their concrete application in real-life scenarios, to inform urban policy evaluation and formulation. This will be the next task for our team. If you want to know more on our ongoing work on ecological civilization and urban sustainability, please share your inquiries with Dr. Brombal at: [email protected].
DEP (Deportate, Esuli e Profughe), 2017
All around the world, women have been at the forefront of environmental activism. In the Western ... more All around the world, women have been at the forefront of environmental activism. In the Western world, very little is known about China's environmental movement and its champions. This paper aims to bridge this gap. It does so by tracing the path to activism of three female figures: Wang Yongchen, Liao Xiaoyi and Tian Guirong. For each of the three, I first introduce the main environmental campaigns and I then sketch out a profile of the activist, shedding light on their personal motivations, the rhetorical strategies they employ to spur collective action, and their vision for a greener China. The paper has a twofold result: it not only provides the reader with the elements to understand the country's struggle for sustainability, it also sheds lights on the different manifestations of environmental activism " made in China ". Findings draw mainly from the analysis of secondary sources (books, academic papers, newspaper articles) and to a lesser extent, from first hand interviews carried out by the author between July and December 2013.
Understanding Climate Change through Gender Relations, 2017
China Perspectives, 2017
Over the past decade, the concept of sustainable development has gained increasing importance wit... more Over the past decade, the concept of sustainable development has gained increasing importance within China’s urban development. Urban(ising) China not only catalyses many of the country’ sustainability issues, but also constitutes the locus where novel institutional arrangements for sustainable development are tested and implemented. This paper explores new paradigms of integrated territorial management unfolding in areas where concerns of water pollution intersect with objectives of urban renewal. The analysis focuses on the case of the Lihu Lake basin, located in the city of Wuxi (Jiangsu Province), considered by many observers to be at the forefront in China’s quest for sustainable urban development. In Lihu the integration of environmental management with urban planning has led to the creation of a new organisational field, revolving around the issue of sustainable development of urban areas, with distinctive regulatory, normative, and cognitive aspects. While epitomising a case of integrated territorial management, the experience of Lihu Lake basin highlights the challenge of fostering inclusive social development in urban areas.
KEYWORDS: integrated territorial management, institutional change, water environmental management, urban planning, sustainability, China.
Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 2017
In recent years, China's government authorities have devoted increasing attention to the role of ... more In recent years, China's government authorities have devoted increasing attention to the role of public participation processes in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). The capacity of these processes to influence decision-making remains widely debated. This paper aims at appraising the institutional rationale informing the implementation of public participation in China's EIA, benchmarking it against three conceptualisations: (1) Normative, based on objectives of empowerment and democratisation; (2) Substantive, where participation is pursued mainly to improve quality of decisions; (3) Instrumental, seeking participation as an instrument to legitimise decision-making processes. The appraisal is carried out by means of a new integrated index (Public Participation Index, PPI), which is applied to a case study representative of latest advancements in EIA public participation practices in China, namely the “New Beijing Airport Project”. Located 46 km south of downtown Beijing, the project was approved in 2014 and it is currently under construction. Results of the PPI application to this case study indicate that, despite progress made in recent years, the implementation of public participation in Chinese EIA still largely responds to an instrumental rationale, with limited capacity for the public to affect decisions.
Asia Dialogue (The online magazine of the University of Nottingham Asia Research Institute)
Journal of Cleaner Production, 2016
In recent years, China has launched ambitious measures to tackle water pollution. As political co... more In recent years, China has launched ambitious measures to tackle water pollution. As political commitment and public investment soared, Chinese environmental scientists and practitioners have engaged in a substantial debate on the reorganization of the country's water management system. Domestic discussion has largely revolved around best practices adopted abroad, particularly in the Eu-ropean Union (EU), where the Water Framework Directive (WFD) has introduced an integrated management model based on the core concept of unity of the water cycle. This paper seeks to contribute to this debate, by appraising the regulatory, administrative, monitoring, and public participation dimensions of China's water environmental management. Related progress and constraints are discussed in the evolving context of Chinese environmental policies, against the background of the relevant EU experience. Regulatory and administrative coordination and integration, and the adoption of a watershed-based management model, appear at present as essential prerequisites to overcome the fragmentation of China's water environmental management. Despite recent efforts in this direction, institutional rationalization is still hampered by the persistence of conflicting interests and attributions among government bodies concurring to law making and implementation.
Orizzonte Cina, Jul 2015
Rivista bimestrale di politica, relazioni internazionali e dinamiche socio-economiche della Cina ... more Rivista bimestrale di politica, relazioni internazionali e dinamiche socio-economiche della Cina contemporanea Un'immagine esemplificativa del costo ambientale sostenuto dalla Cina per mantenere la propria turbo-crescita. Un recente studio ripreso dai media internazionali sottolinea come i rischi per la salute determinati dall'inquinamento si estendano anche a infrastrutture strategiche come la riserva di Danjiangkou, il terminale del China's South-to-North Water Transfer Project, da cui dipende l'approvvigionamento idrico della pianura cinese settentrionale e delle città che vi si trovano (foto Daniele Brombal).
DEP (Deportate, Esuli, Profughe), Feb 2016
The gender dimension of climate change is an issue of considerable interest and urgency. However,... more The gender dimension of climate change is an issue of considerable interest and urgency. However, in the Italian debate it has not yet received the attention it deserves. This paper aims at providing a general overview of the relationship between climate change and gender. We identify major variables determining a greater vulnerability for women during adverse environmental circumstances, and introduce main approaches elaborated at the international level to enhance coping and adaptation capacities. In the concluding section, some of the limits and controversial theoretical and practical approaches characterizing the field are discussed.
Conferences Presentations by Angela Moriggi
WASS PhD Day, Wageningen University (NE), Jun 8, 2018
Wageningen PhD Symposium "Bridging Science and Society", University of Wageningen (NE), May 17, 2018
In the face of the “multi-dimensional unsustainability” our societies are facing, a growing numbe... more In the face of the “multi-dimensional unsustainability” our societies are facing, a growing number of researchers have committed to produce bold research with a transformational impact. Methodologically, this implies experimenting with unconventional approaches that can facilitate and enable virtuous changes in line with societal expectations and needs. This presentation will introduce a number of innovative methods I have implemented with different groups, in line with a strong participatory approach inspired by action-research principles. In my PhD I work in partnership with social entrepreneurs experimenting with Green Care practices in Finland, activities in nature that provide with therapeutic, social inclusion and educational purposes. The presentation will focus on three main methodological approaches, introducing lessons learnt and possible future prospects: a) Participatory mapping, as a tool for practitioners’ self-reflection and for stakeholders’ involvement; b) Photo-voice, as a technique aimed at empowerment of vulnerable groups; c) Co-creation workshops, aimed at translating research findings into usable and meaningful material for research participants.
Facing the Future, Centre for Environmental Change and Human Resilience (CECHR), University of Dundee (Scotland, UK), Aug 28, 2017
European Rural Sociology Congress, Jul 27, 2017
In recent years, green care practices have become increasingly popular in several parts of Europe... more In recent years, green care practices have become increasingly popular in several parts of Europe and particularly in rural areas, where activities may take several forms, such as social farming, animal-assisted therapy or institutional care on a farm. All these practices are designed to provide social and health care services to vulnerable groups, often with a conscious aspiration to increase social justice and inclusiveness.
Green care practices represent an innovative kind of place-shaping practice with the potential to transform human-human and human-nature connections. On the one hand, their innovative trait lies in the ambition to respond to previously unmet socio-economic needs, such as the diversification of rural production, or the provision of alternative healthcare services, by building new cross-sectoral partnerships and collaboration. On the other hand, they carry a transformative potential as they provide with the opportunity to shape rural areas in new ways, as a result of the relational processes enabled through the practices.
This presentation explores the transformative potential of green care practices through the agency of the main actors involved in its development in a specific context. Drawing from the theoretical and analytical tools offered by institutional entrepreneurship coupled with place-related research, I investigate the role, strategies, motivations and values of several stakeholders engaged in the development of a place-based green care practice.
Findings draw from an extensive literature review and from results of fieldwork research carried out from February to July 2017 on three case studies located in Finland. Case studies include areas at the urban-rural interface, exploring the potential of green care practices to shape rural places in new ways, and provide alternative pathways to sustainability to the relentless urban sprawl of major cities.
HopefulNESS 2017 (the 13th Nordic Environmental Social Science Conference), University of Tampere (FI), Jun 7, 2017
Thirty years later after the term “sustainability” was coined, we witness a striking contradictio... more Thirty years later after the term “sustainability” was coined, we witness a striking contradiction: on the one hand, sustainability has become the meta-narrative of our times, thanks to great advancements in both its theoretical conceptualizations and empirical applications. On the other hand, a rampant socio-ecological crisis keeps unfolding, unmasking our failure to recognize humans and ecosystems as a whole. To break free of current deadlocks and contradictions, scholars and practitioners are advocating a paradigm shift, arguing that sustainability theory and practice must aspire to be transformational. In other words, a radical change is needed, one that questions what we value and the way we live. This paper argues that this is possible if care – understood here as a set of values and a series of concrete practices - is placed at the center of the debate. To this end, we apply and extend insights from the literature on care ethics, with a twofold objective: to shed light on the potential application of care to the study of sustainability transformations; to point out at the reasons that might have caused the neglect of care in this field so far, and propose solutions to break free of its current prejudices and misjudgments.
HopefulNESS 2017 (the 13tn Nordic Environmental Social Science Conference), University of Tampere (FI), Jun 7, 2017
In recent years, a renewed attention to the “human face” of climate change has brought awareness ... more In recent years, a renewed attention to the “human face” of climate change has brought awareness over the specific climateinduced
struggles experienced by women, particularly in underdeveloped rural areas. It is now an established fact that
conditions of gender inequality cause greater vulnerability for women as a result of climate change impacts.
Lack of natural resources' access and management is one of the main contributing factors to gender vulnerability to climate
change across the world.
This research work explores in particular the case of China - not only the world’s largest contributor to greenhouse gas
emissions, but also one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change globally. Against this background, social
vulnerability to climate change is still poorly understood across the country. In particular, gender-sensitive perspectives are
almost absent from the climate change debate. At scientific level, very limited attempts have been made to investigate the
relevance of gender differentials to adaptation and mitigation efforts. This lack of awareness and action is inextricably linked
to issues of power and justice, affecting women in China today.
This research work contributes to this field of study in two valuable ways: firstly, it provides an analysis of the structural
conditions of gender inequality affecting the country today, highlighting their close link to social vulnerability to climate change;
secondly, it discusses potential and limits for further development vis-à-vis China’ specific socio-cultural and political
peculiarities, contributing to a problematic understanding of the nexus between gender and environmental governance
(including natural resource management).
The findings draw from an extensive literary review and from results of fieldwork research carried out in Beijing between June
and December 2014.
DENVI 2nd Annual Meeting, University of Helsinki (FI), Feb 6, 2017
This presentation interrogates the meaning and nature of transformation in relation to green care... more This presentation interrogates the meaning and nature of transformation in relation to green care (GC) practices - an umbrella term comprising activities carried out in contact with nature, yielding beneficial social and health effects to different target groups. Building on a scholarly tradition claiming the transformative potential of caring practices, I inquire over the capacity of GC practices to shape places in transformative ways, as a result of two main dynamics: (1) caring for places: when GC activities are initiated for place- based reasons - to sustain and (re)generate places via a specific kind of socio-spatial practices; (2) caring with people (in places): when through empowering caring practices, the people engaged become partners of a new social model and shape places in new ways, ideally contributing to social justice and inclusion. These assumptions constitute the theoretical backbone of a PhD project focused on green care practices in Finland.
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Papers by Angela Moriggi
KEYWORDS: integrated territorial management, institutional change, water environmental management, urban planning, sustainability, China.
Conferences Presentations by Angela Moriggi
Green care practices represent an innovative kind of place-shaping practice with the potential to transform human-human and human-nature connections. On the one hand, their innovative trait lies in the ambition to respond to previously unmet socio-economic needs, such as the diversification of rural production, or the provision of alternative healthcare services, by building new cross-sectoral partnerships and collaboration. On the other hand, they carry a transformative potential as they provide with the opportunity to shape rural areas in new ways, as a result of the relational processes enabled through the practices.
This presentation explores the transformative potential of green care practices through the agency of the main actors involved in its development in a specific context. Drawing from the theoretical and analytical tools offered by institutional entrepreneurship coupled with place-related research, I investigate the role, strategies, motivations and values of several stakeholders engaged in the development of a place-based green care practice.
Findings draw from an extensive literature review and from results of fieldwork research carried out from February to July 2017 on three case studies located in Finland. Case studies include areas at the urban-rural interface, exploring the potential of green care practices to shape rural places in new ways, and provide alternative pathways to sustainability to the relentless urban sprawl of major cities.
struggles experienced by women, particularly in underdeveloped rural areas. It is now an established fact that
conditions of gender inequality cause greater vulnerability for women as a result of climate change impacts.
Lack of natural resources' access and management is one of the main contributing factors to gender vulnerability to climate
change across the world.
This research work explores in particular the case of China - not only the world’s largest contributor to greenhouse gas
emissions, but also one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change globally. Against this background, social
vulnerability to climate change is still poorly understood across the country. In particular, gender-sensitive perspectives are
almost absent from the climate change debate. At scientific level, very limited attempts have been made to investigate the
relevance of gender differentials to adaptation and mitigation efforts. This lack of awareness and action is inextricably linked
to issues of power and justice, affecting women in China today.
This research work contributes to this field of study in two valuable ways: firstly, it provides an analysis of the structural
conditions of gender inequality affecting the country today, highlighting their close link to social vulnerability to climate change;
secondly, it discusses potential and limits for further development vis-à-vis China’ specific socio-cultural and political
peculiarities, contributing to a problematic understanding of the nexus between gender and environmental governance
(including natural resource management).
The findings draw from an extensive literary review and from results of fieldwork research carried out in Beijing between June
and December 2014.
KEYWORDS: integrated territorial management, institutional change, water environmental management, urban planning, sustainability, China.
Green care practices represent an innovative kind of place-shaping practice with the potential to transform human-human and human-nature connections. On the one hand, their innovative trait lies in the ambition to respond to previously unmet socio-economic needs, such as the diversification of rural production, or the provision of alternative healthcare services, by building new cross-sectoral partnerships and collaboration. On the other hand, they carry a transformative potential as they provide with the opportunity to shape rural areas in new ways, as a result of the relational processes enabled through the practices.
This presentation explores the transformative potential of green care practices through the agency of the main actors involved in its development in a specific context. Drawing from the theoretical and analytical tools offered by institutional entrepreneurship coupled with place-related research, I investigate the role, strategies, motivations and values of several stakeholders engaged in the development of a place-based green care practice.
Findings draw from an extensive literature review and from results of fieldwork research carried out from February to July 2017 on three case studies located in Finland. Case studies include areas at the urban-rural interface, exploring the potential of green care practices to shape rural places in new ways, and provide alternative pathways to sustainability to the relentless urban sprawl of major cities.
struggles experienced by women, particularly in underdeveloped rural areas. It is now an established fact that
conditions of gender inequality cause greater vulnerability for women as a result of climate change impacts.
Lack of natural resources' access and management is one of the main contributing factors to gender vulnerability to climate
change across the world.
This research work explores in particular the case of China - not only the world’s largest contributor to greenhouse gas
emissions, but also one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change globally. Against this background, social
vulnerability to climate change is still poorly understood across the country. In particular, gender-sensitive perspectives are
almost absent from the climate change debate. At scientific level, very limited attempts have been made to investigate the
relevance of gender differentials to adaptation and mitigation efforts. This lack of awareness and action is inextricably linked
to issues of power and justice, affecting women in China today.
This research work contributes to this field of study in two valuable ways: firstly, it provides an analysis of the structural
conditions of gender inequality affecting the country today, highlighting their close link to social vulnerability to climate change;
secondly, it discusses potential and limits for further development vis-à-vis China’ specific socio-cultural and political
peculiarities, contributing to a problematic understanding of the nexus between gender and environmental governance
(including natural resource management).
The findings draw from an extensive literary review and from results of fieldwork research carried out in Beijing between June
and December 2014.
Over the past ten years, the international community has come to realize the importance of coupling mitigation efforts to adaptation ones, with a particular focus on the social dimension of climate change. A renewed attention to the “human face” of climate change has brought awareness over the specific climate-induced struggles experienced by women, particularly in underdeveloped rural areas. It is now an established fact that conditions of gender inequality cause greater vulnerability for women as a result of climate change impacts.
The degree to which different countries have matured awareness over the need to include gender-specific analysis in mitigation and adaptation efforts might depend on socio-cultural and political peculiarities, contributing to different understandings of the nexus between climate change and gender.
This paper aims to provide a state of the art of the relevance of gender perspectives in China’s institutional discourse on climate change. Findings mainly draw from an extensive literary review and from fieldwork research carried out in Beijing between June and December 2014. Results indicate that the topic is of growing interest to a few non-governmental organizations but remains largely marginal for most development cooperation organizations, as well as for academic and governmental institutions. The research work also investigates potentials and limits for future developments.
The city is in urgent need to design a number of policy options to address these issues. This is crucial also because sustainable cities, while facing many challenges, have also the potential to act as catalyzers and fertilizers of innovation and prosperity, contributing to shape and display China’s global image.
This presentation will seek to place Shanghai’s case in a broader discussion on sustainable urbanization, fostering the debate over the concept of sustainability itself, what it means and what it entails. In fact, rhetorical efforts are not always coupled by a throughout understanding of sustainability; also, sustainable urbanization is often measured only through the lens of ‘green’ technological development.
Against this background, the following three main policy approaches will be offered: 1) to embrace an holistic approach in the definition of policy solutions, one where the three dimensions of sustainability are effectively appraised through suitable metrics, adapted to local social, environmental, economic and cultural contexts. As put by Nobel laureate in economics J. Stiglitz, “what we measure affects what we do. If we have the wrong measures, we will strive for the wrong things”; 2) to evaluate past and future policy options through multidisciplinary methodologies, such as sustainability impact assessment tools, offering the possibility to assess the feasibility of different policy scenarios; 3) to place the human dimension at the center, through the institution of participatory practices, that integrate different stakeholders’ visions and values concerning sustainability and urban development.