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Federico Amato

University of Lausanne, Institute of Earth Surface Dynamics (IDYST), Post-Doc

Università della Basilicata, School of Engineering, Graduate Student

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Federico Amato has a MS in Building Engineering and Architecture. He is Ph.D. in Sustainable Development and Innovation Engineering. His research is mainly focused on the analysis of land use dynamics and its relationship with natural and environmental hazards as well as with social/economic phenomena. His main research interests are Spatio-Temporal Data Science and Machine Learning, Geoinformatics, Geostatistics and Remote Sensing.
Address: Quartier UNIL-Mouline, Bâtiment Géopolis 3550, CH - 1015 Lausanne

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Papers by Federico Amato

A novel framework for spatio‑temporal prediction of environmental data using deep learning

by Federico Amato and Mikhail Kanevski

Scientific Reports, 2020

A novel framework for spatio‑temporal prediction of environmental data using deep learning

Advanced Analysis of Temporal Data Using Fisher-Shannon Information: Theoretical Development and Application in Geosciences

Front. Earth Sci. 8:255, 2020

Complex non-linear time series are ubiquitous in geosciences. Quantifying complexity and non-stat... more Complex non-linear time series are ubiquitous in geosciences. Quantifying complexity and non-stationarity of these data is a challenging task, and advanced complexity-based exploratory tool are required for understanding and visualizing such data. This paper discusses the Fisher-Shannon method, from which one can obtain a complexity measure and detect non-stationarity, as an efficient data exploration tool. The state-of-the-art studies related to the Fisher-Shannon measures are collected, and new analytical formulas for positive unimodal skewed distributions are proposed. Case studies on both synthetic and real data illustrate the usefulness of the Fisher-Shannon method, which can find application in different domains including time series discrimination and generation of times series features for clustering, modeling and forecasting. The paper is accompanied with Python and R libraries for the non-parametric estimation of the proposed measures.

Modelling the impact of urban growth on agriculture and natural land in Italy to 2030

by Federico Amato and Keith C Clarke

Applied Geography, 2018

The uncontrolled spread of towns and cities into their surrounding rural and natural land, and th... more The uncontrolled spread of towns and cities into their surrounding rural and natural land, and the consequent increasing demand for new natural resources are among the most important drivers of global climate and environmental change. This study investigated the loss of natural and agricultural land in Italy in the last decades, during which urban areas have undergone significant expansion. The study underlines the negative consequences of past uncoordinated urban and regional planning in Italy which often featured adaptive ex-post strategies favouring real estate market returns, rather than avoiding ex-ante the unsustainable threats. The aim is to show that only through a recalibration of priorities in planning, by adding policies that favour ecological conservation, it is possible to better foster sustainable land use practices. To this end, the research features a comparison of forecasts of land-use/cover changes (LUCC) corresponding to different policy-oriented scenarios, using a combination of multi criteria analysis and cellular automata modelling. In the planning literature there are many applications of land-use change modelling at the regional/local scale, however to the best of our knowledge, none does it at high resolution and at the full country scale. This sort of analysis is important for policy makers because it allows investigation of the combined relevance of local and global criteria in influencing urbanization for the future. Thus it couples locally relevant findings with a comprehensive vision of the phenomenon at a national scale. We conclude by discussing some critical socioeconomic implications of the modelled scenarios in order to provide policy makers with useful tools and information to develop resilient and sustainable planning strategies.

Analysis of air pollution time series using complexity-invariant distance and information measures

Physica A, 2020

Air pollution is known to be a major threat to human and ecosystem health. A proper understanding... more Air pollution is known to be a major threat to human and ecosystem health. A proper understanding of the factors generating pollution and of the behavior of air pollution in time is crucial to support the development of effective policies aiming at the reduction of pollutant concentration. This paper considers the hourly time series of three pollutants, namely NO 2 , O 3 and PM 2.5 , collected on sixteen measurement stations in Switzerland. The air pollution patterns due to the location of measurement stations and their relationship with anthropogenic activities, and specifically land use, are studied using two approaches: Fisher-Shannon information plane and complexity-invariant distance between time series. Clustering analysis is used to recognize within the measurements of same pollutant groups of stations behaving in a similar way. The results clearly demonstrate the relationship between air pollution probability densities and land use activities.

Fuzzy definition of Rural Urban Interface: An application based on land use change scenarios in Portugal

Environmental modelling and software, 2018

Land cover dynamics influence the spatio-temporal evolution of the Rural-Urban Interface (RUI). T... more Land cover dynamics influence the spatio-temporal evolution of the Rural-Urban Interface (RUI). This represents the most prone area for human-caused forest fires ignitions in Mediterranean countries. Traditionally, RUI mapping is based on the measurement of the distances among specific land covers. This methodology suffers from the definition of pre-established fixed parameters. To avoid this arbi-trariness, a new procedure based on Multilayer Perceptron and Fuzzy Set Theory is introduced in this paper. This allows to develop continuous non-categorical maps expressing the possibility of being part of this interface. Thus, an innovative way for assessing the uncertainty in identifying RUI is presented. The proposed methodology has been applied to the case study of Portugal, elaborating a future scenario for the RUI. The results show how the framework proposed in this paper is able to correctly identify the areas belonging to this interface, providing useful information for forest fires-prevention policies.

Change Detection and Classification of Seismic Damage with LiDAR and RADAR Surveys in Supporting Emergency Planning. The Case of Amatrice

Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2017

The spread of new satellite and LiDAR data is recently leading to the development of effective me... more The spread of new satellite and LiDAR data is recently leading to the development of effective methodologies to support the monitoring and management of disaster risks, assessing the level of damages in the very early post-event phase. The increasing availability of SAR images and the diffusion of LiDAR data due to technologies such as solutions such as drones offers the opportunity to experiment new techniques for monitoring the territory. The paper will examine the case study of Amatrice (Central Italy), the Municipality most affected by the seismic swarm started in August 2016, and discuss the results obtained with the technique of interferometric differentiation and detection of change.

The Effects of Urban Policies on the Development of Urban Areas

by Beniamino Murgante, Federico Amato, and Federico Martellozzo

For more than a decade, the European Union recognizes soil as a common good and considers it as a... more For more than a decade, the European Union recognizes soil as a common good and considers it as a finite resource of inestimable value. The European Union defines it as the “upper layer of earth’s crust, formed by mineral particles, organic matter, water, air and living organisms”. Despite such definitions, usually, planning choices do not take into account the need to reduce soil consumption to build up resilience. This paper presents the controversial case of Agri Valley (Basilicata, Southern Italy); on the one hand, this region is characterized by the presence of extremely valuable land, because of the exceptional degree of soil fertility; on the other hand, Valdagri is also known to have one of the largest oilfields of Europe. An application built around the SLEUTH model was developed in order to produce a simulation and an estimate of the extent to which urban areas may grow in the near future. Results confirm that urban policies implemented so far by local governments—which aimed almost exclusively to favor industrial development—irreversibly threaten the integrity of the natural values of the valley.
Keywords: sustainability; land use change models; soil consumption; urban policies; built-up areas

A SMAP Supervised Classification of Landsat Images for Urban Sprawl Evaluation

by Beniamino Murgante, Flavia Di Palma, Federico Amato, Gabriele Nolè, and Federico Martellozzo

The negative impacts of land take on natural components and economic resources affect planning ch... more The negative impacts of land take on natural components and economic resources affect planning choices and territorial policies. The importance of land take monitoring, in Italy, has been only recently considered, but despite this awareness, in the great part of the country, effective monitoring and containment measures have not been started, yet. This research proposes a methodology to map and monitor land use changes. To this end, a time series from 1985–2010, based on the multi-temporal Landsat data Thematic Mapper (TM), has been analyzed in the Vulture Alto-Bradano area, a mountain zone of the Basilicata region (Southern Italy). Results confirm a double potentiality of using these data: on the one hand, the use of multi-temporal Landsat data allows going very back in time, producing accurate datasets that provide a phenomenon trend over time; on the other hand, these data can be considered a first experience of open data in the field of spatial information. The proposed methodology provides agencies, local authorities and practitioners with a valuable tool to implement monitoring actions. This represents the first step to pursue territorial governance methods based on sustainability, limiting the land take.

Geotourism as a Specialization in the Territorial Context of the Basilicata Region (Southern Italy

by Federico Amato and &Amp; Saganeiti

Geoheritage, 2019

Geosites, a precious and nonrenewable geosphere resource, constitute a wealth from educational, s... more Geosites, a precious and nonrenewable geosphere resource, constitute a wealth from educational, scientific, natural-istic and cultural points of view, capable of expressing an economic potential proportional to their tourist appeal (Bentivenga 2015). This study is part of an important methodological framework: Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA 2005), an international project that defines and quantifies ecosystem services (ES) and assesses changes and their consequences on human well-being. The methodology, which is progressively becoming as a cognitive support aimed at the environmental sizing of territorial policies, is considered particularly effective in assessing the impacts of choices associated with different land use scenarios as well as to protection and/or valorization policies. Adequate tool development for sustainable governance passes through a planning activity based on the integration of ecological , economic and sociopolitical elements within an interdisciplinary framework, to which the ecosystem analysis is able to provide important evaluation elements (Cowell and Lennon Environ Plann C Politics Space 32:263-282, 2014). According to MEA (2005), ES are grouped into four categories: supply, regulatory, support and cultural services. Starting from that, this work contributes to build an interpretative model for the evaluation of a relevant part of the fourth class: the territorial tourist attractiveness of the Basilicata region considering location and spatial distribution of the 113 regional geosites surveyed by ISPRA. Two different GIS-based methodologies have been applied to the context of the Basilicata region: the first based on linear geographical regression and the second through the use of InVEST, an open source suite. Comparing the results is useful to improve regional tourist attractiveness connected with territorial distribution of natural resources.

Preserving cultural heritage by supporting landscape planning with quantitative predictions of soil consumption

by Federico Martellozzo, Federico Amato, and Gabriele Nolè

Please cite this article in press as: F. Amato, et al., Preserving cultural heritage by supportin... more Please cite this article in press as: F. Amato, et al., Preserving cultural heritage by supporting landscape planning with quantitative predictions of soil consumption, Journal of Cultural Heritage (2016), http://dx. a b s t r a c t Landscape preservation in Italy is a major issue in national cultural heritage conservation policies. Urban settlements growth is among the most threatening factors for the correct landscape preservation. Such phenomenon may result in corrupting the correct landscape-system functioning, particularly when the development occurs without precise planning prescriptions. Land-use/cover evolution dynamic is a subject widely and thoroughly investigated, especially concerning consumption of natural and other lands due to anthropogenic activities. This paper focuses on a region in southern Italy, where soil consumption is known to represent a urging matter of concern. However, although the negative impacts of soil consumption are well known, to our knowledge there are no case studies presenting a precise quantitative assessment of the intensity of such phenomenon for the region of interest. Furthermore, this study aims at forecasting the development of urban settlements through the application of the cellular automata model SLEUTH; the case study concerns the Municipality of Altamura (Apulia region, Italy). Results highlight how current landscape preservation instruments alone cannot ensure a reduction in soil consumption phenomenon and how urban areas expansion is incompatible with a correct landscape conservation in the study area.

Innovation, technologies, participation: new paradigms towards a 2.0 citizenship

International Journal of Electronic Governance, 2019

The spread of information and communications technologies (ICT) and mobile devices is changing th... more The spread of information and communications technologies (ICT) and mobile devices is changing the relationship among citizenship and urban spaces. The use of the internet allows communities - either real or virtual ones - to produce an increasing amount of data about cities and their life. These assumptions were the basement for the "Urban Laboratory in Innovation", a workshop held in Potenza (Southern Italy), in which experts and researchers asked a group of volunteers to analyse life in public spaces of a neighbourhood and point out insights for its regeneration. This experience shows how social network and VGI are useful tools for the development of innovative policies, e-democracy and participation to decision-making processes. Nevertheless, even when specific tools are implemented to favour the inclusion of citizens into the policy-making processes, traditional participatory and design approaches are still a valuable instrument to synthesise their requirements and effectively support the development of site-specific urban planning tools.

Population-Based Simulation of Urban Growth: The Italian Case Study

by Federico Amato and Claudia Cosentino

Sustainability, 2019

Land take is one of the most studied phenomena in land use science. The increased attention to th... more Land take is one of the most studied phenomena in land use science. The increased attention to the issue of urban growth from both scientists and decision makers is justified by the dramatic negative effects on land use caused by anthropogenic activities. Within this context, researchers have developed and explored several models to forecast land use changes, some of which establish excellent scenario-based predictions of urban growth. However, there is still a lack of operative and user-friendly tools to be integrated into standard urban planning procedures. This paper explores the features of the recently published model FUTure Urban-Regional Environment Simulation integrated into the GRASSGIS environment, which generates urban growth simulation based on a plethora of driving variables. Specifically, the model was applied to the case study of urbanization in the Italian national territory. Hence, the aim of this work is to analyze the importance of population dynamics within the process of urban growth. A simulation of urban growth up to the year 2035 was performed. Results show that, despite the importance given to demographic aspects when defining urban policies over the last several decades, additional factors need to be considered during planning processes to overcome the housing issues currently experienced in Italy.

A Quantitative Prediction of Soil Consumption in Southern Italy

by Federico Martellozzo, Federico Amato, and Gabriele Nolè

Landuse/cover evolution dynamic is a subject widely and thoroughly investigated, especially conce... more Landuse/cover evolution dynamic is a subject widely and thoroughly investigated, especially concerning consumption of natural and other lands, due to anthropogenic activities. This paper focuses on a region in southern Italy, where soil consumption is known to represent a urging matter of concern. However, although negative impacts of soil consumption are well known, to our knowledge there are no case studies presenting a precise quantitative measurement of the intensity of such phenomenon for the region of interest. This study aims at forecasting the development of urban settlements through the application of the cellular automata model SLEUTH; the first region to be investigated has been the Municipality of Altamura (Apulia region, Italy). This area has been used as a pilot case study to explore many difficulties and advantages in applying such a methodology to the whole southern Italian region. The final goal was to frame and populate an atlas of soil consumption in southern Italy, which intends to offer useful support to sustainable planning and policies.

The Effects of Socio-Economic Variables in Urban Growth Simulations

by Federico Amato and Gabriele Nolè

Urban sprawl phenomenon is one of the higher threats to the preservation of soil resources. Soil ... more Urban sprawl phenomenon is one of the higher threats to the preservation of soil resources. Soil consumption is strongly related to social and economic factors that characterize a territory. Several models have been developed to recreate future scenarios based on past expansion development dynamics. Among cellular automata models for urban growth simulation, SLEUTH is considered as an effective tool to support urban management. However, the model does not explicitly include demographic dynamics and socio-economic ones. This paper compares the results of two different simulations performed on the same study area through the SLEUTH model. While the first simulation is performed using the classical method of calibration of the model, the second one proposes the inclusion of some socio-economic variables within the simulation process. The results show a better match with the actual development trends of settlement by the simulation that takes into account the social and economic aspects of the analysed territory.

Supporting planning activities with the assessment and the prediction of urban sprawl using spatiotemporal analysis

The inestimable value of soil is exemplarily summarized in the definition provided by the Europea... more The inestimable value of soil is exemplarily summarized in the definition provided by the European Union (2006), which considers it as "the upper layer of the earth's crust, formed by mineral particles, organic matter, water, air and living organisms".The importance of soil protection is now universally recognized, but despite a lot of debates and principle's enunciation, in the last decades soil was consumed at a rate of 8 m2 per second. The aim of this study is to propose a model which, on one side, is able to measure variations occurred in land use, and, therefore, to determine soil consumption, and, on the other side, is capable to predict future changes. Specifically, a simulation model has been proposed based on two methods: Joint information uncertainty and Weights of Evidence in order to analyse and predict new built-up areas. The proposed model has been applied to Pisticci Municipality in Basilicata region (Southern Italy). This area is a significant example, because of its high landscape value and, at the same time, of a lot of developing pressure due to touristic activities along the coastal zone.

Urban Solar Energy Potential in Europe

by Federico Martellozzo, Federico Amato, Gabriele Nolè, and Gabriele Nolè

Among the objectives of the Sustainable Development Goals by United Nations, " Affordable and Cle... more Among the objectives of the Sustainable Development Goals by United Nations, " Affordable and Clean Energy " aims at ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all. However, in Europe there is not a precise understanding of the unleashed potential that could be achieved through the exploitation of solar and wind resources. This study presents an application to retrieve spatial explicit estimates of Direct Normal Irradiance (DNI) through the use of data from geostationary satellites. The energetic demand of large metropolitan areas in Europe is then retrieved and compared with the potential production of energy for domestic use through solar panels. Results of this comparison are presented based on the assumption that only the 1 % of the built up area could be covered with solar panels, and hence devoted to energy production. Outcomes suggest that even such a little coverage , if spread systematically over urban areas can in most of the cases satisfy urban population domestic needs.

Using Spatiotemporal Analysis in Urban Sprawl Assessment and Prediction

by Beniamino Murgante and Federico Amato

The importance of soil resource protection is now universally recognized, but despite a lot of de... more The importance of soil resource protection is now universally recognized, but despite a lot of debates and principles enunciation, in the last decades the soil was consumed at a rate of 8 m2 per second. In this paper a simulation model has been proposed based on two methods: Joint information uncertainty and Weights of Evidence in order to analyse and predict new built-up areas.
The proposed model has been applied to Pisticci Municipality in Basilicata region (Southern Italy). This area is a significant example, because of high landscape values and, at the same time, of a lot of developing pressure due to touristic activities along the coastal zone.

“Serpentone Reload” an Experience of Citizens Involvement in Regeneration of Peripheral Urban Spaces

by Federico Amato, Beniamino Murgante, Antonio Graziadei, pasquale passannante, and Giuseppe Biscaglia

Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Jul 2015

Suburbs are often very contradictory places. Despite great part of urban population live there, t... more Suburbs are often very contradictory places. Despite great part of urban population live there, these parts of cities are mostly considered as degradation places. The topic of suburbs regeneration is relevant today. Nevertheless, often expensive interventions implemented by local authorities fail to regenerate their public spaces. This paper presents the experience of “Serpentone reload”, a workshop based on participatory reactivation of abandoned or underused spaces and buildings in “Cocuzzo/Serpentone” neighbourhood in Potenza (Basilicata, Italy). The workshop particularly focused on the reuse of the “Ship”, an underground building, completed in 2010, never used, because it has been perceived as an extraneous element, the result of an imposition and not the outcome of shared choices. The experience is particularly significant, because it shows how low cost interventions, realized with citizens involvement, could contribute to the regeneration of peripheral urban areas more than expensive and complex imposed interventions.

Preserving cultural heritage by supporting landscape planning with quantitative predictions of soil consumption

by Beniamino Murgante and Federico Amato

Landscape preservation in Italy is a major issue in national cultural heritage conservation polic... more Landscape preservation in Italy is a major issue in national cultural heritage conservation policies. Urban settlements growth is among the most threatening factors for the correct landscape preservation. Such phenomenon may result in corrupting the correct landscape-system functioning, particularly when the development occurs without precise planning prescriptions. Land-use/cover evolution dynamic is a subject widely and thoroughly investigated, especially concerning consumption of natural and other lands due to anthropogenic activities. This paper focuses on a region in southern Italy, where soil consumption is known to represent a urging matter of concern. However, although the negative impacts of soil consumption are well known, to our knowledge there are no case studies presenting a precise quantitative assessment of the intensity of such phenomenon for the region of interest. Furthermore, this study aims at forecasting the development of urban settlements through the application of the cellular automata model SLEUTH; the case study concerns the Municipality of Altamura (Apulia region, Italy). Results highlight how current landscape preservation instruments alone cannot ensure a reduction in soil consumption phenomenon and how urban areas expansion is incompatible with a correct landscape conservation in the study area.

Citizens Participation in Improving Rural Communities Quality of Life

by Beniamino Murgante, Federico Amato, Francesco Scorza, and Roberta Soligno

The concept of participation is very difficult to clearly define, because of the complex framewor... more The concept of participation is very difficult to clearly define, because of the complex framework and the experimental nature of any participatory process. These processes are more difficult to implement in small and isolated communities because of the particularities social structure. I several cases technologies can help citizens in participating in these activities, but the result is strongly related to the predisposition of a communities to use theses ICT tools.
“Hack my town” was an “hackathon” among Universities in order to find solutions to “smart villages and territories” problems. It took place in Glorenza, a small medieval village located in the North of Italy, in Val Venosta, near to Swiss boundary. The introduction of smart solutions in a small rural context could be not very easy: Glorenza is, in fact, characterized by a limited predisposition for both technological and social innovation. Participants experienced how a small mountain village can become a smart village through the synergy between students and their professors, stimulating from one side scientific discussion and from another side a creative environment, where new con-ceptual solutions can be found.

A novel framework for spatio‑temporal prediction of environmental data using deep learning

by Federico Amato and Mikhail Kanevski

Scientific Reports, 2020

A novel framework for spatio‑temporal prediction of environmental data using deep learning

Advanced Analysis of Temporal Data Using Fisher-Shannon Information: Theoretical Development and Application in Geosciences

Front. Earth Sci. 8:255, 2020

Complex non-linear time series are ubiquitous in geosciences. Quantifying complexity and non-stat... more Complex non-linear time series are ubiquitous in geosciences. Quantifying complexity and non-stationarity of these data is a challenging task, and advanced complexity-based exploratory tool are required for understanding and visualizing such data. This paper discusses the Fisher-Shannon method, from which one can obtain a complexity measure and detect non-stationarity, as an efficient data exploration tool. The state-of-the-art studies related to the Fisher-Shannon measures are collected, and new analytical formulas for positive unimodal skewed distributions are proposed. Case studies on both synthetic and real data illustrate the usefulness of the Fisher-Shannon method, which can find application in different domains including time series discrimination and generation of times series features for clustering, modeling and forecasting. The paper is accompanied with Python and R libraries for the non-parametric estimation of the proposed measures.

Modelling the impact of urban growth on agriculture and natural land in Italy to 2030

by Federico Amato and Keith C Clarke

Applied Geography, 2018

The uncontrolled spread of towns and cities into their surrounding rural and natural land, and th... more The uncontrolled spread of towns and cities into their surrounding rural and natural land, and the consequent increasing demand for new natural resources are among the most important drivers of global climate and environmental change. This study investigated the loss of natural and agricultural land in Italy in the last decades, during which urban areas have undergone significant expansion. The study underlines the negative consequences of past uncoordinated urban and regional planning in Italy which often featured adaptive ex-post strategies favouring real estate market returns, rather than avoiding ex-ante the unsustainable threats. The aim is to show that only through a recalibration of priorities in planning, by adding policies that favour ecological conservation, it is possible to better foster sustainable land use practices. To this end, the research features a comparison of forecasts of land-use/cover changes (LUCC) corresponding to different policy-oriented scenarios, using a combination of multi criteria analysis and cellular automata modelling. In the planning literature there are many applications of land-use change modelling at the regional/local scale, however to the best of our knowledge, none does it at high resolution and at the full country scale. This sort of analysis is important for policy makers because it allows investigation of the combined relevance of local and global criteria in influencing urbanization for the future. Thus it couples locally relevant findings with a comprehensive vision of the phenomenon at a national scale. We conclude by discussing some critical socioeconomic implications of the modelled scenarios in order to provide policy makers with useful tools and information to develop resilient and sustainable planning strategies.

Analysis of air pollution time series using complexity-invariant distance and information measures

Physica A, 2020

Air pollution is known to be a major threat to human and ecosystem health. A proper understanding... more Air pollution is known to be a major threat to human and ecosystem health. A proper understanding of the factors generating pollution and of the behavior of air pollution in time is crucial to support the development of effective policies aiming at the reduction of pollutant concentration. This paper considers the hourly time series of three pollutants, namely NO 2 , O 3 and PM 2.5 , collected on sixteen measurement stations in Switzerland. The air pollution patterns due to the location of measurement stations and their relationship with anthropogenic activities, and specifically land use, are studied using two approaches: Fisher-Shannon information plane and complexity-invariant distance between time series. Clustering analysis is used to recognize within the measurements of same pollutant groups of stations behaving in a similar way. The results clearly demonstrate the relationship between air pollution probability densities and land use activities.

Fuzzy definition of Rural Urban Interface: An application based on land use change scenarios in Portugal

Environmental modelling and software, 2018

Land cover dynamics influence the spatio-temporal evolution of the Rural-Urban Interface (RUI). T... more Land cover dynamics influence the spatio-temporal evolution of the Rural-Urban Interface (RUI). This represents the most prone area for human-caused forest fires ignitions in Mediterranean countries. Traditionally, RUI mapping is based on the measurement of the distances among specific land covers. This methodology suffers from the definition of pre-established fixed parameters. To avoid this arbi-trariness, a new procedure based on Multilayer Perceptron and Fuzzy Set Theory is introduced in this paper. This allows to develop continuous non-categorical maps expressing the possibility of being part of this interface. Thus, an innovative way for assessing the uncertainty in identifying RUI is presented. The proposed methodology has been applied to the case study of Portugal, elaborating a future scenario for the RUI. The results show how the framework proposed in this paper is able to correctly identify the areas belonging to this interface, providing useful information for forest fires-prevention policies.

Change Detection and Classification of Seismic Damage with LiDAR and RADAR Surveys in Supporting Emergency Planning. The Case of Amatrice

Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 2017

The spread of new satellite and LiDAR data is recently leading to the development of effective me... more The spread of new satellite and LiDAR data is recently leading to the development of effective methodologies to support the monitoring and management of disaster risks, assessing the level of damages in the very early post-event phase. The increasing availability of SAR images and the diffusion of LiDAR data due to technologies such as solutions such as drones offers the opportunity to experiment new techniques for monitoring the territory. The paper will examine the case study of Amatrice (Central Italy), the Municipality most affected by the seismic swarm started in August 2016, and discuss the results obtained with the technique of interferometric differentiation and detection of change.

The Effects of Urban Policies on the Development of Urban Areas

by Beniamino Murgante, Federico Amato, and Federico Martellozzo

For more than a decade, the European Union recognizes soil as a common good and considers it as a... more For more than a decade, the European Union recognizes soil as a common good and considers it as a finite resource of inestimable value. The European Union defines it as the “upper layer of earth’s crust, formed by mineral particles, organic matter, water, air and living organisms”. Despite such definitions, usually, planning choices do not take into account the need to reduce soil consumption to build up resilience. This paper presents the controversial case of Agri Valley (Basilicata, Southern Italy); on the one hand, this region is characterized by the presence of extremely valuable land, because of the exceptional degree of soil fertility; on the other hand, Valdagri is also known to have one of the largest oilfields of Europe. An application built around the SLEUTH model was developed in order to produce a simulation and an estimate of the extent to which urban areas may grow in the near future. Results confirm that urban policies implemented so far by local governments—which aimed almost exclusively to favor industrial development—irreversibly threaten the integrity of the natural values of the valley.
Keywords: sustainability; land use change models; soil consumption; urban policies; built-up areas

A SMAP Supervised Classification of Landsat Images for Urban Sprawl Evaluation

by Beniamino Murgante, Flavia Di Palma, Federico Amato, Gabriele Nolè, and Federico Martellozzo

The negative impacts of land take on natural components and economic resources affect planning ch... more The negative impacts of land take on natural components and economic resources affect planning choices and territorial policies. The importance of land take monitoring, in Italy, has been only recently considered, but despite this awareness, in the great part of the country, effective monitoring and containment measures have not been started, yet. This research proposes a methodology to map and monitor land use changes. To this end, a time series from 1985–2010, based on the multi-temporal Landsat data Thematic Mapper (TM), has been analyzed in the Vulture Alto-Bradano area, a mountain zone of the Basilicata region (Southern Italy). Results confirm a double potentiality of using these data: on the one hand, the use of multi-temporal Landsat data allows going very back in time, producing accurate datasets that provide a phenomenon trend over time; on the other hand, these data can be considered a first experience of open data in the field of spatial information. The proposed methodology provides agencies, local authorities and practitioners with a valuable tool to implement monitoring actions. This represents the first step to pursue territorial governance methods based on sustainability, limiting the land take.

Geotourism as a Specialization in the Territorial Context of the Basilicata Region (Southern Italy

by Federico Amato and &Amp; Saganeiti

Geoheritage, 2019

Geosites, a precious and nonrenewable geosphere resource, constitute a wealth from educational, s... more Geosites, a precious and nonrenewable geosphere resource, constitute a wealth from educational, scientific, natural-istic and cultural points of view, capable of expressing an economic potential proportional to their tourist appeal (Bentivenga 2015). This study is part of an important methodological framework: Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA 2005), an international project that defines and quantifies ecosystem services (ES) and assesses changes and their consequences on human well-being. The methodology, which is progressively becoming as a cognitive support aimed at the environmental sizing of territorial policies, is considered particularly effective in assessing the impacts of choices associated with different land use scenarios as well as to protection and/or valorization policies. Adequate tool development for sustainable governance passes through a planning activity based on the integration of ecological , economic and sociopolitical elements within an interdisciplinary framework, to which the ecosystem analysis is able to provide important evaluation elements (Cowell and Lennon Environ Plann C Politics Space 32:263-282, 2014). According to MEA (2005), ES are grouped into four categories: supply, regulatory, support and cultural services. Starting from that, this work contributes to build an interpretative model for the evaluation of a relevant part of the fourth class: the territorial tourist attractiveness of the Basilicata region considering location and spatial distribution of the 113 regional geosites surveyed by ISPRA. Two different GIS-based methodologies have been applied to the context of the Basilicata region: the first based on linear geographical regression and the second through the use of InVEST, an open source suite. Comparing the results is useful to improve regional tourist attractiveness connected with territorial distribution of natural resources.

Preserving cultural heritage by supporting landscape planning with quantitative predictions of soil consumption

by Federico Martellozzo, Federico Amato, and Gabriele Nolè

Please cite this article in press as: F. Amato, et al., Preserving cultural heritage by supportin... more Please cite this article in press as: F. Amato, et al., Preserving cultural heritage by supporting landscape planning with quantitative predictions of soil consumption, Journal of Cultural Heritage (2016), http://dx. a b s t r a c t Landscape preservation in Italy is a major issue in national cultural heritage conservation policies. Urban settlements growth is among the most threatening factors for the correct landscape preservation. Such phenomenon may result in corrupting the correct landscape-system functioning, particularly when the development occurs without precise planning prescriptions. Land-use/cover evolution dynamic is a subject widely and thoroughly investigated, especially concerning consumption of natural and other lands due to anthropogenic activities. This paper focuses on a region in southern Italy, where soil consumption is known to represent a urging matter of concern. However, although the negative impacts of soil consumption are well known, to our knowledge there are no case studies presenting a precise quantitative assessment of the intensity of such phenomenon for the region of interest. Furthermore, this study aims at forecasting the development of urban settlements through the application of the cellular automata model SLEUTH; the case study concerns the Municipality of Altamura (Apulia region, Italy). Results highlight how current landscape preservation instruments alone cannot ensure a reduction in soil consumption phenomenon and how urban areas expansion is incompatible with a correct landscape conservation in the study area.

Innovation, technologies, participation: new paradigms towards a 2.0 citizenship

International Journal of Electronic Governance, 2019

The spread of information and communications technologies (ICT) and mobile devices is changing th... more The spread of information and communications technologies (ICT) and mobile devices is changing the relationship among citizenship and urban spaces. The use of the internet allows communities - either real or virtual ones - to produce an increasing amount of data about cities and their life. These assumptions were the basement for the "Urban Laboratory in Innovation", a workshop held in Potenza (Southern Italy), in which experts and researchers asked a group of volunteers to analyse life in public spaces of a neighbourhood and point out insights for its regeneration. This experience shows how social network and VGI are useful tools for the development of innovative policies, e-democracy and participation to decision-making processes. Nevertheless, even when specific tools are implemented to favour the inclusion of citizens into the policy-making processes, traditional participatory and design approaches are still a valuable instrument to synthesise their requirements and effectively support the development of site-specific urban planning tools.

Population-Based Simulation of Urban Growth: The Italian Case Study

by Federico Amato and Claudia Cosentino

Sustainability, 2019

Land take is one of the most studied phenomena in land use science. The increased attention to th... more Land take is one of the most studied phenomena in land use science. The increased attention to the issue of urban growth from both scientists and decision makers is justified by the dramatic negative effects on land use caused by anthropogenic activities. Within this context, researchers have developed and explored several models to forecast land use changes, some of which establish excellent scenario-based predictions of urban growth. However, there is still a lack of operative and user-friendly tools to be integrated into standard urban planning procedures. This paper explores the features of the recently published model FUTure Urban-Regional Environment Simulation integrated into the GRASSGIS environment, which generates urban growth simulation based on a plethora of driving variables. Specifically, the model was applied to the case study of urbanization in the Italian national territory. Hence, the aim of this work is to analyze the importance of population dynamics within the process of urban growth. A simulation of urban growth up to the year 2035 was performed. Results show that, despite the importance given to demographic aspects when defining urban policies over the last several decades, additional factors need to be considered during planning processes to overcome the housing issues currently experienced in Italy.

A Quantitative Prediction of Soil Consumption in Southern Italy

by Federico Martellozzo, Federico Amato, and Gabriele Nolè

Landuse/cover evolution dynamic is a subject widely and thoroughly investigated, especially conce... more Landuse/cover evolution dynamic is a subject widely and thoroughly investigated, especially concerning consumption of natural and other lands, due to anthropogenic activities. This paper focuses on a region in southern Italy, where soil consumption is known to represent a urging matter of concern. However, although negative impacts of soil consumption are well known, to our knowledge there are no case studies presenting a precise quantitative measurement of the intensity of such phenomenon for the region of interest. This study aims at forecasting the development of urban settlements through the application of the cellular automata model SLEUTH; the first region to be investigated has been the Municipality of Altamura (Apulia region, Italy). This area has been used as a pilot case study to explore many difficulties and advantages in applying such a methodology to the whole southern Italian region. The final goal was to frame and populate an atlas of soil consumption in southern Italy, which intends to offer useful support to sustainable planning and policies.

The Effects of Socio-Economic Variables in Urban Growth Simulations

by Federico Amato and Gabriele Nolè

Urban sprawl phenomenon is one of the higher threats to the preservation of soil resources. Soil ... more Urban sprawl phenomenon is one of the higher threats to the preservation of soil resources. Soil consumption is strongly related to social and economic factors that characterize a territory. Several models have been developed to recreate future scenarios based on past expansion development dynamics. Among cellular automata models for urban growth simulation, SLEUTH is considered as an effective tool to support urban management. However, the model does not explicitly include demographic dynamics and socio-economic ones. This paper compares the results of two different simulations performed on the same study area through the SLEUTH model. While the first simulation is performed using the classical method of calibration of the model, the second one proposes the inclusion of some socio-economic variables within the simulation process. The results show a better match with the actual development trends of settlement by the simulation that takes into account the social and economic aspects of the analysed territory.

Supporting planning activities with the assessment and the prediction of urban sprawl using spatiotemporal analysis

The inestimable value of soil is exemplarily summarized in the definition provided by the Europea... more The inestimable value of soil is exemplarily summarized in the definition provided by the European Union (2006), which considers it as "the upper layer of the earth's crust, formed by mineral particles, organic matter, water, air and living organisms".The importance of soil protection is now universally recognized, but despite a lot of debates and principle's enunciation, in the last decades soil was consumed at a rate of 8 m2 per second. The aim of this study is to propose a model which, on one side, is able to measure variations occurred in land use, and, therefore, to determine soil consumption, and, on the other side, is capable to predict future changes. Specifically, a simulation model has been proposed based on two methods: Joint information uncertainty and Weights of Evidence in order to analyse and predict new built-up areas. The proposed model has been applied to Pisticci Municipality in Basilicata region (Southern Italy). This area is a significant example, because of its high landscape value and, at the same time, of a lot of developing pressure due to touristic activities along the coastal zone.

Urban Solar Energy Potential in Europe

by Federico Martellozzo, Federico Amato, Gabriele Nolè, and Gabriele Nolè

Among the objectives of the Sustainable Development Goals by United Nations, " Affordable and Cle... more Among the objectives of the Sustainable Development Goals by United Nations, " Affordable and Clean Energy " aims at ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all. However, in Europe there is not a precise understanding of the unleashed potential that could be achieved through the exploitation of solar and wind resources. This study presents an application to retrieve spatial explicit estimates of Direct Normal Irradiance (DNI) through the use of data from geostationary satellites. The energetic demand of large metropolitan areas in Europe is then retrieved and compared with the potential production of energy for domestic use through solar panels. Results of this comparison are presented based on the assumption that only the 1 % of the built up area could be covered with solar panels, and hence devoted to energy production. Outcomes suggest that even such a little coverage , if spread systematically over urban areas can in most of the cases satisfy urban population domestic needs.

Using Spatiotemporal Analysis in Urban Sprawl Assessment and Prediction

by Beniamino Murgante and Federico Amato

The importance of soil resource protection is now universally recognized, but despite a lot of de... more The importance of soil resource protection is now universally recognized, but despite a lot of debates and principles enunciation, in the last decades the soil was consumed at a rate of 8 m2 per second. In this paper a simulation model has been proposed based on two methods: Joint information uncertainty and Weights of Evidence in order to analyse and predict new built-up areas.
The proposed model has been applied to Pisticci Municipality in Basilicata region (Southern Italy). This area is a significant example, because of high landscape values and, at the same time, of a lot of developing pressure due to touristic activities along the coastal zone.

“Serpentone Reload” an Experience of Citizens Involvement in Regeneration of Peripheral Urban Spaces

by Federico Amato, Beniamino Murgante, Antonio Graziadei, pasquale passannante, and Giuseppe Biscaglia

Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Jul 2015

Suburbs are often very contradictory places. Despite great part of urban population live there, t... more Suburbs are often very contradictory places. Despite great part of urban population live there, these parts of cities are mostly considered as degradation places. The topic of suburbs regeneration is relevant today. Nevertheless, often expensive interventions implemented by local authorities fail to regenerate their public spaces. This paper presents the experience of “Serpentone reload”, a workshop based on participatory reactivation of abandoned or underused spaces and buildings in “Cocuzzo/Serpentone” neighbourhood in Potenza (Basilicata, Italy). The workshop particularly focused on the reuse of the “Ship”, an underground building, completed in 2010, never used, because it has been perceived as an extraneous element, the result of an imposition and not the outcome of shared choices. The experience is particularly significant, because it shows how low cost interventions, realized with citizens involvement, could contribute to the regeneration of peripheral urban areas more than expensive and complex imposed interventions.

Preserving cultural heritage by supporting landscape planning with quantitative predictions of soil consumption

by Beniamino Murgante and Federico Amato

Landscape preservation in Italy is a major issue in national cultural heritage conservation polic... more Landscape preservation in Italy is a major issue in national cultural heritage conservation policies. Urban settlements growth is among the most threatening factors for the correct landscape preservation. Such phenomenon may result in corrupting the correct landscape-system functioning, particularly when the development occurs without precise planning prescriptions. Land-use/cover evolution dynamic is a subject widely and thoroughly investigated, especially concerning consumption of natural and other lands due to anthropogenic activities. This paper focuses on a region in southern Italy, where soil consumption is known to represent a urging matter of concern. However, although the negative impacts of soil consumption are well known, to our knowledge there are no case studies presenting a precise quantitative assessment of the intensity of such phenomenon for the region of interest. Furthermore, this study aims at forecasting the development of urban settlements through the application of the cellular automata model SLEUTH; the case study concerns the Municipality of Altamura (Apulia region, Italy). Results highlight how current landscape preservation instruments alone cannot ensure a reduction in soil consumption phenomenon and how urban areas expansion is incompatible with a correct landscape conservation in the study area.

Citizens Participation in Improving Rural Communities Quality of Life

by Beniamino Murgante, Federico Amato, Francesco Scorza, and Roberta Soligno

The concept of participation is very difficult to clearly define, because of the complex framewor... more The concept of participation is very difficult to clearly define, because of the complex framework and the experimental nature of any participatory process. These processes are more difficult to implement in small and isolated communities because of the particularities social structure. I several cases technologies can help citizens in participating in these activities, but the result is strongly related to the predisposition of a communities to use theses ICT tools.
“Hack my town” was an “hackathon” among Universities in order to find solutions to “smart villages and territories” problems. It took place in Glorenza, a small medieval village located in the North of Italy, in Val Venosta, near to Swiss boundary. The introduction of smart solutions in a small rural context could be not very easy: Glorenza is, in fact, characterized by a limited predisposition for both technological and social innovation. Participants experienced how a small mountain village can become a smart village through the synergy between students and their professors, stimulating from one side scientific discussion and from another side a creative environment, where new con-ceptual solutions can be found.