Measuring impacts to govern urban regeneration

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - It is easy to say ESG. But without measurement and evaluation criteria, a true assessment of environmental and social policies becomes complex. That is why measuring is the real challenge. Starting from here, SUR Lab of Bocconi University in collaboration with UN-Habitat has launched the Sustainable Urban Regeneration Atlas (SUR Atlas - https://suratlas.unibocconi.eu/), an open-access archive of international projects that maps, classifies and documents relevant experiences of urban regeneration all over the world through a standardised project model that guarantees consistency and comparability among cases.

The Atlas now contains more than 60 cases from 29 countries, and allows for the interactive exploration of projects through an integrated map and advanced filtering tools, while supporting a structured analysis of case studies that systematically examines governance arrangements, financing instruments, project impacts and technical solutions. Approximately 72% of the projects concern the redevelopment of brownfield or underutilised areas, 61% incorporate nature-based solutions and 44% report the achievement of environmental certifications such as LEED or BREEAM. Finally, about 38 per cent of cases include traffic-restricted or car-free design strategies.

It thus emerges that 'positive environmental effects are found in about 90 per cent of the projects, less so with high percentages are social benefits (about 86 per cent) and economic benefits (about 83 per cent),' explains Tania Molteni, SUR Lab researcher. 'More specific results related to adaptation and climate resilience are reported in about 64 per cent of the cases, while biodiversity enhancement and ecosystem services are present in about 58 per cent.

The process is complex, because the assessment of regeneration projects from an ESG perspective requires taking into account multiple elements: the need to adopt an integrated and supply chain perspective; the relevance of municipal planning in guiding regeneration projects; the coherence between interventions (at the micro, macro and urban levels); the need to identify new models of collaboration between public and private entities and between private entities; the coordination between policies at different levels; and the need to update policies and the regulatory framework in relation to sustainability objectives. "All these elements can come together in the assessment to analyse the multiple project dimensions in a comprehensive and integrated way," says the Bocconi researcher.

On the other hand, the effects change perspective depending on the point of view. The different actors involved in the urban regeneration chain - developers, builders, financial institutions, others - perceive different types of benefits and values from projects. "Private actors are interested in ESG-aligned investments to enhance their reputation, increase profits and align with regulations. They need an approach to assess urban regeneration projects to demonstrate their social benefits in order to interact with policy makers and regulators,' explains Tania Molteni. Public authorities, on the other hand, are interested in urban regeneration projects that meet ESG criteria and contribute to the achievement of public objectives. Decision-makers at municipal level need tools to assess the public interest in regeneration projects and to define agreements and partnerships with private operators'.