Controlled landscapes or creating sustainability in public places Padova and Moscow case studies

Abstract

In this paper, a comparative study of green space insertions in two ancient European cities is carried out: Padova (Italy) and Moscow (Russia). Its urban fabrics, which have a high degree of consolidation in their core regions, are the subject of interventions that help to relieve the congestion that they face today. More than two centuries separate Andrea Memmo's intervention, known as Prato Della Valle, from the grandiose proposal intended for the heart of Moscow, close to the Red Square, for the site of Zarydaye. Aside from the chronological gap, there is a significant variation in the objectives that drive both initiatives; nevertheless, the outcomes achieved in the Italian instance and anticipated in the Russian intervention fully participate in contemporary sustainable ideals. This study is based on the observation of two urban interventions in which vegetation and the management of water-related areas play a critical role in creating the consolidated urban centers of Padua (Italy) and Moscow (Russia). The current relationships between two interventions as far back in time as Andrea Memmo's neoclassical Prato della Valle in Padua and the still under construction Zaryadye Park in Moscow are linked with the eternal return to the classic idea of rus in urbe, which, while preserving the ideological essence of landscaping the cities, has served different purposes throughout history (2012). The mitigation of the heat island effect of densely populated nuclei or the capacity of CO2 sequestration mitigates completely current problems via processes using age-old principles.