Abstract
One of the main challenges of the twenty-first century is to increase the sustainability level of our cities. However, a town, to be considered sustainable, must, above all, be safe, particularly against natural hazards, which in Europe are mostly related to climate changes (e.g., hurricanes, floods, storms, and landslides) and seismic events (earthquakes). Unfortunately, sustainability is still not a prerogative of most European cities, especially those placed in seismic countries such as Italy, where at least 50% of the residential stock is earthquake-prone, while over 80% of the same stock is highly energy-consuming and carbon dioxide-emitting, thus contributing to trigger hazards related to climate changes. In this context, renovation actions, which combine both energy and seismic issues are strongly needed. Nevertheless, several technical, organizational and financial barriers considerably limit the real possibility to extensively undertake this kind of renovation. This study analyzes such barriers, with particular reference to the Italian scenario, suggesting and discussing possible solutions and underlining the advantages of increasing energy and seismic performances at the same time. The proposed solutions may be effectively extended to many other countries with similar socio-economic scenarios.
Highlights
Sustainability was not an explicit value until the last quarter of the 20th century; sustainability performances were not requested in the recent past.The approach has changed in connection with the intensification of climate change, environmental degradation, overconsumption of natural resources, population growth and pursuit of incessant economic rise
Sustainability is still not a prerogative of most European cities, especially those placed in seismic countries such as Italy, where at least 50% of the residential stock is earthquake-prone, while over 80% of the same stock is highly energy-consuming and carbon dioxide-emitting, contributing to trigger hazards related to climate changes
Recent studies have calculated the costs for the combined energy and seismic retrofit of apartment blocks, which represent one of the most frequent building types constructed in Italian urban areas in the considered period (1950–1990) and, above all, the most inhabited one [33]
Summary
Sustainability was not an explicit value until the last quarter of the 20th century; sustainability performances were not requested in the recent past. To perceive the socio-economic consequences of the seismic vulnerability of Italian cities, it must be highlighted that, in the last 50 years, earthquakes have caused around 5000 deaths and over €150 billion damage [16] To these figures, one should add significant psychological consequences, whose effects might be overcome by the whole community only after several decades. Considering the priorities, it must be pointed out that the financial efforts for seismic retrofit interventions have to be primarily allocated to infrastructures and strategic public buildings, but it is extremely important to upgrade the residential stock, because it is generally more continuously inhabited and, produces the highest number of deaths in case of seismic events According to this scenario and considering the high frequency of earthquakes in Italy, the seismic retrofit of the existing building stock represents an imperative, since it allows to consistently reduce the extent of damage and the number of victims
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