Genoa as an environmental model: the first Italian city to include depaving in its Municipal Urban Plan (PUC)

The issue of urban overheating represents one of the main environmental challenges for Italian cities today. In this context, Genoa establishes itself as a trailblazer on a national level by introducing depaving for the first time within its Municipal Urban Plan (PUC).

Depaving consists of the removal of impermeable surfaces, such as concrete and asphalt, with the aim of restoring space to natural soil, improving rainwater absorption, increasing urban greenery, and reducing the urban heat island effect. With this innovative choice, Genoa recognizes soil and greenery as priority elements of urban planning, promoting natural and permeable solutions capable of contributing to the reduction of CO₂ emissions and increasing resilience to climate change.

The first concrete intervention will involve Cornigliano, a neighborhood symbolizing the city's industrial past and among those that have suffered the greatest environmental impact. Here, the removal of concrete from the square in front of Villa Bombrini will begin, with the goal of creating a new urban park of over 13 hectares through a significant process of renaturalization and soil permeabilization. The intervention is made possible thanks to funding from the Liguria Region, in synergy with the cooperation of Società per Cornigliano S.p.A.

In parallel, the Municipality aims to develop a participatory process to identify the next areas of intervention. Within the framework of the "15-minute city" model, urban walks will be organized involving municipal districts and citizens to identify priority areas for urban regeneration, with the goal of improving the quality of life and redefining the perception of urban spaces.

Depaving actions will focus particularly on high-traffic areas and historic centers, with attention to the most vulnerable segments of the population. Genoa has also joined the Biofear project, which promotes a systematic application of depaving, especially in spaces frequented by young people, such as schools, kindergartens, and playgrounds.

In support of this strategy, economic incentives and tax breaks have been introduced for both the public and private building sectors for those who carry out depaving interventions. Operators investing in these actions will be able to allocate urbanization fees to depaving, while simultaneously taking on the commitment to guarantee the maintenance of the new green areas for the following ten years.

The initiative fits into a concerning national framework: in Italy, land consumption is advancing at a rate of 2.7 square meters per second, with 7.17% of the territory now covered in concrete, compared to a European average of 4.4%. These numbers reinforce the urgency for innovative and sustainable policies.

In this scenario, Genoa presents itself as a Smart City model at the European level, placing environmental protection and people's well-being at the center. The introduction of depaving into the PUC indeed represents a paradigm shift: the soil is no longer considered a surface to be covered, but an ecosystem to be protected, while urban greenery takes on the role of a true social and climatic infrastructure.

A strategic and concrete vision that aims to transform a good environmental practice into a structural lever for sustainable urban development, projecting Genoa among the most advanced cities in the European landscape of urban regeneration.