Overview & Methodology
Overview
ClimaScapes investigates how cities can adapt to climate change through the spatial, ecological, and social transformation of their streetscapes. The research asks how Nature-based Solutions can be designed and implemented so to enhance environmental performance, social well-being, and everyday urban life, thus exploring the spatial principles, organisational frameworks, and design processes that enable such transformations.
Grounded in a transdisciplinary and design-oriented methodology, the research combines the analysis of international case studies with the development of design tools, in order to understand how climate-adaptive elements operate across scales and contexts. Building on this foundation, ClimaScapes develops design tools which contribute to understand how these approaches can be translated into context-specific applications. Specifically, the pilot project of the La Martella neighbourhood in Matera is developed, where some of these explorations are envisioned. This knowledge is related to context-specific exploration and design guidelines that outline future scenarios for adaptive and nature-inclusive urban environments.
ClimaScapes embodies and advances the broader vision and research agenda of NatureCityLAB.
Methodology
ClimaScapes has been developed through a three-phase structured methodology that combines research and design in different ways and scopes. This approach enabled us to merge and benefit from different fields, types, and scales of knowledge, expanding the potential of both research and design while also clarifying their limits. By dealing with the uncertainty of climate-adaptive processes and other complex environmental challenges, we embrace a reflexive approach grounded in multiple feedback loops—one that acknowledges that answers can no longer be fixed or certain. Looking at different ways of linking theory and practice, and of integrating research with design, we have elaborated a three-phase methodology that aims to merge these domains in a replicable and informed way.
[here picture of methodology]
Methodology of the research (content elaboration: NatureCityLAB, 2024 [A.Raffa, B.Andaloro]; graphical elaboration B.Andaloro)
This phase aims to define rules and procedures by examining models, different studies, and documents objects, as well as phenomena and history of design, In this way, it enriches the research questions through (its) design.
For the ClimaScapes research, during this phase we have explored multi-disciplinary literature reviews and several case studies with a design-driven perspective. They have contributed to develop analytical and critical tools through a deductive process.
The outcome of this phase is presented in this website through the design tools and the analysis of the case studies. Its results inform the second phase of Research by Design, where a characterisation of the streetscapes of the city of Matera has been developed.
This phase explores how design takes shape in ways that can generate new, shared knowledge. With this goal in mind, these approaches can lead to material-based investigations, development work, and action research, producing outputs aimed at societal transformation. Through iterative processes of trial and error, they help address complex design challenges. Moreover, design tools and methods can be applied to directly connect analytical insights with the formulation of solutions.
In the ClimaScapes research, the design tools developed in the first phase were used to analyse and describe the context of the area of La Martella (Matera, Italy) through its specific characteristics, allowing us to understand its vulnerabilities and potentialities. We compared this analysis with the lessons learned in the first phase to develop a typological study of the area's urban streetscapes.
The outcome of this phase is the development of the Design Guidelines for supporting the urban transformation of urban streetscapes.
This phase develops complex design proposals, where the previously acquired knowledge is embodied in the artefact.
In the ClimaScapes research, the Guidelines inform and guide the third phase of Research for Design, which explores urban transformation scenarios for the future of La Martella, responding to site-specific vulnerabilities through a design-driven approach projected toward the near future.
The outcome of this phase is a design proposal for La Martella, which integrates structural nature-based and climate-adaptive solutions. It builds on the previously acquired knowledge on the streetscapes' typologies from the second phase, in order to develop a complete program of possibilities.
Methodological References
Here is a list of publication of methodological approaches which you might be interested in:
Rittel (1973), De Jong (1992), Frayling (1993), Beck (1994), Swann (2002), Findeli (2004), Schreurs (2005), Binder et al (2006), Bruns (2010), Zimmerman et al. (2010), Hauberg (2011), Toeters, et al. (2013), Godin & Zahedi (2014), Roggema (2016)
Do you want to know?
Check in our published works about the methodology of the research! Furthermore, a paper discussing the whole process is coming soon. Stay tuned for more news!
If you want more info, you can also contact us at: ina.macaione@unibas.it; bianca.andaloro@unibas.it; alessandr.raffa@unibas.it