Development of a GIS-based Dataset of Urban Green Areas for the Energy Exploitation of Tree Pruning Biomass. The application to the case study of Milan

The present paper concerns the assessment of biomass by-products from the urban greenery maintenance, not yet organized by a consolidated planning practice, mainly because of information lacks. Combining different approaches and datasets, an innovative GIS-based method was implemented and tested on Milan, in northern Italy. The main outcome is the quantification of the energy and economic potential in terms of available wooden biomass, displayed on a geo-referred urban map. Moreover, the outcomes of the research could support the administrations in improving the management of these materials otherwise wasted and therefore in converting public expenses for maintenance into public profits available for further investments. On the energy supply side, the geo-database could support the local matching between available renewable sources and energy supply systems in operation, providing a low-range and cost-effective renewable resource, enhancing also circular economy at the local scale.