The New Urban Plan of Rescaldina Municipality. An Experience for Improving Ecosystem Services Provision

This contribution presents the results of an urban planning process experience conducted in the Municipality of Rescaldina (located in the northern Milan metropolitan area, Lombardy region, north-west of Italy). The new local Urban plan (including the Strategic Environmental Assessment) was developed based on Ecosystem Services (ES) addressing urban transformations and future development strategies towards the improvement of their performance as well as the promotion of human health and well-being. The integration of an ES-based approach in Planning involved the deployment of a local Green Infrastructure as the backbone for the design of urban and suburban public and private spaces, using Nature-based solutions. The ES-based GI is a core strategy of both the SEA and the Urban plan, the assumption into both strategic and prescriptive frameworks of the Urban plan ensures its operability.