A survey on urban biodiversity in the territorial plans of three metropolitan cities in Italy

This article aims to investigate the objectives, targets, and tools related to urban biodiversity in planning through a comparative survey of the territorial plans of three Italian metropolitan cities: Bologna, Milan, and Turin. The methodology uses an analytical framework that includes a series of attributes referring to five themes of investigation with which the plan documents have been systematically analyzed: baseline data, biodiversity goals, biodiversity targets, regulatory elements, and tools of shared governance. The survey highlighted the presence of a substantial number of attributes related to urban biodiversity in the plans under investigation. At the same time, the limitations reported show an absence of baseline data on habitats and species, and the scarcity both of clear targets for measuring the benefits generated by the actions included in the plans, and of devices and mechanisms for monitoring the expected outcomes.