ECOSYSTEM SERVICES AND URBAN PLANNING Tools, methods and experiences for an integrated and sustainable territorial government

Urban planning and design for post-carbon sustainable city requires a major connection between the new scientific paradigms of environmental disciplines and useful/communicative indicators to steer local policies. Nowadays the spatially explicit assessment of Ecosystem Services (ES) and their flows can effectively support the decision making process for sustainable development. Thus the methodology of considering environmental sustainability during planning phases should be hold in plan’s construction and integrated during the decision making process at urban scale, also using Coplanning method. The paper experienced the recent research innovations made by DIST for LIFE program SAM4CP, where preliminary output of ES mapping were used as proxy for the identification of high value areas to be planned. Inside it is presented a methodology of integration betweenmapsofbiophysical/ economical ES values using InVEST software as a tool for geographic, economic and ecological accounting. The mapping activity, related to Land Cover/ Land Use information for a context based case of was used to supportthe preliminary approach to co- planning activityfor multilevel governance, especially .among consensus building approach and the Co-planning Conference. Innovations are discussed both by processual andtechnical sides: (i) the urban planning activity founded upon the Co-planning method and supported by such analysis, allowed policy makers to go into the substance for reconsider their strategies for sustainable territorial government and (ii)the scientific contribution of the research on mapping ES demonstrates that approach is today fully incorporated on local tools for land management.