The cycle network as an environmental infrastructure

The project rethinks the cycle network of the city of Pescara, in Italy, transforming it into an environmental infrastructure capable of triggering ecological regeneration processes. It establishes a correlation between cycling and stormwater management, in an attempt to include these issues within the themes of the general urban plan.

Not finding valid examples on the national territory, it was necessary to broaden the gaze towards those cities in the world that have put in place strategies for adapting to climate change: Copenhagen, Philadelphia, Boston, New Orleans, Melbourne, San Rafael, Zwolle, Delft, Saint Paul and Cedar Rapids. To transform water from a dangerous source into an opportunity for urban regeneration, the processes include alternative rainwater management systems, in which the cycle network – albeit partially – contributes to solving the problem of overflowing. \r\nMethodologically, the land projects of the ten cities were compared in relation to supra-soil, soil, sub-soil (for a vertical scan) and network space, space connected to the network and context space (for a horizontal scan). The comparison made it possible to identify the guidelines to orient the morphological quality of the interventions considering the relational values of the cycling networks. \r\nSubsequently, the possible design solutions to be implemented in the chosen area of the city of Pescara were defined, with particular interest in the south-east quadrant – the most vulnerable according to the Extract Plan for the Hydrogeological Structure. The soil project involved the construction of a cycle system consisting of a permeable path flanked by an infiltration tree trench and a bioswale with underground storage tank. The proposed environmental infrastructure becomes an opportunity to trigger processes of ecological regeneration and redevelop the public spaces crossed, making them permeable, expanding the absorption capacity of the soil and reconnecting the existing attractors. \r\nTo guarantee the replicability of the proposed solutions, it is necessary that the aforementioned are able to contribute to the disposal of water in emergency situations – providing an aid to the existing sewerage system – and to function in ordinary situations – ensuring correct water recycling and the achievement of environmental performance that canonical design does not ensure.