Designing green infrastructure guidelines: a methodological approach

Natural capital and biodiversity are in decline as consequence of human activities. To promote the conservation of biodiversity and the achievement of sustainability goals, the European Commission proposes the use of green infrastructures (GIs), which are networks of naturals areas aimed at the conservation of ecosystems and providing ecosystem services in urban and peri-urban areas. Effective implementation of GIs is hindered by institutional and behavioural barriers; thus, public administrations issue guidance documents to steer GI planning, design, realization, and maintenance. Current guidance documents mainly contain references to components of GI. The scientific literature lacks specific methods for the design of guidelines concerning the implementation of GI. In this respect, we identify and propose a method for drafting up guidelines aimed at GI planning and design in regional and local Italian contexts. The method is rooted in the analysis and summary of scientific and grey literature and consists of six phases. The results of this study are a first step for steering municipal and regional administrations at the development of GI guidelines tailored for specific contexts.