Combining Demand for Ecosystem Services with Ecosystem Conditions of Vacant Lots to Support Land Preservation and Restoration Decisions

Erica Bruno, Enzo Falco and Davide Geneletti ()
Additional contact information
Erica Bruno: Department of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering (DICAM), University of Trento, Via Mesiano 77, 38123 Trento, Italy
Enzo Falco: Department of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering (DICAM), University of Trento, Via Mesiano 77, 38123 Trento, Italy
Davide Geneletti: Department of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering (DICAM), University of Trento, Via Mesiano 77, 38123 Trento, Italy

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 10, 1-20

Abstract: Urban densification threatens vacant lots in cities, potentially affecting biodiversity and the ecosystem services (ES) they provide. Policymakers require evidence-based tools to balance densification policies and initiatives with the preservation of green spaces. This research proposes a method to assess ecosystem conditions (EC) of vacant lots and combine it with ES demand in order to identify lots that need to be prioritised for preservation and restoration. This method is applied to the Northern Milan intermunicipal area (Italy). By using open-access satellite imagery, indicators for abiotic, biotic, and landscape characteristics were determined for each lot regarding four regulating ES (air purification, runoff mitigation, microclimate regulation, and pollination). The EC assessment provides planners with information on the ecosystems’ qualities and their ability to deliver ecosystem services. Our findings indicate that vacant lots differ in their contribution to ES provision due to variation in abiotic, biotic, and landscape connectivity conditions, underlining the need for a more detailed assessment of the differences between each individual area that composes the green infrastructure. However, challenges related to defining reference levels and the availability of detailed local data need to be addressed to guide planning decisions effectively.

Keywords: urban ecosystem conditions; ecosystem services; vacant lots; densification; infill development; spatial planning (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/10/4686/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/10/4686/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:10:p:4686-:d:1659783

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().