Seismic and energy renovation measures for sustainable cities: a critical analysis of the Italian scenario

One of the main challenges of the twenty-first century is to increase the sustainability level of our cities. But a town, in order to be considered sustainable, must be above all safe, in particular against natural hazards, which in Europe are mostly related to climate changes (e.g. hurricanes, floods, storms, landslides) and seismic events (earthquakes). Unfortunately, sustainability is still not a prerogative of most European cities, especially those placed in seismic countries like Italy, where around 60% of the building stock is earthquake-prone, while over 80% of the same stock is highly carbon dioxide-emitting, thus contributing to trigger hazards related to climate changes. In this context, renovation actions that combine both energy and seismic issues are strongly recommended. However, a number of technical, organizational and financial barriers considerably limit the real possibility to extensively undertake this kind of renovation. This study analyses such barriers, with particular reference to the Italian scenario, suggesting and discussing possible solutions and underlining the advantages of increasing energy and seismic performances at the same time. The proposed solutions may be effectively extended to many other countries with similar socioeconomic scenarios.