POLICY MEASURES FOR SEISMIC AND ENERGY RENOVATION

The environmental protection requires sustainable homes in sustainable towns. The concept of sustainability associated to the principle of safety requires cities that have to be secure against natural hazards, which in Europe are generally related to climate changes (e.g. hurricanes, storms, floods, landslides) and earthquakes. Nevertheless, most Italian edifices are both highly earthquake-prone and carbon dioxide-emitting, thus contributing to trigger hazards associated to climate changes. In this context, seismic and energy renovation are strongly advisable. For a successful renovation there are nowadays many available technologies, which can considerably contribute to enhance the sustainability level of our towns. However, a number of technical, financial, bureaucratic and organizational barriers limit the real possibility to extensively undertake adequate retrofit interventions. This study analyzes in detail such barriers in the Italian context, suggesting possible solutions and underlining the significant advantages of increasing both seismic and energy performances of apartment buildings. The proposed solutions can be effectively extended to many other seismic countries that present similar scenarios.