Transfer of Development Rights strategy for a minimal green infrastructure in dense urban contexts

Urban growth and sprawl processes resulted in urban environment with different morphological features and a common lack of open spaces, which still are the main providers of Ecosystem Services in urban contexts and play a relevant important role in reducing the effects of climate change by storing and sequestrating carbon. Despite their importance in providing ecosystem services, implementation of green infrastructure has to challenge several limitations for its development and management. Particularly, the implementation requires the public acquisition of those private plots where green infrastructure can be planned and designed. An option to enhance the economic feasibility of the public intervention is the use of incentive-based approaches, such as the Transfer of Development Rights (I'DR). This paper proposes a method for the implementation of a minimal urban green infrastructure, intended as limited amount of private open spaces to be converted in public green infrastructure through a TDR program. The case study of the municipality of Tremestieri Etneo is presented as representative of the metropolitan area of Catania, characterised by an impressive urban growth since the 1960s.