AGATHÓN | International Journal of Architecture, Art and Design

Beyond function – Water as a principle of equity, care, and urban and landscape identity

Antonella Falzetti — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The issue of water is a challenge and a gamble, but inevitably, its governance must measure itself against a project for the future and the lessons of history. Approaching the future from within an emergency-driven perspective means grasping the articulated nature of an epochal problem and recognising the different technological and cultural perspectives that not only lead to solutions but also justify them. The contribution therefore investigates the ethical value of water as a design principle in contemporary design, highlighting the state of detachment of water infrastructures in the urban and landscape context. The results demonstrate a widespread field of experimentation, confirmed by the contemporary case studies presented, oriented towards overcoming the separation between infrastructure and urban landscape, redefining the role of design as an act of care and responsibility towards resources and inhabited places.

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Received: 10/09/2025; Revised: 26/10/2025; Accepted: 27/10/2025

Blue infrastructures for ecological regeneration – The recovery of mining sites in Hamburg and Rome

Sara Radi Ahmed, Alessandra Capuano — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This paper explores the regenerative potential of water in post-industrial landscapes, with particular attention to disused quarries along the Elbe in Hamburg and the Aniene in Rome. Water is interpreted as an active ecological agent capable of transforming quarry lakes into continuous blue-green infrastructures that integrate biodiversity, heritage, mobility, and public space. Through a critical comparison, the study demonstrates that the former Kaltehofe waterworks in Hamburg and the surrounding quarries constitute a laboratory of transferable strategies for ecological reconnection, site memory, and climate resilience. In line with Sustainable Development Goals 6, 8, 11, and 15, and with European biodiversity policies, the article interprets the landscape transformations triggered by water as a model of ecological and cultural regeneration, recognising the Roman quarry lakes as potential nodes in a broader urban environmental network.

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Received: 10/09/2025; Revised: 28/10/2025; Accepted: 29/10/2025

Floating features – Rethinking the relationships between water, energy, and labour through cultural hydrology

Matteo D’Ambros, Stefano Tornieri — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

In an era marked by rapid advances in energy, climate, and global inequality, Loktak Lake in the State of Manipur (India) exemplifies the delicate balance between water governance and energy systems, as well as between local productive and dwelling practices. This study explores how adapting traditional practices in water landscapes can guide design configurations of sustainable amphibious ecosystems, proposing the ‘Loktak model’ as a post-growth paradigm. The Lake’s ecological uniqueness stems from its floating biomass islands and a seasonal economy rooted in fishing and agriculture. Despite the construction of imposed infrastructures such as the Ithai Dam – which disrupted natural regimes and caused environmental harm – local communities have responded with adaptive measures, notably in regenerating the floating islands known as Athapum Phumdi. Through multi-scalar mappings and socio-spatial analyses, the Lake is revealed as a hydro-cultural landscape where ‘floating circularity’ orchestrates hybrid infrastructures, water, energy, and labour. In this light, Loktak serves as a natural regulatory mechanism capable of inspiring projects in other amphibious settings and of guiding, in an unprecedented manner, a new approach within territorial studies.

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Received: 20/09/2025; Revised: 23/10/2025; Accepted: 25/10/2025

Designing with water in urban contexts – The experience of Felixx

Tue, 30 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The contribution introduces an original perspective by addressing the theme of climate adaptation through the lens of Water Urbanism and Water-sensitive Design, reframing it not merely as a technical or ecological matter, but as a transformative spatial paradigm. While the notion of ‘living with water’ is increasingly present in policy and research discourse, few studies explore its practical and spatial implications through concrete, multiscalar design strategies. To this end, the paper benefits from the in-depth investigation of the design methodology developed by the Dutch office Felixx, whose work aligns environmental regeneration with social inclusion and spatial justice. Focusing on the recent strategic Plan for Oude Landen, the contribution highlights how integrating new design tools can provide innovative instruments for guiding adaptive transformations across time, scale, and governance levels.

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Received: 10/09/2025; Revised: 18/10/2025; Accepted: 19/10/2025

Investing in housing for the elderly – Towards an ESG taxonomy for building regeneration

Anna Mangiatordi — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The growing focus on senior housing is shifting the real estate market paradigm, attracting the attention of financial operators and investors to the sector’s ESG (environmental, social, and governance) sustainability. Measures introduced by the European Union on carbon neutrality and sustainable finance require implementing regenerative processes and management models within integrated decarbonisation scenarios and verifying the 2030 Agenda objectives, such as reducing the environmental footprint and generating economic and social benefits. The research defines a tool to support the design of senior housing practices from an ESG perspective, proposing a positive social impact taxonomy designed to bridge the current knowledge gap and support this transition.

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Received: 15/09/2025; Revised: 16/10/2025; Accepted: 17/10/2025

The digital twin and the building process – Reflections on productivity, energy, and health

Alexandra Eika D’Amore — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The construction sector, historically marked by inefficiencies and high environmental impacts, is at the centre of a digital transformation. Within this framework, the Digital Twin operates as a systemic platform that integrates data, processes, and stakeholders throughout the entire life cycle, enabling complex decision-making and generating value. The paper investigates how the use of the Digital Twin across the different phases of the building process can support productivity, work quality, and the development of new skills, while also promoting energy efficiency, health, and well-being. The analysis adopts a human-centred perspective, assessing the extent to which the Digital Twin improves the experience of clients, workers, and end users, and how it contributes to a fair and inclusive transition, in line with the vision of Industry 5.0, which places the human being at the centre of the decision-making process.

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Received: 10/09/2025; Revised: 22/10/2025; Accepted: 23/10/2025

Reinterpreting water’s ecological role – Integrating living materials for inclusive design

Elif Süyük Makaklı, Ebru Yücesan Altay — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Water has historically acted as a cultural catalyst for space, shaping collective life through its ecological and sensory presence. With this in mind, the article reinterprets the ecological role of water through a ‘research-through-design’ approach that develops a conceptual framework for micro-architectural design. The study explores how bio-based materials, particularly mycelium composites and bioluminescent systems, can enhance multisensory engagement and ecological awareness in public spaces. Drawing on recent international literature and design research, the contribution identifies parameters for luminous performance, material behaviour, and environmental responsiveness. The resulting proposal positions water as an active, perceptible, and inclusive spatial medium, contributing to current debates on multispecies design, sensory urbanism, and the link between SDGs 6, 11, and 13.

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Received: 10/09/2025; Revised: 20/10/2025; Accepted: 22/10/2025

PUNTOnet H2O – From field investigation to the prototype of a multifunctional water station

Ilaria Fabbri — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Adequate availability of drinking water in cities can improve the quality of life and public spaces, while also encouraging sustainable mobility models and healthy, eco-friendly habits. However, drinking fountains are currently an ‘urban species in danger of extinction’, often dismissed or regarded with suspicion, largely ignored by both the scientific community and design experimentation. This paper presents part of a research project that led to the design, prototyping, and real-world demonstration of one possible solution to reinvent the image of the urban water point and assign it new functions that serve the neighbourhood. In particular, it illustrates the results and the role of the preliminary listening and field observation phase in defining the design brief for PUNTOnet H₂O, a multifunctional, sentient piece of urban furniture that extends access to drinking water in collective open spaces.

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Received: 12/09/2025; Revised: 19/10/2025; Accepted: 20/10/2025

Discoil and durability – Redesign of a system to reduce water pollution by hydrocarbons

Laura Badalucco, Rosa Chiesa, Giorgio Gaino, Elisa Marchetto, Chiara Silvestri — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This paper presents the results of applied research, funded through a competitive call for proposals and carried out in 2022-23, for the redesign of a low environmental impact system for the recovery of oils and hydrocarbons. The Research Group worked on the analysis, evaluation, and redesign of the Discoil oil separator from a circular economy perspective, a machine which separates hydrocarbons from water in industrial plants or open waters without the use of chemicals or absorbent materials. The result provides a concrete example of applying sustainability and circularity strategies in the design of complex industrial products, directly targeting reductions in environmental impacts and offering methodological guidelines for replicating the process.

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Received: 10/09/2025; Revised: 18/10/2025; Accepted: 20/10/2025

Innovative systems for hydrogen storage (HEHS) – Visual design and AI for community engagement

Fabio Bianconi, Marco Filippucci, Federico Rossi, Michela Meschini — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The High Efficiency Hydrogen Storage (HEHS) project is part of the broader framework of ecological transition, proposing an innovative hydrogen storage system based on hydrate clathrates. The contribution addresses the visual dimension of the transition, with the aim of defining a chromatic code for hydrogen as an alternative to the current Hydrogen Colour Classification, which, although widespread, lacks shared perceptual and theoretical foundations. The adopted methodology integrates colour theory, the analysis of existing visual identities, and perceptual validation through simulation based on Large Language Models, modelling differentiated user profiles. The research aims to develop an accessible, coherent, and transferable visual language that can effectively express the complexity of energy processes and enhance the cognitive sustainability of environmental communication.

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Received: 09/09/2025; Revised: 15/10/2025; Accepted: 17/10/2025

Water recycling and urban cooling – A new Water / Energy / Food metabolic paradigm for temperate cities

Cesare Sposito, Gernot Mittersteiner — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Cities generate thermal and water flows of such magnitude that can become tools for climate resilience and environmental justice if properly directed. Hence, the thesis that urban settlements can transform into ‘cooling nodes’ within a planetary network, mitigating heat islands and, by aggregation, attenuating their effects on a regional scale. From this perspective, the paper explores the synergies between the water, energy, and food cycles through the conceptual framework of the 4Rs – Reduce, Reuse, Recover, Regenerate – and examines how green corridors, distributed water bodies, roofs with micro-phytoremediation, and aeroponic cultivation act as cooling transpiring organs that absorb latent heat, provide shade, produce food, and foster a sense of community. Among the different scales, the neighbourhood is identified as strategic, assuming the configuration of a homeothermic organism and a Living Lab: sensor networks, digital twins, and incentives transform environmental metrics into social relationships, shifting the focus from the resource cost to the value of ecological exchanges. In support of this, a 4R-SDGs matrix is presented as an evolutionary tool to assess the trade-offs among decarbonization, biodiversity, equity, and user engagement, guiding adaptive policies that can convert risk and waste into regenerative capital. The resulting vision is that of a temperate city that produces new scenarios of coexistence within a carbon-neutral horizon.

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Received: 11/09/2025; Revised: 06/11/2025; Accepted: 12/11/2025

Renewable energy and urban agriculture – Multidisciplinary strategies for resilient cities

Stefano Follesa, Leila Farahbakhsh, Xinxin Song — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This paper examines urban agriculture as a process capable of promoting environmental sustainability, social inclusion, and the circular economy, and it suggests ways to utilise and develop it. Through an interdisciplinary approach based on ‘demand maps’, an implementation model is proposed to align users’ needs with design solutions. The critical analysis of case studies highlights benefits such as reducing urban heat islands, supporting biodiversity, enhancing food security, fostering social cohesion, and aiding the development of vulnerable communities. The guidelines presented aim to encourage the use of demand maps in urban decision-making processes to support participatory, inclusive, and sustainable strategies.

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Received: 10/09/2025; Revised: 25/10/2025; Accepted: 27/10/2025

Re-shaping fashion in Italy – Circular systems, phygital scenarios, and informal education

Paolo Franzo, Andrea Quartu, Margherita Tufarelli — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The paper examines the transformations occurring within the Italian fashion system in the context of the twin digital and ecological transition. It explores emerging trajectories aimed at regenerating a struggling sector and rethinking Made in Italy as a dynamic and adaptive system. The research adopts a qualitative mixed-method approach, combining territorial mapping with stakeholder interviews. Three main trajectories are investigated: circular systems, which integrate practices of recycling and industrial symbiosis; phygital scenarios, where the encounter between craftsmanship and digital technologies redefines design and production processes; and informal education, which bridges learning and manufacturing contexts. The analysis of the case studies shows how these trajectories foster structural innovation, new skills, and forms of distributed knowledge. Together, they contribute to decent work and sustainable growth in line with the UN 2030 Agenda, positioning Made in Italy as an interdisciplinary laboratory for sustainable development.

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Received: 08/09/2025; Revised: 18/10/2025; Accepted: 19/10/2025

Reconnecting the dimensions of water, city, and community – An experiment in Yerevan (Armenia)

Filippo Angelucci, Armen Shatvoryan — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Two research projects have reopened the debate over the future of the Circular Park of Yerevan, a feature already found in the 1924 Tamanyan plan for the Armenian capital. The meta-design experimentation tackles two challenges: the first concerns overcoming the logic of intervening on isolated built-up structures and infrastructure, re-establishing the vertical, oblique and horizontal connections between water, vegetation and soil; the second aims to reorient the Circular Park toward its original concept of common space to satisfy the needs of a city in constant evolution. Focusing on public spaces and their relationship with the essential resources for life, the study identifies the resource water, not as the material of the project, but rather as a reconnective agent that acts symbiotically with the soil, microclimate, underground and buildings, creating regulative value between society, the city and socio-economic dynamics.

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Received: 10/09/2025; Revised: 15/10/2025; Accepted: 17/10/2025

Designing with water – Strategies, protocols, and projects in architecture and for cities

Tiziana Campisi, Luisa Lombardo — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Water management is becoming increasingly central to both architectural design and urban regeneration, encompassing not only new developments but also the preservation and adaptation of existing heritage. The global scarcity of freshwater, exacerbated by recurrent droughts, necessitates a radical rethinking of water use, aligned with the United Nations’ recognition of access to water as a fundamental human right. Improving water efficiency demands integrated strategies such as rainwater harvesting and reuse, infiltration systems, and advanced monitoring and control technologies. Architectural design must incorporate sustainable materials and systems that minimise resource consumption while ensuring long-term performance, durability, and efficiency. This paper analyses current practices and case studies, proposing transferable protocols and best practices. In this context, water emerges not merely as a managed resource but as a generator of environmental, social, and economic value, resilience, and well-being, supporting the objectives of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

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Received: 10/09/2025; Revised: 25/10/2025; Accepted: 27/10/2025

Resilient management of stormwater – A tool to support design

Philippe Marin, Lidia Maria Giannini, Fabrizio Tucci — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Climate change is causing increasingly intense extreme weather events, with sudden floods alternating with long periods of drought. The impermeabilisation of soils amplifies runoff and strains traditional drainage systems. In this context, the Water Management systems (WMs) was developed as a parametric tool to support the preliminary design of resilient stormwater management solutions. Developed from a critical analysis of existing tools and based on a structured database of technical data and regulations, the WMs is implemented in Rhino-Grasshopper and integrated with spreadsheets. The tool enables the modelling and verification of multiple solutions and scenarios based on contextual conditions, supporting informed design decisions, as demonstrated in a pilot project.

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Received: 12/09/2025; Revised: 22/10/2025; Accepted: 24/10/2025

Urban morphology parameters and positive energy districts – University Campuses as drivers of urban transitions

Michela Barosio, Martina Crapolicchio, Rossella Gugliotta, Marco Trisciuoglio — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

How can co-creation processes be activated for energy transition strategies through university campuses as promoters of the initiative? To answer this question, the paper presents the first results of the EDUPED project, which aims to accelerate the transition towards Positive Energy Districts by applying typo-morphological approaches to urban regeneration and assuming university campuses as drivers, orchestrators, and knowledge hubs. Through the definition of morphological parameters and guidelines, five Living Labs located in the Netherlands, Spain, Austria, Italy, and Romania integrate technical, socio-economic, and governance dimensions. The innovation lies in the central role of university Campuses, which act as urban laboratories and catalysts of sustainable practices. The first results concern the definition of urban morphological parameters, which form the ground for retrofit and climate adaptation plans in university districts.

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Received: 22/09/2025; Revised: 22/10/2025; Accepted: 23/10/2025

Urban agriculture and architecture – Water for optimising the building-vegetation synergies

Tue, 30 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The paper invites reflection on how sustainable practices grounded in urban metabolism can generate synergies among the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It proposes a methodological approach for the architectural integration of urban agriculture. It centres on water, to connect residents, the built environment, and green areas, thereby enhancing urban resilience. The methodology progresses from analysis at the neighbourhood scale to the block / building scale to define solutions for integrated agriculture within zero-emission buildings, aiming to close energy and water cycles and contribute to SDGs 2, 6, 11, and 12.

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Received: 15/09/2025; Revised: 23/10/2025; Accepted: 25/10/2025

Collective habitats for rural regeneration – A housing cooperative in Almenara (Spain)

Josep Eixerés Ros — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

This paper presents a systemic and sustainable architectural approach through the design of a housing cooperative in Almenara, a semi-rural area in eastern Spain. The project addresses three interconnected challenges: the rural exodus, the climate emergency, and the housing crisis driven by speculative market logic. Anchored in SDGs 6, 7, and 8, the proposal integrates participatory design, local energy production, and water-sensitive urbanism within a collective living model. The project envisions a renewable energy community that supplies clean energy while fostering local cohesion and autonomy. It introduces low-impact construction methods, passive systems, and cooperative maintenance strategies, enhancing resilience and reducing long-term costs. The initiative prioritises inclusivity, multigenerational diversity, and shared governance as drivers of sustainable development in shrinking territories. By addressing housing not as a commodity but as a common good, this model promotes a just ecological transition. It demonstrates how architectural practice can facilitate systemic synergies between social, environmental, and economic goals, contributing to regenerative rural futures and the broader achievement of the 2030 Agenda.

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Received: 12/09/2025; Revised: 13/10/2025; Accepted: 18/10/2025

Trombe wall and thermal labyrinth – Bioclimatic strategies for the Mediterranean climate

Fabrizio Tucci, Kristina Mitrik, Lavinia Montagner — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The research investigates the integration of the Trombe Wall System (TWS) and the Thermal Labyrinth Ventilation System (TLVS) as bioclimatic strategies for Mediterranean climates. The study combines theoretical analysis, case studies, market research, and a component database with multi-criteria Analysis and parametric simulations. The results confirm the availability on the market of elements, components, and materials suitable for integrating the two systems, and highlight that a TWS with a 20 cm thermal mass can reduce heating demand by up to 50%. At the same time, the TLVS ensures a cooling of 6-8 °C, with shaped surfaces that increase heat exchange and flow uniformity by 15%. The research has demonstrated that integrating the two systems yields synergistic benefits in energy savings and indoor comfort, while also providing replicable guidelines.

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Received: 15/09/2025; Revised: 21/10/2025; Accepted: 22/10/2025

Energy efficiency and smart buildings in public environmental policies

Massimo Lauria, Maria Azzalin, Francesca Giglio, Giovanna Maria La Face — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Responsible for approximately 50% of total energy consumption, the European building stock lies at the centre of strategies that identify the combination of energy efficiency and smartness as a key paradigm for the dual ecological and digital transition. Obsolete and poorly performing, it also represents one of the main barriers to achieving climate-neutrality goals by 2050. In this context, the contribution presents the first outcomes of the PRIN 2022 ‘Better Policy’ research project that, starting from an analysis of the gaps that hinder the implementation of environmental policies by Public Administrations, proposes experimental guidelines: an operational framework articulated around four strategic thematic pillars: decarbonisation, resource circularity, LCA metrics, and digitalisation for the ecological transition. Specifically, the article presents the section that integrates the Smart Readiness Indicator into the planning documents required by the new Italian Public Procurement Code, providing Public Administrations with standardised criteria, verification procedures, and monitoring protocols throughout the entire life-cycle of public buildings, thus transforming the public building stock into an advanced laboratory for the testing of environmental policies aligned with European decarbonisation objectives for 2050.

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Received: 12/09/2025; Revised: 22/10/2025; Accepted: 23/10/2025

LCA and cumulative energy demand of hemp buildings products

Maria Chiara Capasso — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

The building sector is one of the most environmentally impactful; to reduce its energy consumption, various efforts have been undertaken, including the use of construction materials with low embodied energy, such as hemp. To validate hemp’s suitability as a raw material for the construction of ‘green buildings’, a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of hemp-lime blocks was carried out through the application of the Cumulative Energy Demand (CED) methodology to assess the block’s impact on energy resources. The assessment revealed a low environmental impact, with limited influence on different energy sources and a slightly higher weight on non-renewable ones. The block, therefore, proves suitable for energy-efficiency improvements and for achieving SDGs 6 and 7 by reducing the building sector’s energy consumption and enabling more equitable access to energy and water.

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Received: 13/09/2025; Revised: 22/10/2025; Accepted: 24/10/2025

Environmental and social life cycle for low-carbon design

Elisabetta Palumbo, Irene Mazzei, Martina Perpetua, Francesco Pomponi — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Achieving the objective of low-emission buildings by 2030 requires an integrated revision of design criteria, including an assessment of carbon emissions throughout the entire building life cycle. Seismic and territorial constraints strongly influence these assessments and can increase global warming potential by up to 20%. However, an approach focused solely on the environmental dimension of sustainability may provide only a partial interpretation. It may neglect the social impacts related to the health and safety of workers, who are fundamental actors across the entire construction supply chain. From this perspective, this study proposes an integrated methodological approach combining environmental and social life cycle assessments. It is applied to the structural component of a public residential building located in an area of medium seismicity, representative of 60% of the territory of Tuscany (Italy). The analysis relates environmental and social impacts, demonstrating how the accident risk assessment can support the definition of useful metrics for labelling systems, both at the product and building levels.

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Received: 17/09/2025; Revised: 07/11/2025; Accepted: 10/11/2025

Productive landscapes in transformation – Agro-energy systems and environmental benefits

Federica Marandino — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Within the framework of the ecological transition, productive landscapes assume a strategic role as dynamic systems in which settlement practices, ecological cycles, and technological devices intertwine. This paper presents a scoping review of the literature on the role of agro-energy infrastructures in the transformation of productive landscapes, with particular attention to agrivoltaic systems, which are regarded as multifunctional and adaptive devices. The analysis identifies four principal axes: multifunctional reconfiguration of productive landscapes; adaptive response and climate resilience; production of environmental benefits and enhancement of ecosystem services; and adoption and implementation of assessment and governance models. The results highlight the potential contribution of agrivoltaic systems to several Sustainable Development Goals.

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Received: 17/09/2025; Revised: 19/10/2025; Accepted: 21/10/2025

Natural fibres and circularity in architecture – Environmental, economic, and social sustainability

Tue, 30 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Plant-based fibres demonstrate substantial potential for integration within the construction sector in both national and international contexts. The use of bio-based materials aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda, influencing water consumption, embodied energy and carbon, and the establishment of sustainable supply chains. This systematic review investigates the relationship between two strategic economic sectors, agriculture and construction, with the aim of identifying their respective opportunities and constraints in advancing sustainability objectives. The findings reveal that the environmental sustainability of natural fibres in construction is extensively addressed in the existing literature. Yet, they also highlight the need to strengthen the integration of life-cycle assessment tools. Such integration is essential to balancing environmental quality, social responsibility, and economic performance, thereby supporting a production model consistent with the principles of SDG 8.

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Received: 11/09/2025; Revised: 22/10/2025; Accepted: 23/10/2025

The contribution of the disciplines of Architecture to Water, Energy, Decent Work and Economic Growth

Cesare Sposito, Francesca Scalisi — Tue, 30 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Volume 18 of AGATHÓN follows on from the previous volume dedicated to the first five Goals of the 2030 Agenda, shifting the focus to the following three SDGs which, due to their interdependence and the urgency of the crisis, serve as structural hubs for the transition: ‘Clean Water and Sanitation’ (SDG 6), ‘Affordable and Clean Energy’ (SDG 7), and ‘Decent Work and Economic Growth’ (SDG 8). The three themes are part of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted in September 2015 by the Member States of the United Nations (UN, 2015) and promoted as a call for urgent action to combine prosperity, equitable development and protection of our planet, all while fostering cooperation and partnerships between different countries, between national governments and local administrations, between public institutions and private companies, and between civil society and individuals. The editorial attempts to convey this complexity, highlighting – for each paper – the theme addressed, the disciplinary field of reference, the project scales involved, the types of action employed and, above all, the importance and transferability of the proposed solutions.