The Possible Role of Brownfields Sites in a Circular Way in the Example of the “Isola Bergamasca”

The circular economy looks at systems as a set of components designed to never leave the game, but to reinvent itself a role when the one previously assumed runs out. In other words, we look at systems as sets in which someone's waste becomes a resource for someone else. To achieve these objectives, a strong innovative capacity is required and it is necessary to focus on the production of components with a controlled life cycle. In the circular model, matter is constantly reused, no waste products are present, resources do not decay, but are seen as capable of regenerating. In a context of circularity, the world of research and the world of business meet in a system of relationships guaranteed by territorial political institutions to build opportunities for growth and development. Territorial planning is certainly one of the activities supported by the circular economy with a view to guaranteeing the real vocation of a territory, safeguarding its natural areas and privileging the choice of areas those already compromised or, in any case, affected by pre-existing interventions. The concept of circular economy applied to land management appears to be of great use in putting into practice the legislative dictates aimed at containing soil consumption and promoting urban regeneration. In the definition of uses of the areas, in order to control their evolutionary process, it is necessary to take into account the numerous databases available by crossing specific data, making use of the potential offered by IT tools. The discussion on the need to restart the world of construction is very topical, but at the same time it is essential to work for interventions to protect the environment and guarantee better quality of life. In terms of circular economy, it is spontaneous to think interventions in areas that have already been compromised, as suggested by the Law 31/2014 of the Lombardy Region. It is then necessary to verify that the areas chosen are actually suitable to accommodate the proposed transformations. We have all the information to act correctly; the municipal planning, in its plan documents, has collected them diligently, it is a matter of actually taking into account the information and where it is necessary to intervene on areas that require consumption of new soil or burdened by constraints of different nature, it is necessary to forsee pilot interventions capable of presenting themselves as a manifesto of good practices. The research work has set itself the objective of identifying the areas of transformation and the brownfield sites within a territorial area choosed as case study, which in the specific case was identified in the so-called Bergamo Island to guide the development of the territory towards an integrated model with characteristics of circularity. L'Isola Bergamasca is made up of a territory that brings together 21 municipalities in the Province of Bergamo. Altogether it has about 120,000 inhabitants. The area is called "Island" because it is enclosed by two rivers, precisely to the east the Brembo river and to the west the Adda river, while to the north it is delimited by Mount Canto. The Adda also marks the border between the provinces of Bergamo and Milan and the provinces of Monza-Brianza and Lecco.