“Introduction”

This paper is the combined outcome of the results of two research projects whose Principal Investigator was the first author1. The primary objective: to produce a model providing scientific support for the project development of retrofitting initiatives for public spaces and public constructions in Italian cities, with the first area of implementation being Rome, in order to achieve increased levels of resilience and capacity for climatic adaptation while also heightening ecosystem quality and all aspects of environmental performance, primarily to mitigate climate change, reduce CO2 levels and increase energy efficiency through initiatives of urban and environmental upgrading and renewal under the Green City Approach. The methodological approach is based, as determined in part through consultation of the scientific literature, on the following steps: establishment of a reference framework and identification of technological systems subject to experimentation; definition of working scenarios and development of alternative analyses to be applied to them with innovative instruments; focus on the most appropriate solutions, based on the results of dynamic simulations; formulation of a working model that adapts itself to different contexts.