Alpine Industrial Landscapes Transformation - trAILs. Project Handbook

Alpine heavy industry (mining, steelmaking, electrical industry, chemical industry etc.) is rapidly declining, leaving behind “Alpine Industrial Landscapes” (AILs), huge former productive landscapes of significant size, diffusion and complexity. At present, no reliable quantification of such areas exists and no significant transformation attempts or conversion strategies have been developed. The potential value of AILs is not mentioned in previous alpine development programmes and institutional project reports, but the sustainable transformation of AILs is an extremely relevant challenge, strongly connected to ecological, economical and social key issues such as environmental regeneration, reactivation of local and regional economy and promotion of Alpine industrial cultural heritage. The project aims to generate significant knowledge about AILs and to develop and test sustainable transformation strategies applicable all over the alpine region. In a multidisciplinary, transnational approach the project combines expertise in fields like spatial and landscape planning, socio-economic sciences, regional development etc. while directly cooperating with local partners and communities, on relevant case studies (pilot scheme/ test planning). The project covers four main phases: (a) macro-regional survey of AILs, implementation of a AILs webGIS database and identification of project Pilot Areas; (b) comprehensive assessment of AILs actual condition, background and context through on-site analysis of selected Pilot Areas; (c) joint evaluation of AILs transformation potential and test planning in cooperation with local stakeholders; (d) synthesis of project results and sharing of the acquired knowledge in a public conference open to experts, stakeholders and the public. The project supports local and regional stakeholders in the complex process of sustainable AILs transformation, providing them with clear strategic planning tools for the future as well as with useful hands-on experiences.