Editorial: Databases and spatial analysis, real estate, sale of public assets and best practices

With this issue, Territorio Italia, coherently with its editorial line, continues to explore thethemes of the databases processing of different nature and ever-larger dimensions inclose relationship with the potential of spatial analysis, still deal with the problems ofthe real estate market, opens to the disposal of public assets and, finally, shows theimportant example of the project “Mude Piemonte” as best practice.They are, in fact, more and more urgent the need of a structured knowledge able to support therationalization processes of public administration, as well as the diversified matters concerning thegovernment and the management of the territory. Moreover, this issue of the magazine intends toopen to arguments which are significant current events for Italy, opened by the recent Salva Italia(Save Italy) Decree and since the start of the cadastral reform, recently proposed by the Government.Vidoli and Mazziotta deal with the disaggregation of synthetic spatial data in relation to spatialanalysis. In particular, check the possibility of using macro areas aggregated data to explainterritorial phenomena at smaller areas sequences, using the Chow-Lin approach to indicators ofinfrastructure. The application uses the official statistical sources and, in particular, the Istat data;verifies the degree of approximation between the actual data and the estimated data passingfrom the regional to the provincial sequences; propose, as a result, that the infrastructure spatialdistribution is not congruent with “theoretical” factors considered explanatory of their generationat the provincial level. The used approach has undeniable applicative potentials: for example, itcould also support the housing market spatial analysis, allowing to narrow them down to smallersequences, for which often we do not have enough disaggregates.Barzilay with Schnell and Portnov test the use of the Delphi method, generally used as a techniqueto aid in decision-making, to support property estimates, in the only case where - it is appropriateto point out – we are in the presence of small communities, few sales and developing markets.The authors, beyond the results achieved, introduce the much-debated and unresolved questionof real estate market estimates in presence of insufficient market information as for quantity andquality. Given the high degree of real estate differentiation of real estates, for physical-building andposition characteristics, it is very often difficult to establish homogeneous data samples to use forcomparison. It is necessary to recall that the international standards, under these conditions, referto the use of Market Comparison Approach (MCA). The contribution of the authors, completelyoriginal, is useful to outline the Magazine interest in launching, as a focus for discussion, the issueof the property estimates in the case of real estate little dynamic markets, even from the evolutionrecorded in the estimate field. On two case studies - Caesarea and Haifa - the authors use theDelphi method, using evaluators expert groups, and achieve results very close to those obtainedby applying the method of hedonic pricing, highlighting the DM ability to collect and structureknowledge.Barbaccia with Ghiraldo and Festa verify the much-debated issue, both at analytical and theoreticallevel, of the real estate markets articulation in micro territorial markets, starting from the case oflittle dynamics markets as well. Indeed, it is recognized that the spatial component has a muchhigher influence in price formation and buyers choice.In particular, the authors deal with the methodological and statistical tools the problems related totheir identification. The theme treated is extremely up-to-date and might have consequences in theoutlook introduced by the Italian government of reforming the cadastral system. For this reason,it should be remembered that the Agenzia del Territorio had already identified, to revision thecadastral market values and income, a methodology that used the non-linear regression operating onsubmarkets, or rather by placing at the base of the process, the identification of so-called “municipalmicrozones.” In reality, the authors work to a wider territorial level: consider the municipalities assubmarkets, with the purpose of aggregating them in groups the more homogeneous in functionof the identified factors as discriminating in the price evolution. At experimental level, apply theCluster Analysis to 47 municipalities of the Province of Modena to validate the partition using afuzzy technique, applying it to the same used data matrix. The proposed methodology can beconsidered useful in all those cases where there is little market information and then should workfor aggregations to a wider territorial level, with evident and necessary in-depth study of the openperspective.Coscia and Pano discuss the very controversial issue of the management and improvement of theItalian considerable public property – approximately valued 1700 billion euros through simulationsdone in 2006, property that could have produced an yearly income equal to the financial budgetof that year, even with a 2% yield. Starting from the so-called “Save Italy Decree” of 2011 andthe analysis of issues arising from the most recent legislative measures, the authors deal withthe crux of the management and improvement of public property, reviewing the contribution ofestimate and economic valuation of investments, being aware of negative effects produced by theimbalance passed between finance and real economy. The conveyance of Cavallerizza Reale ofTurin Municipality – a building unit with a very high historical-architectural value – may be consideredas a particularly explanatory example of how social benefits and financial utilities interact andreassemble in the use project with a correct balance, as well as of the possible spin-off of theseoperations, if they are in close synergy with the municipal policies for re-designing and planningthe setting up of some urban areas. The case study, examined in all its phases, while recognizingthe special sensibility of the municipal government, nevertheless shows that as a matter of factthe auction sale was done without wholly considering the “mise en valeur” of Cavallerizza, that iswithout analytically identifying the range of alternative functional scenarios stressed by the Anglo-Saxon approach of highest and best use, even if re-interpreted in relation to the uniqueness ofthe asset and the area to be developed and with the specific contribution given by the use andrestoration project. Therefore, the issue of management and development of public property is verytopical, especially in the current negative situation of the real estate market, that cannot be usedas an excuse to sell off properties having a great interest for the community, so that a real thinking,also from a theoretic point of view, about the terms value and market price should arise.Starting from the increasingly bigger capacities given by ICT to knowledge, most of all in the caseof digital archives information, Condotta and Borga draw the attention to capacities offered by newtechnologies also in managing and using information (not only digital) concerning the town. Morein details, considered the specificity of the architecture and the town, capacities are identified, onone hand, in the use of semiotic taxonomies to index the digital archives in order to make themmore efficient at the educational level, too (MACE project) and, on the other hand, in the use ofICT technologies (City Model and City Sensing) to create digital models of reality always aiming atincreasing their understanding and perception. As the authors wrote “to stimulate a possible jointactivity between Institutions and Internet users towards the creation of a new knowledge resourceshared, structured, correlated from a semantic point of view and based on an information layer thatrepresents, in a virtual way, the real physical environment”.The work of Roccasalva can be linked to this analysis trend, too, while dealing with the issue ofthe huge amount of information produced by the increasing use of the Web (big data), of the freesoftwares and the social networks, as a consequence of the innovation processes that involved theICT sector. The author considers the growth capacities of information data and the perspectives bothat the economic-entrepreneurial level, considering the different categories of users-consumers, andat the economic-social level, assuming alternative scenarios for using public DBs, identifying theircritical elements and opportunities. The author explains the most common tools and techniquesfor visualization of complex data, interactive and quick analysis of big amounts of data and, finally,communication. Therefore, within the computerized tools he considers Open Explorer as the mostcomplete one, able to assure the “multilevel scientific visualization”, a condition that is necessarywhen one wants to exploit the local information data favouring the multidisciplinary analysessuitable for explaining phenomena in their territorial appearance, too. More in details, the authorpresents the case study concerning use capacities of advanced computerized tools in a rising bodyof joint public services: Unione dei Comuni Nord-Est Torino (Unione NET – Union of Municipalitieslocated at North-East of Turin).The final essay from Mandrile about the project “MUDE Piedmont – Single digital building form” hasa special importance for this journal. In fact, it is an actual experience of how integration betweenbuilding and real estate data bases (and, within the second ones, especially the municipal andcadastral ones) together with capacities given by information and communication technologiescan make the re-engineering of administrative processes possible. The subtitle “an organizationalproject” significantly highlights how the prerequisite for simplification of relationship betweencitizens and public administrations, started up in 135 Municipalities, is the collaboration of all thelevels of government of the regional territory and the involvement of all the process stakeholdersmanaged through an infrastructure for practical cooperation (Agenzia del Territorio, Region,Provinces, Municipalities, Regional board of the ministry of cultural heritage and environmentalconservation, Local health authorities, professionals and citizens). As a matter of fact, the system“Mude Piedmont” was born as an administrative simplification project based on computerization ofauthorization procedures for municipal private building activity and is thought as a real informationsystem for monitoring of building and territorial modifications, able to be used for land administrationand management purposes, too. It is necessary to point out how collaboration between Bodiesand Professional Associations has led to realize a real Mude Piedmont educational path, that isincreasingly falling within the lifelong learning logic.

Rocco Curto