Settlement patterns and environmental sustainability in the Italian-Slovenian cross-border areas 
The project aims at defining joint operational strategies and methods to be adopted in the planning of settlement interventions in cross-border areas, focussing on the management and the optimization of available local resources (in terms of territory, materials, renewable and non-renewable energy) for the construction and management of local buildings. The research considers sustainability a fundamental starting point for the territory, with the aim of identifying guidelines, principles and regulations for the safeguard and the enhancement of the landscape, as well as to promote a culture of sustainable living among communities and local institutions. The projects intends to outline innovative approaches to define policies, plans and projects, which can be shared by local actors and aim at development routes based on the safeguard of settlement patterns in a landscape characterized by a high environmental quality, as can be observed in the Provinces of Trieste, Gorizia and the Slovenian region of Primorska. The project also envisages a training plan, that is especially addressed to people working in the planning and management of resources and territory and aimed at the learning data-gathering, processing and management techniques as well as the use of dedicated software; it further aims at providing the necessary instruments to monitor the project results. Also envisaged is a plan to disseminate the results of this research.