From the “Green Station” to the “Blue Station”: the role of the renovation of railway stations in the ecological transition of cities. Calculation model and possible measures for mitigation and compensation of impacts.

Abstract

AbstractNowadays, mobility represents the main productive process: this means that territorial sustainability must necessarily include sustainable movements as a key component. The increase in transport entity and transport routes, economic convenience, and, last but not least, a higher environmental awareness, are leading to higher consideration of the use of railways. In this framework, railway stations represent complex objects requiring significant material flows, which make up their ecological footprint. In this sense, a railway station is the last industrial plant to be accepted in contemporary cities. The last 2 years of pandemics have amplified both the need for tangible sustainability and the demand for active mobility-friendly cities. Discussing the sustainability of a station involves examining and measuring its ecological footprint, to provide active support to the targeted planning and design of mitigation measures. Their impact and effectiveness are certainly amplified by the natural central role of the railway stations. And what if the pursuit of sustainability for the railway stations could be intertwined with the search for quality collective spaces? The answer is positive. The proposed algorithm allows shifting from a qualitative view (so to say, measured on a flat-rate basis), to a quantitative view of the possible improvement actions on the operation and maintenance processes of railway stations. Moreover, through minor adaptations, it could also be applied to industrial or residential processes.