Using Decision Aiding Software for a Project-Oriented Planning: The Urban Agenda for Sustainable Development of the Metropolitan City of Cagliari

Metropolitan Cities, already engaged in the definition, updating and implementation of their governance tools, such as Strategic Plans, Sustainable Urban Mobility Plans, etc., have the task to define the Metropolitan Agenda for Sustainable Development in accordance with the SDGs. Starting from the construction of a shared reference framework on sustainability initiatives and strategies at different levels, the policymaking process for the Agenda of the Metropolitan city of Cagliari identifies nine fields of action (FoA) to summarize the contents and objectives of the sustainability strategies in interrelated thematic areas. The FoA prompt the debate with the local governments and their technostructures starting from the projects ongoing and in planning. The outcome of 5 meetings with the 17 municipalities around the FoA represents the metropolitan framework in relation to problems, opportunities, plans, projects and places. A decision support tool based on cognitive mapping technique together with specific criteria for the selection and analysis of the projects allows to identify several clusters, as embryonic forms of integrated projects for sustainable development. This paper presents preliminary outputs of the two groupings emerged during the discussion of the technostructures of the Metropolitan city of Cagliari which inform the formulation of integrated projects and reveal critical factors for their implementation.