Transformation of Disused Railways Based on ES Assessment: Sassari Case

Ecosystem services (ES) knowledge leads to action and is essential for improving the relationship between humans and environment, as it provides crucial information for decision-makers. This paper showcases abandoned railway landscapes as valuable resources for Green Infrastructure strategies, focusing on their potential to enhance ES at the provincial level using Sassari Province as a case study. Employing an adapted ESTIMAP model, it evaluates cultural ES by mapping recreation potential in Sassari, using areas of interest and slow mobility network as parameters to emphasize the potential of disused railways as ES sources. The results underscore the importance to integrate ES assessment into decision-making process while demonstrating the potential of disused railways to improve nature-based recreation. By advocating for the reuse of existing structures, and particularly focusing on a single typology of brownfields such as railways, it allows for the identification of specific actions and provides municipalities with actionable insights to determine starting points for implementation.