AI-IoT-Enabled Urban Regeneration Between Ecology and Safety

The integration of digital technologies based on artificial intelligence and interconnected sensor systems is taking on an increasing role in urban regeneration processes, in particular in relation to ecological resilience and urban security. In the debate on smart and sustainable cities, these dimensions are often addressed separately, while in fragile urban contexts they are deeply interdependent. The analysis adopts a qualitative and interpretative approach aimed at exploring how digital technologies can support the reading and management of environmental, infrastructural and socio-spatial criticalities within urban regeneration policies. The contribution is based on a critical re-elaboration of the literature and on an integrated interpretation of planning tools and publicly accessible environmental information, used as a cognitive support to decision-making processes. The results suggest that these technologies play a predominantly enabling role, helping to make the relationships between environmental quality, infrastructure management, and safety perception more explicit, rather than providing autonomous technical solutions. The analysis proposes a critical perspective on the adaptability of digital approaches to fragile urban contexts, highlighting the importance of contextualised and long-term-oriented strategies to integrate technological innovation, urban ecology, and security. Overall, the study highlights how the relevance of digital technologies in urban regeneration lies primarily in their capacity to support integrated interpretations of environmental vulnerability, urban safety and planning coherence, particularly in contexts characterised by institutional constraints and structural fragility.