An Agent-Based Model for Greening the City of Ravenna and Reducing Flooding at a Cultural Heritage Site

The paper presents an agent-based model exploring the impact of greening a city for groundwater flood risk reduction as a discussion tool to support urban planning decisions. The case study is an urban archaeological site in Ravenna, Italy. The model aimed to provide insights to generate discussion between researchers at the University of Bologna and the local authorities. The city map was divided into cells potentially suitable for modelled greening, combined with Ravenna precipitation and temperature data, and estimated scores for evapotranspiration and permeability. Generally, results indicate that more greening measures introduced correspond to a reduction in the volume of excess rainwater, with particular effectiveness in greened streets. Our results demonstrate the benefits of agent base modelling in the field of disaster risk management for testing measures prior to their implementation.