Integrating Ecosystem Services Value in the Economic Assessment of Urban Projects. Proposal of an Analytical-Operative Approach

Urban project evaluation methods frequently rely on the assessment of costs and benefits that are directly tied to monetary measurement. They do not account for the additional advantages to society and economy that ecosystems, depending on their conditions and in response to rising community need, might provide. What might therefore be developed to support the inclusion of the ecosystem services assessment within the framework of economic evaluation procedures in urban system? The work attempts to offer a viable and adaptable framework capable of guiding private and/or public entities’ actions while also taking into consideration the ecosystem’s advantages, more specifically the ecosystem services. The proposed workflow is constituted by series of steps that support the development of decision-making processes that can assess a single intervention from several perspectives, from environmental to economic in nature. It can support the implementation of economic evaluation strategies that take into account the importance of ecosystem services provided by urban habitats. The research highlights how different land use patterns, socioeconomic systems, and environmental conditions can change the project’s potential to deliver ecosystem services. The conclusions outline the practical implications and the limits of the developed assessment framework.