# Solar Energy in Urban Planning: Lesson Learned and Recommendations from Six Italian Case Studies
## 6 Conclusions  
In this paper, six case studies located in the Italian territory were presented and discussed following a common template developed within Subtask C of the IEA-SHC Task 51 \"_Solar Energy in Urban Planning_\". The integration of solar energy in three different environments--namely existing urban areas, new urban areas, and landscape--has been investigated. General considerations can be outlined, allowing for a partial generalization of the results for the entire country or at least for the administrative territory in which the cases are located. The main lesson learned is the importance of including solar energy since the beginning of the design process to achieve a higher level of integration. When this basic rule is not observed and a lack of communication between experts and stakeholders occurs, the risk of encountering pitfalls during the following phases exponentially increases, and only sub-optimal results can be obtained. An additional advantage of the early analysis of solar energy potential is the possibility to optimize the urban morphology and the buildings' form to maximize active and passive solar strategies. Several design aspects can be controlled in the early design phases, although they tend to crystallize rapidly as the project progress. Furthermore, an optimized design of buildings'masses is a passive measure that can have positive and long-lasting impacts. This aspect is particularly visible when dealing with existing buildings, often offering limited design solutions if not subject to deep renovation interventions. Finally, an important lesson is the need to consider solar systems beyond their electricity generation function. This is true when the integration occurs into buildings as well as with utility-scale landscape systems. A set of recommendations specific for the three different analyzed environments can be summarized as follows. _I. Existing urban areas (refurbishment):_  
* Deep renovation processes involving morphological and material changes represent potential successful solutions for solar systems integration as demonstrated by the case studies SINFONIA Bolzano and Photovoltaic Village in Alessandria. * The use of solar systems in public areas (e.g., shading devices on pergola as in the Photovoltaic Village in Alessandria) has a high unexploited potential. * The institution of coordinating bodies and the adoption of an integrated design process can have a significant role in the application of energy-related measures while improving interdisciplinarity and collaboration among stakeholders as happened in both SINFONIA Bolzano and Photovoltaic Village in Alessandria. * It is important to use simulation software since the early-design phases and to focus on final-user behavior as in SINFONIA Bolzano. _II. New urban areas:_  
* Photovoltaics can be utilized as a distinctive architectural element and material, which can enforce the identity and aesthetic of urban interventions as in the case studies of the Le Albere district, Violino District in Brescia, and CasaNova. * The shape, orientation, reciprocal arrangement of volumes, materials, internal layout, and opening distribution are long-term passive strategies that can maximize the contribution of solar energy to building efficiency and comfort, as visible in the case studies of the Violino District in Brescia and CasaNova in Bolzano. * The last two points listed in the existing urban areas are also applied for new urban areas as demonstrated in all the presented case studies such as Le Albere district, Violino District in Brescia, and CasaNova. _III. Landscape_  
* The ecological impact of ground-mounted PV can be greatly reduced using innovative solutions that combine a dual use of land. * Barriers represented by regulations and legislation can be often overcome with a conscious design and an early collaboration between the different involved actors. * PV installation at the ground level should be considered as a landscape design matter, where the pattern, patch, grain, and borders of the system are carefully planned.