Genova introduces incentives for depaving in urban planning

Genova has become the first Italian city to integrate depaving into its urban plan, offering tax breaks to developers who replace asphalt with green spaces. The measure, approved in early April, reduces urbanization fees for builders who also carry out depaving interventions. Assessor Francesca Coppola explains that private entities receive fiscal relief if they allocate their urbanization charges to depaving and commit to maintaining those areas for ten years. Depaving aims to combat the urban heat island effect, improve water permeability, and boost biodiversity. The practice originated in Portland, Oregon, with the Depave association founded in 2008. The EU's nature restoration regulation, adopted August 18, 2024, includes depaving and will take effect September 1, 2026. Paolo Pileri, urban planning professor at Politecnico di Milano, worked on the deliberation. Other Italian cities like Milan, Bologna, and Rome have also implemented depaving projects. Milan's Piano Aria Clima includes 27 construction sites depaving over 7,000 square meters, adding to 60,000 square meters depaved from 2022 to 2024. Bologna's Bologna Verde program plans to remove asphalt from 100,000 square meters. Internationally, Belgium and the Netherlands are cited as virtuous examples, and Paris has allocated 500 million euros for urban greening including depaving.