Local Industrial Systems towards the Eco-Industrial Parks: the model of the Ecologically Equipped Industrial Areas

Local Industrial Systems (LISes) are historically considered as one of the referential models for the socio-economic and technological development of a territory, widespread in European countries and especially in Italy. In recent years, some limits may be expressed mainly due to the persistent and growing global competition. Industrial Ecology (IE) proposes more sustainable models for the local development, mainly in the form of the so-called Eco-Industrial Parks (EIPs). This article analyses, in the framework of IE, the Ecologically Equipped Industrial Area (EEIA); introduced in 1998 by a national law, it currently represents the most significant model for the sustainable local industrial development in Italy. In the first part of the article, the place-based approaches to IE are described, highlighting the potential of the EIPs model and the delay in its diffusion within the Italian contexts. In the second part, the article examines the concept and the main features of the EEIAs, as defined by the national and regional regulations, and their role in the evolution of the LISes towards the EIP model. The results highlight that the main potential and limits of the EEIAs model are respectively related to i) the centralised management of the services, spaces and systems, the shared infrastructures and services within the area, and the administrative simplifications for the companies involved; ii) the long time investments returns, the regulatory limits related to the exchange of wastes, and an excessive inflexibility of the top-down approach followed in its development.