The cycle network as an environmental infrastructure

The topic intended to be investigated is the potential interdependence between the cycling network and the management of rainwater in the mid-Adriatic city. Preliminarily, two observations. The first concerns cycling: in Italy it is constantly increasing, both in terms of territorial diffusion and in terms of turnover. The second: in recent years the frequency of urban flooding, resulting from extreme atmospheric phenomena, has been constantly increasing. Cycling and urban flooding are two issues addressed separately. The first is framed as a contribution to slow mobility. The second is treated as a continuing emergency. The goal is to overcome separateness. And imagine the cycle network as an environmental infrastructure that, in addition to supporting the transit of bicycles, is able to contribute to a better collection and management of rainwater as an alternative to the sewer system. Working on the hypothesis of the cycle network as an environmental infrastructure obliges us to broaden our gaze to those cities that have transformed water from an agent that generates dangerous conditions, into a strategic resource. Boston, San Rafael, Zwolle and Copenhagen went in this direction. Methodologically, the projects and intervention programs of the four cities will be compared with reference to: the network space (reserved for transit) and the materials used to build it (porous asphalt, underground channels for the flow of water); the space associated with the network with the Green Stormwater Infrastructures that contribute to drainage; the contexts crossed by the cycle network and the relationships it establishes with the public space. The comparison aims to bring out some lines of action useful for orienting the actions of the plan and the project in the mid-Adriatic city.