Mediterranean waterfront Atlas: a tool for knowledge and decison-making

The evolution of coastal urban and peri-urban areas between Malta and Sicily are the subject of extensive study that aims to build new tools and new approaches to planning in coastal areas. The project Italy-Malta WATERFRONT (of which the writer is a collaborator in the research activities for University of Palermo) adopts the logical and functional structure of the Atlas as a tool for understanding, interpretation, planning and monitoring of the transformations of four sample areas identified along the coastal border of Sicily and Malta. The Atlas aims to identify whether the Mediterranean territories under study require specific planning tools and, therefore, directs the decision-making process to the homogeneity of the tools and procedures.