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The smart city develops on geology: Comparing Rome
and Naples
GSA TODAY | MAY 2015 Donatella de Rita, geologist, Dipartimento di Scienze, Università BASIC INFORMATION ABOUT ROME AND NAPLES
Roma Tre, Largo San Leonardo Murialdo 1-00146, Roma, Italy,
donatella.derita@uniroma3.it; and Chrystina Häuber, classical Rome and Naples are considered to be cities that developed by
archaeologist, Department für Geographie, Ludwig-Maximilians- the unification of small villages in the eighth century B.C. Both
Universität München, Luisenstraße 37, 80333 München, Germany, cities have been shown to have existed for more than 2,500 years,
c.haeuber@lmu.de during which time they experienced alternating periods of
growth and decline. Rome originated from a small village in the
ABSTRACT ninth century B.C. to become, over centuries, the center of the
civilization of the Mediterranean region (Soprintendenza
A smart city is one that harmonizes with the geology of its terri- Archeologica di Roma, 2000). The origin of Naples is connected
tory and uses technology to develop sustainably. Until the to early Greek settlements established in the Bay of Naples
Republican Times, Rome was a smart city. The ancient settlement around the second millennium B.C. The establishment of a
of Rome benefitted from abundant natural resources. City expan- larger mainland colony (Parthenope) occurred around the ninth
sion took place in such a way as to not substantially alter the to eighth century B.C. and was then re-founded as Naples
morphological and geological features of the area; natural (Neapolis) in the sixth century B.C. (Lombardo and Frisone,
resources were managed so as to minimize the risks. The geology, 2006; Giampaola and Longobardo, 2000).
together with prudent management, ensured Rome’s fortune.
Naples, which developed in a similar geological context and at Rome and Naples are located along the Tyrrhenian coast of
almost the same time, was exposed to more geological hazards central-southern Italy in a very young orogenic area (Fig. 1).
and had access to fewer natural resources. This was fatal for the Both cities lie on recent volcanic deposits (0.8 Ma to present)
city that, while remaining one of the most important of the and on fluvial or coastal sediments, and are not far from the
Mediterranean, did not become the capital of an empire as Rome Apennine mountain chain (30–60 km). The geological evolution
did. The histories of Rome and Naples highlight the important of the Tyrrhenian margin of Italy generated the natural
role of geology in the development of a city and the making of its resources and hazards that would affect the development of
fortune. Over time, fast urban expansion, rapid population these two cities. The geological history of central Italy is driven
growth, and the overuse of resources led to increased hazards for by the collision between the African and European plates. After
both cities. As a result, the cities became unstable and fragile, and the formation of the Alps, part of the European plate containing
several natural processes resulted in disasters. the Corsica-Sardinia micro-plate broke away and started to
migrate eastward, progressively colliding with the western
INTRODUCTION margin of Adria (Apulia) and resulting in the formation of the
Apennines (22–19 Ma; Vai and Martini, 2001). At ca. 10 Ma,
For a city to become smarter means improving the manage- rollback of the west-dipping subducting slab led to crustal thin-
ment of its infrastructure and resources to meet the present and ning west of the Apennines, which created the Tyrrhenian Sea
future needs of its citizens and businesses. Smart cities are (Faccenna et al., 2001). Extensional faulting lowered the western
generally considered to be those that are able to invest increas- margin of the Apennines and facilitated the development of
ingly in technology with the belief that this will ensure sustain- volcanic activity in Latium (including the Sabatini and the
able prosperity. Nevertheless, many past examples have shown Alban Hills volcanoes) and the Campania (Phlegrean Fields,
how the indiscriminate use of technology in response to a Vesuvius, Ischia) (Peccerillo, 2005).
natural hazard–induced risk, instead of generating security, can
lead to higher risk and danger (Egner, 2012). We propose that a COMPARING THE RESOURCES AND RISKS OF ROME
smart city is one that harmonizes with the geology of its terri- AND NAPLES
tory and uses technology to reduce economic costs and resource
consumption. In Europe, understanding how cities were born From a historical-analytical perspective, Rome had more favor-
several thousand years ago may help us plan better for the able geology and fewer risks than Naples. Rome developed on
future. We compare the diverse historical pasts of Rome and small hilltops that were favorable for defense and communication,
Naples to highlight the importance of geology in determining and its position on the Tiber alluvial plain at the point where the
the fortune of one city compared to the other. Tiberina islet was located provided easy communication between
the river banks (Häuber, 2013). The hills were also healthy places
GSA Today, v. 25, no. 5, doi: 10.1130/GSATG222A.1
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