Investigation of hydraulic, geotechnical, and planning aspects for the environmental safety of the new sport facilities in L'Aquila

The earthquake of L’Aquila (on 6 April 2009) has resulted in a pressing need to provide the city with hospitality areas and new structures for the population. In the territory of L’Aquila, the lack of space and the inhabitability of sport facilities make the case study below compelling. In rivers, hydraulic hazards are the result of either natural or human factors. The first step in addressing the problem is to establish hydraulic safety measures: this work must include the improvement of the hydraulic characteristics of rivers in order to create a section compatible with the maximum predictable height and flow. The logic of mitigation works for hydraulic hazards usually does not coincide with river redevelopment measures because some actions are obviously conflicting. The issues dealing with mitigation works are related to geotechnical and hydraulic research, and the use of natural materials. This paper aims to illustrate a diagnostic functionality of the embankments of the Aterno River (L’Aquila, Italy) and its surrounding areas. The definition of hydraulic and geotechnical properties allows the integration of hydraulic safety measures with extra-agricultural use of the territory. In fact, in this area, mitigation works are combined with the plan of the city and of sports and leisure time, applying measures that have a different environmental impact. The river embankments, for example, are embedded in the spatial and functional organization of the planned sport facilities.