Mapping and Tackling Energy Poverty Vulnerability at the Local Scale—A Methodology for Sustainable Urban Planning

Energy Poverty Vulnerability is a multidimensional phenomenon, which depends both on the energy efficiency of dwellings and on the related socio-economic aspects. Its diagnosis at the intra-urban scale has been addressed by few studies; therefore, its spatial distribution is still difficult to assess, as well as poorly integrated into urban planning processes. The research addresses these gaps by proposing a methodology to assess and map Vulnerability to Energy Poverty (Vep) at this scale, using open and institutional data that can be integrated into Italian urban planning processes. Based on the state of the art, a set of indicators is selected to construct the Local Index of Vulnerability to Energy Poverty (LIVep). The workflow includes an assessment of the applicability of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and the mapping of the results through Geographic Information System (GIS). The methodology is applied to the municipality of Milan, Italy. PCA identified four Principal Components of Vep, which were mapped in a GIS environment. The first two components, interpreted as Socio-Economic Vulnerability (PC1) and Energy Vulnerability (PC2), were subsequently combined into LIVep, providing a single planning-oriented index. A sensitivity analysis, based on an alternative equal-weighted aggregation of the normalized indicators, showed strong consistency in the overall ranking of census sections, although some differences emerged in identifying the most vulnerable areas. The main contribution of the study concerns a spatial decision-support framework, based on open data and GIS, for building a local-scale knowledge base of Vep, supporting the spatial targeting of actions to tackle Vep, and fostering the integration of energy, social, and urban regeneration policies. The proposed methodology is potentially transferable to geographical contexts other than Italy, provided that comparable census and energy-related data are available from institutional sources or through urban planning processes.