A botanical network for the sustainable development of the Roma Tre University campus area.

Introducing a Botanical Garden to an area means providing it with a valuable resource in terms of scientific, educational and conservation studies and can be of great use to the academic community and to the local population alike. The authors wish to build upon the idea of providing new educational and recreational spaces to plan for the development of a botanical network within the Roma Tre University campus in order to satisfy several different functions. This aim will be achieved by making use of various undeveloped sites to create a harmonious relationship between the University buildings and nearby abandoned areas raising them "from degradation to resource". In this way, and in collaboration with the local authorities, an effective sustainable development network will be created. The project will be designed around a scientific nucleus, and will connect thematic gardens with public spaces, involving the building of several small structures and pavilions throughout the area in question. The central theme of the Thematic Botanical Network will be Water, the most important biological molecule, whose chemical and physical characteristics have made life possible. Then, water can be seen as a connecting element in the scientific exploration of the 'Origin of Life' and relate to the museum activities of the University's science Department and, to those of the planned Science Museum. The project for a distributed network will, on the other hand, take as its theme the ethnobotanical relationship between plants and humans. This subject appears to be of great interest to a public eager to understand the roots of their culture in the natural world. The project will also pay great attention to communication, since transparency in plant selection, choices and clarification of the historical reasons for the identification of natural resources represent an opportunity to satisfy the educational and research aims of the university.