Environmental risk prevention, post-seismic interventions and the reconstruction of the public space as a planning challenge. IJPP - Italian Journal of Planning Practice I Vol. III, issue 1 - 2013 Barbara Pizzo ISSN: 2239-267X An introduction. PhD - Researcher and Senior Lecturer in Town and Regional Planning barbara.pizzo@uniroma1.it Dipartimento di Pianificazione, Design, Tecnologia dell'Architettura - Sapienza Università di Roma Valter Fabietti Professor of Town and Regional Planning valter.fabietti@fastwebnet.it Dipartimento di Architettura - Università degli Studi G. D’Annunzio Chieti - Pescara This issue of the Italian Journal of Planning Practices tackles the topic of ‘natural’ risks, focusing particularly on seismic risk, and on policies and actions addressed to prevention 1 . There are two main reasons for considering environmental risk as a primary issue in Italy. The first is because the geomorphology of the country and the physical and spatial configuration of its territory cause a particular risk the ‘First Biennial on the Public Space’ which was held in Rome on 12-14 May 2011. The proceedings have been published in Urbanistica Informazioni 239-240 This work represents a further outcome of the Seminar on Urban risk and the Public Space within 1