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New look for the cities. A business worth 328 billion euro

29 December, Il Giornale

The potential revenues of a comprehensive and capillary urban regeneration process throughout Italy are around 328 billion euro. Specifically, the value of the works to be implemented is 310.5, while 17.5 are the license fees payable to the Public Administration. This figure represents little less than 17% of the GDP, and it’s included in the First Report on Urban Regeneration in Italy by the Sogea research centre which was presented during a conference organised by the Senate. To determine the economic values, the report used parameters such as the reduction of soil consumption and the reconversion of the existing real estate assets (including the demolition and construction with the awarding of buildable volumes as provided by law), the recovery and requalification of vacant areas, abandoned and unused buildings, the efficient use of the urban empty spaces. The figures concerning the provincial capitals are particularly interesting: Rome needs the biggest quota of investments (15.6 billion euro), followed by Milan (7.3 billion), Naples (5.3 billion), Turin (4.8 billion), Palermo (3.7 billion), Genoa (3.2 billion), Bologna and Florence (2.1 billion each).

“Not many countries have been so exploited, messed up and damaged in the name of construction at all costs and reckless speculation as much as Italy. The price we have to pay now is very high”, explained Sandro Simoncini, the research centre director, stressing how “urban regeneration is currently a very interesting matter. This is certainly very satisfying, especially among those who have been invoking its application for a long time”. Federica Galloni, Art and Architecture general director for the Ministry of Cultural Assets and Activities, reminded that the Ministry created the Atlas of the Functional Metropolitan Suburbs “to give some guidelines to the public authorities and to bring balance to our cities”. For this purpose, the Ministry awarded Iaqos, an avatar that, while interacting with the residents of a community, collects big data which can serve as a base for planning a new urban environment. Galloni added: “it’s essential to physically recover the areas and the assets, but we also need to involve the citizens by identifying their needs starting already from the project phase”.

The architect Massimiliano Fuksas strongly criticised the delays of the Public Administration. While his urban requalification masterplans are operational in Seoul, the requalification project for the railway line in Bari is at a standstill. He concluded: “it has turned into a one-million-euro garden that they can’t even subcontract”.

Source: Il Giornale

Translator: Cristina Ambrosi