A few days after Italy entered the Phase 2 The declarations made during the week by the architect are more current than ever Stefano Boeri to the newspaper Repubblica: "Never before have I seen so many green balconies in Milan, and loggias, terraces, because the balcony is a living space. Everyone has understood that green is an important theme, therefore a campaign would be needed to facilitate dispersion, and also a withdrawal from the urban, to make room for other living species.".
The idea of the internationally renowned architect, creator of the "vertical forest" in Milan, is to create a project national aimed at effectively redeveloping abandoned villages and small towns. Following the pandemic, the most densely populated areas are already expected to be abandoned in England to populate the countryside and villages. This phenomenon will also affect our country.
Italy is rich in villages abandoned to save. The lots have gotten smaller and smaller and the owners are difficult to trace. Most of them have moved abroad forgetting the land they own. Boeri insists: "If the 14 metropolitan areas adopted these centers, with tax advantages and incentives ... And there are already wonderful places where they give you a house in a historic center for one euro, in Liguria, and along the Apennine ridge ".
The villages at risk of emptying are about 6000. They are spread over two thirds of the territory. Long defined "areas internal"But rich in naturalistic, agricultural and cultural heritage. Unfortunately they are disadvantaged because they do not offer many services for those who populate them. In fact, there is a lack of schools, public transport, healthcare, broadband.
The main economic activities are the e agriculture. The former has suffered a drastic decline due to the pandemic and therefore will represent a great unknown for the future. But for years it has been fluent. In fact, there was a period in which we witnessed the continuous creation of bed & breakfast and innovative structures. The experiment of retirement homes promoted by the European Commission which offered an unprecedented “green wellbeing” compared to urban nursing homes was a success.
We must not forget that the needs of the people who live in the villages are many. They can generate new forms of work, especially in this delicate period. But the main problem is that they are "unachievable". Network operators do not even have an interest in intervening and investing in them. It is estimated that around one thousand two hundred municipalities still have difficulties in receiving telephone reception and five million Italians hardly see Rai channels. This pandemic experience invites us to redesign these areas. To invest to enhance them by offering incentives e relief tax.
As Boeri argues, we must also redesign our cities in which pollution atmospheric facilitates the spread of the pandemic. In urban centers it is necessary to implement a project that is able to reduce the use of cars and that provides for incentives and scrapping quickly. Urge "bring everything outside". The interior spaces are dangerous for contagion. The stores must have "dehors”To stay outdoors as much as possible. In phase 2 it will also be necessary to enhance the squares who can become the new protagonists of cultural events, festivals and concerts (scheduled for September). Naturally, in order for this project to become a reality, it will be necessary to count on a bureaucracy that is finally speedy and efficient.