Climate crisis and urban transformations. Some proposals from Milan, Italy
Climate crisis and urban transformations. Some proposals from Milan, Italy – Today there is a lot of talk about smart cities and the attribute “smart” is used with the same frequency of a heartbeat. Just say “smart” and the mind opens up futuristic scenarios of almost science fiction cities. Smart traffic lights, smart asphalts, even smart benches. But at what price? In the most imaginative film of all times – legendary Blade runner – it is always raining and the weather is really bad. The only truly smart thing to put to the test is not the technology itself, but the awareness with which citizens use technology and the purpose for which they use it. Technology must serve to improve the quality of life, possibly without compromising the environment in which we live. Trivial, but not always obvious. Today there can be no smart city without smart citizens, that is, without citizens who are aware and involved in sharing values, first of all sustainability in its three dimensions, economic, social and environmental.
Cities are responsible for 60% of polluting emissions on the planet
Rivers of ink in particular have spilled over the latter. It is now well established that the future evolution of cities must involve the need for planning capable of tackling climate change and, possibly, putting a stop to it. Cities are responsible for 60% of polluting emissions on the planet and already today the majority of the world population lives in urban contexts. The close correlation between climate change and urban evolutionary models is therefore well established. These critical issues must be considered in the context of the design and management of spaces, infrastructures and services, in a logic of social innovation and sustainability. A round table organized by EuroMilano, a historic Milanese real estate promotion and development company, entitled “Climate crisis and urban transformations“, dealt with these issues. The initiative was included in the international schedule of Climate Week NYC 2021, one of the few European events admitted to the event.
A round table…
During the first part of the round table Marco Cattaneo (Editor in Chief National Geographic Italia) stimulated Caterina Sarfatti (Director, Inclusive Climate Action C40 Cities), Piero Pelizzaro (Chief Resilient Officer Municipality of Milan), Tobia Zevi (associate Research Fellow ISPI – Italian Institute for International Political Studies), to discuss the role that urban regeneration has in the fight against climate change. Cities absorb an important share of the world’s resources and are responsible for as many polluting emissions, there can be no doubt that urban regeneration must play a central role in the processes of combating climate change. The urban projects that are carried out will have an impact on future generations and for this reason a responsible approach is required, also made up of moments of reflection like this, promoted by those who in real estate are convinced of a sustainable way to urban development: cities they will have to be more and more engines of sustainable progress.
…and a workshop
In the second part of the event, other panelists illustrated local climate change mitigation projects already operational in Italy. Valeria Lorenzelli (Manager Smart District UpTown) presented the active placemaking project in the UpTown smart district, an experiment in which the community of residents took on a fundamental role in supporting the sustainability vision of the new district. Francesco Causone (Politecnico di Milano) explained how sustainability objectives can be more easily achieved starting from a correct monitoring of energy consumption, which is necessary to make citizens increasingly aware. The biologist Francesco Tomasinelli and the beekeeper Claudia Zanfi presented projects in support of urban biodiversity and the reintegration of bees in urban contexts. Finally, Councilor Lorena Marin of the Municipality of San Donà di Piave (Venice) explained how even small local municipalities can play a fundamental role in the defense of a fragile territory, starting with the involvement of citizens and despite having scarce economic resources.
The full video (in English) can be viewed here: