VENICE / The project to make it the world capital of sustainability
It is 1600 years old and it looks like it. Or maybe not. Indeed, by resting on its ancient fluid but truly resilient foundations, made only of wood drowned in brackish water, it is about to transform itself into a laboratory projected into the future, between innovation, culture and sustainable technology. She is Venice, for some time passed off by many as a city-museum, depopulated by the natives and invaded byover-tourism. But a few days ago it was promoted as the “World capital of sustainability”, with the project of promoting an environmental, economic, social and urban planning model for the sustainable development of the city and the Venetian lagoon.
The architecture of the project is based on an ad hoc foundation (started already in July 2021, as part of the Climate Conference at the G20 Economy), with the presidency entrusted to the Minister for Public Administration, Renato Brunetta, with two deputies such as the president of the Veneto Region, Luca Zaia, and the mayor of Venice, Luigi Brugnaro. The initiative is the result of public-private collaboration with the Government, the Veneto Region, the Municipality of Venice, Snam and some of the main institutions and companies in the area: Ca ‘Foscari University and IUAV, Benedetto Marcello Conservatory, Academy of Fine Arts, Foundation Cini, Confindustria Veneto and some nationally important companies such as Generali, Snam, ENI, ENEL and Boston Consulting Group.
The road map of the project touches the energy transition and environmental sustainability, with the creation of a “hydrogen pole” in the disused industrial area of Porto Marghera, with the birth of a hydrogen supply chain, a “Hydrogen Valley”; the decarbonisation and circularity of waste; the promotion of VeniSIA as a center of innovation and acceleration on sustainability issues. Venice is also a world-wide reference center for scientific, academic and cultural debate on issues relating to environmental and social sustainability through the organization of a “Sustainability Biennial open to institutions, academies, exponents of the world of art and science, and companies, for the constructive discussion of topics related to climate change and, more generally, to sustainability. The map also shows the relaunch of the training offer and services and the student residence, to characterize Venice as a “Campus City” of international level. A separate chapter is sustainable tourism, with strong pushes towards new sustainable models through the use of digital technologies in the management of flows and services offered.
And finally, the relaunch of local commerce and residential accommodation, with interventions aimed at promoting social inclusion and the vitality of the Venetian community.
“We must make Venice a world city – said Brunetta -, a place that anticipates the resolution of global problems. The large companies that I will call to participate in the Foundation’s project will be called not only to invest here, but to be there. Venice is no longer just a stage, but a place of production: from hydrogen in Porto Marghera to metaverse, from sustainable hospitality to culture. The story represented here in the Doge’s Palace obliges us to live up to it. The whole city was required to tell the reasons why Venice was an extraordinary city. A city of fishermen, of traders, who have to make space between empires. The cultural heritage is not a burden: it is our investment from which to start over ”.
“Venice is an artificial reality – continued the minister -. Lagoons don’t last for so many centuries: they either become the sea or they become land. This lagoon lasts because it is the result of human investments and intelligence, which have defended it from the sea and the land. This room, the Sala del Senato of the Doge’s Palace, is the sign of the investments made over time by the city to build its myth. After the Venice of the Serenissima, after the extraordinary Venice of the twentieth century, we now have the future, which is sustainability. A future that starts from young people, from ideas, to rebuild the economic base of the city. It is not possible that the historic center of Venice falls below 50 thousand inhabitants. Venice is the place of many resisters, such as the Cini Foundation or the universities. Hundreds of realities of resistance, despite the difficulties. Here, we want to change the surrounding conditions and make Venice the oldest city of the future, attracting investments and human capital “.
“The city is undergoing important transformations – added the mayor Brugnaro -. With the new Foundation, the State recognizes the importance of the future that can pass through Venice and Mestre. When we talk about sustainability we don’t just mean ecological. We want to double the students of our two universities, Iuav and Ca ‘Foscari, to prevent depopulation ”.
“The Foundation will start with eight projects – explained President Zaia – and the Region is participating in four of them. The hypothesized flow of financing ranges from two to four billion, and will weigh on the Veneto’s GDP for 10 billion. The claim of the Veneto is “The land of Venice”: Venice is a unique stage that allows us to be attractive, not only for financing but also as an authoritative seat for international companies. Venice is not only a city of tourism, we are also an open-air laboratory of what true sustainability can be. Being its world capital is an ambition, a challenge and we will demonstrate it with this foundation ”.
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