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Smart Milan with its skyscrapers and business districts, yet looking for better social and cultural balance

Looking at Milan today, through curious and unprejudiced eyes, it’s impossible not to notice its extraordinary enthusiasm for housing and urban planning – as well as financial and entrepreneurial – initiatives. Projects, ideas and investments suited to a city that likes to think of itself as smart (whatever that might mean: technologically sophisticated and astute, clever and elegant, sustainable and open to the future). A metropolis, nevertheless, that is strategically placed at the heart of an incredibly productive rectangle – one of the most dynamic in Europe – situated along the A1-A4 motorway axes (from the north of Europe to the Mediterranean, from the Atlantic to the west towards Asia to the east. A metropolis that, indeed, is true to its name: Mediolanum (‘In the middle of a plain’), Medium Terrae (‘In the middle of the land’).

Which initiatives are we referring to? Well, a quick scan of the newspapers it’s enough to get up to speed. There’s the launch of the Magnifica Fabbrica (Magnificent Factory) project – new art labs at the Teatro alla Scala and in the Lambretta Park, financed by the PNRR (the Italian recovery and resilience plan) and built where the Innocenti plants in Lambrate used to be, a site that epitomised the economic boom (reading Gli anni del nostro incanto (Our enchanted years) by Giuseppe Lupo, published by Marsilio, will bring back powerful memories and evocative impressions). The relocation of Metanopoli, the neighbourhood planned by Enrico Mattei for the Snam-Eni headquarters (and methane pipeline plants) in the early 1950s, extending from the south of the San Donato area to the new high-tech area in Porta Romana-Vettabia, already home to the Prada Foundation and the high-tech skyscrapers of the Symbiosis business district, and where the new Olympic Village will be built for the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Games, together with a “Smart Station” urban transport hub and a “Hanging forest”, a long “green walkway” inspired by New York’s High Line.

Furthermore, in the middle of the historic centre, right next to Sant’Ambrogio Square, the renovation works on the former “Garibaldi” police barracks have started, to turn the area into a new green campus for the Università Cattolica. And activities related to the building of 12 new skyscrapers are also ongoing, with worksites approved and in operation in the Lampugnano and Porta Nuova neighbourhoods (which already accommodate the pointy Unicredit skyscraper designed by Cesar Pelli, on Gae Aulenti Square, and where the “Nido verticale” (“Vertical Nest”), the Unipol Tower conceived by Mario Cucinella has just been completed), while Stefano Boeri is designing a new “vertical forest” extending over the area where the former Porta Genova train station used to be).

In the meantime, in the heart of the city, a few hundred metres from the Duomo and the University of Milan (located in the magnificent Renaissance-style building that housed the former Ospedale Maggiore hospital, designed by architect Filarete, on Via Festa del Perdono), the laborious renovation of a symbolic building, the Velasca Tower, is almost completed. It’ll be surrounded by an elegant pedestrian area that will also include the Assolombarda building, designed in the early 1960s by Gio Ponti, the same architect who conceived the Pirelli Skyscraper.

Witnessing this blend of history and innovation, tradition and change, we can only agree with Francesco Micheli, man of business and learning, when he proposed to nominate Milan’s historic centre as a “UNESCO heritage site” (Corriere della Sera, 1 June): a cultural “heritage of humanity” to be preserved and enhanced through continued investments.

A city that’s growing. A “city that’s rising”, to playfully evoke the works of Umberto Boccioni and the other Futurists who lived in one of the most frenzied eras in Milanese history, at the beginning of the 20th century, when factories and science started thriving. Yet, too, a city that widens and conceives itself as “great”, metropolitan, open. Just as the Milano-Sesto project exemplifies, one of the largest urban renovation projects in Europe, involving the former Falck steelworks – an expense of €5 billion to create services, offices, a “Health City” with hospital and medical research centre, green spaces and social housing, with a particular focus on student accommodation.

“The city must be extended, with more services in the suburbs”, asserts Regina De Albertis, president of Assimpredil Ance, the Association of Construction Companies in Milan, Monza and Brianza. Yet, “without emptying out the city”, adds Gabriele Pasqui, professor of Urban Policies at the Polytechnic, concerned about the lack of urban policy decisions targeted at preventing the city’s large centre to fall prey to the whims of a “market” that, pushing up the prices of homes, shops and offices, could turn Milan into an exclusive site for high-income earners, even outside the Mura Spagnole city walls. The danger we must look out for is the marginalisation and expulsion of the working and middle classes, which would disrupt that social mix that, since always, has distinguished a productive, inclusive, competitive and social civitas, bolstered by industry and finance, as well as by culture, research, innovation and a welcoming attitude.

There it is, then, dynamic Milan. Offering more opportunities than the rest of Italy, and riddled with issues (the high cost of housing and living, speculation risks, the euphoria aroused by the “thousands lights” whose shadows conceal new and old poverty, widespread violence, a growing unease, cracks appearing in its ancient and densely diverse fabric, and so on – as mentioned several times in these blog posts, with the latest one, from last week, dedicated to Milan as Italy’s main university city).

The Council, mayor Beppe Sala and the Regione Lombardia government authority, together with governor Attilio Fontana, are seeking a productive dialogue concerning services, investment stimulus, and effective regional policies unaffected by political affiliations. Indeed, good policies and efficient administration are a must.

Yet, it’s precisely when presented with such dynamism and severe economic and social issues that more must be done. For instance, we should foster the – already widespread – attitude to collaboration between private and public sectors, also engaging the whole “third sector”, from volunteering to social organisations. And we should further widen and explore a honest debate on the sustainable future of Milan – whether as a “metropolis”, “large city”, “open city” or even an “endless city”, as brilliant sociologist Aldo Bonomi likes to define it, the “A1-A4 macro-region” we mentioned above.

A dialogic Milan, a hub of knowledge, entrepreneurship, innovation and sustainability, rather than just a driving engine or, even worse, a “city state” flaunting its many prestigious facets. Rather, Milan as a city at the heart of relationships and interconnections, able to blend metropolis and countryside, different territories, European and Mediterranean cultures.

Significant projects to this end are already ongoing, and we should keep a close eye on them: for instance, the relaunch of the North-West region, the traditional “industrial triangle” comprising Milan, Turin and Genoa, on which the three cities’ entrepreneurial associations are working, to deepen production, cultural and social relationships, aware that acting together means larger PNRR funding as well as greater beneficial impact. Or, further, the decision made by the Centro Studi Grande Milano (a network comprising entrepreneurs, professionals, institutional and cultural figures), headed by Daniela Mainini, to appoint Giorgio Gori, the mayor of Bergamo, and Marco Bucci, the mayor of Genoa, as “ambassadors” – in order to facilitate relationships and dialogue, shared decisions and more initiatives, all under a shared European banner.

(Photo Getty Images)

Looking at Milan today, through curious and unprejudiced eyes, it’s impossible not to notice its extraordinary enthusiasm for housing and urban planning – as well as financial and entrepreneurial – initiatives. Projects, ideas and investments suited to a city that likes to think of itself as smart (whatever that might mean: technologically sophisticated and astute, clever and elegant, sustainable and open to the future). A metropolis, nevertheless, that is strategically placed at the heart of an incredibly productive rectangle – one of the most dynamic in Europe – situated along the A1-A4 motorway axes (from the north of Europe to the Mediterranean, from the Atlantic to the west towards Asia to the east. A metropolis that, indeed, is true to its name: Mediolanum (‘In the middle of a plain’), Medium Terrae (‘In the middle of the land’).

Which initiatives are we referring to? Well, a quick scan of the newspapers it’s enough to get up to speed. There’s the launch of the Magnifica Fabbrica (Magnificent Factory) project – new art labs at the Teatro alla Scala and in the Lambretta Park, financed by the PNRR (the Italian recovery and resilience plan) and built where the Innocenti plants in Lambrate used to be, a site that epitomised the economic boom (reading Gli anni del nostro incanto (Our enchanted years) by Giuseppe Lupo, published by Marsilio, will bring back powerful memories and evocative impressions). The relocation of Metanopoli, the neighbourhood planned by Enrico Mattei for the Snam-Eni headquarters (and methane pipeline plants) in the early 1950s, extending from the south of the San Donato area to the new high-tech area in Porta Romana-Vettabia, already home to the Prada Foundation and the high-tech skyscrapers of the Symbiosis business district, and where the new Olympic Village will be built for the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Games, together with a “Smart Station” urban transport hub and a “Hanging forest”, a long “green walkway” inspired by New York’s High Line.

Furthermore, in the middle of the historic centre, right next to Sant’Ambrogio Square, the renovation works on the former “Garibaldi” police barracks have started, to turn the area into a new green campus for the Università Cattolica. And activities related to the building of 12 new skyscrapers are also ongoing, with worksites approved and in operation in the Lampugnano and Porta Nuova neighbourhoods (which already accommodate the pointy Unicredit skyscraper designed by Cesar Pelli, on Gae Aulenti Square, and where the “Nido verticale” (“Vertical Nest”), the Unipol Tower conceived by Mario Cucinella has just been completed), while Stefano Boeri is designing a new “vertical forest” extending over the area where the former Porta Genova train station used to be).

In the meantime, in the heart of the city, a few hundred metres from the Duomo and the University of Milan (located in the magnificent Renaissance-style building that housed the former Ospedale Maggiore hospital, designed by architect Filarete, on Via Festa del Perdono), the laborious renovation of a symbolic building, the Velasca Tower, is almost completed. It’ll be surrounded by an elegant pedestrian area that will also include the Assolombarda building, designed in the early 1960s by Gio Ponti, the same architect who conceived the Pirelli Skyscraper.

Witnessing this blend of history and innovation, tradition and change, we can only agree with Francesco Micheli, man of business and learning, when he proposed to nominate Milan’s historic centre as a “UNESCO heritage site” (Corriere della Sera, 1 June): a cultural “heritage of humanity” to be preserved and enhanced through continued investments.

A city that’s growing. A “city that’s rising”, to playfully evoke the works of Umberto Boccioni and the other Futurists who lived in one of the most frenzied eras in Milanese history, at the beginning of the 20th century, when factories and science started thriving. Yet, too, a city that widens and conceives itself as “great”, metropolitan, open. Just as the Milano-Sesto project exemplifies, one of the largest urban renovation projects in Europe, involving the former Falck steelworks – an expense of €5 billion to create services, offices, a “Health City” with hospital and medical research centre, green spaces and social housing, with a particular focus on student accommodation.

“The city must be extended, with more services in the suburbs”, asserts Regina De Albertis, president of Assimpredil Ance, the Association of Construction Companies in Milan, Monza and Brianza. Yet, “without emptying out the city”, adds Gabriele Pasqui, professor of Urban Policies at the Polytechnic, concerned about the lack of urban policy decisions targeted at preventing the city’s large centre to fall prey to the whims of a “market” that, pushing up the prices of homes, shops and offices, could turn Milan into an exclusive site for high-income earners, even outside the Mura Spagnole city walls. The danger we must look out for is the marginalisation and expulsion of the working and middle classes, which would disrupt that social mix that, since always, has distinguished a productive, inclusive, competitive and social civitas, bolstered by industry and finance, as well as by culture, research, innovation and a welcoming attitude.

There it is, then, dynamic Milan. Offering more opportunities than the rest of Italy, and riddled with issues (the high cost of housing and living, speculation risks, the euphoria aroused by the “thousands lights” whose shadows conceal new and old poverty, widespread violence, a growing unease, cracks appearing in its ancient and densely diverse fabric, and so on – as mentioned several times in these blog posts, with the latest one, from last week, dedicated to Milan as Italy’s main university city).

The Council, mayor Beppe Sala and the Regione Lombardia government authority, together with governor Attilio Fontana, are seeking a productive dialogue concerning services, investment stimulus, and effective regional policies unaffected by political affiliations. Indeed, good policies and efficient administration are a must.

Yet, it’s precisely when presented with such dynamism and severe economic and social issues that more must be done. For instance, we should foster the – already widespread – attitude to collaboration between private and public sectors, also engaging the whole “third sector”, from volunteering to social organisations. And we should further widen and explore a honest debate on the sustainable future of Milan – whether as a “metropolis”, “large city”, “open city” or even an “endless city”, as brilliant sociologist Aldo Bonomi likes to define it, the “A1-A4 macro-region” we mentioned above.

A dialogic Milan, a hub of knowledge, entrepreneurship, innovation and sustainability, rather than just a driving engine or, even worse, a “city state” flaunting its many prestigious facets. Rather, Milan as a city at the heart of relationships and interconnections, able to blend metropolis and countryside, different territories, European and Mediterranean cultures.

Significant projects to this end are already ongoing, and we should keep a close eye on them: for instance, the relaunch of the North-West region, the traditional “industrial triangle” comprising Milan, Turin and Genoa, on which the three cities’ entrepreneurial associations are working, to deepen production, cultural and social relationships, aware that acting together means larger PNRR funding as well as greater beneficial impact. Or, further, the decision made by the Centro Studi Grande Milano (a network comprising entrepreneurs, professionals, institutional and cultural figures), headed by Daniela Mainini, to appoint Giorgio Gori, the mayor of Bergamo, and Marco Bucci, the mayor of Genoa, as “ambassadors” – in order to facilitate relationships and dialogue, shared decisions and more initiatives, all under a shared European banner.

(Photo Getty Images)