To fight economic imbalance and social rifts, the future of Milan lies in civitas
When discussing the future of Milan, in this era of radical transformation affecting geopolitical, economic, social and cultural contexts, it’s useful bearing in mind that the ancient Romans used two very different terms to describe a city: urbs and civitas. The former comprised buildings and infrastructures, streets and squares, government palaces and theatres, temples and markets, in their entirety, while the latter referred to the cives, the citizens, seen as a community animated by political and personal rights and responsibilities that shaped citizenship and its legal status.
Places, laws, community ties, projects.
Bricks that, cemented by judicial and cultural balance, represented the foundation on which to build the future.
Latin, as we all know, it’s a “precise, minimalist” language, unsuitable for “demagogues and charlatans”, as renowned author and master of pointed irony Giovanni Guareschi loved to say. And, nowadays, the distinction between urbs and civitas, between material spaces and immaterial laws, policies and culture, suggests that we do need to revive that spirit of community and coexistence, of civic belonging, of shared rules and notions, so as to avoid deterioration – felt by many as a threat that could swallow up a city whose population, after all, is currently still open-minded, innovative, European, entrepreneurial and supportive. To avert, in other words, a fate where streets and squares become increasingly choked with non-resident ‘city users’ and progressively deserted by its cives, its citizens.
Over the past months, the debate on the future of Milan has intensified on both authoritative newspapers and social media, centring on issues that, by all means, affect the quality of life and employment in metropolises all over the world – including, in Europe, London and Paris. Yet, with respect to Milan, these issues threaten to drown and engulf those features that, above all and over time, made it a very special city: a city that’s not a capital yet boasts a very prominent international profile, a city that’s not large (with a mid-sized population of 1.4 million inhabitants) yet is magnified by metropolitan relations and business and trade networks. A city whose social dynamics are anything but provincial, and as such peculiar within the Italian context. A city where global economic and financial activities interweave, turning it into a hub for multinationals’ projects and investments. Yet also a city showing a remarkable inclination for social integration (all newcomers are immediately assimilated into the Milanese lifestyle, a trait already noted by Alessandro Manzoni and Stendhal).
Milan is, indeed, a city rife with relationships and pluralism, where diversity is seen as richness, whose spirit suggests that you’re not born, but you “become” Milanese – an attitude that betray both its historical awareness and a tendency to innovation, a blend of native pride and fondness for an open, dialogic and heterogeneous identity, simultaneously urbs and civitas.
These strengths are still present, of course, but they’re now threatened by various recent phenomena that are causing fissures and wounds, such as those that are currently being debated.
And what are these phenomena? The already high and ever-increasing cost of life, starting with housing rental and purchase prices, which are pushing away the middle class, young couples, low-income “creative” and social sectors, consigning them to the suburbs, to the provinces even. A general feeling of uncertainty, both real and “perceived” (a “perception” that nonetheless reveals a growing sense of social discomfort). The idea that a transformation is underway, one that fosters the gaudiest aspects of flaunted wealth and showy social appearance while devaluing middle- and working-class entrepreneurial traditions. A pseudo-culture based on instant gratification and “presentism”, which is replacing the more tangible aptitude for high-quality cultural engagement in which theatre and music and art spaces are rooted. Basically, the notion that the “thousand lights” very much loved by non-resident ‘city users” and advocates of Milan as “the place to be” in its most superficial sense are casting shadows on a more substantial and far-sighted productive economy and on social solidarity.
The latest warning comes from Ferruccio Resta, former rector of the Polytechnic University of Milan, who reminds us of the wealth embodied by the 200,000 students attending Milan’s universities and, further, calls for adequate policies concerning young people (training and employment opportunities, easy mobility, a stimulating cultural and sports scene, cheaper entertainment) while cautioning the city about the “risk that young people will flee if we do not invest in them” (Corriere della Sera, 6 May). Thank goodness, the debate shows no sign of dying down, as witnessed by the seven tents recently pitched in protest by student groups in front of the Polytechnic – a symbolic, conspicuous protest against high rents that’s gathering followers and support.
Here’s the thing: Milan needs projects, as well as large-scale investments and good policies. Just as the enlightened governing philosophies of Verri and Beccaria – followed by the economic and social foresight of Carlo Cattaneo – taught us. And just as – more recently, from the post-war period onwards – we learned from mayors and politicians inspired by socialist and secular reformism as well as by social Catholicism, whose positive impact is still clearly felt and could galvanise the decisions of those currently in charge.
In fact, Milan is still able to combine high-quality public administration and the financial autonomy of private enterprises armed with a sophisticated corporate culture and capable of “overarching thoughts”, as well as good civic practices, and indeed it still provides spaces where public debate on the quality of social life and economic development can thrive. These are all qualities that, if pooled together, can prevent the degradation that ephemeral approaches and the “vanity fairs” erected by flimsy, shady, short-sighted new high rollers may engender. Qualities that may prevent a surge in discontented citizens, such as those finding a voice in satirical blogs such as Il milanese imbruttito.(The disgruntled Milanese) and, instead, inject new impetus into a more civic, productive, supportive and greatly dignified city.
Then again, the public economic debate has been focusing on the central role of “high-quality sustainable, environmental and social development” – as opposed to obsessive quantitative growth – for some time now, and an increasing number of companies, while still keeping an eye on profits, is now emphasising stakeholder values (those concerning employees, suppliers, consumers, the communities involved in their operations) rather than shareholder ones. Moreover, the development of a “civic” and “circular” economy is also being prioritised by entrepreneurial organisations (starting with Assolombarda).
Essentially, all the conditions required to ensure the continued influence and impact of positive energies generating quality development in Milan are still there – Milan is still a “city on the rise”, just as its history and artistic representations illustrate, and not yet a city bloated by speculation and growing, intolerable social inequalities.
There are some positive, inspiring examples, such as the renovation of the former Falck area in Sesto San Giovanni, one of the largest property redevelopment operations in Europe. Here, after an initial phase dedicated to the service industry and luxury homes, a new agreement has been struck to prioritise residential housing at prices suitable to middle-class buyers, and including a significant share of low-rent social housing (ideal for student and young graduates, for instance). Technically, Sesto San Giovanni is not part of Milan, but is an independent municipality, though it’s nonetheless comprised in the city’s metropolitan area. And the players involved in this operation – Hines, COIMA with CEO Manfredi Catella fostering good relations with cooperatives, the ReDO project (by the Cariplo and CDP foundations) and, in terms of financial stakeholders, Intesa San Paolo – are all leaders on Milan’s economic scene. Hence, such a model could be replicated and extended, and municipal and regional authorities could meet in the middle to implement beneficial policies and thus prevent social and civic deterioration.
Milan needs to be more like a civitas – the kind of more civilised and civic-minded city that, ultimately, Italy is in desperate need of.
(photo Getty Images)
When discussing the future of Milan, in this era of radical transformation affecting geopolitical, economic, social and cultural contexts, it’s useful bearing in mind that the ancient Romans used two very different terms to describe a city: urbs and civitas. The former comprised buildings and infrastructures, streets and squares, government palaces and theatres, temples and markets, in their entirety, while the latter referred to the cives, the citizens, seen as a community animated by political and personal rights and responsibilities that shaped citizenship and its legal status.
Places, laws, community ties, projects.
Bricks that, cemented by judicial and cultural balance, represented the foundation on which to build the future.
Latin, as we all know, it’s a “precise, minimalist” language, unsuitable for “demagogues and charlatans”, as renowned author and master of pointed irony Giovanni Guareschi loved to say. And, nowadays, the distinction between urbs and civitas, between material spaces and immaterial laws, policies and culture, suggests that we do need to revive that spirit of community and coexistence, of civic belonging, of shared rules and notions, so as to avoid deterioration – felt by many as a threat that could swallow up a city whose population, after all, is currently still open-minded, innovative, European, entrepreneurial and supportive. To avert, in other words, a fate where streets and squares become increasingly choked with non-resident ‘city users’ and progressively deserted by its cives, its citizens.
Over the past months, the debate on the future of Milan has intensified on both authoritative newspapers and social media, centring on issues that, by all means, affect the quality of life and employment in metropolises all over the world – including, in Europe, London and Paris. Yet, with respect to Milan, these issues threaten to drown and engulf those features that, above all and over time, made it a very special city: a city that’s not a capital yet boasts a very prominent international profile, a city that’s not large (with a mid-sized population of 1.4 million inhabitants) yet is magnified by metropolitan relations and business and trade networks. A city whose social dynamics are anything but provincial, and as such peculiar within the Italian context. A city where global economic and financial activities interweave, turning it into a hub for multinationals’ projects and investments. Yet also a city showing a remarkable inclination for social integration (all newcomers are immediately assimilated into the Milanese lifestyle, a trait already noted by Alessandro Manzoni and Stendhal).
Milan is, indeed, a city rife with relationships and pluralism, where diversity is seen as richness, whose spirit suggests that you’re not born, but you “become” Milanese – an attitude that betray both its historical awareness and a tendency to innovation, a blend of native pride and fondness for an open, dialogic and heterogeneous identity, simultaneously urbs and civitas.
These strengths are still present, of course, but they’re now threatened by various recent phenomena that are causing fissures and wounds, such as those that are currently being debated.
And what are these phenomena? The already high and ever-increasing cost of life, starting with housing rental and purchase prices, which are pushing away the middle class, young couples, low-income “creative” and social sectors, consigning them to the suburbs, to the provinces even. A general feeling of uncertainty, both real and “perceived” (a “perception” that nonetheless reveals a growing sense of social discomfort). The idea that a transformation is underway, one that fosters the gaudiest aspects of flaunted wealth and showy social appearance while devaluing middle- and working-class entrepreneurial traditions. A pseudo-culture based on instant gratification and “presentism”, which is replacing the more tangible aptitude for high-quality cultural engagement in which theatre and music and art spaces are rooted. Basically, the notion that the “thousand lights” very much loved by non-resident ‘city users” and advocates of Milan as “the place to be” in its most superficial sense are casting shadows on a more substantial and far-sighted productive economy and on social solidarity.
The latest warning comes from Ferruccio Resta, former rector of the Polytechnic University of Milan, who reminds us of the wealth embodied by the 200,000 students attending Milan’s universities and, further, calls for adequate policies concerning young people (training and employment opportunities, easy mobility, a stimulating cultural and sports scene, cheaper entertainment) while cautioning the city about the “risk that young people will flee if we do not invest in them” (Corriere della Sera, 6 May). Thank goodness, the debate shows no sign of dying down, as witnessed by the seven tents recently pitched in protest by student groups in front of the Polytechnic – a symbolic, conspicuous protest against high rents that’s gathering followers and support.
Here’s the thing: Milan needs projects, as well as large-scale investments and good policies. Just as the enlightened governing philosophies of Verri and Beccaria – followed by the economic and social foresight of Carlo Cattaneo – taught us. And just as – more recently, from the post-war period onwards – we learned from mayors and politicians inspired by socialist and secular reformism as well as by social Catholicism, whose positive impact is still clearly felt and could galvanise the decisions of those currently in charge.
In fact, Milan is still able to combine high-quality public administration and the financial autonomy of private enterprises armed with a sophisticated corporate culture and capable of “overarching thoughts”, as well as good civic practices, and indeed it still provides spaces where public debate on the quality of social life and economic development can thrive. These are all qualities that, if pooled together, can prevent the degradation that ephemeral approaches and the “vanity fairs” erected by flimsy, shady, short-sighted new high rollers may engender. Qualities that may prevent a surge in discontented citizens, such as those finding a voice in satirical blogs such as Il milanese imbruttito.(The disgruntled Milanese) and, instead, inject new impetus into a more civic, productive, supportive and greatly dignified city.
Then again, the public economic debate has been focusing on the central role of “high-quality sustainable, environmental and social development” – as opposed to obsessive quantitative growth – for some time now, and an increasing number of companies, while still keeping an eye on profits, is now emphasising stakeholder values (those concerning employees, suppliers, consumers, the communities involved in their operations) rather than shareholder ones. Moreover, the development of a “civic” and “circular” economy is also being prioritised by entrepreneurial organisations (starting with Assolombarda).
Essentially, all the conditions required to ensure the continued influence and impact of positive energies generating quality development in Milan are still there – Milan is still a “city on the rise”, just as its history and artistic representations illustrate, and not yet a city bloated by speculation and growing, intolerable social inequalities.
There are some positive, inspiring examples, such as the renovation of the former Falck area in Sesto San Giovanni, one of the largest property redevelopment operations in Europe. Here, after an initial phase dedicated to the service industry and luxury homes, a new agreement has been struck to prioritise residential housing at prices suitable to middle-class buyers, and including a significant share of low-rent social housing (ideal for student and young graduates, for instance). Technically, Sesto San Giovanni is not part of Milan, but is an independent municipality, though it’s nonetheless comprised in the city’s metropolitan area. And the players involved in this operation – Hines, COIMA with CEO Manfredi Catella fostering good relations with cooperatives, the ReDO project (by the Cariplo and CDP foundations) and, in terms of financial stakeholders, Intesa San Paolo – are all leaders on Milan’s economic scene. Hence, such a model could be replicated and extended, and municipal and regional authorities could meet in the middle to implement beneficial policies and thus prevent social and civic deterioration.
Milan needs to be more like a civitas – the kind of more civilised and civic-minded city that, ultimately, Italy is in desperate need of.
(photo Getty Images)