His vision is built around three main goals: Environmental and social sustainability; Ambition to transform itself into an “immaterial factory”; Challenge of developing and promoting its territory and cultural heritage
The Smart City Index, the annual analysis by Ernst & Young (EY) which ranks Italian cities according to their infrastructure development, this year expands the concept of “intelligence” of a city to sustainability. The report took into consideration 109 italian smart cities in the different components including the presence of:Smart services; Infrastructure conditions; Innovation and sustainable development; Institutional, financial and organizational resources that promote innovation
The Italian top 10 is:
1. Trent (score: 100)
2. Turin (92.90)
3. Bologna (89.84)
4. Mantua (89.17)
5. Milan (84.51)
6. Bolzano (84.03)
7. Brescia (82.74)
8. Bergamo (74.78)
9. Pordenone (73,91)
10. Ferrara (73,90)
Trent is the most sustainable city in Italy. It is the capital of the autonomous province of Trento. In the 16th century, the city was the location of the Council of Trent. Formerly part of Austria and Austria-Hungary, it was annexed by Italy in 1919. With almost 120,000 inhabitants, Trento is the third largest city in the Alps and second largest in the Tyrol. The University of Trento ranks 2nd among 'medium-sized' Universities in the Census ranking[ and 5th in the Il Sole 24 Ore ranking of Italian universities. Trento is also one of the nation's wealthiest and most prosperous cities, with its province being one of the richest in Italy, with a GDP per capita of €31,200 and a GDP (nominal) of €16.563 billion
Already in 2014, Trento was ranked as the “world best practice” for the implementation of the smart city concept as part of the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and ElectronicEngineers), Smart Cities Initiatives framework, with the IEEE choosing Trento as one of the top 10 smartcity models worldwide.
As embedded in its strategy guidelines, Trento’s vision is built around three main goals: Environmental and social sustainability; Ambition to transform itself into an “immaterial factory”; Challenge of developing and promoting its territory and cultural heritage. To fully understand Trento’s smart city strategy, it is crucial to acknowledge that Trento embolie the “immaterial factory” concept. This concept is a district of knowledge, where ideas, projects,solutions, technologies and start-ups come together, enhancing the quality of life of the entire city.
EY's report shows as well, that:
• The top 10 includes medium-sized cities as Bolzano, Brescia, Bergamo, Pordenone and Ferrara. Florence is at 20th place, Rome is at 78th.
• Italian cities become more sustainable but the gap between north and south increases. While many metropolitan cities from the north are in the top five (in addition to Turin and Bologna, Milan is in fifth place), other cities from the south are classified on the back of the list. At the bottom of the ranking are L'Aquila (107), Catania (108) and Crotone (109).
• Electric and hybrid cars tripled in the last 4 years (+259% from 2016) and Shared mobility is also growing Italians increasingly love to take cars, bicycles, scooters and scooters "in sarin”, with Milan leader
What does in mean?
Growing populations and increasing challenges such as traffic congestion, air pollution and insufficient infrastructure have seen Italian cities, specially at North, turn to digital technologies to solve their problems. But it's only when these solutions are interconnected and aligned in the form of a Smart City strategy that the individual measures can unfold their full potential. An e-mobility strategy (in Milan, "eliminated" over 100,000 vehicles to discourage the use of polluting cars), should always be integrated into intelligent traffic management systems and powered via smart electricity grids.
By Enzo Longobardi
Professional free lance; + 5000 hours of teaching in Local development and business planningEnglish and Spanish for tourism and hotel management ; Social media and Communication skills; Cultural heritage.
