From experiments to policies, for an alternative future
Starting working tables around 5 transitions.
The working tables will cover these themes:
Urban Transition: the new urban visions, people-friendly for social and environmental redevelopment.
The main factors that contribute to the quality of life in cities intertwine several issues related to health, safety and accessibility. Urban traffic remains one of the main reasons for city pollution, and Italy ranks among the last European countries in terms of soft mobility and among the first for accidents to cyclists and pedestrians. At the same time, from north to south, cities and towns are the subject of redevelopment operations, often huge ones: former schools, former markets, former railroad depots, former barracks become new ground for experimentation, but what are the models, indicators and impact pathways that allow for the generation of social and environmental value?
The costs are huge, sustainable solutions are needed, based on a new relationship with nature, people-friendly projects and policies are spreading, such as City 30, pedestrian plazas and urban forestation spaces that, more broadly with the "15-minute city," bring out a new paradigm that requires unprecedented skills in the world of Administration and business. Cities today are the most fertile field of experimentation for generating unprecedented alliances among diverse actors to develop truly sustainable and inclusive urban transitions.
Digital transition: digital innovation, employment impact and the need for a new alliance between cities, businesses and movements and universities.
Digital innovation is profoundly transforming every aspect of our lives. We are faced with continuous innovations in the way we travel, organize, communicate, and consume: the role of large platforms, the arrival of Artificial Intelligence, huge investments, and data management seem to be rescaling the role of cities, physical spaces, and citizens. But this is part of the truth because urban contexts represent ideal terrain without which there can be no real search for new solutions.
Innovation has always been generated through the encounter of diversity in messy contexts. For this reason, we intend to accompany the digital transition in the world of work and attractiveness of territories, between tourism and logistics, developing strategies and approaches to combine opportunities and impacts. The context is constantly evolving, we need business models that combine return on investment with action profiles aimed at generating public value. Models are needed to link innovation and sustainability, with the involvement of public, private and community stakeholders.
The digital transition is radical, and it is therefore imperative to design the tools that govern it differently, otherwise the weaker sections of society in particular will pay the price.
Ecological transition: climate change and social inequalities at the heart of new production models.
Ecological transition, to truly address climate change, must simultaneously be social transition. In this process, it is crucial to intervene guided by the principles of social justice and equity, without exacerbating existing inequalities, distributing the costs and benefits of the transition equitably among all members of society. There are several possible strategies, but without involving the most vulnerable communities and leveraging solutions developed by the private sector, there can be no solutions that promote equitable access to sustainable energy and new production models. Transition is only possible by initiating a path toward economic democracy, in which private organizations as well as communities become active players in the process of recomposing society.
4. Generational transitions: the right to live and educate: from home to school.
If during the pandemic young people and adolescents were represented as fragile and isolated, in recent months the narrative seems to have changed. Violence, prevarication and bullying seem to be the hallmarks of the new generation: from victims of society to perpetrators. At the same time, male and female students are leading the mobilization on the issue of housing. They are demanding affordable, decent and sustainable solutions to enable them to study, work and, above all, stay. These two phenomena on closer inspection make today's young people emerge as crucial voices in the public debate, bringing with them demands that reflect the social and cultural change taking place. In the face of a growing aging population, these narratives may be useful in reigniting debates on issues of fundamental importance, but are they equally capable of capturing the lives of young people and adolescents and fostering change?
The younger generation brings to the forefront a firm demand for gender rights and reduced inequality, a quality school that is open to the territory, unprecedented ways of enjoying, creating and interrogating cultural content with new languages and learning paths. Yet, we struggle to talk about it. So does a new right to housing. Only by activating generational transitions is it possible to return to imagining and creating alternative futures, from home to school.
5. Transition of proximity: proximity as a response to challenges in the world of culture, health and participation, with greater care for marginal territories.
Years of neoliberal policies have increased distrust among citizens, citizens and institutions in the name of efficiency and competitiveness. Also in response to this trend, proximity appears as a new paradigm for establishing caring relationships.
It is no coincidence that this transition takes place alongside citizens and citizens: those who live and work in urban peripheries, rural areas, and inland areas face daily challenges related to isolation, lack of infrastructure and services.
To enable the working groups to achieve the best possible interaction of all and sundry participants, the spaces of: Meeting Room - 2nd Floor of Sala Borsa, Tassinari Room, Green Room - Urban Innovation Foundation Headquarters.