EUKN - European Urban Knowledge Network - URBAN Italia Savona: renewing the city centre in order to strengthen social services and equal opportunities

URBAN Italia Savona: renewing the city centre in order to strengthen social services and equal opportunities - Savona, IT.

Introduction

The URBAN Italia Savona Programme aims at regenerating the town and restoring the most important and no longer in use historic buildings. The URBAN Italia Savona Programme key objective is to improve socio-economic features through an integrated approach starting from the regeneration of the city centre.

Problem

Over the last few years, Savona experienced a great industry crisis, due to the main urban infrastructure decaying (e.g., railways and the commercial dock), the presence of public and private buildings being obsolete, demographic changes and the population aging. Furthermore, the town experienced a high rate of unemployment which affected in particular youth and women, a high rate of crime and a large number of immigrants. Many Savona’s urban and surrounding areas were physically and socially deprived. Before the URBAN Italia Savona Programme, its social-cultural heritage seemed to be strongly deteriorated, especially with regard to the most relevant historic buildings (e.g. the San Paolo Hospital, the Gavotti Palace, the Monticello Area and many areas of the city centre).

Description

The URBAN Italia Savona Programme represents a chance for sustainable development able to grant urban regeneration and the renewal of Savona’s most important buildings. Moreover, it aims to create new job opportunities, supply innovative services, (e.g. new technologies) and promote equal opportunities. The URBAN Italia Savona Programme implemented the P.L.U.S. project (Progetto Laboratorio Urbano Savona – Urban Laboratory of Savona), an urban economic and social laboratory to improve the economic features of the area.

Approach

The URBAN Italia Savona Programme strategy is based on the idea that the social change can be reached through urban renewal and regeneration, meaning that its first steps should focus on infrastructural interventions. One of the main tools to implement the integrated approach is the diffusion of innovative services, such as the ones introduced in Public Administration. The creation of new Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), together with the related innovative services, develops and improves the economy of the whole area. Training in new technologies provided to citizens brings new job opportunities in public and private sectors and in the SMEs.

Results

The main results reached by the URBAN Italia Savona Programme are:

interventions to improve the quality of public and green areas in order to increase the quality of life within the town
interventions to reduce the acoustic and environmental pollution
the regeneration of public buildings, even the ones having a monumental and historic value to improve public services and social and economic activities
the regeneration of infrastructure of the old town: sewers, services, paving and manholes in order to improve environmental quality, facilitate the economic activities and fight the negative demographic trend
the improvement of SMEs and economic associationism
the integration and regular introduction of immigrants in the job market to provide equal opportunities and facilitate their social integration.

Beneficiaries

City of Savona and its inhabitants.

Resources used

The total amount for the intervention is 15 million euros. The national public participation is 9 million euros of which 5 million euros are national funds. The remaining part is not equally shared among the region, the municipality and other kinds of co-financing, such as the ones belonging to the private investors (1 million).

Contact info

Ministry for Infrastructure
Mr. Ennio Rossi (Responsible for the Procedure)

Project start date

01/03/2004

Links

Ministry for Infrastructure (in Italian)City of Savona (in Italian)

Document type

case

Themes

Urban Policy > Social inclusion & integration > Equality

Keywords

Gender Equality

Institutional characteristics
Private Sector