Urban ecosystem 2020

Trento, Mantua and Pordenone top the ranking in the Urban Ecosystem 2020 Report, the annual dossier prepared by Legambiente, with the scientific contribution of the Istituto di Ricerche Ambiente Italia and the editorial collaboration of Il Sole 24 Ore which, for over 20 years, has been tracing the evolution of the state of health of Italian provincial capitals. The indicators used by Legambiente to assess Italian cities range from air pollution to noise, from climate to mobility, from waste to water management, from public green spaces to social issues. The 2020 report is based on municipal data for 2019, i.e. a pre-pandemic context. Each city is given a score from 0 to 100, based on the qualitative results in the indicators considered.

The dossier reveals a two-speed Italy: the first dynamic and attentive to new urban planning choices, mobility services, renewable sources, the progressive return of the city to its citizens, the growth of green spaces. The second, more static, still shows too “slow” a trend in improving the environmental performance of cities, especially in terms of smog, transport, waste separation and water management.

Trento and Mantua, as last year, remain in the first and second places in the ranking with good overall performances, followed by Pordenone, which, after a slow climb, has conquered the third place overtaking Bolzano, which drops to fourth place. In fifth place is the city of Reggio Emilia, as a result of a persistent rise to the top ten over recent years. At the bottom of the ranking are Pescara, Palermo and Vibo Valentia.

Among the big cities, the growth of Milan is highlighted, which now occupies 29th position; the capital of Lombardy is in fact increasingly “more attentive to urban liveability, urban regeneration and efficient land use“. In addition to the context, there is also a focus dedicated to 17 best practices, describing virtuous experiences that should just be replicated throughout the country; among these, for example, there is Cosenza, which has created the ‘ciclopolitana’, a cycle path more than 30 kilometres long that will be completed by 2020.

For more details: Urban Ecosystem, two-speed Italy