The crooked cake by Mr Veltroni - press release

The New City The City Council of Rome is about to vote in order to approve the new General Building Planning, that, in someone’s opinion (mayor included) would better the quality of life in our city, giving a solution for several problems such as lodging, green areas, public transport and car jam.
The New Planning, 80% of which has already been effected or approved, is, according to Mr Morassut, responsible for the policy of territory, a plan conceived not only by politicians, experts and the so called “palazzinari” (in the roman slang it stands for builders) , but also by citizens and associations, that would have taken part in the project of the future city.
The reality looks a bit different to many of those citizens and associations. After the “creative” economy of our present Ministry of Finance Giulio Tremonti, the City Council of the Eternal City seems to have adopted a similar system: turning on and on numbers and percentages in conferences without someone who can contest those ciphers .
Rome is suffering the emergency of thousands of people who can’t afford a house or a rent:
evictions for arrears are increasing every month and the new Planning doesn’t seem to care too much for such social disease (the builders are using this problem as an alibi for transforming part of the countryside into building areas).
In not much smaller proportion than Berlusconi’s conflict of interest, the roman builders have control on powerful media such the daily newspapers and tv’s.
Even the environmental laws don’t seem too bother too much the Public Administration: such laws can have retroactive or actual derogations. The relics of the “city countryside” are slowly disappearing.
The New Planning, over 70 milion of cube metres, ignore the evidence of the registred decrease of population: in the last ten years, over 170.000 Romans got convinced that all roads lead also out of Rome, in villages and small towns where rents and houses are cheaper and the traffic is bearable. Not to mention the lack of a General Traffic Planning, still to be approved.
These are the reasons why many associations and citizens are gathering these days to contrast the Plan and to divert it from its content of big shopping mall, speedways and not-cheap-at-all apartments. A city with glamour in the small historical Centre and with building speculation in the vast Suburbs, where 80% of the Romans do live.
Of course this is the result of a poor involvement of the citizens: 93% of the accepted proposals and project are related to building companies and only 7% to citizens and associations. Even the control of the participation still belongs to the council. And after the New Plan, “special projects” by counsellor Mr Minelli and other architectural nightmares.
Inhabitants and associations are demonstrating on next Monday, March 13th, in Piazza del Campidoglio, bringing turfs from different suburbs to the famous central square to show how the “periferie romane” (roman suburbs) are suffering and to include tourists in the demonstration and make them understand that Rome is bigger than Spanish Steps and Roman Forum: something out there is living. And asking for a different city life.
The crooked cake, bake by our Mayor, might be uneasy to eat.

Rome, March 10th 2006-03-11

Massimo Viggiani
member of the City Net for a Participated Plan

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