Italian cities struggling with sustainability: in 2024 the average score of the capitals that lost ground on the various objectives dropped. The gap between North and South is strong. It is an alarming picture that emerges from Ecosistema Urbano, the annual report by Legambiente in collaboration with Ambiente Italia and Il Sole 24 Ore, on 2024. Based on the data of the Report, in 2024 the average score achieved by the 106 capitals dropped to 54.24%, recording a -3.8% compared to two years ago when it stood at 56.41%. If we look at individual cities, in 2024 Trento (79.78%) and Mantua (78.74%) are the only cities to exceed the 75 point threshold and dominate the Urban Ecosystem ranking, obtaining first and second place respectively. Behind them is Bergamo, in third place with a score of 71.82%, moving up the ranking by 13 positions (in the last edition it was 16th), thanks to a constant commitment especially in the sector of separate waste collection and cycling. The other cities in the top ten are Bolzano, fourth, followed by Pordenone, Reggio Emilia, Parma, Rimini, Bologna, Forlì.
The South is always in great trouble, with the exception of Cosenza, 16th in the ranking, the only Southern city in the top 20 even if compared to the last edition it loses 3 positions (it was 13th). At the bottom of the ranking there are nine southern cities – Caltanissetta (97), Caserta (98), Catania (100), Palermo (101), Catanzaro (102), Naples (103), Crotone (104), Vibo Valentia (105th), Reggio Calabria (106th) – which do not reach 35% of the score. Crotone, Vibo Valentia, Reggio Calabria are even below 25 points out of 100. Furthermore, in 2024 the average urban surface area dedicated to cycling infrastructure will decrease – 10.39 meters equivalent per 100 inhabitants, just as the average extension of the pedestrian areas in the capital municipalities will decrease to the current 48.6 m2 and that of the limited traffic zones which in 2024 will stand at 368.3 square meters per 100 inhabitants. According to Ispra data, land consumption in the total capital cities is growing: from 2018 to 2023 it is equal to approximately 4500 hectares, compared to a decline in the number of inhabitants (-346,000 inhabitants). The result is a growth in waterproofed soil for each city inhabitant, again on a five-year basis, equal to +6.3 m2/inhabitant from 2018 to 2023 (+3.5% compared to 2018), with strong variations from city to city.
Among the positive signals that emerge from the new Urban Ecosystem report, there is separate waste collection which for the first time, among the capitals, exceeds the average of 65%. Furthermore, there are 15 capitals which account for over 80%. The number of passengers transported by the local public transport service in capital cities is growing, even if general performance is still far from European levels. Among the cities tested for LPT services is Milan with 424 passengers in 2024 compared to 415 last year, 357 in 2022 and 303 in 2021. Rome also shows slight encouraging signs, rising from 259 trips per capita per year in the last edition to 277 this year. Venice remains the best although decreasing, interrupting constant growth, while Florence continues to improve (rising from 225 last year to 247 passengers/inhabitant/year). “Italian cities – comments the national president of Legambiente Stefano Ciafani – are slowly transforming. There are many visible construction sites for the ecological transition, but there are still too many unresolved problems”. from other infrastructures. We also need to review the building bonus system to comply with the objectives of the green homes directive. Italian cities can become a concrete field of action for the Clean Industrial Deal launched by the President of the European Commission Ursula Von Der Leyen at the beginning of her second mandate, but we must believe in it more.”