Why Messina has lost four positions in the 2026 urban ecosystem ranking, drawn up by Legambiente and published by “Sun 24 Hours”? Why are we in eighty-ninth place? Why will probably the other reports on the quality of life in the Italian provinces, which will be released in the coming weeks (they are now an end-of-year classic), also certify the plodding, in the lower areas of the rankings, of ours, as well as many other cities in the South, with very rare exceptions?
The answer is simple. The problem is not represented by the presence of cycle paths – which here on the banks of the Strait are seen as nuclear power plants to be dismantled, a source of devastation, symbols of political-administrative disaster, diabolical signs of sick minds – but by the fact that there are still too few of them. The problem is not represented by the small trees placed next to the pavements in the streets of the center – which here on the banks of the Strait are considered an annoying waste of land to be dedicated to the parking of private cars that we would like to reach the heart of the city, without limitations, sometimes even up to the shop windows… – but by the fact that they are still too few. And that a greater amount of greenery is needed.
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