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Sustainable cities are among the most important resources for the future of our planet. Urban areas alone consume 75% of the world's energy and produce 50% of greenhouse gas emissions. A trend that in recent years is finally slowing down thanks to the UN's commitment to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
As far as our country is concerned, Legambiente annually draws up the ranking of sustainable cities in Italy, evaluating the most virtuous provincial capitals and provinces based on criteria ranging from separate waste collection to the development of zero-emission transport.
Let's see which are the 10 most sustainable municipalities in Italy and the metropolitan centers that have stood out for the initiatives adopted to protect the environment.
The 10 sustainable cities in Italy: Legambiente's 2020 ranking
The report Legambiente's 2020 edition of "Urban Ecosystem" paints the picture of a two-speed Italy. On one side are the smaller towns, where attention to ecosystem sustainability is constantly growing; on the other, the metropolitan centers that continue to struggle to combat smog, despite the numerous commendable measures taken by local administrations. It is therefore not surprising that not even one of Italy's main metropolises is in the top ten.
Here are the ten sustainable cities of 2020 according to the latest Legambiente ranking:
- Trento, also in first place in 2019;
- Mantua;
- Pordenone;
- Bolzano;
- Reggio Emilia;
- Belluno;
- Parma;
- Cosenza;
- Biella;
- Verbania.
And where do the large Italian cities rank in the ranking? If Bologna and Florence are closest to the top ten, in 16th and 24th place respectively, Milan, Rome, Turin and Verona remain further behind, but over the course of the year they stood out for a series of green initiatives of great impact, which Legambiente has collected in the Best Practices 2020.
Milan, between decementification and shared mobility
The times when Ivano Fossati sang “Of important cities I remember Milan: livid and sunken by its own hand” are very far away. Today, the Lombard capital is in fact the most active Italian metropolis for the improvement of urban livability, with projects ranging from the development of cycling to the creation of environmentally friendly neighborhoods such as Santagiulia, among the most interesting places to buy a house today.
For 2020, Legambiente praises Milan in particular for two reasons:
the commitment to the deconcretization of the new Land Management Plan, with a strong reduction in building expansion in favor of a plan for the recovery of urban suburbs;
investments in shared mobility, particularly car sharing, with a total fleet of 3,000 vehicles.
These are just two of the many signs of the conscious vitality of Milan, a constantly evolving capital city with a constantly thriving real estate market.
Rome restarts from rivers and gardens
The Capital is painfully behind. Not surprisingly, in the Legambiente ranking it occupies 89th place out of 100 of the world's sustainable cities, with serious critical issues related to traffic and waste disposal
The future of the Eternal City is not all bleak; on the contrary, we can increasingly see green reflections from the suburbs. The Montagnola-Tre Fontane neighborhood, for example, said no to concrete to transform a 26 square kilometer area into a network of one hundred urban gardens reserved for citizens, and the same happened in Garbatella.
On the banks of Rome's rivers, the Aniene and the now former Biondo Tevere, anti-waste barriers are multiplying: these are simple bulkhead mechanisms to block debris carried by the current and prevent it from ending up in the sea. The waste, especially plastic, is then collected and recycled.
Turin speeds on a scooter
The Savoy capital has been fighting a relentless battle against smog for years, at the highest levels in all of Italy. An encouraging sign came just this year with the widespread diffusion of electric scooters. In the city of the Mole, eight different services are active for public transport and sharing, plus all private means.
In Verona, the environment and psychological health go hand in hand
In the homeland of Romeo and Juliet, the STEPS project aims to improve the quality of life of citizens suffering from loneliness (especially the elderly) through solidarity works for the recovery and environmental redevelopment of degraded urban areas. An important and noble plan, which makes Verona sustainable for both the environment and for human beings.
Even if far from the most prestigious positions in the Legambiente ranking, the metropolises are making important efforts to increase environmental awareness. Eco-sustainability will be one of the key factors in the real estate market in the coming years, so why not immediately look for a home in one of the Italian cities that is more committed than others to respecting the environment?
On the Casavo classifieds platform, you can immediately find the apartment that's right for you in Bologna, Florence, Milan, Rome, Turin, and Verona. Start your new green life now, dedicated to a conscious future!