From crisis to opportunity, Milan a city open to all
A virtuous model that, beyond the judicial events, must now look to the future by focusing on accessibility and simplification
by Carlo Ratti
At a time when Milan is under media and judicial attack, I feel it is my duty - without going into the merits of the judiciary's work - to recall what the city has managed to build and affirm over the last ten years. A virtuous model, the Milanese one, which deserves to be defended.
As I emphasised at the Forum Scenari Immobiliari, if there is a 'Milan model', it is that of a city that, after a major revival, is now faced with the challenge of a 'second act'. It is a recurring passage in urban history: New York in the 1960s, Rio de Janeiro in the 1970s, Mexico City in the 1980s. Or Barcelona, which reinvented itself thanks to the 1992 Olympics, experienced a period of momentum and then went into crisis.
Milan is now at a similar crossroads. Its rebirth begins with Expo 2015. At the time, the city appeared tired, disillusioned, uncertain even about whether it would be able to inaugurate the event in time. Instead, Expo became the catalyst that united local players and relaunched the city's image globally.
From there, the 'first act' takes shape: new infrastructures, an increasingly competitive university system, growing attractiveness for international students and talent. Entire neighbourhoods change face - Porta Nuova, CityLife - and Milan establishes itself as a global city, in the sense given by sociologist Saskia Sassen: strategic nodes in the world economy, centres of finance, innovation, advanced services, with an influence that goes beyond national borders.
Success, however, also brings new imbalances. When a city works, goods become scarce and prices go up - starting with the cost of land. Milan today is more expensive and less accessible than ten years ago. The risk is that this reduces the space for those who study, create, work, take risks.
