Quality of life by age, top mayors' recipes

The results of the survey on the Quality of Life for Children, Young People and the Elderly took the mayors of the top three ranked territories by surprise. "I didn't expect it," the mayor of Bolzano, whose province came first in the ranking for young people, told Il Sole 24 Ore. "It is a great satisfaction to have learned of this result, just on the day when an event that is very dear to us and dedicated precisely to the youngest children was coming to an end," said Sara Funaro, mayor of Florence, commenting on the first place for the Quality of Life of Children, just a few hours after the conclusion of the annual 'Firenze dei Bambini' initiative (which this year closed with 28,000 attendees and more than 300 free events held in the city's main venues). "Proud of the results," said Roberto Dipiazza, mayor of Trieste, who instead stands out for the well-being of the elderly.

The three mayors represent the local administrations operating in the three areas at the top of the Quality of Life for Children, Young People and the Elderly rankings, published on Monday 25 May in Il Sole 24 Ore. These three provinces (or metropolitan cities) are very different from each other, but which the sixth edition of the survey dedicated to the wellbeing of generational groups has rewarded for their ability to offer opportunities, living conditions and services that are on average better than those of other Italian territories. Apart from the amazement of the rankings, which have bounced around in recent days in the local chronicles of the three cities concerned, the mayors are confident that there are winning factors behind the result.

ALL RANKINGS PROVINCE BY PROVINCE

'Bolzano,' says Mayor Claudio Corrarati, 'offers an important economic and social fabric for young people and we have many cultural initiatives. The fact that we have research centres of excellence and a cutting-edge university means that our young people have high-level profiles, which are in great demand and when they are hired they get high salaries, which are necessary to deal with a company structure that borders on Austria'. These are some of the reasons behind the success of the South Tyrol province according to the first citizen. The number of marriages, high education and low unemployment are the main driving forces behind the South Tyrolean province. 'We have worked a lot on dual training and our young people do not struggle to enter innovative work contexts. On the contrary, if anything, we are suffering from a shortage of labour today'.

'There is no shortage of critical points,' Corrarati continues, 'on which Bolzano must also continue to work. "We still have a lot of work to do to ensure greater urban security, for example, especially in the evenings when our young people want to have fun. We also have to work to ensure that the high cost of living does not prevent young people from making a future for themselves because rents are too high'.