Trade Districts, the growth of Piedmont's economy passes through the territories

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Favouring local commerce to trigger positive growth mechanisms in the territories. This is the aim behind the creation of the Piedmontese Districts of Commerce. Established in 2020 with the aim of revitalising small shops, bars and restaurants affected by the pandemic, they now consist of 77 areas, involving 600 Piedmontese municipalities in all eight provinces of the Region. "Proximity commerce builds customer loyalty and encourages contact between people," emphasised the Piedmont Region's Councillor for Commerce, Vittoria Poggio. "When I arrived in 2019, Piedmont had not even set up a district yet, and given the success of this first step, we plan to confirm the current resources and increase future ones to add those realities that have not been able to win the funds. We expect, by May 2024, to see the first strategic projects completed, financed by the 2023 call for proposals'.

In 2024, the total investment in the Districts will reach 23 million euros, 18 of which have already been allocated. The aim of this funding is to rebalance the competition of e-commerce giants with small local businesses and to support local businesses that also operate in peripheral or mountainous areas. The districts' activities are coordinated by individual managers and steering committees, in which officials from local trade associations are also present to further involve the territories.

Among the projects of the administrations are the urban regeneration of degraded areas, the installation of new signage, information totems, electric recharging stations, bicycle parking spaces, and the creation of small pedestrian rest areas with benches or similar solutions for strolling in the streets of small businesses. Initiatives are also aimed at improving the exterior of shops and bars, with shop windows and terraces. Finally, a share of the funding has also been earmarked for environmental sustainability, accessibility, digitisation. The aim is to make the shops more innovative and closer to customers' needs. A large number of businesses, including new ones, have joined the initiative, according to Ascom Confcommercio Torino. The only room for improvement to be made concerns the fact 'that a district, even a small one or one made up of just a few municipalities, receives the same amount of funds as a larger district,' says Federica Fiore from the association. 'In this sense, we hope for corrective measures if the measure is refinanced.

Among the virtuous examples of the use of funds is that of Casale Monferrato, in the province of Alessandria, where the municipal administration refurbished the city's porticos. In Cossato (Biella), on the other hand, 'Vini e sorrisi' (Wines and smiles) has organised a white night with wine tastings by Cossato producers and the display in shop windows of 'legality chairs' made by the pupils of the 'Leonardo Da Vinci' middle school on the anniversary of the Capaci massacre. In Cuneo, six new information panels will also be installed at the entrance to some of the side streets of Corso Nizza, the city's central artery, indicating the commercial and craft activities and services present in the streets themselves, an initiative shared by the district's steering committee. The panels will bear the logo of the urban trade district, the name of the street and the exact name of the activities in the area.