Urban Ecosystem 2025: emergencies in large centres remain chronic

The number of local transport passengers is increasing and waste collection is improving on average, but the chronic urban emergencies of the large cities are still evident: from the smog that grips the large cities of the Po Valley to the too many cars on the road (in Catania and Turin), or the waste separation that is still in trouble in Rome and chronically late in Bari, Naples and Catania, with percentages pinned below 20% in Palermo. Then there are those who still waste more than a third of the drinking water introduced into the water networks (Florence, Venice, Bari, Catania, Palermo and Messina), those who are unable to stop the consumption of new land (Venice) or who are struggling to dedicate more space to pedestrians or cycle paths.

While the slowdown in cycling involves all the regional capitals on average, some data from the large cities are worth mentioning. For example, the high concentrations of nitrogen dioxide in Naples, Milan, Turin and Catania, the number of days on which ozone limits were exceeded in Milan, and the increasingly high number of cars on the road, with a record number in Catania (80 cars for every 100 inhabitants, 79 last year). Separate waste collection in Palermo stands at 19.7% (19.5% last year, 16.3% two years ago and 15.4% three years ago) and in Catania at 36.4% (35.8% last year). Only 39 (25 last year) trips per capita are made annually on public transport by the citizens of Catania and 59 (stable compared to 2024) by those of Palermo.

In addition, there are just 0.38 equivalent metres per 100 inhabitants of land dedicated to cyclists in Naples, 1.45 in Messina, and just 8.3 dedicated to pedestrians per 100 inhabitants in Genoa. Lastly, the numbers of accessible urban green spaces are striking: just 5 square metres per capita in Messina, 6.9 in Catania, 7.9 in Genoa. The 0.03 kW per thousand inhabitants of energy from renewable sources in public buildings in Palermo, 0.22 in Naples, 0.39 in Turin, and 0.70 in Rome in a country that has plenty of sunshine all year round are also laughable.

In short, large urban centres - which could make the heaviest contribution to environmental sustainability in terms of population size - often struggle to respond to urban emergencies.