Urban Ecosystem, the greenest cities report card rewards Reggio Emilia

The classifica 2024 di Ecosistema urbano, which photographs the green performance of 106 capitals in five macro categories (air, water, waste, mobility, environment), crowns Reggio Emilia, followed by Trento, last year's winner, and Parma. The 'geographical' gap does not change, with the top 12 locations all in the North and a clear prevalence of the South in the lower part of the ranking. The two largest southern cities, Naples and Palermo, are respectively fourth and fifth last, while the black jersey goes to Catania. Once again the virtuous exception is Cosenza, this year 13th.

The 31st edition of the annual report edited by Legambiente and Ambiente Italia, in cooperation with Il Sole 24 Ore, announces a methodological revision, with the introduction of a new indicator, that of the variation in land consumption, and a series of changes, from the variation in the weights of certain parameters to the use of data from Arpa's central stations to assess air quality. The restyling should come to fruition in the next few years: under study is a new parameter, among those to be included in the monitoring, on the impact of extreme climate events, which are currently affecting several territories, even those well placed in the ranking of green cities. The changes introduced do not allow a precise comparison to be made with last year: for example, the drop in the average score obtained by the cities considered - average down from 56.4 to 55.8 in comparison with 100% of an ideal urban centre - could also depend on the new criteria.

In this edition, only the leader Reggio Emilia exceeds 80, also thanks to obtaining four of the five bonuses that go beyond individual rankings and reward efficiency achieved in specific areas. The cities that have obtained at least one of these bonuses total 45 (28 in the North, four in the Centre and 13 in the South and Islands), with the big exception being Trento, which, despite the absence of bonuses, remains on the podium.delving into the 20 parameters, the best air quality is in the South, with only L'Aquila (first, among others, for lower PM10 incidence) boasting an "excellent" situation in this regard. The air in Ragusa is judged 'good' and in 30 other cities the level is 'sufficient'. Thus, more than two thirds of the chief towns have an 'insufficient' or even 'poor' rating. As far as water network dispersion is concerned, from this year considered the highest weight of the indicators together with differentiated waste collection, at national level there is a small improvement (from 36.6 to 36.3 per cent). While, after the Covid years, the public transport service confirms the positive trend, dragged again by Milan.

In the area of mobility - where the cities of Emilia-Romagna stand out in particular - there is some improvement in the standard of cycle paths (11.02 equivalent metres per 100 inhabitants, compared to 10.69 in the previous year) and in the average extension of pedestrian islands (from 48 to 50.7 square metres per 100 inhabitants). Road accidents with consequences for people also had a slightly lower incidence. The further increase in differentiated waste collection (up from 62.7 to 64.2 per cent, again with Ferrara in the lead) and the slight reduction in annual waste produced (from 516 to 513 kilograms per inhabitant) were positive. The incidence of solar and photovoltaic energy installed on municipal-owned buildings is growing moderately. Negative notes from the change in land use (plus 7.9 square metres per inhabitant in 2022 compared to 2017) and the further increase in the average rate of cars on the road (from 66.6 to 67.7 per 100 inhabitants), which places us at the bottom of European rankings.

It is precisely this parameter that highlights an anomaly: Reggio Emilia is first in terms of the development of cycling infrastructure and last in terms of the high proportion of cars in circulation (88 per 100 inhabitants). 'Clearly,' observes Mayor Marco Massari, in office since June, 'we also need to intervene on a cultural level to achieve extensive use of cycle paths. At the same time, more work will be done on public transport: we plan to establish a mobility manager, as well as an energy manager. And throughout the term of office the guide for environmental policies will be the Reacts project, Reggio Emilia for air, climate, earth and health'. Neighbouring Parma shares the podium with Reggio and stands out - among other things - for its share of local public transport passengers. "We have been included by the EU in the 100 cities with the goal of 'zero emissions' by 2030," says Mayor Michele Guerra. "We have prepared the city climate contract, which envisages a series of actions and involves, in addition to public bodies, 46 private partners, whose assumption of responsibility is indispensable.