After the success of Expo 2015, Beppe Sala is ready to lead Milan onto the world stage. On 6 and 7 February, the primary elections will be held to choose the centre-left candidate for mayor of Milan.
Innovation. To ensure a city doesn't fall behind, that a metropolis moves forward, constant investment in innovation and technology across every sector is needed. What would you do in this area if you became mayor?
Innovation and inclusion are the two keywords of my electoral campaign and my programme. And as I have emphasised on several occasions, innovation is not, first and foremost, a sector to invest in, but a dimension that Milan carries within itself and that the municipality must take on as its own, in order to guide the city towards the future. Milan must be the capital of research and technological development, and to that end we have put forward a support programme for start-ups and a dedicated desk for international companies that choose to open here or stay here. It must lead, by developing Expo's legacy, innovation in the agri-food supply chain, as well as in tourism and personal services. It must establish itself as the most advanced point of innovation in the world of work, so as to guarantee, through work-life balance tools, smart working, co-working, protections for the self-employed, market monitoring, etc., genuine inclusion for women, young people, fifty-somethings left out of the labour market, and regular immigrants. And it must become the city of public administration innovation: in my programme I have even proposed an "innovation department" reporting directly to the mayor and the council, and an "innovation fellowship" programme, modelled on the White House, to ensure the municipality of Milan benefits from the knowledge of young researchers, start-up founders and company executives.
Sustainability. This topic is no longer just one among many — it cuts across every political vision and every serious business strategy. Can you show us how this aspect runs through the main points of your programme?
Environmental, social and economic sustainability is an objective to be pursued in every act of city governance, whether that means refurbishing social housing or setting the criteria for managing school canteens. That is why the theme emerges continuously throughout every page of the programme, from modernising the ATM vehicle fleet to incentives and subsidised financing for replacing condominium boilers, which are one of the main causes of air pollution in Milan.
But it is important that the individual actions are guided by a vision of the city that takes into account not only its current needs, but also how it will look in 10–20 years' time. It would be absurd, for example, to keep planning the construction of residential car parks when younger generations have a very detached relationship with car ownership and alternate between public transport, car sharing and bike sharing in the city. Or to plan the regeneration of derelict areas by betting on luxury private development, if the demand over the coming years is for mid-range apartments. This ability to monitor needs, trends and projections is fundamental to making truly sustainable choices. And in this sense, the dimension of the metropolitan city is a decisive factor for sustainable planning.
Going into more detail on one of the issues citizens feel most strongly about: what will you do to improve mobility, particularly on two topics that are very close to Milanese hearts — bicycles and the metro?
The first thing to do is precisely to conceive the metro network within the whole area of the metropolitan city, no longer just the municipality of Milan: only by extending the service to the boundaries of that area — as far as Monza, for example — will it be possible to significantly reduce the flow of cars from the hinterland, which currently stands at 600,000–700,000 vehicles a day. This project, together with fare integration and new rules for the transport of goods, represents a decisive contribution both to mobility in Milan and to the full integration of the municipalities within the metropolitan city, and therefore to the benefit of everyone. As for bicycles, the cycle paths need to be completed by integrating and connecting them to Milan's green networks: not everywhere can cycle lanes be built, however, which is why I believe different solutions must also be explored. The provocation regarding via Torino, where the cobblestones pose a real and objective danger to cyclists, points in this direction. I am not saying the solution is necessarily to tarmac it over, but we certainly need to ensure our fellow citizens on two wheels are safe.
Quality of life. Cities will keep growing larger and more populous, and mayors will bear ever greater responsibility for the health of their citizens. What can a mayor do to improve quality of life?
People's quality of life depends on many factors, as does their health. The municipality certainly needs to work on improving air quality, but it also needs to encourage active lifestyles: sedentariness causes serious illnesses and kills 10 times more people than smog. Hence the importance of making our parks more attractive and liveable, providing safe pedestrian and cycle routes, and supporting sport both through municipal facilities and through the Federations.
What do you think of the proposal to encircle metropolises with green walls made of trees to protect them from smog? Or of an integrated action plan for green procurement?
The idea of putting up walls — even green ones — does not appeal to me in the slightest, whereas green procurement is absolutely something to be implemented, because sustainability must permeate the most minute and deep-seated workings of city administration. And it is important to give effective implementation to plans and initiatives already developed for reducing our CO2 emissions, namely the Paes (Piano d'azione per l'energia sostenibile), the Pums (Piano urbano per la mobilità sostenibile) and the Urban food policy. But I also believe that Milan must define a plan for risk prevention and adaptation of the metropolitan city's habitat. The climate has changed and in the coming years it is set to evolve further: the proactive adoption of adaptation measures can protect the city from the impacts of climate change on infrastructure, private and public assets and, above all, productive sectors — agriculture first and foremost.
One of the main topics that can improve several aspects at once — environment, health, food — is the remediation of abandoned areas, such as the railway yards, to transform them into small green oases for residents. What do families need in order to reconnect with the city, especially from an environmental standpoint?
The regeneration of the railway yards represents a fundamental piece in healing the city's urban and social wounds. Setting aside part of them as parks and linking them with cycle paths and pedestrian routes is part of the plan, but within an integrated logic that also includes other public or residential functions. And rightly so, because simply designating areas as green space is not enough to make them attractive. A wonderful example is the opening of Muba, the children's museum at the rotonda in via Besana. La Besana has always been one of the most fascinating and prestigious places in the city, yet it was rarely visited and had no specific identity. Today the Museum, with its park and its café, has turned it into one of the most popular destinations for families in the city.
On that note, what is your favourite corner, your favourite park in Milan? The one that has stolen your heart?
There are so many — it is hard to choose: from the Darsena, with the two navigli that open up and run off towards an urban "beyond," to the Expo site, which I gazed at so many times from above during the construction phase and throughout the event. From Parco Sempione, with its centuries-old trees, to the ultramodern buildings of Porta Nuova set ablaze by the sunset. Milan is far more beautiful than it knows itself to be.
Tourism. With Expo, Milan experienced and achieved a qualitative leap. In 2015, approximately 20 per cent more tourists chose it as a stop on their trip to Italy, and the services on offer also increased in number and quality. What needs to be done to turn a happy period into a permanent characteristic of Milan?
We need to learn the lesson of Expo and therefore make it the norm to promote Milan in the world by working as a system. Which, translated into actions, means: shared planning and enhancement of major events and tourist flows, to create synergies and services — from public transport to hospitality to information — with public and private companies; promoting Milan's cultural offering in a "symphonic" way, as already happened with Expo in the city, BookCity, the civic museums; stepping beyond the urban and national sphere to promote Milan as a city of culture, understood as an artistic and museum-related union but also as a place for events and cultural production.
Music and memories. LifeGate is also music. You and the other candidates had fun publishing your top 10 favourite songs on Spotify — your top 10 favourite songs — which one would you choose as the soundtrack to your electoral campaign if you win the primaries?
Riders on the Storm, by the Doors.
