The case study of the small municipality of Foggia at the seminar “Road transport system for passengers”
Sustainability is a very broad concept that increasingly concerns people and companies, as well as the environment. For this reason, the municipality of Troia was chosen as a case study for its public transport system which represents a model not only in terms of emissions, but also for its impact on society.
Specifically, the urban and school public road transport service of the Foggia municipality was selected among the best network planning and service programming practices in the country. A fundamental topic in a changing society, as was argued on the first day of the fifth edition of the seminar “Road transport system for passengers”, organized by Anav in collaboration with Asstra, Aiit and with the patronage of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport.
“We are proud to constitute a case study as recognition of a program that has improved the quality of life of the Trojan community”, commented Mayor Leonardo Cavalieri at the event on 27 September which was also attended by Minister Salvini.
The pillars of public transport in Troy are essentially two:
– is financed with part of the royalties paid by renewable energy producing companies generated by wind and photovoltaic systems active in the municipal area;
– And completely free for citizens
The project attracted the attention of the institutions and was also financed with resources from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the European Social Fund (ESF).
“The free transport services that the Municipality guarantees – highlighted Mayor Cavalieri – have an immediate impact on the community both from an environmental point of view, as it reduces the private traffic and polluting emissionsboth from an economic and social point of view. Our transport model is a real social policy intervention, and as such represents support for mobility, in particular, of the elderly and disabled, of low-income citizens without a driving license or car, of those who live in rural areas , as well as school attendance and integration. I thank the organizers of the event and the Metauro Bus company, in the persons of Antonio Metauro and Luigi Fantetti, for having valorised our services among the good sustainability practices that usually characterize larger urban realities”.
The seminar “Road transport system for passengers” was also an opportunity to take stock of European trends and the outcomes of community projects. The aim of the comparison is to find the elements necessary to activate tools that support sustainable mobility.
“Today we presented as a case study to the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport the significant example of the bus transport services we provide in the small municipality of Troia because we believe that sustainable mobility constitutes, increasingly and especially in the South, one of the fundamental factors of socio-economic development of the territory, to be achieved in collaboration between businesses and public administrations, respecting their respective roles, through correct planning of investments and objectives”, explained Antonio Metauro, Administrator of the Metauro Bus transport company.
What are smart cities
Smart cities represent a model of sustainable urban development that uses technology to improve the quality of life of citizens and reduce the environmental impact of cities.
In Europe, there are many municipalities that are adopting policies and strategies to become smart cities, focusing on:
– increasing the efficiency of mobility (green public transport and reduction of private transport);
– energy efficiency;
– waste management;
– social inclusion (which also includes greater public spaces and free public transport)
The European Union created the European Innovation Partnership on Smart Cities and Communities (Eip-Scc) program, which brings together over 6,000 stakeholders from cities, industry, business and other “smart city” actors.
From the program was born lo Smart Cities Marketplace which offers a range of services, including free technical assistance, one-to-one consultancy for city-led consortia close to the financing stage, financing masterclasses and multi-party matching for urban project financing.
The most reliable ranking in this sense is provided by the Smart City Observatory of the International Institute for Management Development.
Here are the top 10 smart cities in the world according to the “Smart city index 2023” which classifies cities based on their level of development and adoption of smart and sustainable technologies:
1. Zurich, Switzerland
2. Oslo, Norway
3. Singapore
4. Beijing, China
5. Lausanne, Switzerland
6. Seoul, South Korea
7. Hong Kong, China
8. Toronto, Canada
9. Geneva, Switzerland
10. San Francisco, United States
Among European cities, Zurich, Oslo, Lausanne, Geneva are the smartest. In Italy, the city that has obtained interesting results in this sense is Turin.
In short, all names from big cities, but for sustainable change to be truly inclusive, even small communities need to achieve good results from an ESG perspective.
For this reason, the example of the municipality of Troia gives hope for the future and demonstrates how even a small town of 6,660 inhabitants can attract the attention of institutions and investors.
Source-www.adnkronos.com