22 giugno 2010
Casa della Creatività - Firenze
Il Centro Studi PLURAL, partner del progetto UCAT, organizza con ANCI un seminario sul ruolo delle Città come centro di Competitività e Sviluppo nell’area Mediterranea. L’evento, organizzato nell’ambito del programma Italia Francia Marittimo, propone alcune riflessioni concrete in vista del prossimo bando sui progetti Strategici del Programma e sulla necessità di riprogrammazione di medio periodo. Le città come fattore chiave di competitività e di attrattività dei territori è un tema di grande interesse che permette da un lato di porre le future progettualità su un piano concreto d’investimento. Dall’altro, attraverso opportune azioni di networking istituzionale mette in condizione di elaborare strategie condivise che pongano le funzioni cittadine al centro di un’azione diffusa di sensibilizzazione degli attori chiave del territorio dal punto di vista economico e sociale.
Per accedere al programma, accedete a questo link
Programma workshop innovazione Plural - La rete delle città portuali (22 giugno 2010)
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Apprezzo la vostra iniziativa, augurandomi che emergano in questa sede proposte concrete e immediatamente realizzabili. Troppo spesso infatti si registrano palesi incongruenze nelle strategie di Bruxelles. Vi suggerisco di leggere lo scritto di Claude Jacquier di qualche anno fa, ancora di estrema attualità:
RispondiEliminaCities and competitiveness: the silence of European strategy
Cities are the places where innovation takes place in all its forms; as such they are the essential vectors of competitiveness throughout a territory. European cities are the privileged centers where value is created, and the growth rates of GNP per person are generally higher in cities than in the rest of the territory (the effects of agglomeration, large scale economic systems, positive external factors). More than ever European cities appear to be operators regulating the three dimensions (economic, social and environmental) that are at the heart of competitiveness as it is defined by the Union.
It is, to say the least, surprising, that factors which are essential to European competitiveness such as urban challenges (economic and social innovation, social exclusion, urban fragmentation, and environmental problems) and the governance of urban areas are hardly mentioned in several consecutive reports on economic and social cohesion. This tendency to underestimate these dimensions is all the more difficult to understand when we consider that thanks to the new openness of economies, the constitution of the Euro zone, and the disappearance of instruments of monetary adjustment, a new strategic dimension has been given to national structural policies such as the production of infrastructures, the means of social reproduction, educational programs, safety issues, environmental issues, and so forth, which are now expected to absorb asymmetrical shocks. In future, the development, the implementation and the financing of these structural policies will increasingly be transferred to territorial authorities, and in particular to cities, sometimes organized into “polycentric networks” at the regional level.
With the weakening of central governments (welcomed by many as a desirable development), cities and urban areas find themselves now in a position to coordinate the economic, social and environmental dimensions which are at the very heart of European competitiveness. It is at their level that different forms of cooperation can be concretely organized: territorial cooperation between public and private players; vertical cooperation between various institutional levels; horizontal or transversal cooperation between different fields of competence and different services. These cooperative efforts, frequently the source of conflict, are discussed by most of the experts mentioned in this article – in the long run, they are essential factors of innovation in European economies. (...) A prolonged European silence on these issues could become deafening!
(Claude Jacquier, European Competitiveness and the role of cities and urban areas)
A tal proposito vi segnalo questa intervista a Paul Bevan, responsabile di Eurocities:
RispondiEliminaEurocities: Europe's cities 'frustrated' by innovation policy
Europe's biggest cities believe the European Commission's definition of innovation is too narrowly focused on the commercial and research sectors. In an interview with EurActiv, Paul Bevan, secretary-general of Eurocities, said Europe's urban centres are teeming with examples of social, organisational and market-driven innovation. "We get a little frustrated that the focus is on R&D and market innovation. Those things are hugely important to Europe's global competitiveness and we wouldn't want to diminish that. However, we are concerned that the role of city governments as innovators and facilitators of market innovation is not part of the discussion," he said.Eurocities, which lobbies on behalf of big cities, expects to make this point to Innovation Commissioner Máire Geoghegan-Quinn when they meet in the coming weeks. EU innovation policy is about more than just "grand projects," said Bevan. He believes the green agenda is a major driver for change and has forced city planners – and citizens – to rethink the way they plan and use public services. Some cities are teaming up with private companies such as Siemens to work on improving the energy efficiency of buildings.Public private partnerships (PPPs) have become an increasingly common feature of how public authorities use their budgets and are likely to continue to grow, according to Bevan. He said some long-term projects have come under fire for ending up costing more than they would had the service been provided without engaging private contractors. The Eurocities chief said private sector expertise can help deliver large projects and it is up to each city to decide whether to launch PPPs. However, he expressed concern that Brussels might force cities to rely more heavily on the private sector. "Many cities feel very strongly that they should retain the right to do things themselves. The Commission has given an undertaking to look – again – at services of general interest. There is pressure from the EPP [European People's Party]-dominated Parliament and Commission to open up markets to the private sector. Cities don't want to be forced to do that," said Bevan. He said large cities like Vienna have policies of delivering services themselves while others such as Stockholm have created partnerships with private enterprises. "It's a matter for each city and depends on culture," Bevan said.Public sector deficits will heap pressure on cities, requiring more innovative ways of working, but e-government has also shown how rapidly local governments can change how they do business."What is now commonplace seemed like a major challenge ten years ago. Innovation has taken place but it's not really celebrated in the same way," said Bevan.
(Gary Finnegan, Interview to Paul Bevan, 27 April 2010)